“Brink came to town to see you. He tried to bribe you. Your lawsuit is at the center of all of this.”

“Maybe. But I’m not the Ursulina.”

“Where were you on Friday night? And on Saturday night?”

“Home with Henry.”

“You’re not exactly known to stay in on weekend nights. Why didn’t you go out?”

“I wasn’t feeling well. Stomach flu.”

“So you have no alibi,” Darrell concluded.

“I guess not.”

“As I recall, your alibi was soft for Brink’s murder, too.”

Norm stood up and put himself between Darrell and Sandra. “I think we’re done for now, Darrell. Sandra has to get back to work, and wild speculation isn’t going to get us anywhere.”

Sandra walked away to the trailer door, but I called after her. “Hey, Sandra? One more thing.”

Norm tried to shut me down, but Sandra waved at him to say it was okay. “What is it?”

“You turned down the bribe and told Brink to shove it. Then what?”

“I left.”

“No, I mean what did Brink say when you turned him down?”

Sandra scratched her cheek with black fingernails as she tried to remember. “He was pissed. Brink was a bully, you know that. He was the kind of guy who was used to getting what he wanted, and he thought he could intimidate me. He told me if I was holding out for more money, there wasn’t going to be any. And he said if I didn’t take the offer and quit the mine, I’d regret it.”

Chapter Thirty

Chapter Thirty

The labor pains came back while we were driving to the Fair Day resort. This time, Darrell heard me inhale with a sharp breath and noticed my fists clenching and my whole body squirming in the passenger seat. He was immediately concerned.

“Are you okay?”

“Not really.”

“Do you need to go to the hospital?”

“Last time the pains went away after a few minutes. Let’s wait and see.”

“I’d rather not have to deliver your baby, Rebecca.”

“That makes two of us,” I replied.

He pulled onto the shoulder of the highway and studied my face, which was taut with discomfort.

“Is this too much for you?” Darrell asked. “If being part of this investigation is putting you at any risk, I’ll drive you back home right now.”

“No, I want to be part of it. Really.”

I breathed steadily and tried to clear my head, which wasn’t easy. Fortunately, the pain settled down in a few minutes, as it had before, and my body relaxed. Even so, I knew you were coming, Shelby. You were getting ready to be part of this world. The clock was ticking, and I didn’t have much time to get answers to all my questions.

“I’m okay now,” I said, and I motioned to Darrell to keep driving. He looked relieved.