Page 60 of Everyone’s a Liar

“Larry Sutton.”

“Sutton?” Bob stared at her as if he thought she was joking. “Naw. You got your wires crossed,” he at last assured her. “Larry is always disappearing, but that doesn’t mean he’s missing. I promise he’ll pop back up when he’s done with whatever job he’s working.”

Bryce leaned back in her seat, adding his name to the list of people who believed Larry Sutton had simply gone off the grid.

“When was the last time you saw him?”

“I don’t remember.” Bob looked unconcerned. “At least not an exact date.”

“Try,” Bryce insisted.

Bob glanced toward the bar, as if seeking inspiration. “It’s been a few months for sure …” He abruptly snapped his fingers, glancing back at Livia. “Wait. I do remember. He was here for our big Gator Bash. I know that for sure.”

“What’s a Gator Bash?”

“I opened this place in 2005. It was March twenty-fifth, to be exact. And ever since then I host an appreciation night on that date for some of my most loyal customers.” He shrugged. “I tap a keg, we play darts and cards, eventually there’s a fight. Good times.”

“And Larry Sutton is a loyal customer?”

“More than that. He’s been with me from the beginning. In fact, he loaned me some money to help tide me over the first couple of months.”

“Larry is from La Harpe?”

“Not exactly. He owned a cabin with his wife a few miles away from here. But he would stop in for a beer after working his shift in New Orleans.”

Bryce felt a stab of shock. “He’s married?”

“He was. Poor dude. His wife was gunned down not long after I opened this place.”

“What happened?”

“She worked at a convenience store near the highway. One night a meth head came in and shot everyone in the store. He got away with less than fifty bucks.” Bob shook his head. “Tragic.”

“Gunned down.” That was a very specific term. “You’re right, it is tragic,” Bryce breathed.

“Larry was never the same after that.”

A remembered pain sliced through Bryce’s heart. She understood the shocking pain of losing a spouse to gun violence, although she’d probably been more prepared than Larry Sutton. Benjamin’s position in the FBI meant he walked into danger on a daily basis. Just as she had.

Still, the shock had left her tumbling into a dark depression that had only been eased when her father had insisted that she and Josie come stay with him.

“No one is ever prepared to lose a loved one.” There was a raw sincerity in her voice. “Especially when they’re young.”

“It was more than that.” Bob’s expression was grim. “The bastard who killed her was never charged with her murder. Larry was convinced the cops didn’t bother to investigate because the prime suspect was related to the local sheriff at the time. No one knows for sure.”

Bryce considered what she’d discovered about Larry Sutton. It fit that he’d developed a disdain for the justice system that had failed him. And perhaps explained why he’d chosen to use his authority to abuse the system.

“That could make a man bitter.”

“Exactly. He left the area and moved to New Orleans. He even bought a fancy car and a watch that cost more than this bar.” Bob shook his head. “His wife would have been horrified. She believed in a simple life.”

“Sounds like he came into some money.” Bryce studied the man across the table, curious at how much he knew about his friend. “Life insurance on his wife?”

Bob glanced away. “Maybe. I mean … ​I guess it was. He stopped coming out here so much and I kind of lost touch with him.”

Bryce smiled in satisfaction. He knew he was a dirty cop. “Then he got fired?”

“He claimed he was framed, but I don’t think he really cared. He was a cop because that’s what he’d been before his life was destroyed.” The large man cleared his throat, as if regretting he’d revealed so much about his friend. “Sorry, I kind of veered off track.”