“But you haven’t told us to leave yet,” Kellie said.
Titus shook his head. “I can’t stop you from talking to people in town. I can’t stop you from asking questions. But I can’t give you details about a case that I’ve just started to investigate.”
“Then don’t. That’s fine. Tell me about you. How do you feel finding out a killer has been in your midst all this time? Three killers, to be precise. Tell me how you feel,” Kellie said. She had leaned forward and was punctuating her statements by tapping her index finger on Titus’s desk.
How I feel? Titus thought. I feel like the Woodsman when he confronted the Big Bad Wolf. I’m going to have to split someone’s belly to return us to any sense of normalcy. That’s how I feel.
“I know you well enough to give up any effort to avoid an interview completely,” Titus said.
Kellie cut him off. “Hector, go get the equipment! You won’t regret this, Virginia.”
Hector rose from his seat.
“Sit down, Hector,” Titus said.
Hector plopped back down in his chair.
“Let’s set the parameters first. I’ll give you a statement. I’ll say a few things about the investigation. And that’s it. Do we have an understanding, Indiana?” Titus said.
Kellie smiled. “Of course.”
“All right. Now you can go get the equipment, Hector,” Titus said. Hector got up and hustled out the door.
“Is he your…?” Titus let the question hang between them.
“Hector? Nah, he’s just my sound guy and helps me produce the show. I’m actually seeing a guy who works at my tattoo shop. Were you jealous, Virginia? Anyway, aren’t you and Darlene an item?” Kellie said.
“Which one told you? Let me guess, it was Davy,” Titus said.
Kellie nodded. “He’s so goofy, he’s cute.”
“Davy’s all right, he’s just like a mountain climber with no hands. Can’t hold shit. And yes, me and Darlene have been together for almost a year.”
“Are you happy?” Kellie asked.
“Are you?”
“I asked you first.”
Titus leaned back in his chair. “Yes. She’s a good woman and I’m lucky to be with her.”
“Well, I’m glad for you. Me and Paul are kind of just kicking it right now. We haven’t been together long enough to figure out if we’re happy or not. But if she is good to you and good for you, I’m happy for you,” Kellie said. Their eyes found each other’s from across the desk. He was adept at identifying liars. Kellie wasn’t exactly lying, but she wasn’t telling the God’s honest truth either.
That made two of them.
“I—” Titus started to say, when Hector came back into the office.
“We ready to get it on?” he asked with a grin.
* * *
Their short interview stretched on into a forty-five-minute conversation. At the end, as Hector was packing up the equipment, Kellie punched him playfully in his arm.
“Damn, you still doing two hundred push-ups every day?”
“Every other day,” Titus said as they leaned against his desk.
“Well, before I got distracted by the guns, I was gonna say if you want to hear the edited track, come by our bed-and-breakfast in a few days.”
“Y’all staying over at Todd’s Inn?”
“Your powers of deduction are truly astounding,” Kellie said.
Titus turned his head and saw her smirking. “One of the benefits of small-town living. It’s the only bed-and-breakfast in town.”
“Well, like I was saying, let me know if you want to hear the audio,” Kellie said. Neither one of them said anything for a few minutes. They just watched Hector pack up his cords and microphones.
“It would probably be late,” Titus said.
“That’s fine. Not like we’re going to be running around the Charon downtown district,” Kellie said.
* * *
Titus walked them to their van. Hector got in the driver’s side. Kellie slid in the passenger’s side. Titus watched as the window slid down. She leaned halfway out and motioned for him. He took a step closer and crossed his arms.
“It was really nice seeing you, Virginia.”
“You too, Kellie.”
“I missed you,” Kellie said. Titus noticed she used the past tense.
“You deserve better than what I could give you,” Titus said.
Kellie kissed her palm and grabbed his hand. “You could never admit how happy we were. You’re too committed to punishing yourself for things you can’t control.” She pressed her palm against his. To any passerby it would look like they were just shaking hands.
“That’s … that’s not what it was,” Titus said.
“Sure, Virginia,” Kellie said. She squeezed his hand one more time before releasing him. He watched their van move down the road until the taillights were hazy.
EIGHTEEN
Titus sat at his desk with his fingers interlaced in front of him. Steve, Davy, Carla, Douglas, and Trey were all gathered around the other side of his desk.
“Carla, did you find anything on Cole’s phone? What did the ME say about the skin in the box and Cole’s face?” Titus asked. Carla pulled out her cell. She read from her notes.
“The ME is ready to identify Cole through his dental records. Gonna take a few days to study the section of skin. She did confirm it was Cole’s face, but we knew that. Took a look at his phone, and the last call he got was from an extended warranty telemarketer. The last call he made was to a phone number that is disconnected. The last text he got was from Dayane Carter. The message said, Meet me at our place, with a question mark and a devil emoji,” Carla said.
Titus sat up straight. “Dayane from the fish house?”
Carla nodded.
“Well, that tracks with some stuff I found out today,” Steve said. Titus twirled his index finger in a go-on motion.
“So, Lydia Hart told me that Cole and Dayane were pretty tight. She thought he might have been cheating on his girlfriend with Dayane. And get this. She told me sometimes Latrell would go with Cole on his runs. Especially if they had some big deliveries to make. She said she didn’t mention it before because she didn’t want to get Cole in trouble, but now that everyone pretty much knows he’s dead it don’t matter much. Also, Jasper and Cotton were up in Dinwiddie at the track last night watching a race with their girlfriends. The girlfriends back them up and Jasper showed me the ticket stubs. He said he hadn’t seen Latrell in weeks, but I think he’s lying about that, but he wasn’t in Charon last night,” Steve said.
Titus stood up and came around the front of his desk.
“Okay, he’s off the hook for Cole. So, the phrase on the bodies came from Holy Rock. From Elias specifically. I also got a story about a boy who used to live at Holy Rock,” Titus said. He recounted Griselda’s sad tale about the boy and the outhouse and Henry Hillington’s untimely demise.
“Did Cole go to that church?” Carla asked.
“Nah, he went to First Corinthian. We used to be in vacation Bible school together,” Davy said.
“Was Cole hooked up with Ricky Sours and his boys? Apparently Elias is tight with that set,” Titus said.
“No. He might have agreed with them, but everything I’ve found out makes it seem like he was too busy with his two jobs to join them in cosplaying as rebels,” Carla said.
Davy sucked at his teeth.
“Is there a problem, Deputy Hildebrandt?” Titus asked.
“Uh, no, I … I mean, not everyone in that group is a racist. I’m just saying,” Davy said quietly.
Titus turned his full attention to Davy. “So, not everyone in the Sons of the Confederacy Cricket Hill Regiment Number 2239 thinks slavery was an acceptable economic system for the South?” Titus asked.
“I … uh.”
“I’m sorry, let me put it another way. Not everyone in the Sons of the Confederacy Cricket Hill Regiment Number 2239 thinks the rightful place of the negro is to be subservient to the white man, like Alexander Stephens said in the Cornerstone Speech?” Titus said.
“I was just saying, I mean, my cousin is in that group, and he isn’t a racist,” Davy said.
Titus walked over to his deputy. He stood behind Davy and leaned forward until his mouth was near Davy’s ear.
“Davy, if your cousin ain’t a racist, he is mighty goddamn comfortable with being around racists. That’s a distinction without a difference. Now, can we get back to our meeting, Deputy?”
“Yes, sir,” Davy whispered.
Titus went back to his desk.
“Carla, check back with the ME and see if she’s made any more identifications. If she has, let’s map out where these kids came from. See if it matches up with the deliveries Latrell and Cole went on,” Titus said.
“I see where your thinking is going, boss, but if Cole was the Last Wolf, who killed him? A Fourth Wolf?” Steve asked.
Titus sat down again and drummed his fingers on his desk. “No, there were only three people on those videos. I think Cole knew who the Last Wolf was. We need those bodies to be IDed so we can map out their locations. Steve, I want you to keep an eye on Elias. Do it in your off-duty vehicle,” Titus said.
“You got it, boss,” Steve said.