“Did you sell roofies, Hank?” I asked quietly.

He turned to me, his expression blank. “I sold a wide variety of pills, but I never sold anything that could be used to take someone’s control from them.”

I nodded in relief.

“If someone wanted something like that around here back then,” I said, “where would they go?”

“I’m fairly certain Bingham was sellin’ the things I wouldn’t. I know he sells them now.”

Further proof that Bingham was slime, but it also confirmed that I did need to talk to him again.

“Who was she hopin’ to incapacitate?” he asked.

“We’re not sure,” I said. “Maybe Bart.”

He released a short laugh. “If she’d come to me with that purpose in mind, I would have tracked the drugs down myself. Bingham had a horse in the race if she asked him. He very much wanted to eliminate Drummond. Still does.”

Crap. That put Bingham back on the suspect list, but if he wasn’t responsible, we still needed to figure out where Heather’s car had gone.

“If someone was wanting to dump a car,” I said, “what would be the best place to do it?”

“You can’t be serious,” he scoffed.

“Other than Bingham’s chop shop.”

He slowly shook his head. “Not many places. You’d want a deep lake or mine shaft, but you’re not going to find either of those around here. You’d have to head up into Kentucky.”

I cast a glance over my shoulder to Marco.

“You’re gonna go talk to Bingham, ain’t ya?” Hank asked. When I didn’t respond, he said, “He ain’t gonna like you askin’ questions that insinuate he’s a murderer.”

Didn’t I know it. “I’ll be careful.”

“Do you want me to go with you?” Hank asked.

I reached over and placed my hand over his. “No, Hank. That’s not necessary.”

He shot Marco a glare. “Are you gonna go with her?”

Marco hesitated, and I said, “No. He can’t. Bingham will never talk if he’s with me.”

“I don’t like the idea of you talkin’ to him alone.”

“I think she should wait to talk to him,” Marco agreed. “Maybe you should actually go to work tonight. We can get Bingham to come to the tavern. Where I can keep an eye on him.”

Hank nodded. “And remind him that I’ve claimed her as kin.”

They were starting to irritate me. “I’m perfectly capable of making my own decisions.”

“We’re only tryin’ to protect you,” Hank said.

Giving him a soft smile, I leaned over and kissed his cheek. “I love you too, Hank.” Then I stood. “What did you eat for lunch?”

Ginger had worked at the tavern today, which meant he’d probably been alone since yesterday afternoon.

“Some of that leftover casserole.”

Guilt washed through me. If left to his own devices for too long, he was bound to eat something unhealthy.

“I’m going to make you dinner before I go.”

“You don’t need to do that,” he said, sounding irritated. “I’ll just have some of that leftover chicken in the fridge.”

“Okay.” I hated the thought of him being alone for so long, and then I remembered the kittens. “Hank, what do you think about cats?”

He made a face. “I don’t have many thoughts one way or the other.”

“Do you like them?”

He frowned. “I don’t dislike them.”

“What would you say if I asked if we could adopt a kitten?”

He studied me for a moment. “I’d tell you to go ahead and get it, so long as it’s an outside cat.”

I wasn’t sure I liked the thought of that, but he hadn’t said no.

His face softened. “You want a cat, girl? Get yourself a cat. I’ll learn to live with it.”

It didn’t seem like the right time to mention I’d committed to two. I’d hoped he would be more excited about the idea, but I reminded myself that I couldn’t expect Hank to get all giddy over a kitten. With any luck at all, the kittens would grow on him.

“Thanks, Hank.”

“Are you comin’ home tonight?” he asked.

“No,” Marco said. “She’s stayin’ with me again.”

I started to protest that I could make my own decisions, but I suspected he was worried after Paul Conrad’s threat. And rightly so. While I knew Hank could protect me, it would be better if Marco defended me instead of an ex-drug lord. I could only imagine what kind of trouble Hank would be in if he shot a deputy sheriff.

“Yeah,” I said, “I’m stayin’ with Marco.”

Hank gave me a long look, then nodded. “Just keep me posted so I know you’re okay.”

I headed into my room and packed a bag with a couple of days’ worth of clothes, then added some toiletries from the bathroom.

“You headed to see Bingham after you leave?” Hank asked as I walked out of the bathroom.

“I don’t know,” I said.

“Call and leave me updates,” he said. “Even if it’s late. I’ll just let the machine get it.”

“Hank,” I protested, “there’s no sense in—”

“I’ll call you, sir,” Marco said. “I’ll make sure that you know she’s okay.”

Hank nodded to him as I headed out the door to my car, leaving Marco to follow me.

“Are you really not goin’ to see Bingham?” Marco asked as he got into the passenger side while I got in on the driver’s side.

“Not yet,” I said as I adjusted the seat.

Relief swept over Marco’s face.

“Hank’s right. He won’t appreciate it if it sounds like I’m accusing him of anything,” I said, “so I need to think this through.” But time was not on our side, and the decision made me anxious.

Marco was quiet for a moment, then said, “We can try to find out who worked at the Mountain View Lodge. Maybe one of them remembers seeing Heather and whoever she was meeting.” He shrugged. “It’s also a long shot, and it’ll be harder since it won’t be an official sheriff’s department inquiry.”

“Have we hit a dead end?” I asked, my stomach sinking. What would happen to Wyatt if we failed to clear his name?

“No. We still have Heather’s salon boyfriend. We still have Bingham. We just need to figure out the safest way for you to talk to him.” He shot me a grin. “Bingham, not the salon guy.” He turned his attention back to the road. “Before we do anything else, I need to swing by my house so I can get Wyatt’s police report and pick up my police cruiser and a uniform. I’m covering a shift for a friend tonight, so I can go straight from the tavern to work. Since my Explorer’s still in the tavern parking lot, maybe you can help me get it home later.”

“Marco,” I said, worry filling my head. “Of course I’ll help you, but you should have taken a nap instead of running around the county with me.”

“No,” he said with a finality that told me it wasn’t up for debate. “I wouldn’t have been able to sleep knowin’ you were lookin’ into this alone.” He cracked a grin. “Besides, you know how much I love investigatin’. But I really do think you should go to work tonight. Max and Tiny will keep you safe when I leave for my shift, and I’ll hang out in Max’s office and make some calls to further our own investigation while I wait for my shift to start. We can have Max call Lula and ask her to send Bingham to talk to you.”