The Heavens May Fall by Allen Eskens

somewhere that we won’t be overheard?”
    “Um . . . sure. Come on in.”
    Max nodded to Percell, who nodded back and left to return to the Pruitt house. Catie’s mother led the way through the house and out the back. She brought Max to a gazebo painted the same blue and white as the house and that overflowed with an array of flowers. On the gazebo they took seats opposite one another.
    “My name is Detective Max Rupert.” He held out his hand and the woman took it.
    “I’m Terry Kolander,” she said. “Am I in trouble?”
    “Not at all, Ms. Kolander. I’m going to tell you some things that I need you to keep to yourself for a little while. Can we have that understanding?”
    “Of course. I used to be a nurse. I understand confidentiality.”
    “That’s good.” Max leaned forward in his chair so that he could talk in a hushed tone. “Did Emma spend the night here last night?”
    “Yes.”
    “What time did she come over?”
    Terry thought for a moment. “A little after five. Jennavieve called and asked if I could watch Emma for the night. She said she had something she had to attend to. I said yes, of course. Catie and Emma are best friends.”
    “Did Mrs. Pruitt say what she was going to do last night?”
    Terry raised a hand to her lips. “Has something happened to Jennavieve?”
    “Was it a business meeting or something personal?”
    “Oh, no. I mean, um . . . I don’t think she said. She just said . . . she said ‘Can you watch Emma for the night? I have . . .’” Terry furrowed her brow in thought. “‘I have some things to take care of.’ That’s what she said. I just assumed it had something to do with her foundation.”
    “Her foundation?”
    “Yes. Jennavieve is the director of a foundation that restores wetlands. She’s always having meetings in the evenings. She was in the paper not too long ago. Her foundation won a big court case.” Terry stopped talking, as if a new thought kicked its way to the forefront of her consciousness. She locked her eyes on Max’s. “What happened? Why are you here?”
    “When’s the last time you saw Mrs. Pruitt?”
    “Detective Rupert, what happened to Jennavieve?”
    Max dropped his head, knowing that his conversation would not continue until she had an answer. He raised his head back up, looked her in the eye, and said, “We found a body this morning. We believe it to be the body of Mrs. Pruitt.”
    Terry gasped and looked toward the house, to an upstairs window where two young girls stood, watching the gazebo.
    “I need you to be calm, Ms. Kolander,” Max said, drawing her attention back to him. We haven’t had an ID of the body, and we’re waiting for Mr. Pruitt to get here from Chicago. I’m hoping you can watch Emma until we get things squared away.”
    “Absolutely.” Ms. Kolander’s eyes began to tear up.
    “And I need you to act like nothing has happened. If it turns out to be Mrs. Pruitt, we’ll let her father decide how best to let Emma know.”
    “Sure.” Terry slid a fingernail under each eye, catching the forming tears in the corners and wiping them on her pleated shorts.
    “What can you tell me about Mrs. Pruitt?”
    Terry took a breath to settle her emotions before answering. “She’s incredible. I know she comes from a wealthy background. Her family owns a bunch of businesses. I think they made most of their money in paper milling. They own a ton of land up north and a handful of paper mills. But Jennavieve isn’t the corporate type. I mean, don’t get me wrong, she’s a powerful woman, on the Board of Governors for the Minneapolis Club, a big donor at the Guthrie and Hennepin Theater Trust. She’s very involved with just about every important local charity, but her baby was the Adler Wetland Preservation Foundation.”
    “Adler?”
    “That’s her maiden name. She devoted a lot of time to that foundation.”
    “And what about Mr. Pruitt? What can you tell me about him?”
    “We weren’t close friends