Damn, maybe he should call and apologize for his dog? No maybes about it. That’s exactly what he would do.

10

Amy Chambers watched as Boomer Ward drove his hunter green Range Rover out of the parking lot. “Did you hear that? Well, did you? Who does he think he is? Damn it, Andy, he was there. All of a sudden he’s off the hook like he wasn’t part of it. Do you believe him? Why aren’t you eating, Andy?” She bit into her taco, the filling dribbling down the front of her plus-size tee shirt.

“You really are a sloppy eater, you know that,” Andy said, disgust ringing in his voice. “As usual, you didn’t ask me if I wanted a taco, you assumed I did. You always assume, Amy. Once in a while I like to make my own decisions. He sounded to me like he was telling the truth. I don’t think the guy would take on the job as police chief unless he felt comfortable with what happened that day. Boomer never really did anything. He was just there. When I think back on it, he tried to look out for Cady in his own crazy way, the way we all did.”

“Cady, Cady, Cady! I’m sick of hearing how everyone wanted to watch over little Cady. If you tell me you felt that way, too, I’m gonna puke.” Amy squished up the paper from her taco and opened a second one. “If you aren’t going to eat yours, I’ll take it home for Arnie. What are you going to eat?”

“I’m meeting Jill later to discuss things. I’ll probably pick up a pizza or something.”

A chunk of cheese dropped to Amy’s ample bosom. She pierced it with her fingernail and popped it into her mouth. Andy looked away. “Did you really believe him, Andy?”

“I told you, he sounded like he was telling the truth. I always thought Pete was the one who called the police. But that doesn’t compute because he was with us all afternoon at the park. How could he have called?”

“I’ll tell you how,” Amy said, her mouth full. “He had that paper sack, and he said he had to take it home. Don’t you remember how secretive he acted about that sack? You asked him what was in it, and he told you to mind your own business. We waited for him to take it home and come back. He could very easily have called when he went home.”

“Then why didn’t he tell us he called? I never even gave it a thought, and I know you didn’t either. We were too damn scared that day to even think about making a phone call. Pete wasn’t that much smarter than we were. Boomer was three years older, so he had some brains. I think he did make the call. We were just damn lucky Cady didn’t die. God, do you have any idea how badly I wish this was all over? You aren’t helping matters any either, Amy. I think we should go to Cady and tell her what happened. I want to get it off my chest so I can breathe again. Jill is going to blackmail me into reconciling with her just the way you said she was going to do. One way or another, this is all going to come out. Let’s just do it and be done with it.”