The Last of the Moon Girls(24)

“Done, madam. But be warned, I may consult you again when it’s time to choose the hardware. Oh, speaking of which, did Dennis deliver the wood for the barn?”

“He did. Though I wasn’t a hundred percent sure it was Dennis. I never could tell the two of them apart.”

“Yup. Definitely Dennis. He works the night shift at the meatpacking plant, but does delivery and odd jobs for me a couple days a week.”

“He’s not very friendly, is he?”

Andrew shook his head. “I’m afraid not, but don’t take it personally. He’s been worse since his brother died.”

“Hollis died?”

“Two years ago. Car crash out on Route 125, not long after he got back from Afghanistan. Poor guy couldn’t catch a break. He was always a little slow, but Dennis looked out for him. They enlisted together and assumed they’d be stationed together, but it didn’t work out that way. Hollis had a rough time on his own. Came back a mess. I think Dennis feels responsible for the way things went. I’m pretty sure that’s why he took the job with me, so he could help Hollis’s wife.”

“Oh no. He was married?”

“He was. Married Bonnie Markham’s youngest daughter, Helen. The baby was barely a year when he died. A little girl named Kayla. She’s about three now, I think.”

Lizzy shook her head, grieved by the thought of a little girl growing up without her father, a young wife without her husband. “How awful. But it’s good of Dennis to look after his brother’s family. I wouldn’t have thought him the type, but then I should know better than to judge.”

She glanced at the granite sample still in her hand. She’d forgotten she was holding it. She handed it back, feeling timid suddenly. “I came to ask for a favor.”

“Okay, shoot.”

“I went to talk to Randall Summers today about the Gilman case.”

“Seriously?”

The look on his face said it all. “I know. Why dredge all that up again? I swear, I never meant to. But now that I’m here, all I can think about is how awful it must have been for Althea, knowing people believed her capable of . . .” She looked away, leaving it to Andrew to fill in the blanks. “I thought he might be able to tell me something new.”

Andrew pursed his lips thoughtfully. “I get you wanting to clear Althea’s name. I’m just surprised you thought Summers would be willing to help. He’s certainly been no friend to the Moons over the years.”

“Maybe, but I had to start somewhere. And you’re right. He isn’t willing to help. He hung around just long enough to tell me I was wasting my time. Then he hurried off to some luncheon with the mayor.”

“Of course he did.”

“Why of course?”

“Summers has been counting the days until Cavanaugh either retires or dies. And last week it became official. The mayor’s packing it in, heading to North Carolina and the grandkids. Your chances were never good, but with an election looming you’ve got zero chance of getting help from Salem Creek’s finest.”

“Which brings me to the favor I mentioned.” She stepped away, wandering toward the window to peer out. “I asked to talk to the detective who headed up the case. Summers told me he left the force several years ago and moved away. He also claims no one knows where he went. But Evvie thinks you might.”

“Roger.”

Lizzy turned away from the window, suddenly hopeful. “Yes! Do you know how I can get in touch with him? An address or a phone number?”

Andrew scrubbed a hand through his hair, clearly weighing his response. “I have both, though I doubt he’d be thrilled with me for sharing either. He’s a private investigator now, works for his brother in Dover. I could give him a call, though, ask if he’d be willing to speak with you. He might not be. I have a hunch his memories of the Salem Creek PD are far from happy.”

“Call him. Please. I just want to ask a few questions, see if anything new comes up. It’ll probably come to nothing, but it’s worth a conversation.”

He studied her a moment, head tilted to one side, as if trying to work out a riddle. “I’m curious about something. Earlier, you said you never wanted to dig all this up. Now you’re talking about kicking over rocks and turning Salem Creek upside down. That’s quite a swing.”

“I know it is. And I wish I could explain it. The truth is I don’t know what happened. I was so angry when I left. So angry I swore I’d never set foot in this town again.”

“Yet here you are.”

She nodded. “Here I am.”

“It’s a long way from New York. In more ways than one.”

Lizzy shrugged, knowing her answer would sound ridiculous to someone like Andrew. Or anyone, really. “I feel safe in New York. I know that probably sounds strange, but it’s easier to be anonymous there, just another face in a crowd of millions, where everyone has a story, but no one has time to ask. I’m sure that makes no sense to you. You’ve never wanted to disappear, to just be invisible, but I have—and still do sometimes.”

“Well, I can tell you one thing for sure. The last thing you’ll be, once you start asking questions about those murders, is invisible.”

“I know that. But sometimes you have to come out of hiding, don’t you? To stand up for what’s right? I can’t help thinking that maybe if I hadn’t tried so hard to be invisible when the feeding frenzy started, it might have made a difference. Instead, I hid and just let it all happen.”