Page 79 of Dead Man's List

“It is. Someone lured her out with the promise of ready cash.”

“Done deal for Shelley,” Maggie murmured sadly. “I didn’t have high hopes for her when she left after her thirty days.”

Sam leaned in, aware that Maggie was unlikely to be able to share everything he wanted to know, what with HIPAA laws and all. “Why not? And I’ll also tell you that her mother’s body was found alongside hers.”

Maggie’s shoulders sagged. “I liked her mom. She wantedShelley to be sober so badly. Unfortunately, Shelley didn’t want to be sober. She liked using. I think she was just biding her time until she could go home and use again. She didn’t like using alone, though, so she was always trying to drag people into her circle.”

“We think that someone knew her vulnerability and used the promise of several thousand dollars in cash to get her to break the rules of her workplace, to deliver some finished merchandise her killer hadn’t paid for.”

“You want to know who knew she would be desperate for dough?”

“Yes. Am I looking for a needle in a haystack?”

“I think you’re looking for a particular piece of hay in a haystack,” Maggie said ruefully. “Shelley wanted to be tough, but underneath she was just another addict desperate for her next fix. Anyone with an eye could have seen it.”

“Did she have any visitors while she was with you?”

“I thought you might ask me that.” Maggie pulled a sheet of paper from her pocket. “I didnotgive this to you.”

“Nope. Never saw it before. Never even sawyoubefore.”

Maggie chuckled. “You don’t have to go that far.”

Sam took the page and scanned its contents. “She got visits from her mom and her aunt Jennifer. Her friend Julie visited a few times.”

“Nice girl. I really hoped that Shelley wouldn’t drag Julie down with her.”

“I don’t think she did. Julie seemed very sober when we talked to her.”

“You’ve been busy.”

“Yeah.” Sam pointed to an unfamiliar name. “Who’s LeRoy Hawkins?”

She frowned. “He visited once. Said he was a minister with a local church’s youth group. I know the youth minister at thatchurch and his name isn’t LeRoy. So I called the church, but they’d never heard of LeRoy. Unfortunately, by then the man had ended his visit with Shelley and was gone.”

Sam went with a hunch. “Did he happen to have a neckbeard?”

Maggie’s eyes widened. “He did, yes. Do you know him?”

“No, but I want to meet him,” Sam said grimly.

“I see. Is it best if I don’t ask more questions?”

“Probably, but I have a few more. How long do you keep the recordings from your security cams?”

“Three months. Do you need to see them?”

“I think my colleagues at SDPD will. Did you happen to see what LeRoy Hawkins was driving?”

“A motorcycle. Or at least he had a helmet under his arm. I remember wondering how he got the thing fastened under his chin with his thick beard. And I only remember that because the church youth minister he lied about working for asked for his description, so the helmet was in my mind.”

Sam was disappointed. He’d hoped they could get the Suburban on video and check its plates. But at least they had the guy with the neckbeard. Kit would be able to work with that, he was sure.

“He only visited the one time?” Sam asked. “Midway through Shelley’s stay?”

“That’s what the logs show, and we’re pretty diligent.”

“I know you are,” he said warmly. “Did Shelley seem happy to see him?”