“Well,” he said, finally. “It’s all a fucking lie. Sheriff Beckett was two-time lawman of the year in the state of Mississippi. Never a more true or honest fella ever walked in Tibbehah County. That sack of shit Johnny Stagg did his dead-level fucking best to besmirch his name. And then his smartass nephew had to come back to town with head hanging low, like Hamp done something he shoulda been ashamed of. That man—listen to me now—never took a fucking bribe. He never stopped bird-dogging the bad guys. Hell, he was cut from the same cloth as Wyatt Earp and Matt Dillon. I can see him now, standing nearly six foot five, shoulders wide as an ax handle, and keeping that ole .44 on his hip. He was ready, ladies. Always cocked and ready.”

“Ready for what?” Tashi asked.

Royce reached down for the glass of whiskey and quickly drained it. He looked up with shiny eyes and smiled. “Go on, now, take a drink. I ain’t doing this shit alone. Y’all brought the whiskey. You want me to talk, then we’s gonna have a little party.”

Tashi took a deep breath and swallowed. “What do you know about Brandon Taylor?”

Royce widened his eyes and gestured around the room, offering his bounty of booze and cigarettes. Tashi ground her teeth and reached for the glass, looking to Jessica, who just stood by with the mic and shook her head. Jessica, unlike Tashi, had some limits. She looked like she wanted to body-slam the old man and get the hell out of there. The room smelling of kerosene and cigarette butts.

The dog moved over toward Royce and settled down by the chair, Royce lighting up another cigarette and pouring himself another drink.

“I was working for a pest service then,” he said. “I was doing exterminator work on all kind of critters. Damn fire ants to opossums and snakes. How’s the whiskey? Smooth? Ain’t it?”

Tashi hadn’t tried a drop. She nodded.

“When that boy got lost, Hamp called me in like he did from time to time,” he said. “I was kind of what you might call an honorary deputy at that point. I helped him with some interviews, checking on some things, walking them Big Woods for days trying to find out where the boy might’ve gone.”

“On the phone,” Tashi said, “you said you were there when they found the body.”

Royce tugged on the whiskey and looked her right in the eye. “Yes, ma’am,” he said. “Won’t forget that long as I live. Damn animals got to him. Coyotes. They was just moving into Tibbehah County back then. We ain’t never had no coyotes when I was a boy. What those creatures did to that kid? Lord. I just prayed his momma never saw him like that. But I guess y’all read all about that mess in the report.”