Missing Pieces(39)

“I remember I would sit at her dressing table and try on her makeup and perfume. She had a closet of pretty things. Most of the time she wore jeans and tennis shoes, but when she dressed up, she seemed so glamorous. Once a month, Mr. Tierney would take her into Cedar City for dinner and dancing.”

“They got along okay?” Sarah asked.

“I guess.” Margaret shrugged. “They seemed crazy about each other. I never noticed any problems but...” She trailed off.

“What?” Sarah prodded.

“I don’t want to talk out of turn, but everybody thought Mrs. Tierney was kind of a flirt. My mother’s friends would go on and on about how Lydia would smile at and joke around with their husbands.”

“But that doesn’t mean anything. Were they jealous?”

“Lydia was so pretty and sweet, and a few of the women didn’t like the way their husbands looked at her. My mother and Lydia were great friends. She would get so mad when people started saying that Lydia and her flirting were crossing a line. I’m just saying that maybe some of the other mothers might have thought so.

“Now, Mr. Tierney...” Margaret held up an index finger. “He was one handsome man. Jack’s the spitting image of him, you know?”

“Yes, I’ve seen a picture,” Sarah murmured, not wanting Margaret to stop talking, eager for any tidbit of information about Jack’s past.

“He was so quiet, never said much of anything when there was a crowd around. But when he drove me home after babysitting, though, he was so nice, asked me about school and my friends. Real personable.” Margaret gave a girlish giggle. “I was half in love with him.” Sarah must have given her a strange look. “Oh, it was nothing like that,” she scoffed. “John Tierney was completely in love with his wife. He was just making polite conversation when he drove me home. Nothing untoward in his behavior at all.

“I babysat for the Tierneys until Jack was around eleven, then they didn’t really need me anymore. Jack was old enough to watch after himself and Amy. Plus, I got a part-time job at the pharmacy in town. Didn’t see so much of the Tierneys after that. Just at church.” A sudden breeze swept past and Margaret patted her hair to make sure each lock was still in place.

“It must have been a shock when you heard about Lydia’s death and now with what has happened with Julia...” Sarah trailed off. It was almost too much to wrap her head around. She had never known anyone who had been murdered and now, all of a sudden, she had learned that two people related to her husband had died violently.

“The whole town was shocked when Lydia died. Up until that time, there hadn’t been a murder in Penny Gate for fifty years. My mom was inconsolable. Like I said, she and Lydia were best friends. After the funeral, she didn’t get out of bed for a week. Now, with Julia—” Margaret shook her head so that her turquoise earrings swung back and forth “—not too many people know what’s going on. It won’t take long, though, especially with the sheriff questioning Amy and the search at Hal’s farm.”

“Margaret,” Sarah began cautiously. She knew that this conversation could only go one of two ways: awkward or awful. She was hoping for awkward. “Have you ever seen Lydia’s case file?”

“Oh, no,” Margaret said, reaching into her purse and pulling out a pack of gum. “I’m just a dispatcher. I’m not supposed to have access to files.” She offered a stick to Sarah, who declined. Something in the way that Margaret answered the question prodded Sarah forward. She had the sense that even though Margaret technically wasn’t supposed to read any of the case files, it didn’t stop her when her curiosity got the better of her. She had the feeling that Margaret read every case file she could get her hands on.

“I just feel like if I have a chance to read the police reports, maybe see the case file, I’ll understand what Jack has gone through. If I’m able to answer my own questions, then maybe I won’t feel the need to have Jack tell me himself and dredge up all kinds of bad memories. What do you think? Can you help me?”

Margaret chewed thoughtfully on her gum. “You could just put in a request at the courthouse.”

Sarah shook her head. “I’ll be gone by the time the paperwork goes through and the sheriff doesn’t seem particularly enthusiastic in helping me out on this. And like you said, the case is closed. They already know who did it.”

From their brief conversations, Sarah could tell that Margaret was fond of Jack and Amy. But even more than that, Sarah thought that Margaret might be a little lonely, and secretly helping Sarah with her covert operation might add a little excitement to her life.

Margaret leaned in close to Sarah and lowered her voice. “You know I could get in trouble. Maybe even lose my job over this.”

Sarah held her breath. She could almost hear Margaret’s inner dialogue as she wrestled with her decision. Sarah would be gone in a few days and when would anyone else, in her lifetime, ask her to sneak into the sheriff’s locked files?

“I’ll do it,” Margaret whispered, almost as if she was talking to herself.

“Thank you, Margaret.” Sarah impulsively reached for her hand. “I really appreciate it. You have my number, right?”

The sound of someone clearing his throat caught them off guard and both women’s heads swung forward.