Page 121 of In Cold Blood

“And you are?”

“Oh. I’m sorry, Noah Sutherland. Bureau of Investigation.”

The old-timer squinted at his badge.

“That FBI?”

“No. State Police.”

The old-timer handed it back.

“She in trouble?”

“Not at all. I’m just following up on an investigation we’re conducting.”

The man sized him up.

“Who you talking to, Gerald?” a woman cried out. Noah couldn’t see her but her voice came from the house.

“Just a friend.”

“You lived here long?” Noah asked, surveying the man’s property. It was nice. Well kept. The kind of yard Hugh would have been proud to own. It was immaculate, full of rows of vibrant flowers in every color stretching as far as the eye could see. The lawn was a lush green carpet trimmed to perfection. A cluster of trees of all kinds stood tall and proud, their branches reaching skyward to touch the heavens. Noah imagined the man was out here daily, tending to roses, picking out unruly weeds that had escaped his eye.

“Forty years.” He coughed. “You won’t find her home. Her family is part of a local church in town. They have some summer fair or BBQ happening today. She invited us but I’m not the religious type. And if I want to eat, I’ll make my own here.”

“Fair enough. Did she say when it would end?”

He glanced at his wristwatch. “I’d expect her back in about an hour, maybe less.”

“Okay. I’ll wait for her.”

“That your Bronco?”

“It’s a rental.”

“I used to own one. Sturdy machines. Reliable. You’re welcome to come in if you like. Ella’s son was a police officer. She’ll make some tea, and talk your ear off. Save mine,” he said with a wry smile.

“Thank you. But I’m good.”

“Suit yourself.”

He ambled away. Noah returned to the Bronco and decided to take Axel to one of the local parks to give him some exercise. It would kill some time. He’d been cooped up in the SUV for the last two hours. He figured he’d swing back once Judy had returned.

The hour passed quickly.With Axel tuckered out, chewing on a bone in the back, he rolled into the driveway to the right of a gold Chrysler minivan. “I won’t be long, boy,” he said before bringing down the windows to let the cool afternoon air blow in.

The door to the house opened before he reached the porch.

“I’ve gotta go, I’ll be late,” a man said, shrugging into a blue windbreaker. He stopped abruptly. “Who are you?”

“Here to see Judy. Noah Sutherland.” He showed him his badge.

The man groaned. Noah heard him mutter, “Not again,” as he turned and went back to the door. “Hon. It’s a cop.”

A woman with light green eyes and ginger hair pinned up came to the door. She looked Noah up and down. “Yes?”

“I was hoping to get a moment of your time.”

“It’s about my sister, isn’t it?”