"It's been a while," Weller said.
"I suppose you consider that one of life's little blessings," Dean answered with a smile. Dean's past involvements with Sheriff Weller had always managed to cause the lawman untold grief. While the two maintained mutual respect, Jake Weller appeared unsettled in Dean's presence, a combination of insecurity over Dean's more extensive experience and memories of past encounters that had pushed the lawman into compromising situations.
"I suppose this is about Mrs. Shipton," Weller said, taking Dean by total surprise.
"How do you know about her?"
"Hubby called. Said she's a whacko. He's coming out to gather her up and haul her home. Her and his boy." The sheriff took a long sip from his coffee and added. "The guy says you lied to him on the phone. Said you told him his wife wasn't staying at Bird Song."
Dean took a deep breath. It was always the same. Every time he spoke to this guy, he found himself on the defensive. "I told a man on the phone, who didn't identify himself, that Edith Shipton wasn't registered at Bird Song. She registered as Mrs. Edith Jones. I just told the guy we didn't have a Mrs. Shipton listed. I didn't lie."
"And a smart big city detective like you didn't guess maybe this was the Edith he was talking about?"
Dean ignored the sarcasm. "She claims he's a wife beater. She ran away from him." He added, "I was a detective in Parkside, Pennsylvania. Parkside isn't a 'big city.'"
Weller frowned and rolled his eyes. "Here we go again. Another damn mess. Sometimes I think there's an epidemic of that domestic shit going around. Is she really a loony?"
"She's..." Dean searched for the right word, "unstable. Scared to death of him."
"What about the son?"
"She claims Donnie isn't Shipton's son. His last name is 'Ryland'."
"What does the boy say?"
"Nothing. He's mute."
Jake Weller let out a deep sigh. "So what's your involvement in this mess?"
"I don't have an involvement. She just checked in, used one name to register and another name on the credit charge for the room. Cynthia was concerned how nervous the woman acted. That's all."
"Then she told you her life history," he added, "and you're on a first name basis."
"She admitted she and her son had left the husband. She tried to change the credit card charge to cash later when it dawned on her the guy might be able to trace it. I thought that was TV nonsense until a few minutes later the phone rang and damned if he hadn't done just that!"