BIG SKY SECRETS 01: Final Exposure by Roxanne Rustand Page B

here all that long, has he?”
    Erin laughed. “You do keep track of our town, Ms. Swanson.”
    “Pays to keep up with things. Now about this young man of yours…”
    Isabelle was a sweet old lady, but she was still as determined as a pit bull. “Strictly business. I’d like to ask you about someone who was in here over the weekend, though. Ollie?”
    “Ah, yes. Sad thing, really. His mother was quite a drinker. I heard he was dropped as a baby and ended up with brain damage of some sort.” Isabelle shook her head, remembering. “He should have had special schooling back in the day. But either his parents didn’t bother, or he slipped through the cracks in the education system. I’m sure I never saw him in school when I was teaching.”
     
    “So he works for Barry? He seems devoted.”
    “It must be a terribly lonely life for him, otherwise. I hear he still lives by himself in the run-down place where he grew up, and that he adamantly refuses to move into a group home.”
    “Can’t someone help him?”
    “The local churches drop off food for him, but other than doing occasional odd jobs, he’s a pretty reclusive guy. He won’t even open his door to the county welfare people.”
    “Would he…” Erin carefully chose her words. “Could he be encouraged to do anything illegal? Does he understand the difference between right and wrong?”
    Isabelle straightened in her chair. “Why do you ask?”
    “Just wondering. I think someone broke into the store one night, and there might have been a prowler outside my house.”
    Isabelle shook her head. “Ollie might be easily led, but I don’t think he’d cause anyone harm. Folks around here try to look after him. He’s sort of a town mascot, really. If he got a little mixed up, they’d correct him, not haul him off to jail.”
    Which didn’t exactly answer her question. “And what about the florist?”
    “Barry?” Isabelle pursed her lips. “He’s been up here for at least ten, fifteen years, but I don’t reallyknow him. He keeps to himself, but he’s done well with the garden center and flower shop. Not an easy thing these days.”
    “He warned me about the dangers around here. Yet he looked more dangerous than anyone else I’ve met since coming back.”
    “I suppose so, with all those tattoos and the wild hair. I think he must be a relic from the Vietnam War protest and flower-child era. But,” Isabelle added thoughtfully, “he does have an amazing green thumb.”
    The more Erin saw of Jack, the more she was sure that he was an upstanding, honest guy. Thrust into the difficult situation of raising his sister’s child, he was doing his best and had shown himself to be a kind and caring man, despite Erin’s earlier reservations.
    Barry was another story.
    She thought about the missing keys, and Max’s terrified reaction when he’d been on the porch with Charlie. If Barry was still after Grandpa Pete’s property, could he be trying to frighten her into selling out? He certainly lived close enough to keep watch on the place, so he could plan his next move.
    “You trust Barry, then?”
    “Well…I guess so.” Isabelle considered her words for a moment. “One day I bought some daylilies there and mistakenly gave him a twenty, instead of a ten. He followed me clear out into the parking lot to give me my proper change.”
     
    Presenting an honest facade could be a cover for other dealings, though. “Would you say this area is safe these days?”
    “It’s funny you should ask. Miriam Walker was just telling me that she heard about a breakin on her police scanner last week.” Isabelle’s eyebrows drew together. “I think that was the first bit of trouble we’ve had all year around here.”
    “Nothing more than that?”
    “This is a safe town, my dear.” Isabelle leaned forward and patted her hand. “Don’t let old tragedies make you so jumpy. Worrying about everything and fretting about the people around you will just send you to an