Divine Evil

considered. “Maybe I'll have to have another look-see myself.”
    “Did they have any visitors?”
    “Not a one. Kept to themselves. Seemed to me that the wife wanted to put down stakes and Parker couldn't wait to pull them up. Guess he didn't pull them up in time.”
    “No, I guess he didn't.”
    Fifteen minutes later, Cam found Bud ticketing a Buick in the red zone in front of the library. “Don't know why MizAtherton keeps parking here,” he began. “Guess she'll come and strip a few layers off my hide.”
    “The mayor'll pay the fine. Bud, I need to talk to Sarah. I'd like you to come along.”
    “Sure.” He pocketed the citation book. “She in some kind of trouble?”
    “I don't know. Let's walk it.”
    Bud slicked a hand over his cowlick. “Sheriff, I don't like to … I just wanted to say that Sarah's got some problems right now. She and my mom have been fighting a lot lately.”
    “I'm sorry, Bud, I just need to ask her some questions.”
    “If she's done something …” He thought about the men going up the back stairs into her room. “She might listen to me. I could try to get her to straighten up.”
    “We're just going to talk to her.” They skirted the park, where Mitzi Hawbaker had her youngest on the swing and Mr. Finch walked his Yorkies. “The Ladies Club put in some real nice flowers this year.”
    Bud looked down at the petunias. He knew Cam was trying to make an uncomfortable situation easier. But it wasn't working. “Sarah's just mixed up. She never got anything she wanted. Guys were always after her, and they weren't much good.” He looked at Cam, looked away, and cleared his throat.
    “It was a long time ago, Bud. And I wasn't much good.”
    They got to Clyde's and walked around the back.
    “Her car's not here.”
    “I can see that,” Cam murmured. “We'll see what time her shift starts.” Cam banged on the rear door of the bar.
    “Goddamn it, we're closed. Ain't opening till five.”
    “It's Rafferty”
    “I don't care if it's Christ Almighty wanting a Budweiser, we're closed.”
    “I don't want a drink, Clyde. I'm looking for Sarah.”
    “You and half the men in town.” Clyde pushed open the door and scowled. From his tiny boxlike office came the theme music for a long-running soap opera. “Can't a man sit for five minutes in peace?”
    “What time will Sarah be in tonight?”
    “That worthless—” He caught himself because he had affection for Bud. “Supposed to be in at four-thirty Just like she was supposed to be in at four-thirty yesterday and the day before. She ain't deigned to show up this week.”
    “She hasn't come in to work?”
    “No, she hasn't come in to work. Didn't I just say? She hasn't shown her butt around here since Saturday night.” He stuck out a finger at Bud. “You see her, you tell her she's fired. I got the Jenkins girl working her shift now.”
    “Has she been upstairs?” Cam asked.
    “How the hell do I know? I'm one of the few men in town that don't climb those steps.” He looked away, sorry to see Bud's face. But, damn it, they'd interrupted his favorite show.
    “Do you mind if we look around upstairs?”
    “Nothing to me. You're the law, and he's her brother.”
    “How about a key, Clyde?”
    “Jesus H. Christ.” He swung away and rattled through a drawer. “You tell her if she don't come up with this month's rent by the end of the week, she's out. I ain't running no halfway house.” He thrust the key into Cam's hand and slammed the door.
    “That's why I love him,” Cam said. “For his cheery smile and sparkling personality.”
    “It's not like Sarah to miss work,” Bud said as they climbed the stairs. “She's been wanting to save up and move to the city.”
    “She's been fighting with your mother,” Cam pointedout. “Maybe she decided to take a few days to cool off.” He knocked first, waited, then slipped the key into the lock.
    The single room was almost empty. The rug was in place, a braided oval, ragged around the edges. The pull-out bed was unmade, the red polyester satin sheets rumpled. There was a lamp, a dresser with a missing drawer, and a rickety vanity. Dust had settled, and Cam could see the lighter spots where bottles and jars had sat on the vanity top. He opened the closet and found it empty.
    “Looks like she cleared out.”
    “She wouldn't just leave. I know she's been pissed at Mom, but she'd've told me.”
    Cam opened a drawer. “Her clothes are gone.”
    “Yeah, but …”