Pine said impatiently, “Talk to me about that last night. When Joe was killed.”
“We had no idea any of that had happened. We only found out about Joe the next day.”
“If you lie to me, I will arrest you.”
“What do you mean?” said Atkins, looking severely shaken.
“We know that Desiree vanished. We know she drove their truck to the location where it was found by the police. Her husband was dead and Mercy was gone. Who would she call except you and your husband? You’re the only ones who knew what was going on, who knew of their criminal acts.” Pine stared the woman down. “So you need to tell us the truth.”
Atkins eyed her husband, who had grunted at her and then added a nod of his tilted head to that.
Atkins turned back to Pine with a resigned expression. “She called while Len and me were watching TV, a rerun of Gilligan’s Island. Funny how you remember things like that.”
“Go on,” said Pine impatiently.
Atkins said in a rush, her words coming out like beans spilled from a jar, “She said Becky had gone crazy, had broken out and killed Joe and then run off. Desiree said she had to get away or else they’d arrest her. She was out of her mind with panic.”
“Why would you agree to help her at that point?” asked Pine. “With your son dead?”
“We were completely paralyzed by what she told us.” Tears slid down the old woman’s cheeks. “My God, she had just told me my son had been murdered. And then that evil bitch threatened us. She said if we didn’t help her, that she would tell the police we knew all about it. She said she’d tell the police that we had tortured Becky. Len and I didn’t know what to do. We were scared out of our minds. Desiree can lie better than anybody. So we helped her get away.”
“How exactly did you do that?”
“We drove her all the way to Atlanta. She got a bus out.”
“To where?”
“I don’t know. She wouldn’t tell us. We haven’t seen her since.”
“Or talked to her?”
“No. And good riddance.”
“And what did she tell you about Joe’s death?”
“She said that Joe tried to stop Becky, I mean Mercy, from leaving. And . . . they fought.”
“And Mercy killed him?” said Pine.
“That’s what Desiree said.”
“And you believed her?”
“I didn’t know what to believe. It was all a blur by then.”
“And the sheriff told you about Joe the next day?”
Atkins’s eyes filled with fresh tears. “I already knew he was dead, but I had to pretend to be shocked. It was the worst day of my whole life.”
“And what did the sheriff tell you about Joe?”
“He was sure that Desiree had killed him. I mean, he had no idea about Mercy living there. We told him we hadn’t seen or heard from Desiree.”
“So you lied to him and obstructed the investigation,” said Pine bluntly.
Atkins nodded, her features full of misery. “I . . . I suppose we did, yes.”
Pine eyed Len Atkins, who looked back at her mournfully. He slowly shook his head. “I think your husband would like you to tell the truth.”
Atkins glanced sharply at him. “I am telling the truth.”