“And a skull and two corpses removed from their graves,” Logan said. “Sloan and I were friends. I’m sure he’ll be fine with us going out there.”
“He’s in with the wife and son of the murder victim now,” Jane told him.
“Have him give me a call,” Logan said.
“You should call him,” Jane began, but Logan didn’t reply. She heard a dial tone and realized he’d already hung up.
*
Jimmy Hough was conscious but drowsy. He looked at Sloan through glazed eyes when Sloan came and sat by his bed.
“My dad is dead,” he muttered.
“Yes, I’m sorry,” Sloan said.
Jimmy’s jaw tightened. “He was such a jerk. He was a bully. He beat me up with a spoon when I was a kid. He stopped doing that, though. Once he figured I could be a football star. Then he started telling me that...that I should seize the world. I’d have everything, money, women, anything I wanted. The bigger a jerk I became, the better he liked me.” He paused and tears welled up in his eyes. “I know he was a jerk, but he was my dad.”
“Yes, he was your dad and you should mourn him, Jimmy,” Sloan said quietly. He waited a minute and then leaned forward. “Jimmy, who attacked you and your mom?”
Jimmy shook his head. “I don’t know. We were getting ready to leave. I was going to help Heidi out at the stables. And my mom...she loves all the Silverfest activities. Dad’s never gone with her and she gets to...she gets to kind of be herself. She watches all the stuff the actors do, she shops at all the vendors’ booths...she has a beer at the saloon. She doesn’t drink—that’s her big thing. A beer at the saloon during Silverfest.” Tears welled in his eyes again.
Sloan put a hand on Jimmy’s and squeezed it. “Can you tell me what happened today? If I can find the people who attacked you, I can find the people who killed your dad.”
Jimmy shut his eyes. “I didn’t see anything. I didn’t see anything at all. Mom had just called me from downstairs, telling me she was ready. I was opening the door to leave and when I did a sheet came down over my head. I fought. I fought like crazy. But whoever it was...” He stopped for a minute. “There were two of them. There had to be. Because when they dragged me downstairs to the garage, my mom was already there. I kept trying to struggle but they knocked me on the head with something, and the next thing I knew, I opened my eyes and I smelled the exhaust fumes and the car was running. It was horrible.... I couldn’t make myself move. I knew we were dying and I couldn’t move. I wasn’t tied up, but...I don’t know. Somehow I managed to reach over and turn the car off...and then I passed out again.”
“Jimmy, did the person speak?” Sloan asked.
“He grunted a few times,” Jimmy said. There was a touch of pride in his voice when he added, “I got him in the ribs. He seemed to be about my size...but he was strong. Really strong. I’m in good shape, Sheriff. But this guy had it all over me.” He paused again. “The other one, though...”
“What is it, Jimmy?”
“The other one was a woman, I think.”
“What makes you say that?”
“Because my mother’s a fighter, too. And I think she hurt the woman, because I heard her say something to the guy when they were leaving. Sounded like, ‘Bitch hurt me. I’m not in on crap like this anymore.’”
Sloan stood and set his card on the table next to Jimmy.
“If you remember anything else, call me, Jimmy.”
Jimmy nodded. “My mom’s going to make it, isn’t she?” he asked.
“Yeah, I think so. You saved her life. You saved both your lives when you managed to switch off the ignition.”
At the door, Sloan found himself called back one more time.
“Sheriff?”
“Yeah?”
“You’re not a bad guy. My dad thought you were a puffed-up dick who’d spent too much time in Houston to be an Arizona lawman. But I never believed him. You were right to say I had to be locked up. And I’m lucky that you didn’t kill my record. I learned from that.”
“You’re going to be fine, Jimmy. You’re going to be just fine,” Sloan assured him.
He left Jimmy and the nurse directed him down the hall to Zoe Hough’s room. She hadn’t come around yet, the nurse said, but she was breathing easily and all her vital signs were good.
Sloan stepped in, anyway. Zoe Hough was a pretty, blonde woman. Her hair was always impeccable, her nails always manicured; she worked out every day in her home gym and often visited the spa in the old town. Caleb Hough would have expected his wife to be perfectly put together at all times.
As he stood there, her eyes opened. She blinked, and he knew it was taking her a minute to realize where she was.