A Cry in the Dark (Carly Moore #1) - Denise Grover Swank Page 0,118
grave. All the more reason to be open with Bingham, right?
But it felt so wrong.
“Carly,” Max said in surprise. “What are you doin’ here already? Your shift doesn’t start for a couple of hours.”
I took a look around the room and saw there were only two occupied tables—an older couple and a man who looked to be in his forties.
Ruth appeared at the entrance to the back. She paused when she saw me and hurried forward. “From the look on your face, you’ve heard the news.”
“What news?”
“Then you don’t know?”
“What happened?”
A peek at Max confirmed that he knew what she was talking about. He walked around to the front of the bar and shot a glance at the customers. “We should go in the back.”
“Is Hank okay?” I asked in a near panic. “Oh, my God. Is it Wyatt?”
Ruth’s nose scrunched with her confusion. “Wyatt?”
Max gently took my arm and guided me to the back, next to the food counter. “Detective Daniels was in here earlier, askin’ questions about what happened last night.” He paused and held my gaze. “Carly, Dwight Henderson was murdered.”
I felt myself start to sway.
Bingham had killed Dwight Henderson, and he’d bragged about it.
“Whoa there.” Max slipped an arm around my back to keep me upright.
“What happened?”
“Nobody seems to know,” Max said. “We only know they found his body by the dump outside of town.”
“Detective Daniels thinks I did it?” I whispered.
“He didn’t say that,” Ruth said reassuringly. “But he was askin’ a lot of questions about what happened here and what happened at the funeral home.”
“You didn’t see him last night after I dropped you off, did you?” Max asked. “He didn’t drop by and threaten you?”
I nearly laughed. “No. He didn’t.”
But Cecil Abrams had, and no matter how much we’d cleaned, it was inevitable we’d left some sort of DNA evidence behind.
Which Bingham was fully aware of.
He’d intentionally put me in a tight bind so he would have control of me.
“Who brought you into town?” Ruth asked with a frown.
I ran a hand over my hair. I needed to think. “Wyatt. He had to run down to Ewing, so he dropped me off at the library. That’s where I’ve been for the last hour or so.”
“What were you doin’ at the library?” Max asked as though it was the silliest thing he’d ever heard. “The waiting list for the computers is days long.”
“I was looking at diabetic cookbooks.”
“Why did you think something happened to Wyatt?” Ruth asked, hanging on to the Wyatt issue like a dog with a bone.
“Uh…” I couldn’t tell them Bingham had already run him off the road once. “Nothin’ feels safe right now, and the only other people I have a vested interest in are standing next to me.” I flashed a smile at Tiny through the pass-through above the food counter so he knew I was including him.
He smiled back. “Don’t worry, Little Bit. You’ll be okay.”
Was he referring to my situation with the sheriff or the overall danger? I hoped to God he was right. I could use a break.
“You’re shakin’ like a leaf,” Max said, worry in his voice. “Do you want to go rest in my apartment upstairs? You can watch TV or take a nap.”
“Actually,” I said. “I was going to go to Wyatt’s garage to use his computer.” Then, so he didn’t get suspicious, I added, “To look up more recipes. The library only had a few cookbooks and I suspect I’ll find some on Pinterest.”
“Just use the computer in my office,” Max said. “I’m not plannin’ on goin’ in there, and that way we know you’re safe. I don’t like the idea of you walkin’ down there by yourself.”
“Thanks,” I said gratefully, then gave him a hug. Truth be told, I didn’t like the thought either, and it seemed foolish to call Junior to have him escort me.
Max grinned. “The password to get into the computer is taped to the wall.”
“That doesn’t seem very safe,” I said.
Ruth snorted. “That’s what I’ve been tellin’ him.”
Max headed back to the dining room, but Ruth stayed and gave me a scrutinizing once-over. “You’ve got a thing for Wyatt Drummond.”
“Why do you say that?” I asked, but my cheeks flushed.
She pushed out a huge sigh. “Girl. That man doesn’t get attached to anyone or anything. You need to steer clear or you’re destined for heartache.”
That wasn’t true. Wyatt had gotten close to Seth, something she clearly knew given she was the one who’d told me. I was