Carnal Innocence

to say something he shouldn’t. All he’s got is speculation. No physical evidence.”
    “What kind of speculation?”
    “He can put Dwayne in the same area as the killings, without any alibis so far. And he’s using Dwayne’s trouble with Sissy as a kind of motive.”
    “Divorce as a motive for killing other women?” Caroline arched her brows. “That gives about half the adult male population of the country a motive.”
    “Seems pretty thin, doesn’t it?”
    “Then why do you look so worried?”
    “Because Burns may be a first-class asshole, but he’s not stupid. He knows Dwayne drinks, he knows how he was embarrassed by Sissy. And he knows Dwayne had an acquaintance with the victims. The one up in Nashville’s the kicker.”
    “Nashville?” Letting out a long breath, she nodded. “Tell me.”
    He’d hoped to keep it all from her for at least one day. But once he began, the words streamed out. Under them, she could sense the anger and a very real fear.
    “What did your lawyer advise?”
    “That we just go on as usual. Wait and see. Of course, if Dwayne could come up with an alibi for one of the nights, that would cool things off.” He popped open a beer, frowned into it. “I got a call in to the governor. He’s a little hard to reach today, but I expect he’ll call me back tomorrow.”
    She tried a smile, hoping to coax one from Tucker. “He’s a cousin, I suppose?”
    “The governor?” He did smile, fleetingly. “No. But his wife is. Odds are Burns is going to need a lot more to put the cuffs on Dwayne.”
    “I can talk to my father if you like. He’s corporate, but he knows some excellent criminal attorneys.”
    Tucker tilted back the beer. “Let’s hope I don’t have to take you up on it. The worst of it is, Caro, Dwayne’s so scared he’s doubting himself.”
    “What do you mean?”
    “He’s worried that maybe when he was drunk, when he wasn’t thinking straight, he might have—”
    Her heartbeat skipped. “My God, Tucker, you don’t think—”
    “No, I don’t,” he said with a barely restrained fury. “Jesus, Caroline, Dwayne’s harmless as a puppy. He may flap around and scuffle when he’s drunk, but he hurts only himself. And think,” he added, because he had been, and he’d been thinking hard. “The way those women were killed. It was vicious, yeah. And sort of primal and wild, but it was also planned. Thought out clean and clever. A man’s not clever with a head full of whiskey. He gets sloppy and stupid.”
    “You don’t have to convince me, Tucker,” she said quietly. But she wondered if he was trying to convince himself.
    “He’s my brother.” For Tucker, that said it all. He could see Dwayne now, sitting with old Mr. O’Hara. Tucker figured the jug they were passing was of O’Hara’s own brew. And it wasn’t lemonade. “He’ll be drunk as a skunk before nightfall. I haven’t got the heart to cut him off.”
    “Sooner or later you’ll have to, won’t you?” She put a hand on his cheek. “Otherwise, you’ll just be cutting him out. I’ve been thinking about what you said about families. Not just about taking a stand, but about making things right. I’m going to call my mother.”
    “I guess what you’re telling me is, if my advice is good enough for you, it ought to be good enough for me.”
    She smiled. “Something like that.”
    With a nod, he looked back toward Dwayne. “There’s a place up in Memphis. It has a good reputation for helping people shake themselves loose of the bottle.I think if I work it right, I could talk him into giving it a try.”
    “Darling,” she said, easing into a delta drawl, “with your talent you could talk a starving man out of his last crust of bread.”
    “That so?”
    “That’s so.”
    He leaned over to touch his lips to hers. “That being the case, maybe I could talk you into doing something for me. Something I’ve had a hankering for.”
    Caroline thought of the cool, empty house behind them, of the big canopied bed. “I imagine you could persuade me.” More than willing, she melted into the kiss. “What did you have in mind?”
    “Well, you see, I’ve had this craving.” He turned his head to nip at her ear.
    “I’m delighted to hear it.”
    “I don’t want to offend you.”
    She chuckled against his throat. “Please do.”
    “I thought you might be a little shy, doing it out here in front of all these people.”
    “I can—what?” With a half laugh, she pulled away.