Free With a Vengeance by Annette Dashofy Page B

care of him. Okay?”
    The tremor in Olivia’s voice was as uncharacteristic as Earl’s foul mood. Zoe searched for words to comfort her partner’s frightened wife. Finding nothing adequate, she replied, “Of course.”
    Zoe watched the Subaru pull away and disappear around the bend. Within less than twenty-four hours, an unknown monster with a gun had taken one life and left another person unconscious in a hospital. But he’d also taken so much more.
    She scanned the town around her and wondered who he was and what he had planned next.

      
    Pete punched Wayne Baronick’s number into his cell phone as he parked in front of Sullivan’s mobile home for the second time that day. When the detective picked up, Pete asked, “What’d you find out from EOC?”
    “Nothing yet,” Baronick replied. “From the dispatchers I’ve talked to, no one has any connections with, or knowledge of, Snake Sullivan.”
    “Keep digging.” Pete eyed the mobile home. A shadow passed in front of a lamp burning inside, but with the curtains closed, he couldn’t tell if it was Snake or his mother. “And while you’re at it, find out if anyone there is friends with Lucy Livingston.”
    “Knox’s girlfriend?”
    “Ex-girlfriend.” Pete gave Baronick a quick rundown of what Zoe and Hector had told him.
    “I’ll ask around and get back to you.”
    Pete ended the call and shoved the phone back in his pocket before climbing out of the Explorer. Deep gray clouds had taken over the sky, and the air smelled of rain.
    He was being watched. Not only by whoever was inside the Sullivan home, but probably by every other resident of the trailer park. He knocked on the door and noticed a lack of heavy footsteps from inside.
    The door swung open to Mrs. Sullivan’s battle-weary face. “Eli’s not here. For real this time. He left an hour ago.”
    “All right.” Pete took off his ball cap. “Could I talk to you for a few minutes?”
    She gave the request a moment of thought before nodding and stepping clear.
    The place hadn’t changed since Pete’s earlier visit. “I understand Eli used to date Lucy Livingston.”
    Mrs. Sullivan’s eye twitched. “Yeah.”
    “What can you tell me about the relationship?”
    The woman gave a tired sigh. “I’m not sure what you want to know. They dated for a few months. But he hasn’t seen her in quite a while.”
    “Who ended it?”
    “The girl did. Eli talked about asking her to marry him.” Mrs. Sullivan laughed without a hint of humor. “Like he could afford a wife. He probably would’ve wanted to move her here and let me pay their bills.”
    “Was he upset when Lucy broke up with him?”
    “You could say that.” Mrs. Sullivan wandered over to a battered recliner and sank into it as if her legs couldn’t hold her any longer. “He was a brute for a while. Busted a bunch of my stuff. Most of the time he was out getting drunk.” She shot a glance at Pete. “Or high. Frankly, I didn’t care as long as he wasn’t here. I know that’s horrible for a mother to say. But I can’t control him. He’s got a mean streak. Got it from his father.”
    Pete felt sorry for the woman. Hauling her son off to prison might be the best thing for her. “Does your son have any friends who work at the 911 center in Brunswick?”
    The question seemed to startle her. “I don’t think so. I doubt it. To be honest, I don’t know Eli’s friends, but I seriously doubt any of them can hold down a real job.”
    Pete had to agree. “Do you have any idea when Eli will be home?”
    She laughed, again without humor. “Probably not until morning, after he’s drunk himself into a stupor and needs to sleep it off.”
    “When he does come back, could you ask him to come down to the station first thing tomorrow? I’d like to ask him a few questions.”
    “I doubt he’ll talk to you.”
    “Tell him life will be easier for him if he does.”
    “He’ll just have me call my brother-in-law.”
    The attorney.