Holly nodded. She nibbled at her cuticles a bit, not meeting Quinn’s eye when he asked if she’d like a little coffee. Only muttering, “Yes, sir.”

Quinn stood up from the table and walked around to the community coffee pot that Cleotha had stoked a few hours back. Some good strong stuff made from beans they roasted up in Oxford. He poured out two cups and brought some creamer and sugar to the center of the table.

“Who was it got killed?” Holly asked.

“Some old trucker,” Quinn said. “There’s some video of TJ and Chastity coming and going from the restaurant at the gas station. It put them there right about the same time.”

“Why?”

“Local sheriff and the news call it a robbery gone bad.”

Holly chewed at her fingernails some more. She reached for the coffee and poured in three packs of sugar and some creamer. “And what do you call it?”

Quinn sat back down and took a sip of coffee. He thought about it a second and decided to level with the girl. “I don’t know,” he said. “I talked to the sheriff there. Doesn’t look good. Man was shot with a .38. Doesn’t TJ carry her daddy’s .38 on her?”

“Yes, sir,” Holly said. “I told you that. But TJ wouldn’t just walk up to some man and point a gun. That’s crazy. TJ is a lot of things, but I swear she’s not crazy, Sheriff. She’s scared. I’ve known her my whole life. Whatever happened, she’s got to be scared to death.”

“Will you try contacting her?” Quinn asked.

“My folks said to do anything you asked me,” she said. “Said that was the only way I might get my life on track. That and meeting up with Pastor Dale later tonight. He wants to have a sit-down with me in his office.”

“Sounds like a lot of fun.”

“My dad still won’t talk to me,” Holly said. “Phil Jr. already said I was fired at the Captain’s Table. But sent along his thoughts and prayers. How’s that for local support?”

“They’ll get over it,” Quinn said. “I understood y’all were scared. And TJ probably pushed you a bit. She can be persuasive as hell.”

“Whatever happened with that trucker, I know it was that Chastity Bloodgood,” Holly said, placing her hands around the warm mug but not taking a sip. “That girl is fast as hell. I believe she must have a lightning bolt down between her legs. The kind of girl that finds trouble wherever she goes.”

“You think TJ follows her lead?”

Holly thought on it a second. “I sure hope not,” Holly said. “I just pray to God that TJ and John Wesley get free of that girl. I know one thing. They sure as hell can’t trust her.”

*   *   *