Divine Evil

there.”
    “Oh, God.”
    “He found drugs, too. And his mother told him she'd burned a black cloak, black candles, several pornographic magazines with a Satanic bent. There's no doubt that Biff was involved with some kind of cult. And it takes more than one person to make a cult.”
    “Dad's dead,” she said again. “And when he was alive, he could barely tolerate Biff Stokey You can't honestly believe that our father would have had anything to do with kidnapping young girls.”
    “I wouldn't have believed he'd do anything illegal, either, but I was wrong. We have to face it, Clare. And we have to deal with it.”
    “Don't tell me what I have to deal with.” She turned away.
    “If you don't go to Cam with this, I will.” She shut her eyes tight. “He was your father, too.” “And I loved him as much as you did.” He grabbed her and spun her around. “Damn it, Clare, do you think any of this is easy to take? I hate thinking there's a chance, even a shadow of a chance, that he might have been involved with something like this. But we have to deal with it now. We can't go back and make everything all right. But maybe, just maybe, if we figure it all out, it'll make a difference.”
    “All right.” She covered her face with her hands. When she dropped them, her eyes were cool and dry. “All right. But I'll go to Cam.”
    “I figure she just lit out.” Mick Morgan sipped coffee and nodded at Cam. “You know how she was. Sarah'd get a bug up her butt and do most anything.”
    “Maybe.” Cam kept typing the report. “Seems odd she'd have left the money behind, though. From what her mother told me, she and Sarah had been fighting about Sarah's little sideline. Sarah told her she wasn't going to be making money that way much longer. Claimed she had some deal in the works that was going to set her up.”
    “Could be just talk,” Mick mused. He didn't like the way Cam was latching on to this. He hadn't figured anyone would think twice about Sarah Hewitt leaving town. “Or could be she'd hooked up with something, and that's why she took off. Odds are she'll cruise back into town in a few days.” He set the mug down and sighed. “Women are a mystery to me, Cam, and that's a fact. My wife took off to her mother's for a solid week once ′cause I bitched about her meatloaf. There's no figuring them.”
    “I'll go along with that.” He pulled the sheet out of thetypewriter. “But I feel better having the APB out on her. Bud's pretty shook. I might need you to fill in some for the next couple of days.”
    “Sure thing. He's a good kid, Bud is. Never could figure how come his sister never straightened out. Want me to take Bud's route?”
    “Appreciate it. He's staying with his mom. Finish your coffee, though. There's time.”
    “Don't mind if I do.” The chair creaked as he leaned back. “Sure was funny, you finding all that stuff out to the farm. Biff Stokey'd be the last person I'd figure for drugs. Liked his beer, all right, but can't see him sniffing powder up his nose.”
    “Makes me wonder how well we know anyone. You played poker with him, didn't you?”
    “Oh, now and again.” Mick smiled reminiscently “We'd get a group together and get drunk, eat salami sandwiches, and play a quarter limit. Not strictly legal if it comes to it, but nobody squawks about the bingo over at the Catholic church or the tip jars at the firehall on Las Vegas night.”
    “Drugs?”
    The casual question had Mick's brows lifting. “Come on, Cam. You don't think any of those boys would have done that shit around me? Hell, I can't see Roody lighting up a joint. Can you?”
    The image had Cam grinning. “No. Fact is, it's hard to see drugs and murder around here. But we've got both.”
    “I'd say they're tied in. Looks to me like Biff got in over his head and some dealer from the city whiffed him.”
    Cam gave a noncommittal grunt. “I found out something else odd today. Parker and his wife are dead.”
    “Sheriff Parker?” Mick sat up straight. His insides began to tremble. “Jesus, Cam. How'd that happen?”
    “House fire. They were living on a lake in Florida.”
    “Lauderdale.”
    “No.” Cam steepled his hands. “They moved from Lauderdale. In fact, they moved quite a bit last year. Zigzagging around the state.”
    “Itchy feet.”
    “Itchy something. I'm waiting for the police and fire department reports.”
    Mick was seeing Parker where Cam sat now, his belly over his belt, and had to bring