“I grew up on the side of a mountain in Pennsylvania. First thing I ever drove was a Bobcat down a dirt road that would make this stretch of gravel look like the Autobahn.” He paused. “And I did do some stock car racing when I turned eighteen. Mostly junk on dirt tracks. But after my third near-fatal accident, I decided to go into library science. But I’m still a big NASCAR fan.”
“Caleb, I’m seeing a totally new side to you.”
“Yes, well, everyone has their secrets.”
“The Camel Club more than most, I’m finding.”
CHAPTER 53
STONE OPENED HIS EYES and felt rather than saw the people around him.
“Ben?”
He turned to the right and focused on Abby standing there, holding his hand. He gazed over her shoulder and realized he was in a hospital room.
“What the hell happened?” he said, trying to rise up.
Abby and someone else gently pushed him back down.
“Just take it easy, Ben.”
This was Tyree, who was standing on the other side of the bed.
Stone leaned back against the pillow. “What happened?” he said again.
“What do you remember?” Abby asked.
“Driving Willie home and then waking up here.”
“It blew up,” Tyree said quietly. “His trailer, I mean. It blew up.”
“Willie? Bob? He was there too.”
Abby gripped his hand. “They’re both dead.” Her voice broke as she said this.
“How did it happen?”
“They think it was his propane tank. Only thing that could’ve blown like that,” Tyree said. “Another few feet and you would’ve been gone too. You’re lucky you were standing on the other side of that truck. It took most of the blast instead of you.”
Stone thought for a moment. “I remember something falling right next to me.”
Abby and Tyree exchanged glances. “Just some debris,” she said quickly.
“How did the gas thing happen?”
“I’m checking that out right now,” said Tyree firmly. “He apparently had a cookstove and some propane tanks in his trailer along with a lot of ammo.”
“I don’t care about that. It can’t be an accident,” said Stone. “It can’t be.”
“I’m inclined to agree with you,” said the sheriff. “I just need some proof.”
Stone managed to sit up a bit. “Wait a minute. On the drive home, Willie and I talked about Debby.” He went on to tell Tyree and Abby what he had figured out about Debby seeing who had killed Peterson.
Tyree rubbed his jaw. “I never saw the connection there, but Willie never told me she was at the bakery that night either. But I knew Debby hadn’t killed herself.”
“How?” asked Stone and Abby together.
“Her arms weren’t long enough to put the muzzle in her mouth and still pull the trigger.”
Stone looked at him with new respect. “I actually thought of that when I saw the shotgun. Willie had shown me a picture of Debby. I saw how petite she was.”
“Tyree, you never mentioned you believed Debby was murdered,” said Abby.
“That’s because I didn’t know who killed her. Or why. Figured it had to be somebody local. Might as well let the murderer think I’m a clueless country bumpkin. He might make a mistake, and it lets me snoop around under the radar too.”
“You’re clearly no country bumpkin,” said Stone, and Tyree gave him an appreciative look.
“Does Danny know about Willie?” asked Stone.
“Damn, I knew I’d seen him before,” exclaimed Stone. They both looked at him. “The first day I was at your restaurant. Tyree had left, and Abby, you’d gone in the back. Danny had finished eating and was leaving when this big guy blocked his way. Asked Danny if he was going to stay this time or run out on them again. He’s one of the guys with the baseball bats.”
“This guy have a name?”
Stone thought for a moment. “Lonnie.”
“Lonnie Bruback?”
“Describe him.” Tyree did. “That’s him,” said Stone. “He’ll have a wound on his face from my belt.”