Page 122 of In Cold Blood

He nodded.

“Is she alive?”

“As far as I know,” he replied.

“You want me to stay?” her husband asked.

“No. You need to go,” she said, closing the door behind her to block out the conversation from eavesdropping teens. Judy folded her arms, an outward sign that she wasn’t comfortable.

“Would you like to sit?” she asked.

“Sure,” Noah replied, taking a seat on a porch swing.

Her husband got in the van, eyeing them both suspiciously through the windshield before backing out. “My husband is on shift work. At the mill.”

Noah nodded.

“So what’s this about?”

“Does your sister own a white truck? A Ford-150?”

“Yes. We paid for it. She said she needed one for work.” She chuckled, shaking her head. The pain in her expression wasclear. “I haven’t seen her in a while. Though I did talk to her recently. Our last conversation didn’t exactly go as well as I hoped it would.”

“When was that?”

“A week ago. Saturday, I think.” She took a deep breath and let it out. “Before that, I hadn’t heard from her in about eight months. She called out of the blue. Sounded scared. But wouldn’t tell me anything. Just wanted to see if I could let her stay for a while. Said she had trouble with her job.”

“Her job?”

Judy eyed him. “My sister turns tricks. She’s a prostitute.” As the words left her mouth, Noah could see a visceral reaction. Judy’s body stiffened up. Her lips pursed. “I tried to help. In the past, that is, but she’s hooked on drugs and doesn’t listen. We had her here for three months back in 2015 but my husband had to toss her out when I found out that she’d stolen money from us. My kid to be specific. Can you believe that?” She wiped dust from her dress. It was clear appearances mattered to her. Morals even more so.

Noah eyed the silver cross around her neck.

“What kind of trouble has she gotten herself into this time?”

“I believe she was a witness to a crime.”

“Huh. Crime. That sounds like Trinity.”

“Do you know where I can find her?”

She chuckled. “Pinning her down is hard even for me. She’s been kicked out of more places for failure to pay rent than I care to mention. I can give you her last address and phone number but that’s it. I doubt it will be of use. When she called last week, I thought she was high. I told her not to phone again. She kept texting. I blocked her number. I figured she was trying another one of her sob stories to get us to put her up for a few months, so she could steal money.” She took another deep breath. “I lovemy sister. Please understand that. I do. And God has mercy for all but even he can’t help those who don’t want to help themselves.”

Noah took a deep breath and eyed the neighbor trimming his trees.

“Do you have any other family she might go to for help?”

“Nope. Our parents passed away a few years back. Broke their hearts.”

“What about friends of hers?”

She shrugged. Judy got up. “I’ll get you the information I do have.”

“Would you have a photo of her?”

“Of course.”

She went inside. Judy returned a moment later with a scrap of paper containing an address in the town of Wilmington, New York, along with her cell number. Then she handed him a Polaroid. “My daughter took this photo of us the last time she was here.”