The Bones She Buried: A completely gripping, heart-stopping crime thriller(88)

“We’re just asking him to come in,” Josie said. “I don’t want to spook him.”

“They’re not answering their phones,” Gretchen pointed out.

Josie called dispatch and asked for a backup unit at Noah’s house.

The front door was locked, but Josie had a key. She slid the key into the lock and opened the door tentatively. She could hear the sound of the television in the living room and see the glow of the lamp on the end table next to the couch. No one was in the room. She motioned for Gretchen to follow her down the hall toward the kitchen. As they approached, they heard the sounds of Laura and Grady talking.

“Grady, please,” Laura said, a desperation to her voice that Josie hadn’t heard before. She quickened her step.

Grady said, “I don’t want to talk about this in front of him, Laura. He’s a cop for chrissake.”

Laura shot back, “You didn’t do anything illegal, Grady. Just immoral. You’re such an asshole. How could you do this? With the baby coming?”

“I thought I could help—”

His words died as Josie and Gretchen reached the doorway. Noah sat at his table, his casted leg propped on another chair, a cup of coffee in front of him. Grady stood near the fridge, one palm on the door handle. Laura was only a few feet away from him, her enormous belly taking up almost all the space between them. Noah looked relieved to see her, but Laura said, “How did you get in here?”

Josie said, “I have a key.”

Laura had no response to this. Josie looked at Noah. “You okay?”

“Yeah,” he said but his face was pinched. It was his annoyed look. He was fine, but he couldn’t take much more of his sister and her husband.

Gretchen said, “What were you two arguing about?”

Laura’s voice went up an octave. “That is none of your business.”

Noah said, “Grady racked up some gambling debts.”

“Noah!” Laura snapped.

“What?” he said. “Josie’s my girlfriend—if she’ll still have me after the way I’ve acted the last couple of weeks—so I’m going to tell her anyway. I mean, I assume you guys are going to want your share of Mom’s estate pretty soon given your current situation.” It was then that Noah seemed to really register Gretchen’s presence; that she and Josie weren’t there for a social call. “What’s going on?” he said.

Josie said, “We need Grady to come down to the station and answer some questions.”

Laura laughed but it was a hollow sound that died quickly in her throat. “This is ridiculous,” she said. “I think we need to get a lawyer. I mean, how long are you going to stretch this out? What could Grady possibly have to offer you?”

Noah swung his casted leg off the chair and reached for his crutches. He started to stand on his good leg but Grady said, “Sit down, little brother.”

The sound of his voice—cool instead of ingratiating—froze Noah in place, half standing, half sitting. “What did you say?” he asked Grady.

Grady took his palm away from the fridge handle. “I said sit down. I’m not going anywhere.” He pointed at Josie and Gretchen. “You want to talk? We talk here.”

“Fine,” Josie said. “The day Colette was murdered, you were working from home, is that correct?”

“Yes, that’s correct. But our housekeeper was there. She saw me, and my truck never left the driveway.”

Gretchen said, “But Laura’s car did, didn’t it?”

“Laura was at a work function,” Grady said.

Laura looked from Grady to Josie and back to him. “Grady,” she said, her voice shaking. “I was driving a company car that day. You know that. Did you take my Jeep out?”

He didn’t answer.

Josie said, “We called your housekeeper before we came over here. She saw you when she arrived for work. You went into your study. She called goodbye to you from the hall before she left. You didn’t answer. She was in a hurry to get home to dinner so she left.”

“So?” Grady said. “So what?”

Gretchen said, “She didn’t see you for about three hours before Colette was murdered or after Colette was murdered. She didn’t see you at all that day except in the morning.”

“I was in my study working,” Grady said.

“Then who took my car out, Grady?” Laura demanded.

Josie changed tactics. “What’s your shoe size, Grady?”

His brow furrowed. “What?”

“You’re a size ten, right?”

He hesitated for just a moment and then scoffed. “Yeah, who cares?”

Trying to keep him off balance, Josie said, “Laura told me that Colette said some pretty strange things when she was having episodes of dementia.”

Grady, Laura, and Noah stared at her. Josie forged on. “She once told Laura about some bodies she knew about. She ever say anything like that to you, Grady?”

Grady was so still, Josie wondered if he was still breathing.

Josie said, “Did Colette ever say anything to you about a mass grave on the Sutton Stone quarry property?”

A sharp intake of breath came from Laura. Her hand flew to her chest.

Josie kept her gaze on Grady. “She ever mention anything about how Laura’s boss killed a bunch of people and buried them on the quarry property and covered it up? How Colette had the only evidence?”