“She spent hours over the mountain doing Lord knows what. And she liked to hang around the Heaven. Go out there in the afternoons with her sister-in-law, Carla, and drink with the boys. Innocent, I’m sure, but it didn’t look nice.”

Decker recalled the biker bar. His eyebrows raised a notch.

Annette caught the gesture. Quickly, she said, “I know it doesn’t seem right for Linda to be goin’ there to drink. But you gotta realize, sir, that it’s the only show in town. Heck, the Heaven’s not really a bad place, as long as you’re not a nigger. They’re not evil boys—a little rowdy, sure—but they leave us alone, and nobody messes with them or us because of it. For us, the place ain’t more than a beer and pizza joint. Jeff’s addicted to their pizzas. Buys the big ones, eats half of it, and throws the rest away. I keep telling him to buy the medium ones, but men don’t listen to their wives much.”

“Jeff is your husband?” Decker asked.

“Yeah. Darl and I are sisters-in-law.”

Decker smoothed the corners of his mustache. He said, “You’re much younger than Darlene.”

“Twenty years younger. Darl’s been like a mother to me. A good mother.” Annette flicked hair off her face. “Byron’s from Pappy H’s first marriage. His mom died when he was fifteen. Jeffrey, my husband, is from Pappy H’s second marriage. Jeff has a sister, also. She lives in Pomona, married to a real nice guy. They breed Dobies.”

“Where’s Jeff now?” Decker asked.

“With Pappy and Granny H, and Byron’s oldest sons, at a meeting—Western Beekeepers Association. They’re gathering down in Fall Springs this year. Byron offered to watch the farm so they could all leave. I couldn’t go with Jeff ’cause I couldn’t leave Darl with all the jarring and baking and cooking. Not to mention the kids. There’s eight between us. Three of mine, five of hers.”

“Lots of kids.”

“Well, it ain’t that bad ’cause Darl’s first two boys are big—twenty-one and nineteen. They eat like hogs. Golly, it seems that somebody’s mouth is always chewing something.”

“How old are your kids?” Decker asked.

“Nine, eight, and six. Two boys and a girl. Darl’s kids help me a lot with them.”

“Do Linda and Luke have lots of kids?”

“Just the one little girl. Guess she’s ’bout two.”

“Linda was thirty-eight when she gave birth,” Decker remarked. “A little on the old side.”

Annette’s voice dropped to a whisper. “I think they had some problems. That might be one of the reasons that Linda was so wild before the kid. But a big belly slowed her down some.”

Decker calmly took out the photo of Baby Sally and laid it on the table. He asked, “Is this Linda Darcy’s little girl?”