“That was me.” His laugh is dark and unhappy. “We did our share of drinking, but Leroy never got into anything else. Didn’t even smoke weed.”

“Was he seeing anyone? A woman?”

His brows knit. “We’d pick up chicks occasionally. Take them out to that old covered bridge and … you know.” He shoves his hands into his pockets. “Damn, it’s hard to remember. We was so young.”

“You want to keep your hands where we can see them?” Glock says from behind me.

Underwood scowls at him but pulls out his hands, flashes his palms at us. “For fuck sake,” he mutters.

“Clarence, relax,” I say, putting a warning in my voice. “Just a few more questions, okay?”

“Whatever.” He leans against the house, crossing his arms in front of him.

“So, was Leroy seeing a girl?” I ask again.

“I can’t say for sure. He might’ve mentioned having a date once or twice. One thing I do remember is the last couple of months before he disappeared, he stopped going out to the bridge with me. He cut back on his drinking. It was like he found religion or something.”

“Do you think he was seeing a girl?”

“Maybe. And not the kind of girls we took to the bridge, if you know what I mean. Someone he respected.”

“Did he ever talk about her? Mention her by name?”

“Nope.”

I nod. “All right.” I offer a handshake. “Thank you.”

He looks down at my hand as if I’ve just passed him a hundred-dollar bill and his hand isn’t quite clean enough to snatch it up. “Yeah. Sure.”

“Do me a favor, Clarence, and behave yourself, will you?” I ask.

His grin reveals a missing eyetooth and a lower one that’s been capped in gold. “I’ll do my best, but I ain’t making any promises.”

Back on the street, Glock and I are standing between our vehicles, watching the group of boys play Horse. “You think Underwood was involved in Nolt’s disappearance?” he asks.

“I think he was up to no good for a lot of years,” I reply. “But I don’t think he knows what happened to Nolt.”

“Do you have any idea who Nolt was seeing?”

I shake my head. “No, but I’m starting to get curious. Nolt’s parents mentioned some mystery woman, too, but no one seems to know who she is.”

“Married?”

“Maybe. I don’t know. I sure would like to find her, though. I bet she could fill in some of the blanks.” I pause. “Thanks for backing me up. You heading to lunch?”

He gives the group of boys a contemplative look. “I think I might shoot some baskets for lunch.”

I want to hug him, but since anything so personal would be the epitome of unprofessional for a chief, I grin. “Have fun,” I tell him, and start toward my vehicle.

*   *   *