The Dead Husband by Carter Wilson (guided reading books .TXT) 📕

couch tonight. I’m feeling…”

“Feeling what?” he asked.

“I’m not sure.” She walked up to him and kissed him. “There aren’t that many days left we can walk around the neighborhood, just the two of us.”

He felt himself smiling. “There are such things as babysitters, you know.”

“I don’t mean like that,” she said. “I mean soon we’re going to be parents. And then we’ll never not be parents. I still want to do some things as not-parents. I don’t know why, but that’s important.”

“A walk sounds nice,” Colin said.

As he climbed the stairs and made his way to his mother’s room, Colin thought about what Meg said, about how they would soon never be not-parents.

So much permanence attached to it.

But this thought was transient, and by the top riser, he’d returned to what had been swirling through his mind when Meg walked in. His thoughts about Rose Yates.

There were two things he needed to read, Colin thought.

Just two things.

One: the decades-old transcript of Cora Yates’s interview in the aftermath of Caleb Benner’s disappearance.

And two: anything written by J. L. Sharp that he hadn’t already read.

Thirty-Three

TRANSCRIPT OF INTERVIEW—(SC)

Interviewee: Cora Davis Yates (minor)

Investigator: Det. Michael Patterson

Bury Police Dept.

In attendance: Logan Yates (father of interviewee)

Date of interview: September 20, 1995

Re: Case 76887-A

MP: Okay, for the record, today is Sunday, September 20, 14:37 hours. I’m at 1734 Rum Hill Road in Bury, New Hampshire, speaking with Cora Yates. Logan Yates, Cora’s father, is also in attendance. After this interview, I’ll be speaking with Cora’s younger sister, Rose. Cora, I just want to remind you you’re not in any trouble, okay?

CY: Okay.

MP: Our only focus here is finding Caleb. That’s the goal. We’re talking to everyone who was at the party Friday night, and I want you to tell me everything you remember. And I’m not going to care about underage drinking or anything like that.

LY: Were you drinking?

MP: Mr. Yates, please, this will go much faster if you let me ask the questions.

LY: (unintelligible) a question.

MP: I understand. Cora, can you tell me where you were Friday night?

CY: I was at Ron Finch’s house.

MP: Why were you there?

CY: He was having some kids over.

MP: How many kids?

CY: I don’t know, maybe fifteen of us. Twenty.

MP: What time did you arrive?

CY: Maybe seven. A little after.

MP: How did you get there?

CY: I walked. It’s just a couple blocks away.

MP: Did you arrive with anyone?

CY: No. I was going to meet my friend Debbie there. She didn’t show up.

MP: Why not?

CY: (four seconds of silence) I think her parents didn’t let her. Not really sure.

MP: Was Caleb Benner at the house when you arrived?

CY: Yeah, I think so. Yeah, he was. For sure.

MP: You think so, or he was for sure?

CY: For sure.

MP: What was he doing?

CY: (six seconds of silence) I don’t know. Hanging out. Talking with people.

MP: Drinking?

CY: Yeah. Everyone was.

LY: Detective, they’re just kids. It was just a regular party.

MP: Please, Mr. Yates. Cora, did you notice anything unusual about Caleb? Was he in a weird mood? Did he seem angry? Scared? Drunk?

CY: (eight seconds of silence) No.

MP: Okay, I see. That’s good, thank you. Now, a few other kids said they saw you and Caleb talking. What were you talking about?

CY: I don’t know. Just stuff.

MP: What kind of stuff?

LY: She said she didn’t know.

MP: Mr. Yates, I’m going to ask you again to not interrupt, please. I know this interview is only happening at your discretion, and I appreciate that. But the focus here is finding Caleb. Your daughter isn’t in any kind of trouble. Cora, anything you can remember about your conversation would be helpful.

CY: I need some water. (unintelligible) I’m going to go get some and I’ll be back, okay?

MP: Of course. We can take a little break.

(eleven seconds of silence)

LY: Detective, this just feels wrong. It’s like she’s being interrogated.

MP: I know what you’re feeling, Mr. Yates. I don’t know how else to assure you she’s not. Look at it this way: If she were the one missing, wouldn’t you want us talking to every person she interacted with the night she disappeared?

LY: Yes. Yes, of course. It’s just that—

MP: It’s fine, Mr. Yates. I don’t have too many more questions. We’ll wrap up soon. (seven seconds of silence) You mind if we move this somewhere else? Maybe the kitchen? The fumes are getting to me a little. What is that, paint?

LY: (four seconds of silence) Wood stain.

MP: House projects?

LY: We had some contractors touching up some of the worn parts of the flooring yesterday. Some of the stairs. Sorry about the smell. I guess I’ve gotten used to it.

MP: No need to apologize. I’ve always had a sensitive nose.

End of transcript

Thirty-Four

Milwaukee, Wisconsin

November 3

That was it. For some reason, the transcript just ended with Cora going to the kitchen and getting some water while Detective Patterson and Logan Yates discussed house projects. Maybe the battery died on the recorder. Perhaps Logan Yates used his power of persuasion to keep the rest of the conversation off the record. Whatever the reason, Colin felt like he’d read the first half of a mystery story and was denied the satisfaction of an ending.

But what he had read pulsed tiny bursts of electricity through his skin. To a lay person, the transcript was dull. But to Colin, someone who’d become increasingly intrigued with the Yates family history, it was like unveiling an entombed artifact, one that would surely provide clues about who these people were.

The first thing to hit Colin was the odd fact that he and Detective Michael Patterson each conducted interviews of the separate Yates sisters twenty-two years apart in the Bury family home. That itself didn’t yield any new information, but what were the odds? They’d both sat in the living room and asked the women about their involvement with a potential crime.

Of course, it was clear Cora Yates wasn’t a suspect, just a witness. Patterson outright stated that, and there was nothing in the transcript to infer