Daney said, “See what I mean, pickups are all over. I’m sure it’s no big deal.”

“Give it a shot, anyway, Mr. Daney. For Rand’s sake.”

Daney sighed. “Okay . . .” Another sigh. “Barnett Malley— Kristal Malley’s father drives a dark pickup. Or at least he used to.”

“Eight years ago?” said Milo.

“No, no, more recently. Two years ago. That’s when I ran into him at a True Value hardware store not far from here. I was buying parts to fix a garbage disposal and he was loading up on tools. I noticed him right away but he didn’t see me. I tried to avoid him but we encountered each other at the register. I let him go ahead of me, watched him leave and get into his truck. A black pickup.”

“You two talk?” said Milo.

“I wanted to,” said Daney. “Wanted to tell him I could never really understand his pain but that I’d prayed for his daughter. Wanted to let him know that just because I’d reached out to Troy and Rand didn’t mean I didn’t understand his tragedy. But he gave me a look that said ‘Don’t go there.’ ”

He hugged himself.

“Hostile,” I said.

“More than that, Doctor.”

“How much more?” said Milo.

“His eyes,” said Daney. “Pure hatred.”

* * *

We watched the white Jeep drive off.

Milo said, “Barnett Malley. It has now officially gotten messy. So how would an ambush fit the time frame— and the call to you an hour and a half after he left the Daneys’?”

“Rand could’ve lied to the Daneys about going to the construction site.”

“Why would he do that?”

“Because he had a meeting before the one with me and didn’t want them to know about it. With Barnett Malley.”

“Why would he do that?”

“I told you he sounded troubled. If guilt was weighing him down and he was trying to prove he was a good person, who better to ask for forgiveness than Malley?”

“Daney said he was freaked out by being watched.”

“But the next morning he looked better. Maybe he’d somehow made contact with Malley, decided to take positive action. State law requires notification of victims’ families when a felon’s released, so Malley would’ve known Rand was out. What if Malley kept an eye on Rand, confronted him face-to-face during Rand’s first trip to the site at eight a.m.? They agreed to meet later and Rand invented the appointment with the construction supervisor as cover.”

“Not an ambush,” he said. “He gets in Malley’s truck voluntarily, then it goes bad.”

“Rand was impressionable, not very smart, eager for absolution. If Malley came across friendly— forgiving— Rand would’ve been eager to buy it.”