“I’m just … you know … trying to figure out a few things. Did you happen to see anyone near Miss Brecht’s house during the night?”
Another pause. “Nossir.”
“Did you happen to see Miss Brecht last night?”
Totes continued brushing but didn’t answer. Decker didn’t know if he was thinking about the question or if he was just that dull. Dragging answers out of him was like wading through sludge.
“She don’t ride at night so I probably didn’t see her. I only see her when she rides.”
“Do you pick the vegetables for her spa?”
A pause. “Nossir.”
“Who does?”
“Who what?”
“Who picks the vegetables for her spa?”
“Someone from the spa.”
“Do you know a guy named Mike from the spa?”
“Don’t know him, nossir.”
Decker waited a beat. “Carl, do you ever see a guy named Mike from the spa picking vegetables for Miss Lilah?”
“I see him,” Totes said. “But I don’t know him.”
“But you know what he looks like.”
“’Course.”
“Was he here yesterday?”
“Nossir.”
“You’re sure.”
“Yessir.”
Decker sighed inwardly. “Carl, does Miss Brecht ever go running at night?”
“Don’t recall.”
“Maybe Miss Brecht went running last night,” Decker suggested. “You might have seen her?”
Totes turned slowly and faced Decker, a confused look on his face.
“Did you see Miss Brecht run last night, Carl?”
Totes shook his head.
“But she does run at night?”
Totes scratched his nose. “Don’t recall.”
Decker bit back frustration. “So nothing unusual happened last night?”
Totes nodded slowly.
“And you didn’t see Miss Brecht’s brother—Frederick Brecht—here last night.”
“Nossir.”
“What about Miss Brecht’s other brother—the one who had the fight with her about two years ago.”
Totes removed his hat. The empty expression in his eyes had been replaced by hot blue flames. “What about him?”
“He come around here a lot?”
“Not no more.”
“You chased him away last time he was here?”
“I did do it.”
“With a shovel.”
“I did do it.”
“Why?”
“’Cause he was yellin’ at Miz Lilah something fierce.”
“Did Miss Lilah ask for your help?”
Again, Totes seemed confused.
“Did she come running to you and say, ‘Carl, help me chase my brother away.’”
“Nossir.”
“But you figured she needed help so you chased him with the shovel.”
“I just didn’t like the way he was yellin’.”
“Was he swearing at Miss Lilah?”
“Swearin’?”
“Yeah, swearin’. Cussin’ at her.”
“He was yellin’. Maybe he was cussin’, too. But the yellin’ was ’nuf.”
“What were they yelling about?”
Totes spit. “None of my dang business.”
“I know you wouldn’t listen in on purpose, but maybe you overheard something?”
“None of my dang business.”
Decker shifted gears. “By the way, what’s Miss Lilah’s brother’s name?”
“Freddy.”
“No, Carl, the other one. The one she was yelling at.”
“He was yellin’.”
“Okay, the one who was yelling at her. What’s his name?”
Once again, the eyes became blank. “Name?”
“If you don’t know it, it’s okay,” Decker said. “I’ll get it from Miss Lilah.”
The eyes filled suddenly with water. “How’s Miz Lilah?”
Decker said, “I think she’ll be okay.”
“If King hurt her, I’m gonna kill him,” Totes announced.
Decker paused to write down Totes’s declaration in his notebook. “Who’s King, Carl?”
“King,” Totes said. “That’s Lilah’s brother. The one who was yellin’.”
Decker let that sink in. Had to go real slow with the guy. “Lilah’s other brother, the one who was yelling. Was his name King?”
“Yessir. I just remembered it.”
“Is King his first or his last name?”
Totes put his cowboy hat back on and shrugged ignorance. He said, “Are we almost done? All this talk is makin’ me addled. And when I’m addled, I can’t work.”
Decker stuffed the notepad back in his coat pocket. He patted Apollo’s butt and told the stable hand they were through.
4
The smell of food in the oven awakened Decker’s stomach. He placed the bags of bakery goods on his
