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Gunther chimed in, “And why would someone come all the way out here with a made-up story? We can’t pay a lot. What would be her motive to lie to us about her past? I just don’t see it.”
“Well, if she wanted to disappear but needed a job to support herself?” said Jamison. “That would be one motive.”
Gunther’s expression showed clearly that he did not believe this to be a plausible explanation.
Jamison said, “Did she give you references from past places of work that you could check out? She’d been out of school for about eight years. She had to have held other jobs in the meantime.”
Gunther and Ames exchanged a glance.
Decker said, “During job interviews, you always ask about a potential hire’s experience. You check references.”
Gunther placed his hands together and said quietly, “We needed a teacher and . . . and she was the only one to apply for the job. It’s not like we could be choosy.”
“Teaching is a lot of work,” added Ames. “And a person could come here and make twice what we were offering just to be a cashier at a truck stop. So when she applied for the position we were thrilled.”
“In fact, I imagine you were desperate for someone?” said Jamison.
“Yes.”
“How’d she find out you needed a teacher in the first place?” asked Decker.
Gunther answered. “We placed an ad online and also in the local paper. She apparently saw it and came in. She interviewed very well. She brought model lesson plans with her, seemed very well prepared to teach our children, and appeared happy and well-adjusted. And she had done a very good job for the time that she was here. Susan told you that herself, if you recall.”
Ames said, “But why all these questions about Irene’s past? How is that relevant to what happened to her? She was a prostitute. Don’t a lot of them have bad things happen to them? I mean, it’s just the nature of the beast, isn’t it?”
“It can be, yes,” said Jamison. “But we have to follow up other angles as well.”
“We’re just trying to trace her past. It might have an impact on what happened to her,” explained Kelly. “At least we can’t discount that yet.”
“Meaning it might be someone from her past who killed her?”
“Could be.”
Gunther nodded. “Well, that is a little comforting. At least it might not be anyone from London. I would hate to think that we might have a brutal killer running around here.”
“You’d be surprised how many places have brutal killers running around,” said Decker, drawing a sharp look from Gunther.
Ames said, “I know that you have to look into what happened to Irene, but do you have any clue as to who killed my daughter?”
Decker looked at Ames. “As Detective Kelly said, we’re working hard on it. Both these cases are a priority for us.”
“Do you think they might be connected?” asked Gunther.
“How so?” asked Kelly.
“Well, both women had ties to this place. Both were killed when they were off our property. Do you think it might be someone who had a grudge against our lifestyle and beliefs? These things do happen. Religious persecution.”
“Yes they do,” said Jamison. “And we will look at that angle, although Cramer was not a member of the Colony.”
“Someone might have held it against her that she taught here or had a mistaken belief that she was a member somehow.”
“Again, we will look into that,” said Jamison, glancing at Decker.
Kelly added, “Do you have any idea where Pamela might have been living in London?”
“She never told me,” said Ames. He paused and his expression grew uncomfortable.
Jamison was quick to pick up on this and said, “Is there something on your mind?”
