And There He Kept Her (Ben Packard #1)(41)

“Now she and those kids are reaping what they’ve sowed. My granddaughter is twenty-one and working as a part-time cashier because she never learned a thing in school and has absolutely zero skills. Were you here when she got the DWI?”

Packard shook his head. “Doesn’t ring a bell.”

“Pulled over with four other girls in the car. Blew .19. I think she was expecting to get off with a warning because her grandpa was the sheriff. She got the opposite. She got the full treatment. Still doesn’t have her license back because she violated the terms of her parole. I personally called the judge and told her to suspend it for six more months.”

Now he knew where Stan stood when it came to his grandkids breaking the law. “What about Sam? He been in any trouble?”

“Not that I’ve ever heard about. That boy is slick, like a politician. He’ll grab your hand and ask you how you’re doing but you can see in his eyes he doesn’t give a shit about the answer. He’s not even listening because he’s trying to figure out what you can do for him.”

“So it’s not out of the realm of possibility that he’s been dealing.”

Stan looked incredibly tired all of a sudden. He shifted in his recliner. Something was giving him pain.

“Hell, I don’t know. Anything is possible with that boy. His mother, too. If he came home and confessed he’d murdered a nun, his mom would ask him what the nun had done to provoke him. Then she’d try to sue the Catholic Church. That’s the mentality you’re dealing with in that bunch.”

“Is he still living at home?”

“No. He’s at the blue house that Dan’s folks owned. It’s out on County Road D and 105th. You can’t miss it.”

“I’m gonna drop in on him unannounced. I didn’t want you to be surprised if word about this gets out or his folks try to get in my way. If nothing else, he’s a known associate of Jesse Crawford. I’ve got one witness who’s seen them together in Sam’s car. It’s thin but it’s all I got.”

“Do whatever it takes. Get in his face. You’re the sheriff now,” Stan said.

“Acting sheriff,” Packard reminded him. He wanted to say Until you get back but he knew better. And he knew Stan knew better.

“Just do your job, Acting Sheriff. No preferential treatment because he’s my grandson.”

“Understood.”

Stan rolled on his back again, his face scrunched in pain. Packard stood up. “I’m gonna say bye to Marilyn. Let me know if there’s anything me or the gang can do for ya.”

“Just keep the peace,” Stan said. His voice was weaker, as if he was already almost asleep.

“Copy that,” Packard said.

***

Packard dumped a half gallon of cold coffee in the kitchen sink and found Marilyn clearing the flower beds in front of the house.

“The sheriff’s fading,” he said. He meant getting tired. Marilyn took it the other way.

“He’s giving up,” she whispered. “He’s only doing the chemo this time because I want him to. It’s just a few spots on his liver. I think there’s still a chance, but he’s losing hope. That can be more fatal than the cancer itself.”

“I’m sorry, Marilyn. I wish there was something more I could do. We’re all here for whatever you need. Whatever Stan needs. Let me know and I’ll make it happen.”

She put a garden-gloved hand on his arm and stood on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek. “Thank you, Ben. Thank you for coming to see him. It means the world to him. And to me. It really does.”

“I’ll be back soon,” he promised.

He gave Marilyn a wave and walked back to his truck. He’d left both his phones in the center console. He had three missed calls and a text from Kelly: CALL ME BACK!!

“I’m supposed to be off today,” she said when he got her on the phone. “I’m getting tons of voice mails on my work cell from the press looking for a statement about those missing kids.”

“Shit. Why now?”

“Our own Ray Hanson was the first to call this morning. He said he interviewed Susan Wheeler and wanted to confirm some of the facts with someone from the department. I guess he shook the tree and was able to rouse enough interest with the real media. I’ve had phone calls from the St. Cloud station and the paper in Fergus Falls and a few others. They’re all looking for a statement from us.”

Packard watched Marilyn kneeling on a foam pad, digging in the dirt with a small shovel. Holding a press conference was the last thing he’d intended to do today. He said, “I know it’s your day off. Can you come in and get the community room set up?”

“Yeah, that’s no problem. What time?”

“Tell everyone to be at the station at four. I’ll make a statement then. They’ll have to rush to make the five o’clock news, but that’s not my problem.”

***

Packard went home and changed into his uniform for the press conference, then headed back out to drop in on Sam. He called Susan on the way and caught her at the restaurant prepping for the evening rush.

“Just wondering what you told Ray Hanson.”

She said Ray had called her that morning after seeing her flyers around town. Her first inclination had been to tell him to go to hell. “Ray and I have a history. He called after we first opened the restaurant and pressed me hard about advertising in the Gazette. When I told Ray advertising wasn’t in our business plan right now, he asked if he could talk to my husband instead. I suggested he go fuck himself.”