Julia shook her head. ‘I’m not so sure, Florian. There’s a part of me that thinks Aquarius was sent here by God on a special mission to punish us. He was sent to wash us away like we never existed.’
25
The fields surrounding Rollie Swenson’s house hadn’t been plowed in years. The dormant acres had been reclaimed by prairie. The red barn was a relic, its walls bowing, its roof near collapse. A tractor sat in the lawn, swallowed by mud and rust, as if it had been driven out of the corn rows one day and left to fend for itself against the elements. The long brown grass of the yard was dotted with last season’s fallen leaves, blown from the river bank on the other side of the highway.
Chris parked next to a Chevy Tahoe near the house. It was dusk. Lights were on downstairs and upstairs, and the screened windows were open, letting in the evening breeze. He got out and heard barking. A white Westie terrier shot from the porch and ran around him in frantic circles. He squatted to rub its head, but the dog was too busy to stop for attention. It snorted and charged for the deck and sniffed its way along the foundation.
‘He’s always flushing rabbits and mice,’ Rollie Swenson called from the porch. The Barron lawyer had a can of Miller Lite in his hand. ‘He chases planes, too, when they fly overhead. I guess he figures they might land here.’
‘You can’t be too careful,’ Chris said with a smile.
‘Well, we haven’t had a plane land in the yard since he started going after them. That can’t be a coincidence.’ Rollie winked and wandered down the steps. He wore jeans and an untucked gray turtleneck that was snug on his stocky chest. ‘Welcome to the Swenson family farm.’
Chris heard the irony. ‘I take it you’re not getting ready for spring planting.’
‘I told you, calloused hands aren’t my style. I could lease the fields, but I don’t want diesel motors waking me up at five in the morning.’
‘This was your parents’ place?’ he asked.
‘And my grandparents’ place and my great-grandparents’ place. The Swenson dynasty ends with me. Hopefully, Tanya will wise up and move to the city.’ He held up his can of beer. ‘You want one?’
‘No, thanks.’
Rollie took a swig of beer and admired the Lexus. ‘Nice car, but not too practical out here. This is truck country. You want something that takes out a deer on the highway like a speed bump.’ He added, ‘How’s Olivia?’
‘Physically, she’s better than I feared. We’ll see how she does in the next few weeks.’
‘That’s good. Tanya wanted to visit her, but I had to tell her not to do that.’
‘I understand.’
‘Be sure to let her know that Tanya is thinking about her, okay?’
‘I will,’ Chris said.
‘I heard rumors that you’re looking at Johan Magnus as a suspect in Ashlynn’s death.’
‘Where did you hear that?’
Rollie shrugged. ‘I know every cop in the county. Word gets around.’
Chris debated how much to say. ‘Johan and Ashlynn were involved.’
‘So I hear.’
‘Does that surprise you?’
‘What, because of the Romeo and Juliet angle? Sure, I guess. Otherwise, there’s nothing surprising about two kids in a small town getting together. I don’t see how it helps your case. The cops think Johan dumped Olivia to be with Ashlynn, so all you’ve got is another motive.’
‘Johan went to the ghost town that night after Olivia and Tanya left,’ Chris said.
Rollie digested this information like a poker player. ‘Is that guesswork or can you prove it?’
‘He admitted being there. I found bloody clothes.’
‘Well, son of a bitch,’ Rollie said. ‘Did he admit killing her?’
‘No, he claims Ashlynn was already dead.’
‘That’s still good news for Olivia. Honestly, I thought you were blowing smoke about her not pulling the trigger. I figured you were laying a foundation for a plea bargain. This gives you a chance of actually getting her off.’
‘Did Tanya know that Johan and Ashlynn were an item?’ he asked.
‘She never mentioned it to me, but I don’t expect she would even if she knew.’
‘Is she home? I’d like to ask her a few questions.’
Rollie finished his beer without replying. Chris didn’t think the can of Miller Lite was his first of the evening. It was the end of the day, and the lawyer’s black hair was dirty, his beard line heavy.
‘You talk about Tanya, and I start to get nervous, Chris. What do you want to know?’
‘Tanya and Johan are friends. I was wondering if he said anything to her about Ashlynn.’
He watched the calculations in Rollie’s mind. He’d spent years reading faces on the other side of a bargaining table. That was how lawyers worked, trying to guess the other lawyer’s game and figure out how to outfox them. Rollie did the same.
‘If Johan and Ashlynn’s affair was a big secret,’ Rollie said, ‘it’s hard to imagine him saying anything to Tanya.’
‘Maybe he told Tanya something about a new girlfriend, even if he didn’t say who it was.’
‘Or maybe he said something that will hurt your case and blow him out of the water as a suspect. Did you think about that? I’m surprised you’d take the risk, Chris. You know the golden rule of interrogating witnesses. Don’t ask a question if there’s a chance you won’t like the answer.’
‘If I don’t ask her, the police will,’ Chris said. ‘I can’t afford to be blindsided.’
Rollie studied the Lexus again, as if the car were a witness on the stand spilling its secrets. ‘I’ll bet you’re a great dealmaker, Chris. The trouble is, I never believe a word that another lawyer tells me. The more you say you want to talk about Johan, the more I think you really want to talk about Tanya.’
‘I simply want to find out what she knows.’
‘Which means you think she knows
Chris decided that he wasn’t going to finesse any information out of Rollie Swenson. The only approach was the direct approach. ‘Cards on the table?’
‘Sure.’
‘How well did Tanya know Ashlynn?’
‘As well as two students in the same school. She had
‘I didn’t say she did.’
‘Yes, but you’d love to find one,’ Rollie retorted. ‘Johan is the prime suspect, but it’s always nice to have a fallback, right? Tanya called Olivia that night, and then she snuck back to the ghost town to shoot Ashlynn. That’s the idea, I get it. Except if you want to sell that nonsense to a jury, you need a motive. I’m curious, do you have a theory, or are you just throwing shit at the window to see what sticks? Let me guess. Tanya and Ashlynn were having a torrid lesbian affair. Or maybe Tanya was secretly in love with Johan and wanted to get her rival out of the way. Or maybe my daughter is just a serial killer who’s after rich blond girls, Chris. Is that it? Do you think this is some kind of James Patterson novel?’
‘I’m not trying to pin anything on her, but Tanya knows more than she’s telling me.’
‘What makes you think so?’
‘Ashlynn called Tanya the day before she died,’ Chris said.
Rollie shook his head and looked amused. ‘That’s the big secret? I hate to burst your bubble, but I know about the call.’
‘Neither of you mentioned it to the police,’ Chris said.
‘You’re right. That’s my fault. No offense, but we were both pretty tired and stressed on Saturday morning, okay?’
‘So what was the call?’ Chris asked.
‘Tanya sits next to Ashlynn in a Religious Studies class. Ashlynn missed the class on Thursday, and she
