Down Home and Deadly

behind them and pretend the accident never happened. Even J.D.’s own grandmother—God rest her soul— felt guilty the rest of her life.” She stood and grabbed another tissue. “Back then not talking about it was how people dealt with grief.” She wiped her eyes. “It was probably the wrong thing, but it was all we knew to do.”
    “What happened exactly?”
    She considered my question then pushed to her feet. “Honey, I’m just not willing to dredge up the past. We’re talking about wounds that are as old as you are. And any healing that has been done is tenuous, at best. Far be it from me to stir things up again.”
    I could tell I was being dismissed, so I reluctantly stood. Sure enough, she walked toward the front door , and I followed. “But now with J.D. murdered . . . ”
    She held open the front door and shook her head. “I refuse to think that anybody killed that boy because of what happened thirty years ago.”
    Out on the porch, I considered her parting statement. “I wish I could be so sure,” I murmured to myself as I walked slowly to my car. “I just wish I could be so sure.”

    Chapter Twelve

    Your chickens will come home to roost .

    “So basically , what you’re saying is that you want me to drive the getaway car?” Carly asked.
    I plopped down in the chair with my mail on my lap and started slitting envelopes. “That makes it sound like I’m doing something wrong. All I want to do is give Debbie’s phone back to her.”
    “And find out why she was meeting J.D. the night he died and why she didn’t come forward with that information.” Carly’s flippant tone came through my little phone loud and clear.
    Before I could answer, she continued, “Oh, and ask her why exactly she put the phone at the bottom of the trash.”
    “Basically,” I said in a small voice , looking at an invitation to Tiffany’s wedding shower at the country club .
    “Sure,” Carly said, apparently resigned to life with my avid curiosity. “I’ll pick you up in ten minutes.”
    “Thanks.”
    When she pulled up in front of my house fifteen minutes later, I was on the porch waiting. I ran out and jumped in the passenger seat. “You’re late.”
    “Beggars can’t be choosers.”
    “Hey!” I protested with a grin. “Just because I’m trying to do the smart thing and take someone with me when I go to confront a person who may or may not be a homicidal maniac . . . ”
    The word homicide reminded me of the disturbing news I’d learned from Marge earlier , and my grin faded. I quickly filled Carly in.
    She wiped at tears with one hand and drove with the other. “How awful for Harvey and Alice.”
    “I know,” I said quietly, handing her a tissue. “And I wonder how taking a life, whether accidentally or on purpose, affected J.D. It must have changed the course of his life.”
    “Yeah,” Carly agreed. “Especially if even his grandmother didn’t mention his name anymore.”
    “Ironic that he came back for her funeral and ended up getting killed, isn’t it?” I wondered again if trouble had followed him to our sleepy little town of Lake View. Or if it had been here waiting for him all along .
    *****
    I knocked on the door of Debbie’s tiny house and cast a glance over my shoulder to where Carly waited in her car with the engine running.
    When Debbie opened the door a crack, I shoved the cell phone toward her. “I accidentally got your phone again.”
    She recoiled and shook her head, still not opening the door all the way. “That’s not my phone.”
    “It’s the phone you had at the diner the other day.” I held it up again to show her. “Remember when we got our phones mixed up?”
    “That doesn’t belong to me.” She opened the door a little more. “I’m telling you, it isn’t mine.” Her voice rose.
    “I know why you don’t want to claim it. You might as well come out here so we can talk about it.” I really didn’t want her to invite me in. I was so jumpy these days, I was seeing a killer on every familiar face.
    She hesitated , and for a minute I thought she might slam the door shut and dead bolt herself inside. But slowly, she opened the door and stepped outside.
    Her hair was matted on one side and her face creased. I could tell she’d been sleeping , or more likely from the looks of her red eyes, lying in bed crying.
    Whatever the truth of the situation was, my heart ached for her. “You need to take this phone to John and explain where you got