CHAPTER 18
Tracy handed Dan a copy of Ryan Hagen’s witness statement. “It busted House’s alibi.”
Dan put on a pair of cheaters to read the statement. “You sound skeptical.”
“The cross-examination by House’s attorney was less than stellar. No one ever asked Hagen for details about the newscast or to produce any receipts. Salesmen don’t spend their own money. If Hagen had stopped to eat and to fill the tank, as he testified, he would have had a receipt. I didn’t find one.”
Dan looked up from the report, eyeing her over the cheaters. “But this guy’s recollection was enough to get the ball rolling.”
“Enough for the county prosecutor to get Judge Sullivan to issue search warrants for the uncle’s home and truck.”
“And they found something?”
“Hair and blood. And Calloway testified that when he confronted House with the evidence, House changed his story and said he’d picked up Sarah walking along the side of the road, drove her into the mountains, raped and strangled her, and then immediately buried her body.”
“Then why didn’t they find it?”
“Calloway said House refused to tell them where he’d buried Sarah without a deal, and that they’d never be able to convict him without a body.”
Dan lowered the statement. “Wait, I’m confused. If he confessed, what kind of deal could he hope to get?”
“Good question. House denied confessing at the trial.”
Dan shook his head as if having trouble following her. “Didn’t Calloway record it? Didn’t he get a signed statement?”
“No. He said House just blurted out the information to taunt him and then refused to repeat it.”
“And House denied saying it at trial?”
“That’s right.”
“So you’re telling me that his attorney put him on the stand when the prosecution’s case was circumstantial and they had no forensics from a crime scene?”
“That’s what I’m telling you.”
“How did House explain the hair and blood?”
“He said it was planted by someone trying to frame him.”
Dan scoffed. “Sure they did—the last defense of the guilty.”
Tracy shrugged.
“You believe him?”
“House went away for life and Cedar Grove was supposed to get a chance to heal. It never did. Not me. Not my family. No one.”
“You have doubts.”
“Twenty years’ worth.” She slid another file across the table. “Will you take a look?”
Dan ran a finger along his upper lip. “What are you hoping to find?”
“Just an objective opinion.”
Dan did not immediately answer. He also didn’t take the file. Then he said, “Okay. I’ll take a look.”
She removed her checkbook and a pen from her handbag. “You said you have a fifteen-hundred-dollar retainer?”
He reached across the table and gently touched her hand. It surprised her, as did the fact that his hand was rough, though his fingers were long and sinewy. “I don’t charge my friends, Tracy.”
“I can’t ask you to work for free, Dan.”
“And I can’t take your money. So if you want my opinion, you need to put your checkbook away. Wow, I’ll bet no attorney has ever uttered those words before.”
She laughed. “Can I pay you with something else?”
“Dinner,” he said. “I know a good place.”
“In Cedar Grove?”
“Cedar Grove still holds a few surprises. Trust me.”
“Isn’t that what every lawyer says?”
Tracy left First National Bank and looked up at the bay window cantilevered over the sidewalk. She’d never shared the contents of her investigation with anyone before. There’d been no need, not without forensics from the grave. Until then, all she’d had was an unsupported hypothesis. Kelly Rosa’s revelations had changed that.
“Tracy?” Sunnie Witherspoon stood beside a parked van, keys in one hand, a plastic bag from a hardware store in the other.
“Sunnie.”
Sunnie stepped onto the sidewalk. She wore slacks, a blouse, and sweater. Her hair was styled and her makeup heavy. “I thought you’d left.”
“I had a few loose ends to take care of. I was actually just heading out.”
“Do you have time for coffee?” Sunnie asked.
Tracy wasn’t looking for a long trip down memory lane. “It looks like you’re dressed up to go someplace.”
“No,” Sunnie said. “I just needed to run an errand at the hardware store for Gary.” An awkward pause followed.
With no easy retreat, Tracy relented. “Is there a place?”
They walked across the street to The Daily Perk, ordered coffee, and sat at a table outside that wobbled when Tracy set her mug down. So much for her doctor’s orders that Tracy cut down on her caffeine intake.
Sunnie sat across the table, smiling. “It’s so strange seeing you here. I mean, I’m sorry that you are, the reason, but it’s so good. It was a nice service.”
“Thanks for being there.”
“Everything changed, didn’t it?”
Sunnie had caught Tracy in midsip of her coffee. She swallowed and set down her cup. “I’m sorry?”
“After Sarah died, everything kind of changed.”
“I guess so.”
“Though I’m still here.” Sunnie’s smile had a sad quality to it. “I’ll never leave.” She looked indecisive. Then she said, “You haven’t made it to any of the reunions.”
“Not really my thing.”
“It’s just that people ask about you, and they still talk about what happened.”
“I didn’t want to talk about it anymore, Sunnie.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you. We don’t have to talk about it. Let’s talk about something else.”
But Tracy knew talking about what had happened to Sarah and its aftermath was exactly why Sunnie wanted to have coffee. It wasn’t to allow two old friends to catch up. It was for the same reason so many had come to a service for a family that had, for all intents and purposes, departed Cedar Grove twenty years earlier. And it wasn’t just because Roy Calloway had gotten the word out. The search for Sarah and the trial had given them all something to focus their attention on, but it had not brought back Sarah. It had not brought closure to Sunnie or anyone else still living in Cedar Grove, any more than it had brought closure to Tracy or her parents. Now, sitting across from a person who at one time had been someone Tracy had entrusted with her deepest teenage thoughts and secrets, Tracy couldn’t bring herself to tell Sunnie that they might be about to relive that nightmare all over again.