Buried in Secrets (Carly Moore #4) - Denise Grover Swank Page 0,74
the table. “I heard what he said about Marco.” He waited until he had my attention. “While there’s some truth to what he said about his friendship with Max, he’s changed, Carly.”
I gave him a reassuring smile. “I know he has, in more ways than one. I trust him, Hank. With my life and my heart.” I released a small laugh. “I told him I love him.”
Hank grinned from ear to ear. “About damn time.”
I laughed again. “Yeah, he thought you’d have that reaction.”
“Don’t you let Wyatt give you doubts or make you feel guilty. I love that boy like a son, and I confess, at one time, I thought you’d be good for him, but I came to realize he wouldn’t be good for you. He’s got too much Drummond in him.”
“What’s that mean?”
“The Drummonds are born and bred to keep secrets. He can’t help hidin’ things, even things that don’t need to be hidden. And while I believe he broke ties with his daddy, seems to me he’s still up to something.”
That didn’t surprise me, but was it something that complemented my intentions or went against them? I had plenty of questions about Wyatt that he never seemed interested in answering. For all his pretty talk about the two of us, he’d never opened up to me.
“How do you feel about him workin’ on the roof?” he asked.
I gave him a reassuring smile. “If he can do a better job, then I’m all for it.”
“You don’t have to pay to fix my house, girlie.”
“I live here too, so it’s only right.”
“Did you make any progress on connectin’ Bart to the murder?”
“Maybe?” I drizzled the carrots with olive oil, then sprinkled them with salt and pepper and put the tray in the oven. Hank might currently be cut off from the world, but he knew about Drum and the people in it. His opinion could prove invaluable.
I sat down at the end of the table. “So far, Selena Martin has been my best source.”
Hank’s face paled. “The high school math teacher?”
“Yeah. She said she had Seth for two classes.”
He nodded. “The boy liked her.”
“She liked him too.” I hesitated, then said, “Pam Crimshaw’s son Ricky was supposedly Seth’s best friend.”
He rubbed his chin. “Yeah, I suppose he was.”
“But you didn’t mention it when I was talking about the Crimshaws yesterday.”
He was quiet for a moment. “Yeah, well, I guess it didn’t seem important.”
“I was trying to find out more about Pam, and you had information all along,” I said, a hint of accusation leaking into my tone.
“I don’t have much information on her. Nothing that will help you out.”
“Why don’t you let me be the judge of that?”
His gaze flicked to me, and I was fairly sure I saw a flash of pride. “I barely know the woman.”
“What do you know about her?”
“She’s a mousy thing. Scared of her own shadow but devoted to her kids. Seth didn’t like goin’ over to their house, but Ricky’s daddy didn’t approve of Ricky comin’ over here. She let him come anyway, but she always seemed scared of me whenever she brought him over.”
“Did you ever meet Rob, her husband?”
“No.”
I studied him closely. He’d expanded on every other answer…why not this one? The first rule of lying is to never share more than necessary. Was Hank lying to me? If Seth and Ricky had been as close as everyone said, what was the likelihood his path had never crossed with Rob?
“What do you think of Ricky?”
His lips quivered with a smile. “He’s a good kid. He was a good friend to Seth, especially after Barb died, but I hadn’t seen him for at least a month or two before Seth’s death.”
“When Seth started plotting with Bingham?” I asked.
“Probably.”
“Do you know anything about Ricky’s brother’s accident a little over a year ago?”
“Not much. Ricky’s sister took care of him while his brother was in the hospital, but I don’t know any details about the accident.”
“You don’t remember anything about the other driver?”
“I only know that Thad and his friend were in the hospital for several weeks.”
“The friend’s name is Spencer Gensler. Do you know anything about him?”
“Nothin’.”
“What about his family? His parents are Donald and Kay Gensler.”
He shook his head. “They’re probably from Ewing.”
I made a mental note to check. “Why’d you keep this from me, Hank?”
His eyes turned glassy. “It’s hard to think about anything to do with Seth.”
“Hank…” I reached out and took his hand. “I’m sorry.”