Page 46 of Veil of Silence

He nodded slowly. “Fair enough.”

A few minutes later, another sedan turned into the driveway, and Nora straightened. The car had barely stopped before a woman in jeans and a sweatshirt climbed out.

“That’s Shelby’s cousin, Amy,” Nora told Austin. “She lives here in town.”

Amy didn’t look at either of them. She ran straight toward the house. The front door opened before she reached the porch, and Shelby stepped outside.

The moment Shelby saw her cousin, whatever had been holding her together seemed to give way. Amy caught her and wrapped both arms around her.

Sheriff Wilder stepped onto the porch again, his phone in hand. “Amy is going to stay here with Shelby. We’ll keep somebody here too.” His gaze moved between Nora and Austin. “You can go. If I need you, I know where to find you.”

“Is there anything I can do?” Nora asked.

“Not right now.”

She hesitated before nodding. “Okay.”

Nora crossed to Shelby and said something Austin couldn’t hear. Shelby grabbed her hand and held on for several seconds before finally letting go.

Austin’s phone vibrated in his pocket. He pulled it out and saw a Knoxville number he didn’t recognize.

“Donnelly.”

“Austin Donnelly?” a woman asked.

“Yes.”

“My name is Teresa Bell. I’m calling from Southern Heritage Records. You left a message earlier asking whether your father had been in contact with anyone here.”

Austin straightened. “Had he?”

“He called Tuesday afternoon.”

Austin remembered the outgoing call in his father’s log. “Who did he speak with?”

“At first, me. He said he was trying to track down people who had traveled the Southern Gospel circuit about ten years ago.”

“What people?”

“He mentioned several groups. Most of them aren’t together anymore, but some of the singers and musicians are affiliated with us now.” Papers rustled on her end. “He also asked about old bookings. Promoters. People who might have sponsored certain appearances.”

Nora walked back toward Austin, her attention settling on his face.

“What did you tell him?” Austin asked.

“I passed him along to one of our producers. Roscoe Pritchard. He’s been around Southern Gospel forever. If anybody remembers those days, Roscoe would.”

“Is Roscoe Pritchard there now?” he asked.

“No. He usually works from home on Fridays, but I called him after I received your message. He said he’d come in if you needed to talk.”

“I’d appreciate that. I can be there in forty minutes.”

“I’ll let him know.”

Austin thanked her and disconnected.

Nora was waiting. “What’s going on?”