Carolina Moon

the color of dew-drenched bluebells. “He was—well, I can’t even begin, but he was very offensive to me and to Tory, then he …” She sniffled delicately. “Then he struck my poor little Bee here, and when Tory tried to stop him, he … If it hadn’t been for Cade, I don’t know what might have happened.”
    She turned to Tory, sobbing quietly. “You could’ve taken him,” she murmured. “Fat, puss-faced asshole.”
    Carl D. tucked his tongue in his cheek. After what he’d seen inside, this little comedy was an entertaining relief. “That about how it was?” he asked Cade.
    “More or less.”
    “I’ll have him taken in so’s he cools off some.” He glanced around, making eye contact with faces in the crowd as he gently chewed his gum. “Don’t think anybody wants to press charges here.”
    “No, we’ll let it lay.”
    “Good enough. I’m gonna need to talk to Tory here, and Faith, too. We can be a little more private down at the station.”
    “Chief.” Wade joined them, stepping so casually over the half-conscious Billy, Faith had to disguise a snort of laughter with a wet sniffle. “My place is closer. I think it’d be more comfortable for the ladies.”
    “We might could do that, for a start, anyway. I’m going to have one of my deputies take you on over. I’ll be along directly.”
    “I’ll take them,” Wade said.
    “You and Cade know most of these people. I’d appreciate if you’d give me a hand getting them to go on home. One of my men’ll see to the ladies here. I need to get their statements,” he said, before Cade could object. “That’s police business.”
    “We can get there by ourselves.”
    “Well now, Miss Faith, I’ll just send one of my men along with you. It’s procedure.” He signaled, and set the wheels in motion.
    “Jesus, how does something like this happen in the middle of town?” Dwight rubbed at the tension in the back of his neck.
    They’d managed to nudge most of the curious away from the building. Now it was darkness that gathered as he stood with his two oldest friends on the quiet lawn outside the apartment where death wore the symbol of yellow police tape.
    “How much do you know?” Wade asked him.
    “No more than anyone else, I expect. Carl D. didn’t let me past the edges, and I only got that far because I’m mayor. It looks like somebody broke into her place sometime yesterday. Maybe it was a robbery.” He pinched the bridge of his nose, shook his head. “Doesn’t seem like it. Didn’t look to me like she had a lot.”
    “How’d they get by the dog?” Wade wondered.
    “Dog?” Dwight looked blank a moment, then nodded. “Oh yeah. I don’t know. Maybe it was someone she knew. That makes more sense, doesn’t it? Maybe it was someone she knew, and they had an argument that got out of hand. She was in the bedroom,” he added on a sigh. “That much I know. The—well, the bits and pieces I heard said she was raped.”
    “How was she killed?” Cade asked him.
    “I don’t know. Carl D. was keeping a tight lid on most of it. Jesus, Wade, we were just talking about her the other night, remember. I ran into her coming out of your place.”
    “Yeah, I remember.” He got a picture of her, bubbling over, flirting, while he examined Mongo.
    “There were some murmurs in there.” Dwight jerked his head toward the sealed door. “About Tory Bodeen. Edgy talk,” he added. “I figure you’d want to know.” He sighed again. “This shouldn’t happen in the middle of damn town. People ought to be safe in their own houses. This is going to worry Lissy sick.”
    “There’ll be a run on the hardware store and gun shop tomorrow,” Cade predicted. “Locks and ammo.”
    “Oh Christ. I’d best call a town meeting, see if I can calm people down. I hope to God Carl D. has something on this by tomorrow. I’ve got to get back to Lissy. She’ll be in a state by now.” He shot one last look at the door. “This shouldn’t have happened here,” he repeated, and walked away.
    “I only met her once. Just yesterday.”
    Tory sat on Wade’s sofa with her hands neatly folded in her lap. She knew it was important to be calm and clear when talking to the police. They picked at emotion, used weaknesses as levers to pry out more than you wanted to say.
    Then they made you ridiculous.
    Then they betrayed you.
    “You only met her the once.” Carl D. nodded, made his notes. He’d asked Faith to wait downstairs. He wanted his