born,” Hadley said. “But I know what you mean. I’m on high alert, myself. I hate being like this. My radar seems to go up with every unusual sound.
“The house settles, Onus is antsy, and a thousand other little things I never used to pay any attention to have me stopping and listening and wondering if I should be wary. I really hate what this cad has done to our sleepy little village.”
“Well,” Bill said, “our little village hasn’t been as sleepy as you might think for a very long time. It would turn your hair white to know the number of people around these hollows who are users. I go to homes every week where kids are dirty and moms and dads are strung out. Maybe they’ve gotten into a fight that turned bad. It makes me sick to see how these drugs have messed up so many lives.”
“I know,” Hadley said. “When Kyle broke into the garage and stole all that stuff, I was mortified to learn he’d burglarized my home to pay for his drug habit. I knew he was a handful. But I thought it was alcohol. I had no idea.”
“I know,” said Maury. “It’s easy to get lost in our little bubble and forget about the problems so many around us have and are going through.”
“Virgie came to see me,” Hadley said. “My heart broke for her. First, that awful accident at the amusement park.”
“I know,” Maury said. “Claire was such a beautiful girl. I don’t know how Virgie stood it. If something like that ever happened to Skip, I’d die. But a mother’s love is strong. I guess that’s what got Virgie through. She had to be strong for her daughter.”
“But Claire was never the same,” Hadley said. “She quit school. Just sort of drifted.”
“Right into trouble,” Bill added.
“I know,” Hadley said. “Claire getting pregnant with Kyle only added to Virgie’s problems.”
“Don’t you know I was shocked to hear who Kyle’s daddy was,” Maury said. “Cliff McKinney!”
“I don’t think Claire knew who the father was,” said Hadley. “And I don’t think Cliff is Kyle’s daddy. There’s no resemblance at all between them. Cliff’s sandy-haired and blue-eyed. Kyle was dark and swarthy.
“And remember, Claire’s always been easy. Kyle’s daddy could be any truck driver who ever passed through the county. She’s slept with any male who handed her five dollars.”
“I know,” said Maury. “It’s awful to think about.”
“I’m just surprised Kyle was born healthy,” Hadley said. “That’s the miracle, I think. Claire had to be eaten up with every venereal disease in the book.”
“But Kyle grew up as wild as a buck,” Maury said. “I held my breath that Skip wouldn’t get hooked up with Kyle’s crowd. They were older than Skip, but you know how the wild side appeals to kids.”
“We’ve been very lucky,” Bill said.
“Amen,” said Maury.
“Anyway,” Hadley said, “Virgie came by. She wanted me to help her find peace, she said. I told her I couldn’t interfere with an active criminal investigation.”
“Huh,” Bill said. “You could take all the evidence we got, Hadley, and put it on the end of a pin. I know you won’t say anything, but I gotta tell you, whoever did this was smart.”
“Middle of the night,” Hadley said. “No witnesses. In and out and away without so much as a bean-kiss-your-foot. That’s gotta be tough.”
“You said it,” said Bill.
“Where you gonna start?It’s not as if Kyle didn’t have a list of enemies a mile long. Drug dealers, pot growers, druggie friends. It’s not like he ran with the goodie-two-shoes crowd. And what about the people he’s stolen from, owed money to? I don’t know. The list seems endless to me.”
“That pretty much sums up what we’re up against,” said Bill.
“Lou Edna says Virgie was always complaining,” Maury said, “about Claire and all the pills she was on, when Virgie stopped in every week for her wash and set down at the shop. Lou said that Virgie told her Claire
“The house settles, Onus is antsy, and a thousand other little things I never used to pay any attention to have me stopping and listening and wondering if I should be wary. I really hate what this cad has done to our sleepy little village.”
“Well,” Bill said, “our little village hasn’t been as sleepy as you might think for a very long time. It would turn your hair white to know the number of people around these hollows who are users. I go to homes every week where kids are dirty and moms and dads are strung out. Maybe they’ve gotten into a fight that turned bad. It makes me sick to see how these drugs have messed up so many lives.”
“I know,” Hadley said. “When Kyle broke into the garage and stole all that stuff, I was mortified to learn he’d burglarized my home to pay for his drug habit. I knew he was a handful. But I thought it was alcohol. I had no idea.”
“I know,” said Maury. “It’s easy to get lost in our little bubble and forget about the problems so many around us have and are going through.”
“Virgie came to see me,” Hadley said. “My heart broke for her. First, that awful accident at the amusement park.”
“I know,” Maury said. “Claire was such a beautiful girl. I don’t know how Virgie stood it. If something like that ever happened to Skip, I’d die. But a mother’s love is strong. I guess that’s what got Virgie through. She had to be strong for her daughter.”
“But Claire was never the same,” Hadley said. “She quit school. Just sort of drifted.”
“Right into trouble,” Bill added.
“I know,” Hadley said. “Claire getting pregnant with Kyle only added to Virgie’s problems.”
“Don’t you know I was shocked to hear who Kyle’s daddy was,” Maury said. “Cliff McKinney!”
“I don’t think Claire knew who the father was,” said Hadley. “And I don’t think Cliff is Kyle’s daddy. There’s no resemblance at all between them. Cliff’s sandy-haired and blue-eyed. Kyle was dark and swarthy.
“And remember, Claire’s always been easy. Kyle’s daddy could be any truck driver who ever passed through the county. She’s slept with any male who handed her five dollars.”
“I know,” said Maury. “It’s awful to think about.”
“I’m just surprised Kyle was born healthy,” Hadley said. “That’s the miracle, I think. Claire had to be eaten up with every venereal disease in the book.”
“But Kyle grew up as wild as a buck,” Maury said. “I held my breath that Skip wouldn’t get hooked up with Kyle’s crowd. They were older than Skip, but you know how the wild side appeals to kids.”
“We’ve been very lucky,” Bill said.
“Amen,” said Maury.
“Anyway,” Hadley said, “Virgie came by. She wanted me to help her find peace, she said. I told her I couldn’t interfere with an active criminal investigation.”
“Huh,” Bill said. “You could take all the evidence we got, Hadley, and put it on the end of a pin. I know you won’t say anything, but I gotta tell you, whoever did this was smart.”
“Middle of the night,” Hadley said. “No witnesses. In and out and away without so much as a bean-kiss-your-foot. That’s gotta be tough.”
“You said it,” said Bill.
“Where you gonna start?It’s not as if Kyle didn’t have a list of enemies a mile long. Drug dealers, pot growers, druggie friends. It’s not like he ran with the goodie-two-shoes crowd. And what about the people he’s stolen from, owed money to? I don’t know. The list seems endless to me.”
“That pretty much sums up what we’re up against,” said Bill.
“Lou Edna says Virgie was always complaining,” Maury said, “about Claire and all the pills she was on, when Virgie stopped in every week for her wash and set down at the shop. Lou said that Virgie told her Claire
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