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Bethenny looked toward Jessica’s house, but the fence was too high for her to properly see over.
“Do you mind if we take ten minutes to look around?” Lachlan asked from behind her.
“Not at all,” Louise said. “I’ll leave you to it.” She walked toward the house, but Bethenny noted she didn’t go inside. She sat on the deck, watching them.
She concluded that Louise was just nosy. This was a big story for a small town, and Louise seemed like the kind of person to stand around gossiping in the local bakery. Now she would have some details for her friends—and maybe she thought she was being helpful by sticking around to answer any questions they might have.
Bethenny watched as Lachlan’s gaze ran the length of the fence. Soon after, he began to walk slowly, moving the grass out of the way using his feet.
Bethenny did the same, moving in the other direction. She could feel Louise’s eyes on her.
“What happened to your fence?” Bethenny asked her.
Louise looked at her blankly.
“Why did you need to patch it?” Bethenny prompted.
“Oh yes,” she said, waving her hand dismissively. “There’s been a hole in there for years. The old neighbor damaged it and never bothered to repair it,” she said with an exaggerated roll of her eyes. “People have no decency these days.”
Bethenny didn’t care to get into an argument with Louise, so she simply nodded.
“What’s he like, this one?” Louise asked, nodding toward Lachlan. “He’s new in town...”
“I’m new in town too,” Bethenny said with a smile.
“Newbackto town, but you’re not newtotown,” Louise said pointedly. It seemed she knew everything about everyone.
“It’s been a while,” Bethenny said. She wondered, then, if she had been at Redwater High School at the same time as Louise’s sons. “Do you live here alone?” Bethenny asked. Quickly, she added, “Or does your son live with you?”
Bethenny saw the change in her eyes immediately. “I live alone. My son works out of town, but he comes home to visit occasionally. My other son died about two years ago,” she said with sad eyes.
“I’m sorry for your loss,” Bethenny said, sensing that Louise didn’t want to discuss the specifics of what happened.
Louise’s eyes welled. “My husband ran off years ago. I raised those two boys on my own,” she said, her voice thick. She shook her head, looking away.
“Would I remember your boys from school?” Bethenny asked, trying to tactfully draw a little more information from her.
She returned her gaze to Bethenny. “No, they went to school in Seattle. We moved here about ten years ago.”
Bethenny nodded as she processed that information. “I went to school with the Sheriff—Mitch,” Bethenny said, keeping the conversation light. “It’s strange how life comes full circle.”
Louise gave an odd smile. “You can never leave the past behind, no matter how hard you try,” she said, her eyes locked on Bethenny’s.
Bethenny nodded slowly, suddenly wondering if they were talking about the same thing.
“He reminds me of my youngest son,” Louise said, her eyes on Lachlan.
Bethenny looked over her shoulder at a pensive Lachlan, staring at the fence. “He does?”
Louise’s eyes seemed to glisten, but she shook her head, seeming to shake away her emotions. “Not because of the way he looks.”
Bethenny frowned, not sure she understood; but when her phone rang, her attention was diverted. She excused herself, walking away to make sure she was out of Louise’s earshot before she answered the call.
“Bethenny, it’s Mitch. The lab just called—the blue paper in the gold locket you found at Jessica’s? It tested positive for LSD. I don’t know what she was involved in, but we need to factor drug use or dealing into this investigation,” he said.
Bethenny nodded, keeping her expression neutral even though her back was to Louise. “Understood, thank you,” she said, ending the call.
When she turned around, Louise’s eyes were on her and the look in her eyes made Bethenny uncomfortable. Those eyes of hers had a way of peering into the soul.
