Caching Out Read Online Free PDF

Troy. Saralyn didn’t tell me a last name. Tate, she
didn’t see him again after that. Saralyn wanted to fall in love and have kids
and she knew she couldn’t do that with a drug user, not even a casual user.” 
Pulling a paper napkin from a ceramic U-shaped holder on the table, Reva dabbed
at her eyes then folded the napkin and blew her nose before wadding it in one
hand.
    “Me
and Saralyn was friends since grade school, and I know that she was telling me
the truth. If there’d been more to tell, then I’d know about it. We loved each
other like sisters and we did not keep secrets. For God’s sake Tate, her
daddy is a deacon at the Baptist church and her mama teaches Sunday school. It
would kill them to find out that Saralyn smoked weed, even if it was only once.
Please, you can’t let this get out.” 
    Tate
leaned back in the chair and crossed his arms. “I have no intention of letting
anything get out, but I do need to track down this guy. Do you know her cousin’s
name?  Maybe he can fill me in about Troy.”
    Reva
nodded. “We both know him. It’s Danny Parker. He was two grades ahead of me and
Saralyn. He works over at the feed store in White River now. He does deliveries
for them.”
    With
a nod signaling that their conversation was over, Tate stood, grabbed his cap
from the table and turned to leave.
    Standing
when Tate did, Reva whispered, “Is it true that Saralyn was cut up?”  
    Spinning
to face her, Tate swore under his breath. “Reva, where did you hear that?” 
    Unable
to meet Tate’s cold grey eyes, Reva ducked her head. “I only asked about it
because if it’s true…well I thought you should know that there’s only one man
in the county mean enough and good enough with a knife to do something like
that.”
    Relaxing
his posture slightly, Tate waited for her to continue. “Go on.”
    Glancing
up, Reva knew she had Tate’s attention. “Marshall Olen is always flashing that
knife of his and bragging about cutting somebody if they don’t do what he says.
I just thought you should know that. He eats over at the diner real regular and
I . . well, overhear things sometimes.”
     “Reva
I appreciate you sharing what you know about Marshall and I will follow up on
where he was the night Saralyn died. For now, I don’t want you to repeat any of
what you just told me to anyone. I mean it, no one. Talking that way could put
you in danger and I know that neither of us wants that. I’ll need your word.”
    Reva’s
eyes widened, realizing what Tate meant. “Oh God Tate, you think that if he
killed Saralyn that he might come after me too?” Her voice was little more than
a whisper. “I never even thought of that. I won’t say a word. Not one word. I
swear to you, I swear it.”
     “That’s
good. Now if you think of anything else or happen to overhear anything else
suspicious in the diner, you keep quiet about it and then you give me a call. For
Christ’s sake, and especially for your own safety, do not talk to anyone about
the details of Saralyn’s murder. You can’t trust what you might overhear at the
diner and repeating it just fuels the fire for speculation. You understand?”
    Nervously
rubbing her hands together, Reva nodded. “I do understand and I just want you
to catch the person who killed Saralyn. She deserves that.”
    Tate
slammed his cap down on his head. “I intend to catch the killer, but this is an
open investigation and my office hasn’t released any of the particulars about
Saralyn’s murder. Obviously someone on the scene has a big mouth. We need to
keep this as quiet as possible so that it doesn’t interfere with the
investigation or with finding the bastard who did this.”
    Reva
nodded a frightened ‘yes,’ and stood silent as Tate took the steps two at a
time and jogged to his SUV.
    Five
minutes later, Tate passed under the rusted and dangling sign as he left Miller’s
Haven. At least now he had a lead. Make that two leads and a possible suspect.