“Not by choice.He found me.”
“How?”
She didn’t answer.
“Did you contact family?Use a credit card?”
“I had a fitness tracker.”
“A fitness tracker,” he repeated, incredulous.
“It gave a signal to my location.That’s why I don’t use a cell phone or any technology.I don’t want to leave a digital trace.”
“How did you end up in Lost Lake?”
She removed her ponytail and ran her fingers through her hair.“I was working as a caretaker for an old lady in San Antonio.I already had Daisy and Chico.They came with me when I left.King belonged to the old lady.When she passed away, her daughter called an animal rescue.Guess who showed up?”
“My mother.”
“She offered me a ride to Lost Lake.By the time we arrived, she’d invited me to stay at the ranch with her.”
“When was this?”
“The end of January.”
Wade sighed, shaking his head.His mother couldn’t resist a pack of strays.“Where did you live before San Antonio?”
“Lots of different places.”
Wade knew she wasn’t from this area.He figured she’d traveled here from the Midwest.“Why did you come to Texas?”
“I wanted to be close to the border.”She narrowed her eyes at him.“Now I have some questions for you.”
“All right,” he said.
“How’s your investigation going?”she asked.
Wade hadn’t expected her to ask him about work.He massaged the nape of his neck, considering.“I requested a forensic sketch but haven’t heard back.The autopsy was inconclusive.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means we don’t know if he was murdered or just unlucky.”
“I talked to your mother about Billy today.”
Wade tightened his hands on the steering wheel.“Of course you did.”
“She told me some things that I probably shouldn’t repeat.”
“Then don’t.”
Mary cast him an annoyed look.“You need to discuss it with her, Wade.She’ll never get over it if you don’t.”
“I’m the one who found him,” Wade said in an even tone, struggling to sound calm.“That experience will haunt me for the rest of my life, so she’ll have to forgive me if I don’t want todescribe it.”
“She doesn’t want the grisly details.”
“What does she want?”
