Yeah, she came off adorable when tipsy—and sounded a little lonely. He could relate, especially since he didn’t feel in sync with any of his brothers. He didn’t know how, but he needed to fix that. Somehow.
Before he knew it, they walked inside the bar. Heat slammed into him along with the din of noise. At this time of night, Sam’s only had a few regulars at the bar, along with a couple of people playing pool. Amka waved a greeting from behind the bar, and he waved back. Then he caught sight of Leo Randsom over in the corner and awareness dawned. “Ah, I get it. Leo Randsom is here. All right, let’s do this.”
Ophelia tromped toward Leo’s table.
He sat alone with a drink in front of him. As he looked up, his eyes stayed clear, his graying beard rugged and bushy. “Hey, what's up, Brock?”
Brock nodded his head toward Ophelia. “I think Olly has a couple of questions for you.”
Leo grinned. “Yeah. Loretta texted from the quilting party and said you'd probably be by.”
Ophelia took out a seat. “I already talked to Loretta, and I wanted to get your take on what happened to your ex-wife.”
Leo kept his hand flattened on the table with his beer to the right. “I wish I could tell you something or say I know anything. All I know is that Tammy was unhappy, wanted to leave, and took off. Before you ask, I do not think she would’ve left the kids. I think something happened to her, and we don’t know what.”
Amka hustled over with a pitcher of beer and ice-covered mugs. “Hey, you two. There’s a storm coming. What are you doing out right now?”
Brock gratefully took the mugs and poured two glasses. “We’re just working.” He looked around for Jarod. Ophelia had mentioned she wanted to interview him during the drive to the tavern. “Where’s your business partner?”
“Who knows?” Amka muttered.
Ophelia grasped her arm before she could leave. “I’m curious about the Tundra Complex. I heard Jarod owned it and that it burned down.”
Amka nodded. “Yes. The old place had faulty wiring, but at least nobody was hurt in the fire. I don’t know much more about it than that. Jarod owned it. If he comes back in, I’ll let you know.” She hustled off to bus another table.
Brock couldn’t figure Amka and Jarod out. Amka struck him as intelligent, and he trusted that she’d ask for help if necessary, but what if fear stopped her? She didn’t appear frightened, but something felt off, and he wanted to help. He handed one of the beers to Ophelia.
She took a sip, her gaze on Leo. “Okay, so your divorce from Tammy went through last March. When did you start dating Loretta?”
Leo nodded. “I started seeing Loretta that March and married her in July. She’s the one. Don’t look at me like I’m a jerk. Tammy cheated on me a good year before we even filed for divorce.”
Brock took a drink of his beer. He’d heard rumors but never paid attention to them.
“With whom?” Ophelia asked.
Leo tipped back his beer and swallowed several gulps. “The summer oflastyear, when we were still married, I followed her a few times and staked out the Tundra Complex.”
“What? I thought the Tundra served as an apartment complex,” Ophelia said, her brow furrowing.
Brock nodded. “The Tundra had about twenty suites and served as a long-stay motel. But Jarod rented rooms by the hour to make extra money.” He didn’t judge what others did, but the by-hour situation never made sense to him.
Leo looked down at the table. “That summer, I caught Tammy taking tourists there. You know. A guy from a fishing or hunting tour.” He moved uncomfortably. “I should’ve divorced her right there and then, but I worried about the kids. Then earlierthisyear she wanted a divorce, so I gave it to her.”
Ophelia narrowed her eyes. “What are you leaving out?”
The woman had excellent instincts. Brock enjoyed watching her work.
“Nothing that is relevant to your case,” Leo said.
Ophelia waited until he looked up at her. “That’s up to me, don’t you think?”
He glanced at Brock, who nodded at him.
“Fine, but it’s not relevant. Last year, during the summer when I was following my wife around, I saw Hank leaving that place a couple of times.”
“Hank?” Brock shook his head. He’d had no idea. “Why would he have been at the motel? The man had his own cabin.” As far as Brock knew, Hank hadn’t been romantically involved with anybody in eons.
Leo shrugged. “I don't know. Maybe one or more of you guys came home for leave that summer, but I don’t remember. Maybe that’s why Hank kept any liaisons away from his place. Or he just wanted privacy. Who knows? I don’t know, and I don’t care. Frankly, I wouldn’t know if I hadn’t been staking out the Tundra to see who my wife was fucking.”
