In High Cotton by Denise Grover Swank

Author:Denise Grover Swank
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781939996596
Publisher: DGS

Chapter 15

Joe studied me, and I knew he had to have a dozen questions, so I answered the less personal ones before he could ask.

“I suspect Stella’s strippin’ at the place we worked at together, although she can’t be makin’ much based on how awful she looked when I saw her over a month ago. She’s a meth addict and she looks the part.”

“You called family services on her when you saw her?” he asked.

“No. Jed did. Crystal was filthy, and Stella was in no hurry to clean her or feed her. Jed could see that it was killin’ me to leave her there, but he told me Stella could and would have me arrested for kidnappin’ if I tried to take the baby. I knew he was right. So as soon as we walked out the door, he called them. Then we sat out front, watchin’ her door until the social worker showed up.” I frowned. “Not that it did much good… obviously. Stella still has her.”

“Carlisle called family services to appease you?” he asked in a neutral voice.

“I’m sure he would have done it anyway. He was furious Stella was treatin’ her baby that way, but he knows about my babies. He knows how much I wanted them. So yeah, part of it was to help me deal with the guilt of leavin’ her with Stella.”

Joe was quiet for a moment. “So Stella and Branson think they’re comin’ into some money. Did they make a deal with Franken, or do they know you and Carlisle dug up the bag with money?”

“I’m not sure how they’d know…” A new fear hit me. “Unless Beasley found where we buried the body.”

“He forgot?”

“He was drunk, so I drove us there. He was passed out but roused around enough to help me dig the hole and move the body. While we were diggin’, he saw the nearby light pole that had a cross made out of silver nails. If they drove around the country roads long enough, he might have found it. We buried the guy behind some wild azalea bushes. If they found them, they’d see that it had been recently dug up.” Dread sank deep into my bones. “They’d think we have the money.”

“The good news,” Joe said, “is if they think you have the money, they won’t tell anyone else who might be lookin’ for it. They’ll keep it to themselves.”

“Unless they were threatened,” I said.

“True, but Stella thinks they’re comin’ into money.” He was quiet for a moment. “What if Stella wasn’t strippin’ last night?”

I narrowed my eyes.

He leaned forward. “What if Branson and Stella told Franken just enough to get him off their backs, but they found out you were in Henryetta? Stella hasn’t picked her baby up because she and Branson are on their way here.”

My chest tightened, and I struggled to take a breath.

“I’ll have Randy watch the farm. Kate bein’ on the loose is reason enough, and he can report directly to me what he sees.

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