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“What are you up to this fine day?” Jessie asks. “I always do my grocery shopping early on Sundays while all the old biddies are at church. The lines are so much shorter, and I don’t have to fight over the best apples. Do you like apples, hunny?”
“Sure,” I reply. “Peaches are my favorite though.”
“Oh, peaches! When I was a girl, I lived in Georgia, just south of Atlanta. Peaches everywhere, and they were so sweet! I think I tired of them though. Once my family moved up north here, I fell in love with the apples and never looked back. There’s an apple orchard not too far from town where you can pick your own in the fall.”
“That sounds nice! I was actually going to head out to the woods for a hike today.”
“It’s a beautiful day for it! Feels like spring already. I guess that fat groundhog finally got something right!” Jessie laughs loudly as she shoves groceries into her refrigerator, then quickly turns to me. “I don’t really believe any of that. I’m not a doddering old fool or anything.”
“The thought never crossed my mind!” I smile.
“Oh, good. I know I babble on a bit, but that’s just how I am.” She looks at me a little more closely. “Are you all right, hunny?”
“I’m fine. Why?”
“You look a little pale.”
“Well, I was up late last night.”
“That’s probably it. I have some multivitamins if you want some.” She starts to rummage through a cabinet, pulling out bottles with bright yellow labels. “This one’s good, but it doesn’t have iron in it. If I take this one, I have to take an iron pill, too.”
“I’m fine, really,” I say again. “You don’t need to go through all the trouble.”
“No trouble at all!” She fills a glass of water, hands me a couple of supplements, and then places her hands on her hips until I swallow them. She smiles broadly. “That’ll do it!”
As she replaces the bottles, there is a brief moment of silence. I decide to jump in before she has a chance to say anything else.
“Do you kno
w Nate Orso?” I ask.
“Do I know Nate Orso?” Jessie laughs. “I certainly know who he is, but I’ve never met him or anything.” She narrows her eyes at me. “Why do you ask?”
“Well, I went to the Big O last night and met him there.”
“Oh, did you now? Take this, then.” She hands me two more pills.
“What is it?”
“Milk thistle. It will help with that hangover.”
“Oh! Um, okay.” Deciding it easier to just give in, I take the pills with the remainder of the water. “I did have a bit of a headache earlier, but I’m good now.”
“Those will make you even better. They’re great for your liver. Next time, come get a couple before you go out.”
“I’ll try to remember that.” I swallow hard and try to keep my tone casual. “So, yeah…I met Nate last night. He seems pretty nice, and his family seems very well connected.”
“Oh yes, they are.” Jessie chews her lip for a moment. “Poor guy. That family has been through so much loss.”
“What loss?” I ask.
“Oh, that’s right!” Jessie snaps her fingers. “I keep forgetting you’re new.”
“Just on my second week here,” I say.
“It was about a year ago,” Jessie says, leaning in close to me and lowering her voice, “when his brother’s body was found in the woods. Murdered. No one’s been caught. And then his father! Oh, my lord, it’s just too much.”
“His brother was murdered?” Why wasn’t that tidbit in any of the newspaper articles?
