Dead Giveaway

in case it does, he wants to know if she was Will's biological mother.'

'I understand.' Burl looked at Will. 'The probate lawyer been in touch yet?'

'Um, no.' Will seemed a little confused by the question.

'He said I can turn the keys over to you.' Burl pulled open the middle desk drawer and took out an envelope, which he slid toward Will.

'She had a spare set of keys?' I said.

'Yup. Hanging right there on a hook in the kitchen. So unless some relatives appear out of nowhere to contest the will, the place is yours, son. She owned about two acres. Lots of renovations done, I noticed. 'Course, my last visit before this week was a long time ago. The place probably needed them. I'm guessing that house and land are worth a pretty penny.'

Will turned and stared at me. 'What do I with a house, Abby? The only thing I know about houses is that the trim needs painting every five years, and when you're as tall as I am, it's your job. The only other thing I know how to do is cut the lawn.'

'You can hire someone for those chores,' Burl said with a laugh. 'See, that's another reason I asked you to come. She had money, too.'

'Money? No one said anything about money.' Will looked at me. 'This is so frickin' weird. I didn't even know that lady.'

'She thought she knew you well enough to give you about two hundred grand,' Burl said.

Will looked stunned, and maybe I did, too, since I became aware of a beautiful mahogany clock on top of the bookcase. I only noticed because the room grew so quiet you could hear it tick-tick-ticking above us.

Will finally broke the silence. 'This isn't like winning the lottery. You know what I'm saying? The lottery makes you think about cars and vacations and stuff like that. This? This I don't like.'

I patted Will's shoulder. 'Don't stress until we know more. We'll figure it out, okay?'

Will blinked several times, lips tight, then said, 'Okay. Sure.' He didn't look all that sure, though.

I faced Burl. 'Does Sergeant Kline know about this money?'

'Yes, ma'am. I just finished talking to him before you two got here. I mean, that's enough cash to kill for. And I'm not talkin' about you, son,' Burl said to Will. 'Someone might have thought they were due an inheritance and hurried Verna Mae to her grave to get their hands on it.'

'Friends or relatives or what?' I asked.

'Far as I can tell she had nobody, but maybe Jasper had relatives and those folks thought they'd be Verna Mae's logical choice to inherit.'

'Jasper? Why does that name sound familiar?' Will asked.

'Verna Mae's late husband,' I answered.

'Oh. Right. She talked about him the other day.' Will was trying to maintain his calm, but his flushed cheeks and clenched fists told me different.

'Jasper was a mean one,' Burl said, shaking his head. 'My wife would have my hide if she heard me speaking ill of the dead, but he's gone and his ornery spirit is gone with him. What matters is the man was a plumber. Self- employed and by no means rich. Where the heck did Verna Mae get all that money? Far as I know, she never worked outside the home.'

'Maybe all her relatives died and left everything to her,' I said.

'Possible,' Burl said. 'Anyway, your guy Kline is on it. Said he'd be checking her bank records.'

'My guy?' I said, failing to filter my thoughts before they spilled from my mouth.

This brought a smile from Will for the first time since he'd shaken hands with Burl. 'How'd you figure out they're into each other, Chief?'

'You think I came in on a load of turnips, son?' He laughed, and so did Will.

'Could we move on?' I was definitely feeling uncomfortable.

'Sure. What else do you need?' Burl asked.

'That break-in at the CPS office?' I'd filled Will in on Molly Roth on the drive here, so he was aware of the lost paperwork.

'Oh, yeah,' Burl said. 'County's sheriff's office people are digging through their old cases. They were the investigating agency on that one. Lucky I got friends over there, 'cause even with connections, it might take awhile for them to come up with anything.'

'Thanks. Did you want to ask Burl any questions, Will?' I know I would have if I was him, considering Will once spent the night in the man's house.

Will hesitated, pursed his lips a few times before speaking. 'What happened that night, Chief? I mean, when you came and got me?'

Burl leaned back, his hands clasping his silver belt buckle. 'It was Jasper who called. Pissed as hell. But then, he stayed that way. When I got to the house, you were sound asleep in that little plastic infant seat. Too big for it, but I had to make do when I carried you over to my place in my truck. Strapped the seat belt around you. My wife was thrilled I brought you home, even if for just one night.'

Will smiled briefly, then said, 'But what about them? The Olsens? You said Mr. Olsen was mad.'

'Like I said. He stayed that way.'

'What was she like?' Will asked.

'You want to know everything, huh?'

'I need to know. Especially if she was my birth mother.'

'Okay. I won't lie. Verna Mae wasn't quite right in the head, and that particular night she was crying so bad, Jasper sent her to the bedroom. Practically pushed her down the hallway. He told me she'd been saying how they could keep you, pretend you were theirs. Jasper had a good laugh about that.' Burl cast his gaze downward, obviously embarrassed.

'He laughed?' I said.

Burl looked at Will. 'We should just skip the rest, son. You don't need to hear what some ignorant redneck had to say. Everything worked out great for you. The way you carry yourself, the way you play ball, everything about you says you've been raised right.'

'Tell me why he laughed.' Will's tone had gone hard, out of character for him. 'Tell me now.'

Burl shifted in his chair, avoiding eye contact with both of us. 'Okay, he said Verna Mae was stupid to think she could pass you off as theirs. Said he wasn't having any black baby in his house for one more second.'

Will stared at his hands, his long fingers intertwined and white-knuckled with tension. 'That's what I figured. Thanks for being honest.'

A tense silence followed before I said, 'Guess we're done here.' I started to get up, then remembered the blanket. 'You really don't need that blanket now, right?'

'I collected the blanket as evidence during an executed search warrant, so yes I do,' Burl said evenly.

'But it probably has nothing to do with Verna Mae's death.'

'Probably is your key word, Abby. If I give it up and the blanket turns out to be even remotely connected to the murder, the thing's worthless as evidence.'

'How could an old blanket be connected to her murder?' Damn, I hate to hear no. Made me want the stupid thing even more.

'Don't know, but the blanket stays with me, and when I have proof it's not important, then it's yours with Will's permission. I learned long ago, you collect evidence, you keep evidence until you're sure it's worthless. I'm a careful man, Abby Rose, a trait that's served me well in the police business.' The country charm had been turned off. He meant business.

'A few pictures wouldn't break your chain of evidence, would it?' I had to leave with something, because that DNA test might turn out far different than what we expected. Besides, that blanket was linked to Will's past, if not to his birth parents. I was learning to be careful myself.

Burl sighed. 'Guess pictures wouldn't hurt.'

While Burl unfolded a step stool and climbed up to reach one of the stacked file boxes, Will looked at me.

'I'm glad she didn't keep me,' he said. 'I'm telling my mom and dad how much I love them the minute I get home.'

I patted his knee. 'Good idea.' I took my camera phone from my purse.