Page 39 of The Summer Guests

“What went wrong in Boston? Obviously, something did go wrong. Did you get yourself in some kind of trouble? Maybe got a little fresh with a coed or two?”

“We don’t call them ‘coeds’ anymore. It’s sexist.”

“Oh, excuse me. Let me rephrase. Did you get caught with some juicy female student?”

“Now you’re just making up crap. You people dragged me off my property, in full view of my granddaughter. I want to know why.”

“We told you why,” said Alfond. “The crime lab found blood on the passenger seat of your truck.”

“That’s no surprise. I have a farm. Sometimes we sell lamb or goat meat, and I haul it home from the slaughterhouse. That’s probably why there’s blood on the seat.”

“This particular blood is human. And it just happens to be the same blood type as Zoe Conover’s.”

Luther froze. He looked at Jo. “That’s a lie, isn’t it?”

“I’m afraid not,” Jo said. “The blood matches Zoe’s.”

“No.” Luther pushed away from the table. “That can’t be right. Itoldyou, I dropped her off at the boat ramp!”

“Around noon, you said,” said Alfond.

“Yes.”

“And then what happened?”

“She walked away. She was perfectly fine.”

“I’m talking aboutyou, Mr. Yount. What didyoudo next?”

Luther looked down at his hands, which were clenched even more tightly on the table. Those few seconds of silence caught Jo’s attention, and she leaned in. Just the fact he had to think before speaking was a red flag.

“I had errands to run,” he said. “I already told Chief Thibodeau about it.”

“Where were these errands?” said Alfond.

“Augusta.”

“And what did you do in Augusta?”

“I checked out some tractor parts. Picked up fresh straw, for animal bedding.”

“You drive all the way to Augusta for that? It’s an hour-and-a-half drive.”

“I know the store.”

“And then?”

“I got home that evening around seven, seven thirty. My granddaughter can tell you what time exactly. We made pork chops for dinner. Mashed potatoes, applesauce—”

“I don’t care what you had for dinner. I want to know what you did with Zoe Conover.”

“I dropped her off at the boat ramp.”

“Or did you take her elsewhere? Maybe took her on a drive out of town?”

“I went to Augusta.”

“Found a convenient turnoff to some quiet spot in the woods, someplace you wouldn’t be seen or heard? A lot of spots like that around here. A lot of places to take advantage of a girl. She was only a hundred and five pounds. Wouldn’t take much of a struggle to make her do what you want.”