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Harlan smiled.

“Would you care for coffee? I could easily make you some. I would’ve baked brownies if I knew you and this young man were coming to call.”

“This is Harlan.”

“Lovely to meet you, dear.”

“Thanks.”

“I’d like to ask you a few questions about people going in and out of the house next door. Let’s think back to a couple of days ago. Can you do that?”

“Go ahead and ask me, Sheriff. It’s never been so quiet here since you locked Josie up.”

“Did Mrs. Masters cause a disturbance?”

“She was always yelling at poor Tory,” said Margaret. “I felt so sorry for the man.”

“When was the last time you saw Tory, ma’am?”

“A few days ago. The same day Tory and Josie had the big fight. I think it was Saturday.”

“Saturday. Good. I need to establish a timeline, and you can help me do that. Tell me what you saw and heard on Saturday.”

“The big fight was in the morning—around ten or eleven—I know that because I hadn’t had lunch yet. That’s when Josie came running out the side door of the house yelling and screaming. She tossed her purse into her car and took off. I watched her go down the street and she was driving much too fast.”

“Did Josie come back later in the day?”

“I’m not sure. I didn’t see Josie come back but I saw the other woman.”

“What other woman was that, Margaret?”

“She was older than Josie and she had blonde hair.” Margaret laughed. “I think she got her hair color out of a bottle.”

“Did the woman stay with Tory very long?”

“Not too long at all. Maybe about a half hour. I didn’t really time her visit. I’m not that nosy.”

“Do you remember what the blonde lady was driving?”

“A truck. Definitely a truck with a bunch of junk in the back.”

“What kind of junk?”

“Like a wheelbarrow and stuff like that. You know, Sheriff. Construction things.”

“Was there a name on the side of the truck?”

“Yes. I read the name. It was Boyd or something like that. Not a truck I’d seen around Coyote Creek at all.”

“I think Boyd Construction is based in Shelby,” I said. “Tory worked there. He never brought one of those trucks home?”

“Never. I didn’t know where Tory worked. None of my business.”

I stood up. “Thank you for your time, Margaret. You’ve been very helpful.”

“I hope you catch the person who killed Tory. He was a nice man, and I’ll miss him. He always shoveled my sidewalk in thewinter.”

Harlan and I hopped back into the squad. “So, the blonde woman was from the place where Tory worked. What does that mean?”