Silent Killer Page 0,129
you.”
Cathy helped Ruth Ann get Missy situated in the front seat of her Volvo before turning to Cam Hendrix. “Do you think they believed her?”
“Yes, I think they believe she didn’t set her father on fire, but they also believe that she intentionally did nothing to help him and that she’s glad he’s dead.”
“Can they charge her with a crime?” Ruth Ann asked.
He patted Ruth Ann on the back. “They could, but I don’t think they will. It’s my job to make sure they don’t, so stop worrying. You just take good care of Missy and leave the rest to me.”
Heaving a sigh, Ruth Ann shook his hand and then got in the car and drove away.
Cam Hendrix turned to Cathy. “The Harpers are taking on quite a responsibility by bringing Missy into their home. She’s going to need a great deal of therapy as well as TLC. I’ve known cases like hers before, and sometimes these young girls never recover.”
“If anyone can help Missy, John Earl and Ruth Ann Harper can.”
“May I give you a lift somewhere, Ms. Cantrell?”
“No, thank you. I have my car.”
Jack came out of the building and stood there watching her with Missy’s lawyer. He called out to her, “Ready to go get that cup of coffee, honey?” He stressed the one-word endearment.
Cathy smiled. She knew what he was doing. He was warning off Cam Hendrix, letting him know that she wasn’t available. “Be there in a minute,” she told Jack.
“Boyfriend?” Cam asked.
“Yes.”
“Lucky man.”
“He thinks so.”
Cam laughed. “Smart man.”
As soon as Cam walked off, heading toward his Mercedes in the adjacent parking lot, Cathy turned toward Jack and smiled. He came up to her, looked past her into the parking lot and grunted.
“I don’t trust lawyers,” he said. “And smooth-talking, rich, handsome guys like that are bad news for lonely widows.”
Cathy laughed. “Then I’m safe from him. I’m not a lonely widow.”
Jack slid his arm around her waist and pulled her to his side. “You certainly aren’t, and I intend to make sure you stay that way.”
She looked up at him. “What did you need to see me about?”
He frowned. “Seth.”
“Seth?”
“He came to see me yesterday afternoon.”
“About you and me or about Missy?”
“About Missy. He’s got a crush on her, but I figure you already know that, don’t you?”
She nodded.
“He’s very worried about her, and he wanted to ask me to do whatever I could to help her. He knows I’m on the task force and thought I could use my influence with Mike and the others to get them to handle her with kid gloves.”
“Oh, Jack. I had no idea he’d come to you and ask you to intervene. I’m sure he wasn’t intentionally asking for any special favors for Missy.”
“Don’t worry about it, honey. Seth didn’t do anything wrong. I just wanted you to know how concerned he is about her. I realize you don’t need any advice about how to handle your son, but you might want to talk to him, help him work out the anger and frustration he’s feeling. He doesn’t understand how a father could abuse his own child the way Donnie Hovater did Missy. And I don’t think he’ll get any help on that front from his grandparents. I figure they’re the type of people who aren’t going to want to talk about it.”
“You’re right, they aren’t. But he and I talked yesterday, probably before he came to see you. I have to admit that I’m as dumbfounded as Seth is as to how a man who appeared to be a fine, upstanding preacher could be such a monster. Seth told me that he wanted to see Missy, and I told him that she wasn’t ready to see him, that it might be a while before she’d want to see any of her friends.”
“We had a man-to-man discussion,” Jack admitted. “He stayed at the house a couple of hours, and we talked about a lot of things. I hope you don’t mind. I don’t know how much I helped him, but I tried.”
“I don’t mind at all. Thank you.” She stood on tiptoe and kissed Jack’s cheek. “I think you could be a very positive influence on Seth. He needs a man to talk to, and I can’t think of anyone I’d rather have him go to for advice.”
“I’m not so sure how good an influence I’ll be, but I can give it my best shot. I think maybe Seth’s a lot smarter than I was at his