The Overnight Guest(57)

Josie looked to her grandmother, who nodded her approval. “Okay,” Josie said, shifting in the hospital bed.

Dr. Lopez took her leave, and Agent Santos pulled up a chair and sat down next to the bed so close that Josie could smell the oil used to clean her sidearm. Sheriff Butler and the other agent stood with their backs against the wall to observe. Caroline stayed where she was, next to her granddaughter.

“I know you’ve been through a lot, Josie,” Agent Santos said kindly. “And we wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t important. I just have a few questions for you right now, okay?”

Josie nodded.

“Tell me about your brother, Josie,” she said.

“Ethan?” Josie asked in surprise. “Do you know where he is?”

“No, I’m afraid not,” Agent Santos said, tucking a wayward strand of hair behind her ear. “But that’s where we need your help.”

“Me?” Josie asked. “I don’t know where he is. Maybe he got scared and hid like I did. My grandma said people are looking in the cornfield.”

“Yes, yes, they are,” Agent Santos said. “We’ve got people out looking, but we want to make sure that we don’t miss a spot that Ethan might be. Where are some of his favorite places to go?”

“I don’t know,” Josie shrugged. “He spends a lot of time in his bedroom.”

“Anywhere else?” Agent Randolph asked from his position by the door. “A certain friend’s house? A girlfriend, maybe?”

“Ethan doesn’t have a girlfriend,” Josie said automatically, leaving out Kara Turner. That hadn’t ended well.

“We already know about Kara,” Santos said, and Josie blushed at getting caught in a lie. “Where does Ethan spend his time?”

“He likes to go fishing at Grandpa’s pond and at the creek,” Josie said. “He does that most days.” Agent Santos wrote this down in a little notebook she produced from her pocket. “Any friends he spends time with?”

“Cutter,” Josie said. “He hangs out with him sometimes.”

“Ethan and Brock are good friends?” Agent Santos asked.

“Kind of,” Josie said. “My mom and dad don’t like Ethan hanging out with Cutter. He’s kind of wild.”

“Wild in what way?” Agent Santos asked.

Josie lifted her shoulders. “He skips school, and he drinks a lot, I think,” she explained. “He’s kind of creepy.”

“Creepy how?” Agent Santos asked.

Josie chewed on a thumbnail. The way Cutter looked at Becky, the way he touched her. It was hard to put into words. “He kept touching Becky, trying to get close to her. She didn’t like it.”

“She told you that?” Santos asked.

“Not really. But I could tell,” Josie said.

“I heard Becky had a bit of a crush on Ethan,” Santos said.

“No,” Josie said automatically. “I don’t think so. She never said anything to me.”

“You’re doing great, Josie,” Santos said. “Just a few more questions for right now. Can you think of anyone who might be angry with your parents? Want to hurt them?”

Josie’s first thought was no. Everyone liked her mom and dad. She’d never heard her mother share a cross word and her father made people smile with his gentle teasing. Agent Santos’s direct stare made Josie squirm in the hospital bed.

Josie could really only think of one person who had been so angry, so enraged with her parents, but she couldn’t say Ethan’s name out loud.

“My dad didn’t like Brock Cutter’s dad,” Josie said abruptly.

“Because of the trouble Brock and Ethan got into?” Santos asked.

Josie nodded. “And they just didn’t like each other.” She didn’t quite know how to explain it. Josie wanted her mother. Her mom would know what to do, help Josie find the right words. Sensing her distress, Josie’s grandmother jumped in.

“Randy Cutter was quite angry with my daughter and her husband over a parcel of land,” Caroline explained. “It got pretty ugly at the time. William bought a piece of farmland that Randy thought should have gone to him. It came to blows, lawyers got involved. When several of their livestock were found dead, William was sure Randy Cutter had something to do with it. Could never prove it, though. Things seemed to have calmed down over the past few years, but things haven’t been the same between them since.”

“And this was over land?” Santos asked.

“We don’t get many homicides around here,” Sheriff Butler said, “but when we do, they can usually be traced back to one of two things—infidelity or land disputes.”

This was interesting, Santos thought. The Cutter name was coming up again and again.

“We found your brother’s gun in the cornfield this morning, Josie,” Santos said in a low, serious voice. “Not far from where you said you were hiding.” Josie looked down at her bandaged arm. “Can you think why his shotgun would be there?”

Josie shrugged.

“Josie, I know this is hard,” Santos said. “But is there any chance that your brother was the one who could have hurt your parents and chased you into the field?”

“No,” Josie exclaimed, her eyes filling with tears. “He wouldn’t do that, he wouldn’t.”