The Nobody Girls (Kendra Dillon Cold Case Thriller Book 3), Rebecca Rane [best book club books of all time txt] 📗

“That would be good, but only if you say it’s okay.”

“They came in and had my hair set, so it would be a shame to waste these curls.” Miss Prudence used her hand, which had a slight tremor, to puff her hairdo.

“You look lovely.”

“Thank you. We’re gonna talk about Krissy now?”

“Yes. If that’s okay with you.”

Miss Prudence nodded yes. “They said in the newspaper there’s this man they think did it. I sure wish I was able to talk to him one good time.”

“What would you say to him if you could?”

“I’d say, ‘See you in hell.’”

The niceties, the hairdo, the baking, it was all gone in a blink. Miss Prudence would kill Ewald herself if given a chance. That was the flash Kendra saw in the old woman’s eye.

“What can you tell me about Krissy?”

“When she was a child, she was such a talker. Asked me why the sky is blue, asked me why I used mayonnaise for the sandwiches, but Miracle Whip for the tuna salad, asked me why everything was anything.”

“Was she your only child?”

“That’s the thing. That’s probably why they never informed me of anything. She wasn’t my girl. She was my friend Teensy’s girl. Teensy was a friend of mine. Teensy died very young, ovarian cancer. So, I took Krissy in when she was a little thing, four years old, after Teensy died. Little Krissy had nowhere to go, and well, after that, she was my girl. But we never did it formally. She was already in kindergarten when her mama died.”

That did explain how Krissy could disappear and how it was impossible to find anyone who knew her.

“Is her name Jackson on official things?”

“No, it was Teensy Hill. Her name is Hill, well it was Hill. But she went by Jackson, my name.”

That explained one reason it had been difficult to find school records.

“How did she do in school? It sounds like she was a curious little girl.”

“She was friendly to the other children and sweet, but she didn’t do that well in school. She had dyslexia, so reading and math, those grades weren’t too terrific.”

“Have you read the things they’ve said about her?”

“I have, I did. She was in a bad way, had gone down a bad road. Started with one boyfriend, and then well, I washed my hands of it. I wish I’d have push a little harder, but I wasn’t her mama. I couldn’t make the rules once she got to a certain age. I feel bad about that now, so terribly bad.”

“Well, let’s go back to before that boyfriend.”

“Oh, for sure. She was in a little play at the school, for the holidays. I remember that very vividly. She played this elf and wore these green tights we found for the costume. It was such a fun night. She memorized all the words perfectly, which was hard, but I practiced with her.”

“Did she watch TV, have a favorite show or music?”

“She thought Happy Days was funny. Me too, we watched that together. She liked that one with the three roommates too, but I thought it was a little too jiggly.”

“Three’s Company?”

“Yes, that was it. She laugher head off at that Jack Tripper.”

“When was the last time you saw her?”

“I wish I knew to tell you that. I don’t remember the exact time that was the last time. I worked at the grocery store then. I was on my shift cashiering. She came in. And I took my break. We stood outside and talked. I was really careful not to bring up anything that would start an argument. We fought a lot once she started that life that I knew would kill her one way or another. She didn’t even ask, but I knew she needed money, so I gave her all I had in my pocketbook. Probably twelve dollars. I usually used it to get the bus, but I walked home. I was glad to walk home if she needed that money. But I was worried then too. I knew the way things were going with her life.”

“You’re not sure if that was the last time?”

“We might have fought the last time, or we might have seen each other. I try not to put too fine a point on it. That way, maybe that kind of nice time was the last time. And not a fight.”

“You said you were afraid of the way her life was going? Did you believe she was in trouble?”

“I did. I knew it was big. I knew it was powerfully bad. The way she was going. I prayed for her every night. Maybe that would have worked. Maybe she would have understood it wasn’t the way. And that she had a place to land with me if she was on the straight and narrow. I might have been able to get her in as a bagger or stocker. But she didn’t have time to find out what a different life was. Powerfully bad doesn’t give you time to change. It kills you. And it killed her.”

Chapter 27

Kendra was ready to fly back home. She had to be satisfied with the stories and the pictures that Miss Prudence had provided. She had a better look into Krissy Jackson’s life now. Kendra smiled at the photo Miss Prudence had shared of an elementary school-aged Krissy, dressed as an elf for the play.

Kendra was waiting for her flight and organizing her thoughts when Shoop called.

“How’d the interview go?”

“Good, she’s a good woman, and she had some good memories. In a lot of ways, it was much more straightforward than what we had for Cynthia Hawkins.”

“Yeah, that was a minefield, for sure. I’m glad I caught you before you got on the plane.”

“Yeah, well, they’re preboarding, so you barely caught me.”

“I just booked you a different flight.”

“Huh?”

“You’re going to have to hustle, but Atlanta to Knoxville, and then get a car to Jellico.”

“Margo?”

“Yeah, the boyfriend called me back. He’s ready to