“Dear Lord.” Pappy Darcy’s eyes grew moist. “Who she’d sleep with so she could get a baby. Linda didn’t want to do it. But Luke…like I said, mister, he’d changed. And my wife seemed to go deeper and deeper into her spells. They made her do it. Said she’d never be happy until she had her baby. Then Granny started tellin’ her how much money we spent on her baby-makin’, makin’ her feel all guilty.” He locked eyes with Decker. “But it was wrong!”

Hollander asked, “What’d they do specifically, Pappy?”

“Luke and Granny,” Pappy Darcy said, “the two of them picked out men for Linda—men with lots of kids. If Linda would argue, my wife would bring up the affair with Byron, then the money again. Tell her she was lucky that she had Luke altogether.” The old man wiped sweat from his forehead. “He’d question her afterward. All the dirty details, and she didn’t want to talk about them. But he told her that she was his wife and he had to know. It was bad…mean-spirited.”

“He pimped her,” Hollander said.

Pappy D screwed up his face. “No, sir, no, no, no!” he exclaimed. “He didn’t sell her, just…just told her who to sleep with to get a baby.”

Decker tried to keep his face flat. But inwardly he wanted to take a shower. Luke degrading his wife, outwardly acting altruistic, inwardly gloating at his revenge on Linda for her affair with Byron. The whole thing was so smarmy. He said, “They were all chosen by Luke?”

“Luke and my wife,” Pappy D said. “Like I said, this baby thing was making everyone crazy.”

“Sue Beth know about this?” Decker said.

“No, sir.”

“And Carla?”

“Carla…” The old man shook his head. “Poor dear daughter Carly.” He stifled a deep sob. “She got real mad at Linda when she found out that Linda was steppin’ out on Luke. Linda…she never told her the truth. Carly wouldn’t have believed it anyway. Up until that time, Carly and Linda was drinkin’ buddies. A little rowdy but harmless. But after Linda’s affairs…Carly, she started gettin’ real wild.”

“And your wife permitted it?” Hollander said.

“She blamed it all on Linda.”

“What happened after Katie was born?” Decker said. “Did they ease up on Linda?”

“No, sir,” Pappy said. “They had a man waiting for her three months later. Linda wanted more time, but my wife…she said it had took her a long time to get pregnant with Katie. Gotta start right away for number two. Luke wanted five kids. That’s what Granny told Linda, Luke wanted five kids, and Linda wasn’t gettin’ any younger.”

Decker saw Hollander grimace. A moment later, Granny Darcy shuffled out, chin to her chest, hands rigidly at her side.

“Can I come out now?” she asked.

“No, ma’am,” Pappy Darcy said.

“Please, Pappy,” she pleaded.