They by J. F. Gonzalez Read Free Book Online

“The Wages of Sin are Death” framed slogan remain hanging over his bed. Since Vince was already treading the water of sin in the form of good old-fashioned teenage rebellion—sex, drugs, and rock and roll—he hated waking up to that proclamation every morning. If Mom thought it was going to work in steering him away from the occasional toke with the guys after school or a romp in Kathy Stevens’ bed when her parents were at work, then she’d been seriously mistaken. At seventeen, with his hormones raging fiercely, he could not have cared less what she would think about his—
    “—when you’re done just give me a holler,” Tom Hoffman was saying. He was putting his hat back on his head, heading for the door. “Number’s on my card. Homicide Detectives from Lancaster are coming back today at three and they’ll probably want to speak to you. They know you’re in town.”
    Vince started and turned toward Tom Hoffman. He’d been snapped out of his silent reverie but hadn’t missed much. Tom was leaving, so he could get down to whatever business he had to do. “Fine,” Vince said. He held his hand out to Tom. “And thanks. Really. I appreciate everything you’ve done.”
    Tom Hoffman’s eyes held his as he shook his hand. His grip was warm and firm. “Don’t mention it,” he said. “Just doin’ my job. And I hope I do it right, because what happened here really bothers the hell out of me.”
    “I know what you mean,” Vince said.
    “I understand you and your mother weren’t very close,” Tom Hoffman began. “From what I gathered in talking to Lillian, you and your Mom have been estranged for ten years or so. Is that right?”
    “Yes.”
    “We’re still checking things out around here,” Tom Hoffman continued. “That’s one of the things you have to do in a homicide investigation. The most likely suspects to come up are usually those that are closest to the murder victim. In this case, Lillian and the rest of your Mom’s church friends are the most viable suspects, since they were the only ones your mother associated with. But there’s just nothing there to connect any of them. A lot of them may be nutty in their religious beliefs—hell, I think they’re nuts and I’m a rock-solid Christian myself—but there’s no way they could have done such a thing. The very idea that Maggie was murdered was enough to get them to assemble for an emergency prayer session at Reverend Powell’s house. Lillian was just beside herself with grief. They not only don’t display the signs of guilt or suspicious behavior, but the physical evidence isn’t there. Vincent Caruthers and John Van Zant were both at home with their families that night; Lillian was on the phone with her sister; a few of the others in their little congregation were with the Reverend preparing for a Bible study. The only person alone that night was your mother. That’s why we think it was a home-invasion robbery.”
    Now all the questions that had been on his mind since hearing about his mother’s death wanted to spill out. He’d held back as long as possible, especially since meeting Tom forty minutes before at the station. At that time the Chief had given him information on when the coroner would be finished with his report, and when Vince could claim the body. He’d also given Vince the names and phone numbers of his mother’s friends so that he might contact them with funeral arrangements. They hadn’t talked about the specifics of the murder at all. Now that they were alone, away from the hustle and bustle of the police station, there was so much he wanted to know.
    “You told me over the phone that it appeared to be a robbery gone bad. I’ve been mulling that scenario over in my mind since last night when you called me and I just don’t get it. Don’t get me wrong, I realize people are killed in home invasion robberies all the time…especially in L.A. and other big cities. But…”
    “To have it happen in a rural