Read Online The Names of Our Tears by P. L. Gaus - Free Book Online Page B

also looked up briefly, but bowed his head to return to his prayers.
    Alvin came forward in the hall, pushed out through the screen door, and said, “Andy has asked me to speak for him.”
    “Does he know anything about Ruth?” Lance asked, holding her tablet across her breast. “Can he tell me anything to report to the sheriff?”
    Alvin answered, “No,” and led Lance down the front steps. They crossed the front lawn to the driveway at the side of the house, and Alvin added, “I think I am the only one of us who spoke with Ruth.”
    Tablet at her side, Lance asked, “You think?”
    “Yes, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Emma went up to see her last night.”
    “Then maybe I should talk with Emma.”
    “I can answer all of your questions, Deputy,” Alvin sighed. “At least for now.”
    *   *   *
    When Bruce Robertson arrived at the Zooks’, Alvin was standing with Pat Lance on the driveway. Under the wide brim of his black felt hat, his face was ashen. He took a side step away from Lance, as if he were embarrassed to be seen talking alone with her, and as Robertson walked up to them, Alvin said, “Your deputy has been asking a lot of questions.”
    “She’s a detective, Mr. Zook,” Robertson said, holding out his hand.
    They shook briefly, and Robertson added, “She needs to be asking a lot of questions right now, and I hope you’ll answer all of them.”
    Alvin turned his face down and said, “I’ve told her everything I can.”
    To Lance, Robertson said, “Do you have everything you need, Detective?”
    “Yes.”
    “Thank you, then,” Robertson said, and Lance knew she had been dismissed.
    She stepped back to her black-and-white cruiser, got in behind the wheel, and backed around Robertson’s Crown Victoria to leave. As she was driving away, Robertson asked Alvin, “Is your son here? Ruth’s father?”
    “Yes.”
    “Then I have some questions of my own. Please ask him to come out.”
    Alvin turned for the front porch, and Robertson followed him up the steps. When both Alvin and Andy were out on the porch, Robertson led them down the steps to the driveway, to stand at the front bumper of his blue sedan. He sat back against the hood and asked, “So, who brought Ruth home from the bus?”
    Alvin said, “I did. And I told that earlier to your Captain Newell.”
    “Did you tell that also to Detective Lance?”
    “Yes, Sheriff. I told them both. Also your Detective Armbruster.”
    “He’s just a deputy, Mr. Zook. Not a detective yet, so that’s why he wears a uniform.”
    Both Alvin and Andy gave Robertson blank stares.
    Robertson folded his arms over his chest and continued. “How many suitcases did she bring home?”
    “Two,” Alvin said.
    “Did she take two down with her?”
    “Only one,” Andy said.
    “You drove her to the bus?”
    “Yes,” Andy said.
    “Only one suitcase?”
    “Yes.”
    To Alvin, Robertson said, “Did you ask her why she had a second suitcase when she came home?”
    “Why would I?” Alvin asked.
    “Because maybe she acted strange about it.”
    “Well, she wouldn’t let me carry it.”
    “But you told Captain Newell that she seemed tired to you.”
    “Yes.”
    “So, why didn’t you offer to carry her suitcases?”
    “I offered, Sheriff. She let me carry the one, not the other.”
    “Did it seem to you that the suitcase you did carry was too heavy?”
    “Not really,” Alvin said.
    “Was the other suitcase heavy? As far as you could tell?”
    “I think so,” Alvin said. “She struggled with it.”
    “How about her clothes? Did she do any laundry on Saturday?”
    Andy answered, “No. My Irma does laundry every day, except Sundays. Ruth didn’t even come down from her room.”
    “Because she was sick?”
    “Yes,” Alvin said. “She told me she didn’t feel well.”
    “When did she tell you that, Mr. Zook? Right when you picked her up?”
    “Yes, but it’s a long bus ride. I thought she was just tired from the trip.”
    “What