this?”
“Of course. My attorney would be happy to provide that information—if you explain to me what this is about?”
Clint probably wouldn’t have started with that tact, but he had to admit, the direct approach had its merits.
“Mr. Meynard,” Jac said, “We need to speak with you regarding the day your family left Masterson County, Wyoming. Is there any place we can speak privately?”
“Of course. Let me check with Edie about the conference room. I’m not sure what kind of help I can be. I was so sick that day, I barely remember any of it. Just my mother in a panic and us packing.”
“We just need to go over the details. We’re hoping you can clear up some inconsistencies for us.” Her tone had turned soothing, as if she too heard how confused the younger man was.
Five minutes later, they were in a generic, cream-painted conference room.
Clint took the seat on Jac’s left. Across from Luke Meynard. Dr. Appell took a seat four chairs down. He’d noticed the brunette liked her space. Extremely so.
“Tell us about your grandmother, Luke. Do you remember the last time you saw her?”
To Clint’s surprise, Luke Meynard hung his head slightly. Clint tensed.
There was no way the guy was getting ready to confess. It just didn’t work that way.
Not in Clint’s experience, anyway.
39
Jac forced herself not to tense. Luke’s cheeks had turned red, and there was a clear look of shame on his face. Luke knew something.
She’d bet money on it.
“Luke, could you start at the beginning of that day for us?”
“What is this about? What is my grandmother saying happened? It’s been fourteen years ago. I’m not sure why she’d send the FBI after us.”
Well.
That wasn’t what she’d expected. She shot a look at Clint, seeing the same surprise in his eyes. Clint nodded. Jac took in a breath. “Luke…nine weeks ago, the body of your grandmother was found buried in the barn of your family’s ranch. She’d been there for fourteen years. We believe she was killed the day your family left town. We need your help to figure out what actually happened that day.”
Every bit of color leeched out of his quietly handsome face. “Did I…did I do it?”
Well.
Jac leaned closer. “I don’t know. Can you tell us what happened that day?”
“I didn’t mean to hit her that hard. And she was ok when Mom got home. I swear.”
“Luke, we need you to slow down. Can you start at the beginning?”
“How far back? When I told Grandma I was too sick to go to school or when I hit her in the kitchen?”
“Let’s start at the moment you got out of bed.” Because Jac was almost convinced of one thing. A twelve-year-old boy who’d weighed approximately eighty-five pounds and had been short for his age had not buried his grandmother alive. Unless he’d had help. “What time did you wake up that morning?”
“Late. I remember that I had to scramble to get up in case I missed the bus. Grandma was yelling. Standing at the foot of the bed, telling me how worthless I was.”
“Was this something she did a lot of?”
He hesitated, then nodded. “She didn’t much like me, or Honey. Barely tolerated Jenny. She despised Marcie. Well, Olivia and Kayla and Marnie, now. They’re also in the process of changing their names legally, with our new first names and Beise as our last name. We’re proud of our father’s name. Mom had no right to take it from us and lie about it. We’re using the same attorney.”
“How did she treat Monica and Lesley?”
“Diane and Les. He refused to change his name completely. Took Meynard as his last name, but still goes by Les. Tells everyone his name is Lester. Grandma adored him and Monica—now Diane.”
“Why?”
“Les was born when my mother was seventeen, and Monica when Mom was nineteen. Grandma wasn’t even forty yet. She wanted to take Monica and Lesley and adopt them, raise them with her third husband. My parents said no. Grandma threw that up at them all the time. Told them that if they had given her Monica and Lesley like she’d wanted, then she would have just given them the ranch as a trade. Said that every money problem they had was because they were selfish people who hadn’t deserved the precious babies she’d wanted.”
“And she didn’t want you and your younger sisters?”
“No. I was born while my parents were living with my dad’s great-uncle in Denver. We weren’t as important to our grandmother.”
“Luke, we’ve