Free See Also Murder by Larry D. Sweazy Page B

to see you, dear.” I turned to leave again.
    No one had come into the Rexall since I had, and I was grateful for that.
    â€œI was sorry to hear what happened to his parents,” Betty said, stopping me again. “He fought with them all of the time.”
    I didn’t take that too seriously, except she had made a point to bring it up. Teenage boys arguing with their parents was common. There was nothing unusual about that.
    â€œI’m sure Jaeger is stricken,” I said. “It’s such a tragedy. They were both fine people.”
    Betty twirled a stray strand of hair that had fallen from the beehive. “If you say so.”
    I was about to ask her what she meant by that, but the bell over the door jingled, announcing someone coming in. I glanced over to see a hunched-over old man, intent on making his way to see Gregor Landdow. In a town of ten thousand it was impossible to know everyone.
    â€œIt was good to see you, Betty. I’m sure I’ll see you at the funeral.”
    â€œOh, I wouldn’t miss it for the world, Mrs. Trumaine. Everyone in town’ll be there,” Betty Walsh said with a broad smile on her face.

CHAPTER 9
    The green Chevy was gone when I walked back to my truck. I looked long and broad for it, but there was no sign of the car at all. I shook my head. I was being silly.
    Now I had something else to consider, and that was the state of mind that I would find Peter and Jaeger in. Betty Walsh had watered a seed about Jaeger that certainly needed my attention, but Hilo had said that the boys weren’t suspects in the murders of their parents, though he hadn’t ruled them out completely.
    I could barely bring myself to think ill of Jaeger, that the boy could actually do something as horrific as cutting his own mother’s throat. He had been such a help on our farm, especially after Hank had become bedridden and unable to make the daily decisions around the farm that needed to be made.
    Jaeger was a natural manager. He excelled at seeing things through to the end. Diligent and calculating, he was cut from a similar cloth as Hank. But Jaeger lacked patience and tact. He was demanding and hard, especially on Peter.
    Betty Walsh was right. Jaeger had a quick temper. I had seen him fly off the handle frequently over the years, but I always marked that up to his youth, his inexperience.
    The truth was, I knew very little about Jaeger’s emotional life, his real relationship with his parents, or how he saw the world. He was a closed book, eager to take on a task, and a hard worker if I had ever seen one, but never very open about how he felt about things—even the weather or the future—unlike Peter and Hank, who were poets in their own ways. None of those things added up, at least in my mind, to point to Jaeger as a cold-blooded killer.
    Just the thought of the boys and their sad situation left me feeling emptier than I already did. Somehow, that just seemed impossible. I was wrung out, my tear ducts fallow, but my stomach still churned with an uneasiness that was hard to place.
    I decided to let Hilo do the police work, let him figure out if either of the boys needed to be looked at closer, even though I was still sour with him.
    The shadow of doubt about Jaeger still lingered in my mind. I hoped I would be able to look him in the eye with love and comfort when I saw him next. With that thought, I put the truck into gear and headed toward the courthouse, where the sheriff’s office was located. I was in a mind to give Hilo the amulet and be done with all of this murder business.
    Nothing good had come from my trip into town. Just the opposite, really. Either I was upset with someone or they were upset with me. I had to wonder if there wasn’t a black curse on the ugly Norse medallion. A dark wind had blown across my face from the moment I had looked up and spied Hilo pulling up our drive. I had been cold ever since Hilo had placed the amulet in