“Like I told you before,” said Pine. “The things in there caught fire again. Laredo here was stamping them out.”
“Oh, okay, thanks there, pardner.”
“You’re welcome.” Laredo whipped out his phone. “Hey, let me take a picture of you two together, to make sure I have everything adjusted right.”
He snapped a picture of Tanner and Pine and then they headed inside, with Tanner leading the way. Pine handed off the pullover to Wallis, who stuck it under his trench coat.
They wandered around inside, and Laredo took pictures along the way with his phone.
“You make any headway on the bastard that killed all them people?” asked Tanner as they trooped back down from the upstairs.
“Working on it. We identified the boy. Went to talk to his foster parents.”
“I’ll bet they’re all broke up.”
Pine shot Laredo a glance. “Someone might have seen the guy.”
“Really? Who?” blurted out Tanner.
“A witness in Columbus who saw the guy with the little boy we found dead.”
“Well, hell, that’s great. You could nail the sucker then.”
“We’re going to try. You heading over to see Jenny now?”
“Yeah, just gonna clean up some. Look, I made her this. What do you think?”
He lifted a doll off the giant bean bag chair and handed it to Pine.
She looked at it. “You made this? From what?”
“Scraps I found here and there.”
“It’s really good, Cy.”
“Hope she likes it.”
“Yeah, I’m sure she will.” Pine handed it back and he replaced it on the bean bag chair. “We’ll wait for you, how about that? And then head over with you.”
“Okay, be down in a jiffy. Can’t take no regular shower or anything. Just gonna wash off in the sink.”
“Why not?”
“No hot water.”
He headed up the stairs.
Pine looked at Laredo and Wallis. “Well?”
In a low voice Wallis said, “If he is the killer, he’s the coolest cucumber I’ve ever met. I mean, he kills three people and he’s making his granddaughter a doll? For Chrissakes.”
She looked at Laredo. “And you?”
“Jury’s still out. We need to show this photo to the girl.”
“Agreed. But until we get a positive ID, we don’t let him out of our sight.”
Chapter 57
THE QUARLESES WERE a very nice family. That was Pine’s initial impression.
Their house was big and sprawling and old and rickety with lots of yard to run in and lots of kids with whom to run. There were also two floppy-eared dogs, three cats—at least those were the ones Pine could see—a pig named Oinks, and a parakeet in a cage in the front room.
Ted Quarles and his wife, Emma, had greeted them at the door and invited them in. Pine had seen her rental in the driveway and knew that meant Blum was also here. Tanner had ridden over with them in Wallis’s Crown Vic, at Pine’s suggestion.
When Tanner got down on his knees and gave Jenny the doll he’d made, Pine was watching Blum. The older woman looked like she might cry. That was when Pine sidled over to her and started whispering in her ear, telling Blum the eyewitness account and what they had found at Tanner’s.
To her credit, Blum’s features barely changed. She glanced at Pine and then over at Laredo, and then her gaze returned to Tanner, to whom Jenny was now giving a hug.
“Do you mind if I try something?” Blum asked Pine.
“Like what?”
“Do you trust me?”
“Yes.”
“Okay.”
After some chitchat and Jenny running off to show the other kids her doll, Blum walked over to Tanner, who had accepted a glass of lemonade from Emma Quarles.
“Jenny seems really happy,” Blum said to him.
He nodded though he looked a little sad. “Thing is, I’m her grandpop, I should be able to look after my family.”
“It’s not like you won’t see her, Cy. You can come by here as often as you want. I’m sure the Quarleses won’t mind.”
“Yeah, I guess. But I want to pay ’em. Or at least fix up some stuff for them as barter. I don’t want no handout.”
“I’m sure that can be arranged.”
“Well, okay, then,” he said awkwardly.
“But it’s a good thing you do have them looking after Jenny.”
“What do you mean?”
“I would imagine you’ll want to visit your daughter in rehab.”
“Oh, yeah, I do. I plan on going next week, in fact. I want to let Linda get settled in and all. She’s gonna be there about two months. That’s what the boyfriend said.”
“You going to drive your truck over?”
“Well, yeah, I can’t walk to Tuscaloosa. It’s not the most reliable thing, but it’s all I got.”