“Was anyone bothering her? Or did anything suspicious happen before she went missing?” he asked. “You know…like her behavior changed?”
Merle shook her head.
“I was working with her the day before she went missing. She was going home each night, and the only thing she was excited about was the girls’ outing. Phylis was a creature of habit. She liked to head home after work and chill out. She told us that it was a good thing her husband worked night shift because then she didn’t have to talk when she was at home.”
He imagined.
“Speaking of her husband, how about her relationship with him? I spoke to him when he called it in, and he was crushed. Did she ever mention any issues?”
Bernadette gushed about the man.
“Dave was her soulmate. They felt the same about each other. He would get up early from sleeping and bring her flowers randomly. What guy does that anymore?”
He didn’t comment because he did. If you wanted to keep a lady, you learned real fast how to be a gentleman.
“Yeah, Dave is a sweetie,” Merle said. “The reporters came in and said that she was found with two other women. Is that true?” she asked.
He nodded.
“Yeah, that’s why the FBI is handling this.”
Both women looked upset.
“She was a sweetheart,” Merle admitted. “I’m going to miss Phylis.”
On that, Bernadette agreed.
“And no one was bothering her?” Dannie asked, really needing them to think about this long and hard. Even theslightest thing could help them out. “Don’t hesitate even if it seems insignificant.”
His fingers were crossed that he’d find a lead.
Merle was honest.
“I mean, we have cunty customers all of the time who are rude and obnoxious, but no one out of the ordinary. Phylis was literally the calmest person in the world. You couldn’t upset her. She was honest, loyal, and did the right thing repeatedly.”
The other woman went there.
“Once a guy dropped a hundred-dollar bill on his way out, and she chased him down in the snow. She was special,” Bernadette admitted. “I would love twenty Phylis’ working here,” she admitted, and then added the other woman so she didn’t feel left out. “Oh, and Merle’s too.”
He listened as they rang up the things.
“How long were she and Dave married? I don’t want to go to his house and bother him with these kinds of questions. As you can imagine…”
Oh, they got it.
“I think around ten years this June,” Merle said. “She was working overtime to pay for a cruise to the Bahamas,” she said. “They couldn’t have kids, and she wanted to give him a good memory. Dave worked hard for them at the plant.”
Yeah, they sounded like a solid couple.
Then what got her ears removed and her remains dumped on a reservation? Yeah, this was the oddest case.
For.
Sure.
He hoped the Feds could solve it.
When Bernadette gave him the amount for the purchase, he slipped the Fed’s card through the scanner and then paid.
