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“Yeah.”
“But surely he’d been reassigned before. I mean, you go where the military tells you to.”
Purdy looked confused by this. “Well, that’s right. He was in Nebraska for a while, then Colorado. Then he got transferred to North Dakota. So that’s right.”
“He never got upset about those transfers?” said Decker.
“No.”
“But he did this time?”
“He . . . he called me one night, over a year ago. He said, ‘Ma, they’re moving us out. We’re going to the East Coast somewhere.’ I forget where he said, and then they were being reassigned to Colorado, I think. Least he was.”
“But he didn’t go?” said Decker.
She looked up at him nervously. “You sure you’re not here to get him in trouble?”
“I give you my word. Did he ever say anything to you that showed he was troubled by something?”
“Not in so many words, no, but I could tell somethingwasbothering him. When he would call, he didn’t sound like himself.”
“Did he know about the changes taking place at the installation?”
“No, he never mentioned anything like that to me.”
“Did he ever mention a Colonel Mark Sumter?”
“No.”
“Has he been back here since then?” asked Jamison.
“Once,” she said, looking down at her long, weathered fingers. “About ten months ago. He’d lost weight, wouldn’t meet my eye. I asked what was wrong. But all he said was he couldn’t tell me without maybe getting me in trouble.”
“Was he in uniform?”
“No, he didn’t always come home dressed up. But he only had a backpack with him. Not big enough for his uniforms and all. I asked him where he was stationed. ‘Out in Colorado?’ I asked. But he just changed the subject. He said if anybody came looking for him, to just say I hadn’t seen hide nor hair of him.”
Decker said, “Anddidpeople come looking for him?”
She nodded. “The Air Force. Three times. Said he was AWOL. In a lot of trouble. When Ben come here that one time it was late at night, and he didn’t stay long. He left the next morning at the crack of dawn. I told him about the Air Force folks. He said not to worry. I haven’t seen him since,” she added gravely, her voice breaking.
“Did anyone else ever come looking for him, besides the Air Force?” said Jamison.
Purdy took another sip of coffee before answering. “No, just them. Nobody else.”
Jamison asked, “Did he have any close friends in North Dakota? Anyone he served with that he might have mentioned?”
“Not that he said, no.”
“Did he ever mention anyone named Irene Cramer?” asked Decker.
Purdy thought about this but then shook her head. “Not that I recall, no. Who is she?”
“One of the people who was killed.”
Purdy shook her head. “I worry myself sick that Ben’s dead, too. He’s never gone this long without calling me. What do you all think is going on at that place?”
“That’s what we’re trying to find out,” said Decker. “Does Ben have a room here?”
