“That’s where you’re wrong, Mr. Police Chief. Amy and I had no secrets. We knew everything there was to know about each other. It’s his fault,” he said, jabbing out with his finger again. “I’m holding him responsible. Live with that, you son of a bitch!”

It looked to Boomer like Andy was going to run after Arnie to plead his case. Pete sensed it, too, and pushed him down into one of the uncomfortable chairs.

“Someone should have told him,” Jill said quietly.

“This isn’t the time. Maybe it will never be time,” Boomer said. He squatted in front of Andy, and said, “Andy, look at me. He’s out of his mind with grief. He’s looking into the future and not seeing Amy with him. He needs to blame someone. When tragedy happens, people tend to want to place blame. It’s their way of getting through a particularly bad time. That’s all he’s doing. It’s not your fault, Andy. Sad as it is to say, it’s Amy’s fault. You should be commended for trying to get her to do the right thing. It was her choice. Are you listening to me, Andy? Jesus Christ, how did we get to this place in time?”

“Yes, Boomer, I’m listening, and I understand everything you just said. I know Arnie is having a hard time of it. We got to this place because of our guilt. Amy’s going to pay with her life for our guilt.”

“Her guilt, Andy!” Pete said hoarsely. “She did it. Not you, not me, not Boomer. We lied, but that’s all we did.”

Jill reached for her husband’s hand. “They’re right, Andy. It’s just going to take some getting used to.” She looked at Pete and Boomer and smiled. “You two should leave. Andy and I will stay here. We appreciate your coming. If there’s…any change, I’ll call you.”

Pete handed over his cell phone. “If you need us, we’ll be here in a heartbeat.”

“In a heartbeat,” Boomer echoed Pete’s words.

Neither man spoke until they were outside.

“That was some heavy-duty guilt to throw at someone,” Pete said. “Lesser men than Andy Hollister would have caved under that onslaught. I think you got through to him, though.”

“I hope so. Do you think we should have called Cady?”

Pete shrugged. “Hell, I don’t know. Amy hated her, tried to kill her. I don’t think Cady is any too fond of her either. Would she come here? Probably. That’s the kind of person she is. Like Jill said, what the hell do we know about women.”

The hour-long drive back to Indigo Valley was made in total silence.

20

The bartender at the Drop Zone backed up a step when Cady breezed into his bar. He was wearing the same dirty apron and the same Harley Davidson tee shirt he’d been wearing the night before. The serpent on his burly arm was wiggling and slithering as he whipped his arms about, his eyes wary.

“I came to apologize and to give you this,” Cady said, sliding a hundred-dollar bill across the counter. “It’s for any inconvenience my friend and I might have caused you. I would appreciate it if you would drop the charges you filed against my friend and me. If you can’t see your way to doing that, I understand. Again, I’m sorry.”