Stealing Taffy (Bigler, North Carolina #3) - Susan Donovan Page 0,102
a tree, in plain sight yet far enough away from the commotion that they could talk without shouting.
“So you’re doing good, Miss Bisbee? You seem to be.”
“I am, Agent Cabrera.” She gave him a shy smile. “School’s good and Gladys is taking good care of me. Plus, hanging with Tanyalee is always a hoot, as you know.”
Dante chuckled.
“Look, I know I was kinda mean and snappy the day you rescued me. Sorry about that.”
Dante shook his head. “You had every right. I just wish I could have done something earlier to help you get out of that place, but I had to wait until we were ready to make arrests.”
“I understand. I watch a lot of TV.”
Dante nodded, keeping his amusement to himself.
“What do you want to ask me about?”
“The Spivey place.”
“What a hellhole.”
Dante readily agreed. “I kept an eye out for you the best I could. You were very smart, Fern, lying low and going up in that tree house when it got rough.”
Fern’s eyes widened. “You knew about the secret tree house?”
“Sure.”
“Wow. You’re good.” Fern adjusted her position on the bench and folded her hands in her lap.
“First, I want to say I’m sorry about your father. I know how painful it must have been to lose him.”
She pursed her lips and looked away. “I lost him a long time ago.”
As much as Dante wanted to take it easy on her, he only had a few minutes left. “I need to ask you a specific question about who you saw up at the Spivey compound.”
“Sure. So this isn’t about my dipshit cousin Gene Lewis Tillman? The one growing all that pot up on Possum Ridge?”
Dante had no reaction. “No, it’s about someone who might have been keeping an eye on the Spiveys, someone who came up to check on things. I’m looking for a particular man I think may have visited with Bobby Ray Spivey on occasion. Do you remember Bobby Ray?”
“Pfft.” Fern rolled her eyes. “How could I forget that psycho?” She frowned. “But aren’t all the bad guys from there either in jail or dead? I thought the whole thing was over.”
He nodded. “It is. I’m just trying to tie up the last loose end. I often heard the lab workers mention someone they called the ‘Fat Man.’ They made it sound like he’d been up there before, giving Bobby Ray a hard time. Did you ever see him?”
Fern cocked her head and paused a moment, thinking. “Gosh, no. I don’t think so. Was he real big and fat?”
Dante smiled. “Don’t know for sure. I’ve never met him.”
“Huh,” she said. “Because if he was a skinny guy, why would anybody go around calling him the ‘Fat Man’? Don’t make no sense to me.”
Dante remained quiet for a moment, hoping to draw her out a bit more. He wasn’t certain what Fern was up to. It felt as if she were trying to change the subject.
But it soon became clear she had nothing to add.
“So, Fern, did you see this man?”
She shook her head to the negative.
“Did you ever hear anyone talk about him? Your father, maybe?”
She shook her head again.
“If you did happen to see him, do you think you’d be able to describe him to a sketch artist, so we could have a picture of him?”
Fern grimaced. “Agent Cabrera. How could I tell a sketch artist how to draw a man I ain’t never seen?”
“Hmm.”
“Are we done?” Fern looked around, standing and waving when she saw Gladys poke her head out the front door of Gateway Lanes, obviously happy to bring their talk to an end. “There’s Gladys. I better go.”
“Fern.” Dante stood up as well. “Do you have any questions you’d like to ask me?”
She looked surprised, but took a moment to think. She began nodding emphatically. “Oh, yes I do.”
“Go ahead.”
“What did Tanyalee go and get herself mixed up in? Is she really a felon or was that lady some kind of wacko? Did Tanyalee ever serve time in prison? Because I’m havin’ a real hard time picturin’ that.”
“Ah.” Dante adjusted his stance and searched for the best way to handle this. “You will need to ask Tanyalee directly. I can’t speak for her.”
Fern held up her hands. “Hey, I was just tryin’ to get the actual facts ahead of time. She’s taking me for ice cream now so we can ‘talk,’ and I know she’s gonna offer me a load of nonsense.”