Looking for Miracles by Lynn Bulock Page B

The baby was stirring,but not fully awake. “Well, I’m glad the trip was worth something. And we won’t be bothering you again.”
    “Definitely. Lori and Tyler and the baby are moving in with us. It’s been very decent of you to let them have your place for this long, but I’m sure you understand. Do we need to settle anything up?” Mike looked at Hughes with a challenge that made Lori flush.
    Who was this man? Why did he think her welfare was his concern? If she had other options she would walk out of the diner right now and prove to him she was capable of supporting her family just fine, without his constant help. But she wasn’t. Her options besides staying at the Martins’ were few and unpalatable. So Lori closed her mouth on the angry words she was tempted to let fly.
    “No settling needed.” Hughes waved a hand. “Let me know when they’re officially moved out. If you’d come by the feed store and turn in the keys, Mrs. Harper, I’d be obliged.”
    “Certainly. As soon as I make sure everything’s out of there.” Lori hadn’t intended on that being very soon, but now she was determined that another week would not pass without seeing Hughes and giving him back his key. The sooner she could owe the man nothing, the better.
    Of course she would still have the Martins thatshe owed plenty to. But at least she could work for Gloria. And unlike Hughes, she trusted both of them. It was a better situation, even though she wasn’t totally comfortable.
    “Well, I’ll let you all get on with your breakfast,” Hughes said. “Thanks for listening to me, Hank. Glad I wasn’t any trouble after all.”
    “You never are, Clyde.” The sheriff waved away the other man’s thanks. “I’ll catch up to you later.”
    Hughes went to the cash register, exchanged pleasantries while he paid his bill and left. “Well, I’m glad you showed up,” Hank said. “There was something about that whole situation that struck me as odd. Meaning no offense, Mrs. Harper—”
    “Lori, please,” she interjected.
    “Lori, then…but Clyde Hughes usually isn’t that concerned about anybody. You sure nothing is missing in that place?”
    “Pretty sure.” Did this mean the sheriff didn’t like Hughes any more than she did? “There just wasn’t much worth taking. I’m not proud of saying it, but we were living pretty close to the bone.”
    Hank nodded. “I got that impression. Mr. Hughes comes off as being the generous soul for letting you have the place rent free, but if I remember correctly, it wasn’t much better than a fish camp. Definitely no place I’d put a family to live.”

    The sheriff paused for a moment. He seemed to be thinking while he drank his coffee. Setting down the cup, he went on. “If you’ll pardon me for bringing up something painful, I still have more questions than answers about the way your husband died. Since he was working for Hughes at the time, and driving his vehicle, it makes me a little curious.”
    Lori cleared her throat. “I wanted to ask you something about that. At the hospital I overheard something that makes me think there was suspicion that Gary was dealing drugs. Then when we were going through my things after the break-in, we came across Gary’s death certificate. When they came to tell me, the officers said he drowned when his car ran off the road. It seemed simple.”
    “Nothing ever is, though.” Hank stopped talking while the waitress refreshed his coffee and Mike’s. “Thanks, Katy.” When she moved on to the next table, he began again. “The medical examiner said the primary cause of death was drowning, but he had a lot of reservations. The tox screen he ran was kind of strange, and it looked like somebody could have helped your husband off the road.”
    “Why didn’t anybody tell her this before?” Mike broke in before Lori could ask.
    “None of it would have brought the man back,” Hank said bluntly, looking more stern than grandfatherly.“And the less