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Jenna made a few useless notes in her book and lifted her gaze back to him. “How did you get along with Mrs. Wagner? Did you chat with her?”
“She was a clean freak.” He narrowed his gaze. “She wanted me to remove my boots. I told her I must wear boots when I’m working. It’s code. If I dropped a wrench on my toe, she’d be liable.” He grimaced. “She followed us around with a cloth, wiping the floor, sweeping the stairs, but what can you say? Most of the old folk are set in their ways, and she always offers me lunch or a cup of coffee when I work there.”
“Okay.” Jenna watched his body language and came up empty. “So you’re relationship with Agnes Wagner was cordial?”
“Yeah, I guess so.” He rubbed his chin and tapped his bottom lip as if contemplating what to say. “You never know with the old folk. Some of them smell bad and act strange. I’m always worried they’ll lock me in the cellar. I take my tools with me just in case I need to break out.”
“Really?” Astonished, Jenna stared at him. “Did you do any work for Mrs. Darvish out of Rocky Road, or Flora Carson out of Buffalo Trail?”
“You know I did.” Duffy leaned back in his chair and smiled ruefully. “I spoke to Colby Hahn this morning. He told me your deputy has been hounding him. Asking all sorts of questions, asking where he’d been. I can tell you now. I worked for both those women.” He tossed his notebook at Jenna. “Check the dates. I’ve got nothing to hide and if you want to know where I was on the nights you asked Colby about, go see my wife.”
Jenna made a note of the dates he’d worked for both women. “Okay, I’ll need her name and where I can speak to her in private.”
“Sally’s at home.” Duffy stretched his legs, looking supremely confident, and gave his details.
Jenna stared at the camera. “I’ll get my deputy to go and speak with her without delay.”
Seconds later her phone chimed. It was a message from Kane telling her he was on his way with Carter to speak to Sally Duffy. All she had to do was delay her husband a little longer. She glanced at Jo. “Do you have any questions for Mr. Duffy?”
“Yeah.” Jo’s gaze fixed on Duffy’s face. “The quilting circle uses many of the same contractors for work. We know about Mr. Hahn and Mr. Archie Bueller. Are you aware of anyone else who might work for them? Do you often run into other contractors?”
“All the time.” Duffy frowned. “The problem is with this question, Agent Wells. Giving out information like this goes against my ethics. It’s like going behind someone’s back. Most of my work in town comes from recommendations, from other contractors or from clients, and I don’t want my business to suffer if the townsfolk believe I’m an FBI informant.”
“If I’d wanted you as a CI, I wouldn’t be speaking to you with Sheriff Alton present.” Jo smiled at him. “Let’s change the subject. Have you worked for many of the older folk in town?”
“Yeah, all the time.” He folded his arms over his chest. “It’s rare for one to call for just an estimate. They usually want the job done yesterday. Most of them want things replaced rather than fixed. It seems to be a new thing around town of late. They all want new furnaces, or new stoves, and they call me to get them for them. They’re impatient and demanding but they’re old.”
“Have you always gotten along with your grandparents?” Jo’s attention hadn’t wandered from his face.
“Mine?” Duffy stared at his hands avoiding her gaze. “My grandpa died long ago and my grandma was a little crazy. She’d spend her time talking to him and set his plate at the table every night like clockwork. My parents couldn’t see anything wrong with her, but when they died and left me with her, it was creepy.”
“And how do you get along with her now you’re older?” Jo flicked a glance at Jenna and then moved her attention back to Duffy. “Is she still a little creepy?”
“I try not to think about her. She died.” Duffy raised his eyes and looked at Jo. “I was out there one day playing in the yard and she fell into the well.” He shrugged and a slow smile creased his lips. “She probably heard Grandpa calling her and dived right in.”
Jenna leaned forward. “Did you see her fall in?”
“Nope.” Duffy shrugged. “The cops figured she’d wandered off somewhere, they found her down the well sometime later.”
“Did that upset you… knowing you were there when she died?” Jo made a few notes in her book and then looked at him.
“Not really.” Duffy shrugged. “Like I said, I figured she was crazy. I didn’t like living there.”
“Do you think your experience with your grandma makes it difficult to work for the older women in town?” Jo twirled the pen through her fingers. “Do they bring back memories, for instance?”
“The smell does, sometimes. The beeswax polish or the stale air in the house because they never open a window.” Duffy picked at his fingers. “But I don’t let it bother me. It’s just a job. I don’t have to stay there, do I?”
Jenna’s phone vibrated in her pocket. She glanced at the caller ID. It was Kane. “I have to take this call. The interview is suspended.” She gave the time and then pressed the pause button on the recorder. “I’ll be two minutes.” She flashed her card and stepped outside the door. “That was fast. What do you have for me?”
“I have a statement from Sally Duffy that states her husband has been at home all night for the last month or so. I asked her if she’s a light or heavy sleeper and she informed me she takes sleeping meds. She said, she goes to sleep around nine and sleeps through until seven like clockwork. Often she wakes to find her husband has already left for work.” Kane let out a long breath. “His alibi wouldn’t hold up in court. Did you get anything else?”
Jenna stared through the one-way mirror at Duffy. “He had a problem with his grandma and she conveniently fell down a well when he was staying there as a ten-year-old.”
“That’s not enough to charge him, but enough to make him one for us to watch.” Kane sighed. “Try and get another look at that book he was referring to. If we know who he is working for next, we’ll keep an eye on them.”
Trying to think up an excuse to make legal copies of the man’s workbook, Jenna nodded absently. “Okay. I’ll see what I can do.” She disconnected and went back inside the room.
After pressing the record button on the video device, she lifted Duffy’s workbook from the table. She gave the time and people present again and smiled at Duffy. ?
