One Foot in the Grave - Denise Grover Swank Page 0,22

back, and if Max had received a call from him, he hadn’t said a word. Nor had I seen him on the phone all night.

Once Molly was done counting her money, I sent her on home. Ruth had left too, and I went to look for Max and Marco in the office.

“Have you heard anything from Wyatt?” I blurted out.

A dark look filled Max’s eyes. “No.”

I ran my hand over my head in frustration. “Can we call the sheriff’s office and find out?” Then I glanced at Marco and realized I already had a source. “What am I thinkin’? Marco, can you find out?”

“No. I’m tryin’ to look impartial to all of this.”

I could see what he meant. He was Max Drummond’s close friend, and they had to worry about Marco being partial. Hadn’t Wyatt warned me about that very thing? “Do you know when we’ll find out?”

“No,” Max said with a sigh.

I turned back to Marco. “Do you think the construction site will open back up at some point tomorrow?”

“I’m not sure. I do know they’ve been lookin’ for more bodies, but so far they’ve only found the one. It might take another day or it might take a week.”

I nodded. “Yeah. Okay.”

“Carly,” Max said with a sympathetic smile. “You’re beat. Go on home and get some rest. I’m sure Wyatt’s fine, so stop worryin’ and try to enjoy your afternoon off.”

“Yeah,” I said, then headed out the back door. Easier said than done.

Marco got up and followed me out the back door, seemingly lost in thought as he walked me to my car. When I opened the car door, he lightly touched my arm. “Are you okay?”

I blinked at him in surprise. “Yeah. Why are you asking?”

“You just seem worried about Wyatt.”

I stared at him in confusion, unsure where he was going with this. “Well, yeah, I’m sure Max is too.”

“Max is his brother.”

My eyes narrowed. “What aren’t you saying, Marco?”

He shook his head and glanced away. I gave him a moment, surprised to see him like this. Then again, someone we knew had been brought in for questioning after a pile of human bones had been found. The situation was serious, and his mood was warranted. He pulled me in for a hug, and I hugged him back, slightly confused when the embrace lasted longer than usual. When he released me, he gave me a soft smile. “I’m gonna follow you home.”

“That’s not necessary,” I said, still confused. “Blake and his friend never showed up. I don’t expect any trouble from either one of them.”

“There are bigger worries afoot than two drunk men.” He pulled his key fob out of his jeans pocket and motioned for me to get in the car.

He followed me close all the way home, pulling up behind me and watching me get out of the car. I started to walk toward him, but he lifted his hand in a wave goodbye, then left me thinking about what he’d last said to me.

A chill of foreboding ran down my spine as I watched him drive away.

Chapter Seven

I woke up to someone knocking on my bedroom door. Hank rarely woke me in the morning, so it only took me a second or two to freak out.

Jumping out of bed, I ran to the door and flung it open, scared to death Ginger had found Hank hurt or unconscious from his diabetes. Instead, I found myself standing face-to-face with Wyatt.

“Sorry to wake you,” he said with a sheepish look.

“I told him to leave you alone!” Hank shouted from what I presumed was the front porch, his favorite spot to drink his morning coffee.

“You’re out,” I exclaimed, the previous night rushing back into my memory. Then I shook my head. “I mean, I was worried they were going to arrest you.”

“Not yet, anyway,” he said. His gaze lowered to my chest, then quickly jerked back up to my face, chagrin filling his eyes.

I was wearing a thin tank top and a pair of short pajama bottoms, so I hastily crossed my arms over my chest. “Did you come to see Hank?”

Wyatt had been a mentor of sorts to Hank’s grandson, Seth, and he and Hank had become close. Which was why Wyatt had initially mistrusted me when I’d moved in with Hank as his live-in helper. Now that Wyatt and I weren’t together, Hank would only let him come over while I was at work, which mostly turned out not to be a problem since I