Worse Than Being Alone
illegal in her past,’” Lionel began, but
stopped abruptly. “Here’s the deal. Sometimes, bad people feel safe
as long as nobody’s digging around. Especially when it’s something
that happened a long time ago. When somebody starts poking a stick
into their past, sometimes they panic and actually overreact. They
try to clean up their mess and tie up any loose ends.”
     

Chapter Eighteen
    Roni was showing our new part time secretary, Cindy
Washington, how to use the computer in the recently leased space of
K&R Investigations when I walked through the door. The office
consisted of two small rooms; an outer reception area with a desk
that Cindy would man, and an inner office with a door and a couple
of desks that Roni and I would share.
    Cindy Washington was a high school
classmate of ours. She had 10 years of secretarial experience under
her belt, but had difficulty keeping a job because of her OCD. The
entire student body of Hillsboro H H igh School had referred to her as
Crazy Cindy, and I had been less than enthusiastic about hiring
her.
    Roni met Crazy Cindy when they were six years old.
Even then, it was obvious that Cindy was different. Roni told me
she caught glimpses of what was to come in grade school. Once when
Roni slept over at Cindy’s house, she found a machete under Cindy’s
bed. Cindy refused to explain the reason she had the weapon though
she made Roni swear not to tell Cindy’s parents.
    Years later, Cindy finally admitted she hid the
machete so she could kill any snakes that she was convinced were
trying make it inside their house. A lifelong fear of snakes caused
her to block vents, drains, spaces under doors, and any other
access point Cindy considered at risk. The usual fear of germs and
frequent hand washing most people associate with OCD caused her to
have severely chapped hands. Despite her illness, she had managed
to stay married for 20 years and have two relatively normal
sons.
    “ Hey, they finally put our name on
the door,” I said. “I guess we’re official now. How’s it going,
Cindy?”
    “ Good, Kitty,” Cindy said. “Aren’t
you going to call me Crazy Cindy?”
    “ Not to your face,” I said. “Hey,
I’m trying here, OK?”
    “ Fair enough,” Cindy
said.
    “ My job is not going to involve
being a referee,” Roni said as she started to walk back into our
office. “You two need to play nice in the sandbox.”
    “ Yeah, yeah,” I said as I followed
her and closed the door.
    “ I mean it, Kitty,” Roni said.
“Just give her a chance.”
    “ OK, I promise to try,” I said. “I
get she needs friends and a job.”
    “ How’s your burn patient?” Roni
asked.
    “ Hanging in there,” I said. “She’s
in that precarious percentage of burn victims where it could go
either way. I met her daughter. She’s really something.”
    “ She seems to have made quite an
impression on you.”
    “ That’s true,” I said. “I don’t
think she has any interest in letting me be involved. She has a lot
of trust issues. How is David Weller?”
    “ He’s doing well. He agreed to go
see Brad Henry. I talked to his investigator, Lionel Phelps. He’s
going to see what he can dig up on Marian.”
    “ Good,” I said. “Then maybe we can
quiet our little voices a little.”
    “ At least we’ll know if there’s
anything in her past. Lionel brought up something I hadn’t really
thought about. He wants me to get that Marian might find out and it
may drive a wedge between Billy and me.”
    “ What if something bad happens?” I
asked. “Then you’ll have to live with the fact you didn’t do
anything.”
    “ I guess there is no perfect
option. I’d rather check her out and live with that decision. On a
different note, how about trying for Ho again tomorrow? I’ve got
Harley and his dad lined up to help.”
    “ Sounds good,” I said. “What’s the
plan?”
    “ Box the black Mustang in front
and back and plant a GPS tracking device under the
carriage.”
    “ I

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