I looked at Randy’s house as we passed by it. He still wasn’t there; maybe he wasn’t even back from Juneau yet.
“Viola, does Randy have any hobbies? Does he hunt or trap?” I asked.
“I don’t think so. He owns the mercantile. It’s his life.”
“Have you remembered his wife, Wanda, any better?”
Viola thought a long moment, then shook her head. “She was unhappy, unfriendly, but that’s the only impression I remember.”
“Where in the world would she have gone? Anywhere around here you can think of?”
“I have no idea. I didn’t have one real conversation with her.”
“Do you remember the day she left?”
“No, Beth. I just don’t. She wasn’t here long as far as I know. Why?”
“I just wondered if it was ugly, if there was a public argument.”
“Not that I’m aware of.”
We were coming up to the Petition and the library. “I need to check in with Orin. Do you mind if I stop there a minute?” I asked.
“A library?” Ellen said as the hand-carved sign came into view.
“Yes, a great one,” I said.
She looked at Viola. “I know you have no real reason to trust me, but could I stay here awhile? I’d love to find some books. I’m not sure I can get a card, but I can read here.”
“Sure,” Viola said. “Just remember, there’s nowhere to run.”
Ellen laughed again. “I know that even more than I did before. We just got back from nowhere. Thank you.”
“You’re doing great, Ellen,” Viola said.
She took a shaky breath. “At the moment, I’m not so sure, but there’s no fix in the near vicinity, so I’ll battle through. All addicts should be lucky enough to have so many strange adventures.”
I thought about Orin’s medicinal painkiller and hoped it wouldn’t cause a problem.
“I’ll just wait here,” Viola said. “Hurry up, Beth. I want to get to Gril’s office. I need my truck.”
I guided Ellen inside and saw her eyes light up as she looked at the shelves, and then dim when she saw the crowd.
“Lots of people,” she said quietly.
“Internet access is like gold around here,” I said. “Everyone will head over to the airport at lunch if Orin shuts down for an hour. You going to be okay getting back to the Benedict House if you need to? Just down the road we were traveling.”
“I’m going to be fine,” Ellen said. “Maybe I’ll never have to leave this library. That might be the best. Oh, but I have to cook dinner and I wouldn’t even think of shirking that duty.”
We were standing right inside the doorway, not speaking too loudly, but probably too noisily for the library setting. I put my hand on her arm and lowered my voice even more.
“Are you okay?” I asked.
“No. I mean, yes, I’m fine, but now I’m overloaded with regret and sorrow. I’m trying to ignore it. I mean, people have been killed and I can’t seem to stop thinking about me and all the time I have wasted.”
“Well, I don’t have the right answers, but you can only do better from here on. It’s up to you.”
Ellen looked at me. “Thanks. I’ll try.” She took another deep breath. “I hope to find some good books.” She leaned close and spoke even more quietly. “I think I’ll pass on your books for today, though. Too scary.”
“Sheesh, that’s the truth.” I smiled. I gave her the phone number of the burner phone I’d been using. “Not sure it will do you any good, but if we both happen to be in pockets of coverage, or you use a landline, I’ll try to answer it.”
“Thanks.”
I left her with the readers, the books, and the open laptops, and made my way to Orin’s office.
“Come in,” he said when I knocked.
“Hey,” I said. I closed the door behind me.
“Beth! I got your message. I tried to check on you but no answer. I’m glad to see you. What’s going on?”
I filled him in on the latest.
“Gril thinks the body from three months ago is Paul Horton? What in the hell does that mean? How bizarre,” he said.
“Orin, someone was watching us in the woods. I thought it was Lane, but now I’m not so sure. We just stopped by his house and he said he wasn’t out there by the ice cave, and then I heard a door slam in the back of his house.”
“And we don’t know who that might have been, coming or going?”
“No clue.”
Orin shook his head once. “And two women are missing—Wanda Phillips, and Ashley Horton. Ashley’s purse was found in the cave?”
“He assumes she’s the female body. And Gril took Tex Southern in for questioning. What if one of Tex’s daughters is the Horton girl who disappeared? What if neither of those girls are his?”
“That could get very ugly, indeed.” Orin sat back in his chair and rested his chin on his steepled fingers.
“What?”
“I’m going to research some more, but I’ll call Gril the second I find something helpful.”
We said we’d talk later. As I left the library, I saw that Ellen had scored one of the comfortable chairs and was nose-deep in a romance.
I rejoined Viola, but then did something that surprised even her. I told her I didn’t want to go with her into Gril’s office, that I had some things I wanted to get done.
I dropped her off at the police cabin, noticing that Gril’s and Viola’s trucks, along with some vehicles I didn’t recognize, were parked out front. Presumably, Tex was in there, too.
I told Viola I’d see her later and took off back to Brayn. I didn’t tell anyone where I was going.