A Valley to Die For by Radine Trees Nehring Page B

“Look, JoAnne was my best friend, and if I knew anything about her that seemed dangerous, or sinister, or unusual, I’d tell you. I don’t. We’re all boringly normal here. Now I’m tired, I’m hungry, I’m upset, and this has gone on long enough!”
    Conceding—probably, she thought, because she was now telling them the same things over and over—they ended the questions. Taylor drove her, FatCat, and all of FatCat’s necessities home, saying he’d be back later that evening.
    Leaving the cat to explore on her own, Carrie called Susan to report and make plans. Then she punched in Henry’s number, wondering if he really was at home, since Storm had almost ordered him to go there. For whatever reason, he did answer his phone quickly, and the low, quiet “hello” warmed and comforted her the minute she heard it.
    After telling him what had happened at JoAnne’s, she asked if he knew what they might expect next. “I had thought Susan and her family could stay at JoAnne’s house,” she said, “but I guess they can’t now.”
    Henry was quiet for a long moment before he answered. “It’s probable Storm won’t allow you or Susan in for a while, especially if the house was torn up by someone doing what sounds like a pretty thorough search. What the sheriff does depends on when his department thinks they’ve learned all they can there. We’ll have to expect that it will be off limits. Could Susan stay at a motel in Bonny?”
    “No, not with the baby. I couldn’t let her do that. They can stay with me.”
    “You’ve got lots of extra things to do right now,” said Henry, “so maybe I can help by inviting them here.” There was a pause before he continued. “Shall I ask them here?”
    “That’s nice, Henry, but I have the extra room, and Susan really doesn’t know you.”
    Another pause. “That’s right, she doesn’t.”
    “Well, then.” She sighed and looked at her watch. “It’s almost six. I’m going to take a hot shower and fix something to eat. Storm’s hospitality didn’t include lunch. Have you eaten?”
    “Yup, TV dinner,” he said.
    “Thank goodness for those. I’m too tired to fix anything else. Have you called anyone? Roger and Shirley, or Jason?”
    “I called them all,” said Henry. “They’re horrified, of course, and I don’t think it seems real to anyone yet. Shirley said we’re to come there for dinner tomorrow night. She didn’t know when to call you and admitted she wasn’t comfortable talking to answering machines. I told her we’d be there. Is that all right? It sure won’t be TV dinners.”
    “Of course I’ll come. Would you mind telling her for me? And tell her I’m glad to have the dinner to look forward to. It helps, somehow.”
    “Good, I’ll call her now. Jason thought we should wait until after next weekend to plan anything more about the quarry. We won’t meet Saturday, of course, but somehow it seems getting going on this quarry thing and beating it would be the best possible memorial to JoAnne. Maybe everyone will be willing to talk about it tomorrow evening.”
    “Yes, we must plan... something. It’s even more important to me now too.”
    Carrie, dressed in flannel nightgown, robe, and slippers, had just been finishing the last of her Hungry HE-MAN Roast Beef Dinner when Storm and Taylor came by to tell her JoAnne’s house was sealed, and no one was to enter. If they had learned the answers to any of their questions, they didn’t say so.
    Sergeant Taylor did have one piece of interesting information, which he mentioned just as the men were leaving.
    It seemed that when things were important enough, even state officials got asked questions on Sunday. Don Taylor had called the head of the Environmental Commission at home in Little Rock. She reported back that JoAnne had never contacted them, nor met with any member of the commission.
    Carrie was brushing her teeth some time later when it occurred to her that Henry had said JoAnne asked