“Monica—Diane was already home?” Miranda asked.
Kayla nodded. “She was inside, with us. Searching for Luke. She was mad at him for something.”
“I don’t remember what it was. I think I may have puked on her jacket that day,” Luke said.
“You were extremely sick; I remember that,” Luther said. “I was worried, and your mother had called me about you kids. It was why I was home a little before six that night. Afraid we were going to have to take you to the hospital. And your mama was afraid what we’d tell Doc Masterson about your eye.”
“That’s what you two argued about,” Olivia said. “Monica wanted you to tell the doctor that Lesley did it, instead of Grandma.”
“Why me?” Lesley asked.
“Your mother was afraid. Always was afraid of Helen. All of you were,” Luther said, bluntly. “I hated it. But she had us by the shorthairs with the money. We had no choice but to do what she said. Never happier than to not have her involved in my marriage after that.”
“Then why did you divorce eleven years ago?” Knight asked before he could stop himself.
“Because without her mama to tell her what to do, Paulie changed. In a real bad way. Controlled everything. Bossed like nobody’s business. Nothing I wanted, or the kids for that matter, made a difference. But she told me that last baby wasn’t mine, and she didn’t want me no more. Tried to kick me out of the house, but the kids…they weren’t having none of it. They ganged up and kicked her out, instead. Pauline never let them forget that.”
“Let’s not lie about things—she went nuts, started yelling at us all the time. Especially Luke,” Olivia said. “He couldn’t do anything right. Neither could I. Just Monica and Les, mostly.”
“I took these four and left. Les had a girlfriend. He stayed behind with his mother. Four months later or so—I think…” Luther looked at his daughters for confirmation. “Four months later, she brought the baby back and left her with me. I hadn’t wanted Paulie to take her, but she did.”
“I stayed with her for another year, until she kicked me out. I ticked her off over something. I don’t want to keep trash talking my mom,” Lesley said.
“Nobody does,” Miranda said. “But we need to know what happened. We need the answers.”
“Here’s what I think happened.” Lesley leaned forward, tone turning aggressive. Toward Miranda. Knight dropped a hand to her shoulder. And left it there. He barely resisted the urge to bare his teeth until the other man got the hint.
Lesley Beise wasn’t putting his hands on her ever again.
59
Miranda felt the warm hand on her shoulder, and she drew in a breath. Borrowed a little bit of strength from the man beside her, strange as that sounded. “Go on, Les. What happened?”
“Mom got mad, didn’t she? Probably mad at Grandma. They were always arguing. Grandma tried to hit her. Mom hit back. It just kept going from that. And that asshole Jimmy had to butt in. You already said he admitted he buried Grandma. He killed her. Mom was just there by accident. Probably trying to protect one of us. Then, she packed us up and we left. That’s it. An accident.”
“Is that what happened?” Miranda asked softly. “Or is that what she told you? You and Monica?”
It was a gamble. But…he’d spoken too knowledgeably. Too…scripted.
“What do you mean? That’s what probably happened,” Lesley bit out.
He was one of the worst liars she’d ever met. “Have you spoken with your mother since your arrest?”
He shook his head. “No. But I spoke to Diane. Finally. I asked her what happened. I wasn’t home when it all happened, remember?”
“What did she say?” Miranda wanted his attention focused on her. She knew something about her triggered him. Apparently it always had. “Les?”
“She said she called Mom, but got Mom’s boss. Said Mom was in jail. Because of Grandma. And that it was probably just an accident or something. Mom didn’t mean to hit Grandma with that rake handle or whatever it was.”
“Was Monica there that day?” Miranda was ninety-nine percent certain Monica had been in town picking up her paycheck from the diner at four or so that day. She wouldn’t have had time to get there before Helen was killed. But she might have heard something or been told something after.
“No. She got there just before I did. She’s always sworn that. She got there before I did.”
“Why does it matter?” Kayla asked quietly. “Monica was inside the house the whole time. I saw her. She gave me a bath and dressed me in clean clothes because I didn’t want to move. Then she gave me a bag and told me to pack. That Grandma was making us leave. Mom came in a few minutes later, and everything changed. We moved.”
“Did anyone besides your mother and Jim Hollace go outside into that barn between four p.m. and six p.m.?” Knight asked bluntly. Miranda easily sensed his frustration and impatience. He was a bulldozer, used to rolling right over obstacles.
“No one did, that we can remember. But it was fourteen years ago. We were sick and freaking out over having to move, and maybe we missed something. But as far as we know, Mom was the only one who went outside.” Luke said, just as impatiently as Knight. “How much longer do we have to keep going over this? I need to pick up my kids in forty-five minutes.”
Miranda nodded and looked at her teammates. They’d accomplished exactly what they’d set out to do. Jac had recorded the entire interview on her phone. Max had the video. It would be uploaded to the PAVAD server shortly. “Thank you for coming in today. It’s appreciated.”
Luther stood. “I…got to ask. What’s going to happen to them? To Paulie and Jim? I’m sure they didn’t mean to hurt Helen. And
