Page 79 of Last Girls Alive

“Hi,” came a voice behind them. A woman in her forties with auburn hair and a large floppy green hat greeted them. She was dressed in dark jeans and a lightweight long-sleeved blouse. “Are you the detectives?” she said.

“Hi,” said Katie. “Yes, I’m Detective Scott and this is Deputy McGaven.”

“Pleased to meet you both,” she said. “I’m Sandy, Elmer’s daughter. Elmer will meet you on the porch. In the meantime, you can enjoy a glass of sweet tea.”

“That would be lovely,” said Katie, glancing at McGaven. They obediently followed the woman along the carefully manicured path to the house.

“Take a seat and he’ll be with you shortly,” she said and disappeared into the house.

Katie raised her eyebrows and then took a seat.

McGaven walked to the railing. “It’s really beautiful here. Makes me want to buy some land.”

“I could see you as a farmer,” Katie joked.

“No, really. I would love having land around here somewhere. My own land.”

The screen door opened and an older man in his seventies stepped out carrying a tray with three glasses of sweet tea. He was thin, tanned, and moved like a much younger man. “Hello, Detectives.”

“Mr. Rydesdale?” asked Katie.

“Please, you can call me Elmer,” he said and offered Katie and McGaven each a glass. “After I heard about that woman’s body found at Elm Hill, I figured it was only a matter of time before the police came around here.”

“You worked there when it was a foster home?”

“Yes,” he said, taking a sip of tea. “About four years.” His excitement showing as he began to talk faster again.

“Why? May I ask? You have such a wonderful place here.”

“Well,” he began, “we were going through some rough times and our farm wasn’t producing enough for the market. I took the job temporarily to make ends meet.”

Katie understood and nodded. “Did you enjoy it?”

“Not particularly. Don’t get me wrong, I was thankful for the opportunity. But, it was always a problem.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, there was a lot of drama with those girls.”

“Can you be more specific?” said Katie, taking another sip of the tea, which was delicious.

“They were always arguing, yelling, and plenty of door-slamming. Seemed like I was always fixing a door, replacing a window, sweeping up broken dishes and such.”

“I see. Did you happen to hear what the arguments were all about?”

“I tried to stay clear most of the time, but the best I could conclude would be the girls thought they were being treated unfairly, too much discipline, I’d imagine.” He took a seat in one of the wicker chairs with bright yellow cushions. His face had many lines from being outdoors in the sun for so many years, but most of them were from smiling and laughing.

“Did you witness any of these disciplines?”

“Can’t say I did. A lot happened behind closed doors.”

“Did you ever see men coming to the house?”

“Just police officers occasionally. My day usually ended by 6 p.m., so I couldn’t tell you if anyone visited after that.”

“Did you know any of the girls? One you spoke to the most?”

“I spoke with Candace, she was a lovely girl. She was polite and always asked how I was doing. The others were just in passing, with the exception of maybe that quiet skinny one… what was her name…”