“Not much.” Regan frowned. “It’s really odd. I know he existed, I have his report cards. But it seems he just vanished when he was around thirteen or so.”

“Maybe he died,” Lorna suggested.

“I went back through the parish records, but I couldn’t find a notice of his death or that he’d transferred out of school. Midway through his freshman year in high school, he simply disappeared.”

“Well, so much for that.” Mitch grabbed another crab from the pile.

“No, I’m going to find out who he was. If for no other reason than to satisfy myself. Much like Lorna’s quest to find her old friend. I want to know where Eddie Kroll went, and why my father had his old report cards.”

“Did you hear a car?” Lorna frowned, and looked out the window.

“It’s Chief Walker.” Lorna excused herself. “I’ll be right back.”

She went through the dining room and out the front door and stood on the steps with her hands on her hips, watching the black-and-white turn around in her drive. When the car came to a stop, she walked to it.

The chief lowered the window on the passenger side and asked, “How are you doing, Lorna?”

“I’m doing fine. Thanks.”

“Just wanted to stop by, see how you are. And to tell you… well, I just want you to know how glad I am that nothing worse happened to you. And that I’m sorry for… well, sorry there was bad blood there for a while.”

Lorna nodded. “Apology accepted. Don’t give it another thought.”

“I ran into Fritz at the Quik Stop. His friend is in town, he said they’d be stopping out to see you. Seems like a nice guy, this friend of his.”

“I’m sure he is.”

“Mike lawyered up real fast-he’s filing motions right and left. It’s going to be months before the DA can get that show on the road.”

“Isn’t that pretty much what you’d expected?” Lorna asked. “Did anyone expect him to confess?”

“Oh, one other thing. That name you asked me about…”

“Claude Raymond Fleming.”

“Right. I asked around, found out his sister, Joanne, lived over in Arnold. She died a few years back, cancer.”

“Fleming’s sister lived in Arnold?” Lorna felt a stab of recognition. Then she asked, even though she was pretty sure she knew the answer, “What was her last name?”

“Porter. Her married name was Porter. Didn’t know if you still wanted the information, but thought I’d pass it on to you, all the same.”

“Thanks, Chief. I’m glad you did.” She stepped back from the car and waved, and he said good-bye as he drove past her. She stood in the driveway for a moment, then went back into the house.

“There’s something I have to do,” Lorna told her guests as she searched for her car keys. She found them on the counter, then looked for her handbag, which she found in the dining room, the strap looped over a chair. “You stay and finish your dinner, I’ll be back in a little while.”

T.J. had followed her into the dining room.

“Where are you going? What did Walker say that has you running out the door?”

“He told me that Claude Raymond Fleming’s sister lived in Arnold. Her name was Joanne Porter.” She searched her bag for her sunglasses. “As in Danielle Porter.”

“Danielle’s mother? So Claude Fleming is Danielle’s uncle?”

“Apparently. Now, why do you suppose she would have run to the phone to call him the minute she closed the door on us?”

“Good question,” he agreed. “I’ll come with you.”

“No, thanks. I think she’s more likely to talk to me if I’m alone.”

“What are you hoping to find?”

“She knows about Melinda, T.J. I’m sure she does. And I’m not going to let it go until I find out what really happened to Mellie.”

Lorna parked her car alongside Danielle’s double-wide and got out. She walked to the front door and knocked until it opened.

Danielle stood in the doorway. When she saw Lorna, she stepped outside and closed the door behind her.

“What now?” Danielle asked.

“I give up. What’s the connection?” Lorna asked.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Danielle turned to open the door and Lorna stuck out an arm to stop her.

“You know exactly what I’m talking about. Melinda Eagan. Where is she?”

“What does it matter, after all these years? Just leave it, and get on with your life.”

“Melinda was my best friend. I need to know what happened to her. Her mother needs to know.”

“Her?” Danielle scoffed. “Her mother doesn’t give a shit about her and never did. Beat the crap out of Melinda and Jason every chance she got. She didn’t deserve them then, and she doesn’t deserve Mellie now.”

“Billie’s changed a lot over the years, she isn’t the woman she used to be.”

“That doesn’t make up for what she did to them. Sorry.” Danielle opened the door and stepped inside the double-wide.

“She’s really a different woman. Oh, please don’t close the door. Listen to me, Billie has spent the last twenty-five years regretting everything that happened between her and her kids.”

“Too little, too late,” Danielle said, glaring at her from the doorway. “Tell it to someone who gives a shit. A woman treats her kids that way, she deserves to lose them.”

“That’s not your decision to make.”

“It sure as hell isn’t yours.” The door was all but closed.

“If you talk to Mellie, tell her… tell her that I never forgot her. That I never stopped missing her and that she was the best friend I ever had.” The door made a little puff sound as it closed.

“And tell her she can find me easily enough, if she ever wants to,” Lorna added, loud enough to be heard from inside, before she walked away.

She got into her car and backed out of the drive, tears spilling down her face, saddened to know that, after all these years, her friend was still out of reach.

The good news was that now she knew for certain Melinda was still alive.

23

“Hey! Tall, sweaty guy!” Lorna called to T.J. from the end of the first row of trellises. When he turned around, she tossed him a bottle of water, and he caught it in one hand.

“Nice catch,” she told him. She gestured toward the section he’d been weeding. “Looking good.”

“These tall thorny things are murder to get out of the ground. There must be a million of them.” He took the top off the bottle and drank deeply. “Thanks for the water.”

“They’re some kind of thistle, I think.”

“They’re a pain in the ass by any name.” He mopped his forehead with the back of his forearm.

“You still determined to clear all this out before the frost hits?”

He nodded. “I will get it all cleared before the frost hits. Then, when spring comes around, I’ll be ready to put in my vines.”

“After having spent the winter months studying up on grapes and other related topics.”

“By this time next year, I’ll be conversant in all things grape. Types, soil requirements, pests-I will positively dazzle you with my knowledge.”

“I’m looking forward to being dazzled.”

He took off the heavy gloves he’d been wearing to weed out the worst of the overgrowth, and walked to the end of the row.

“Are you sure you won’t miss the excitement of law enforcement?” She watched him approach, her hands on her hips.

“I’ve had about all the excitement from that quarter that one lifetime can handle, thanks.”

“Even though the FBI’s still after you to re-up?”

“They’re wasting their time. I keep telling them that I’ll never go back. I don’t know what more I can say.” He took another drink from the bottle.

“Maybe someday you’ll trust me enough to tell me about that,” she said softly.

“What do you want to know?”

“What happened to make you lose confidence in yourself?”

“Oh. That. That’s an easy one,” he said matter-of-factly. “Teddy Kershaw. Lakeview, Georgia.”

“Who’s Teddy Kershaw?”