store, then rounded the corner and pulled up at the storefront for the mom-and-pop hardware store housed on the first floor of a crumbling Victorian building. Before he could get out, I said, “Come sit by me a second. I need to ask you something.”
Cooperatively—in his easy Scooter way—he climbed out and then back into the Jeep, settling into the passenger seat Leela had just vacated. I cut the engine and turned to face him, and he eyed me back warily.
“You remember when we painted the porch that day?” I began. “How you told me you were worried about Elias?”
He nodded.
“And it turned out you were right. And you came to me because you didn’t think the rest of the family was picking up on it.”
“I remember.”
“Well, now I’m coming to you. I’m worried about what’s going on with Cade. He promised me he wasn’t building bombs, and now he’s back in the shed again all the time. Just like after Elias died.”
He hesitated. “Did you look in the shed yourself?”
“He’s started using the padlock. I don’t know the code.”
Scooter shifted in the seat. He glanced back at TJ hammering against the seat back with the soles of his tiny sneakers. “He and Dodge have been talking a lot,” he said. “I think they’ve got something planned.”
His words should have come as no surprise, but I felt the squeeze in my chest even so. “Like what?”
“I don’t know. They talk about all kinds of things. Cade’s so pissed about Elias, and Dodge just feeds it and feeds it. I don’t even think Dodge feels that bad about what happened, truth be told. I think he just likes that he can puppet Cade by talking about it. But he still talks real big about how it was an injustice done to him and they need to settle the debt.”
“But what are they doing? What does that even mean?” I made a helpless sound, a humorless half laugh. “Should I grab my kid and run? Or what?”
He shrugged. “I couldn’t tell you. Olmsteads are never real clear on what they’re actually up to. Trust me, I hear stories from the Vogels.”
“Well, will you tell me if you do hear anything? Promise me you will.” He looked uneasy, and so I leaned in closer, dropped my voice. “I promise not to lay blame on you. And if you trusted me back then, I ought to be able to trust you now.”
He replied with a slow nod. Then he said, “If you need to get away from the house, go to the other Olmsteads. Randy and Lucia. You can trust them. They’re good people.”
I squinted at him in surprise. “How would you know?”
“They’re no strangers to me. I went to church with them growing up. I don’t see them too often now, but I know what kind of stock they are. They’re taking the blame for what the renters said to Dodge, and he’s spreading that around all over, and they don’t say a word in their own defense. It wasn’t them at all.”
“I know. Dodge is paranoid.”
“No, I mean, it was me. I got creeped out hearing all the remarks Dodge made about their daughter and I said something to them privately. I’m sure the other Olmsteads know it came from me, but they’re church people, they wouldn’t snitch on me about it. And of course Dodge thinks it’s Randy because he thinks everything’s Randy.” He cracked his knuckles one at a time, his gaze focused past my shoulder at the town scene around us. “The only reason I can trust you with all that is I’ve seen you can keep a secret. You’ve got integrity. I’m counting on you, same as you are on me.”
“What secret?”
“About Elias. That he didn’t love you like a sister-in-law. That time we were all working at the house, painting and whatnot, the way he looked at you.” I opened my mouth to protest, but Scooter shook his head. “A person would have had to’ve been an idiot not to see it. He took it to his grave, and you never stirred up contention over it. It was smart you kept that quiet. Candy didn’t like people who interfered with her brother too much.”
My voice seemed caught in the trap of his accusation. I looked away, and into the awkward silence he said, “Well, I’m going to go buy a hammer. You can pick Leela up and then swing back around to get me.”