Dead to Rights

For years Joa

Closing her eyes, Joa

But what kinds of face amounts? Joa

And then Joa

Life-insurance proceeds plus sale of property equals cash equals motive for murder. That’s it, she thought. It has to be. Bucky Buckwalter was killed for the money. The question is, was it Terry, was it Peter Wilkes, or was it both of them acting together?

Shoving the gearshift into drive, Joa

And the cops are always it.

THIRTEEN

It wasn’t until Joa

Joa

Helen Barco’s right, Joa

Rumbling across the iron rails of the cattle guard, Joa

As soon as she stepped up to the building entrance, she heard the sound of raised voices. The front door had been propped open, most likely to allow for carrying things in and out. Even had the door been closed, Joa

“But what am I supposed to do?” Bebe Noonan was saying.

“Do!” Terry Buckwalter exploded. “Get rid of it and act like it never happened.”

“But it did. You don’t mean-”

“That’s exactly what I mean,” Terry shot back. “And if you don’t, you can’t expect me to be responsible. You’ve got no right. It isn’t mine, now is it! I made that decision a long time ago. If you had a brain in that head of yours, you’d do the same damned thing.”

“But I want it.” Bebe’s response was a wail of anguish. “I want it!”

“Have it then!” Terry stormed. “Keep the damned thing. Do whatever the hell you want. But don’t come crying to me for financial support, because I’m not paying. Do you understand me? Not one thin dime. Now get the hell out of here. Go on. Get! Before I do something we’ll both regret!”

Joa

Have it then, Terry had said. Keep the damned thing. Joa

Moving into the doorway, Joa

“Belle’s pregnant then?” Joa

Terry shrugged. “That’s what Bebe says. I’ve got no reason to call her a liar. She says she’s going to sue me for child support. Like hell she is. He wouldn’t let me have a why should she?”

The bitterness, anger, and betrayal in Terry Buckwalter’s voice were enough to take Joa

“When I got pregnant, Bucky told me that if I went through with having the baby, I’d be on my own,” Terry replied. “That raising it would be my responsibility, not his.”

“He couldn’t have done that.”

“Yes, he could, and he would have, too,” Terry said. “So I did what he wanted. I had an abortion.”

“You were already married?” Joa

“Yes.”

“And he still made you do that-abort the baby?”

“Yes.”

Behind the counter, Terry Buckwalter opened a desk drawer and began sorting through the items she found there-tossing some into a box and some into the trash while leaving the rest. For a space of almost half a minute, Joa

“That shocks you, doesn’t it,” Terry Buckwalter said quietly.

Across the distance of the counter, their eyes met briefly. In the space that followed, Joa

“I guess it does shock me,” Joa

“Husbands were like that?” Terry asked. “It depends on the raw material, doesn’t it,” she added with a derisive snort. ‘Some people marry Eagle Scouts. Others don’t.”

Sheriff Joa

“How long has Andy been gone?” Terry asked.

“A little over four months,” Joa

“I’m sorry,” Terry said. “Sorry for you. But you have to understand, my marriage has been over a lot longer than that. I did my grieving a long time ago.”

“You knew about them then?” Joa