Page 138 of Head Room

They’d felt bad he was missing out on being part of the group buying the land.

“I need to speak with the guys who thought something was off with Nance.”

He nodded slowly.“See the logic.But they don’t talk much.Especially to strangers.”

“A woman.”Zeke added the anti-cherry to a sundae nobody wanted.

“I’ll take my chances.”

“One chance.Maybe.”

Got it.It was make or break.

Victor turned toward the tree line.

Most of the shadows retreated.

One stepped forward, then sat on the ground.

Victor and Zeke headed toward him, with Shadow and me next.The two dogs were the rear guard.

First Zeke, then Victor peeled off to the side.

I kept going until I was directly in front of this third man sitting on the ground with his arms wrapped around his knees.

He looked up.Not at me, at Shadow.

I looked at Shadow, too.And waited.

Shadow put his chin on the man’s knee.The man rested his hand on the dog’s head.

Shadow’s eyes slowly closed.

I heard the man’s breathing slow, regulate.

Along with one chance, I might get only one question.Make it general and hope he ran with it?Not likely.Make it specific and hope he filled in around it?Even less likely?

“You’re one of the guys Sergeant Jardos said thought Nance wasn’t doing okay when he came back?He said you were right and he wasn’t,” I added, belatedly realizing my question might have sounded like criticism.

“Yeah.”Either he didn’t hear it as criticism or didn’t care.“Maybe they’re not as sharp about the signs as us that see it in ourselves.”

The back of my eyes prickled.My voice held steady.“What did you see?”

“When he came back and had his stake, he was twitchy.Said everything was okay.But if it was, not twitchy.”

That made sense.

“Said he’d get to the bottom of it.Over and over, said he’d get to the bottom of it.”

“Bottom of what?”

Head shakes from all three.

“Did he say anything else?Anything at all?”

Another round of head shakes from Victor and Zeke.

“Said he was going to the library and to see a woman,” the third man said.