Do you know if there was any abuse in her home? DeMarco asked.
I dont think so. Not recently, anyway. She did tell me one time about how her mother hauled off and just hit her right in the face when she was like eleven or twelve.
And you swear she never actually came out and said she was going to kill them? Kate asked.
A few times, she did. She would say I cant wait to kill them. And then she talked about whether shed do it with a knife or a gun. She really liked talking about it. But I told her to shut up. When me and Mercy got together, it was just for the sex. And I didnt want to hear about her thinking about killing her parents before we got down to it, you know?
Kate considered it all as Jeremy stopped talking and looked around at all three of them. He had lied about Mercy being promiscuous. Kate wondered if everything else he had said was also a lie.
She leaned down close to a still-sitting Sheriff Barnes and whispered into his ear: Can we speak outside for a moment?
He nodded and got up, practically having to tear his eyes away from Jeremy. He didnt just walk out of the roomhe stormed out. Before he said a word to Kate or DeMarco as they followed him, he went straight into his office. He held the door open for them and closed it when they were both inside.
Right away, he said: Shit.
You think hes telling the truth? Kate asked.
I think there are enough truthful tidbits in his story to make it believable. That little story about Wendy Fuller punching Mercythat really happened. Mercy called the police. She wasnt sad when she did it, either. It was about five years ago, but I remember it well. She was vindictive about it. Wanted to make sure her mom got into trouble. But in the end, all it took was a little sit-down with the family and all was well. Wendy had a drinking problem back then. From what I understand, shes been clean and sober for about two years now. As for this shit with Mercy hating her parents with a passionI just dont know for sure.
Everything hes telling us is the exact opposite of what Anne Pettus said. She said Mercy loved her parentsthat they got along really well.
Heres where I get stuck, Barnes said. Jeremy Branch and his older brother are nothing but troublemakers. Ive busted his brother twice for possession of drugs and once for lewd conduct in the back of his truck out on the back roads. As for Jeremy, Ive had him in here just oncefor petty larceny. But I always figured it would be just a matter of time before he became more of a regular.
Would he have any need to lie about Mercy potentially being the killer? DeMarco asked.
I just dont know. Butit makes a lot of sense, right? Girl gets fed up with her parents, kills them, and then runs away.
Kate nodded. She recalled her own imagined scenario of Mercy approaching her unsuspecting parents and killing them both before the second one she killed was even sure of what was happening.
How long has Jeremy been living with his brother? Kate asked.
I dont know. For good, maybe a year or so. Even before that, though, he would live with his brother off and on. His brother is Randy Brancha twenty-five-year-old permanent screw-up. Their parents divorced about ten years ago. Randy got his own place as soon as he could, that miserable old double-wide out on the edge of the woods. For a while, I think Jeremy bounced back and forth between his parents but then their mother moved in with family down in Alabama. After that, I think their father just sort of stopped caring.
But he lives around here?
Yeah, out on Waterlick Road.
Any idea if Jeremy ever stays with him at all?
Not personally. I hear rumors, though. And one of those rumors is that Randy has these pretty raunchy parties. Orgies, I guess, I dont know. And he doesnt let Jeremy hang around. So from what I hear, the weekends he has these parties, Jeremy stays with his old man. He paused here and then, almost skeptically, added: You dont think it was Mercy?
You do?
He shrugged. I dont want to believe it, but its starting to look like it. If Im being honest, its a conclusion I started to consider even before you showed up.
Lets hold Jeremy here for a bit longer, Kate said. In the meantime, do you think you could have someone trace down the address and contact information of Jeremys father?
Yeah, Ill get Foster on it, he said, reaching for his phone. Hell be glad to be able to add a little more information to his case files.
Kate and DeMarco stepped outside of the office, walking back toward the bullpen area. Speaking under her breath, DeMarco asked: Do you think Jeremy Branch is telling the truth?
I just dont know. His story certainly adds up and connects a lot of dots. But I also know that with all the drugs I found in that house, he has every reason in the world to cover his ass and get the attention off of him.
I cant help but wonder if he was in on the deaths himself, DeMarco said. An older guy, wanting to keep a younger girl under lock and key. If she truly hated her parents and he was crazy enough, wouldnt he be a suspect?
It was a promising train of thought, one that Kate had considered herself. She had not ruled it out, hoping that a visit to Jeremys fathers house would give them some more information.
Agents?
They both turned to see Barnes coming out of his office. He handed a slip of paper to Kate and nodded. Thats the address for Floyd Branch. Fair warning, thoughhe can be a bit of a bastard. Badges and all that dont really bother him.
Its the middle of the day, Kate said. Are you even sure hell be home?
Yeah. He works on small engines and stuff like that out of his garage. Barnes checked his watched and smiled. Its just about three thirty, so I bet you just about anything that hes already started drinking. If I were you, Id head out that way soonbefore he gets hammered. Want some backup? Hes kind of a hillbilly. I dont know how else to put that. Hes going to see two women he doesnt know and not take you seriously.
Sounds lovely, Kate said. Sure. Come on along, Sheriff. The more, the merrier.
She honestly didnt believe in that little tidbit but she did know the sort of man Barnes was describing. Shed seen a lot of it in the South, especially. There were some rural areas where men had simply not caught up to the world, not only disrespecting women but unable to see them as equalseven when they were carrying a badge and a gun.
They left the station together, heading for the bureaus rental that DeMarco had driven in from DC. Wow, that was just this morning, she thought.
It made her think of Allen and the plans he had tried making for thema quick escape away to the mountains to drink wine, sleep in, and other things in a bed that werent exactly sleeping.
And while she was still rather down about missing out on such a thing, she was also willing to admit that she was just as excited right now, with a case unfolding in front of her. She still had some work to do in keeping a proper balance between her personal life and her unique bureau schedule but for now, she felt that she was exactly where she needed to be.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Floyd Branchs property was a living embodiment of all Southern stereotypes. As DeMarco pulled the car into the lightly graveled driveway, the lyrics to about a dozen country songs all presented themselves in the form of Floyd Branchs trailer, yard, and scattered possessions.