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Ruth zoomed in on the news story. “Another Suspected Arson Incident in Detroit.”

Liz slipped her glasses on and read the paragraph below it aloud:

“Detroit’s fire department spokesperson, Wayne Tarzowski, told news reporters his investigation into the south side Detroit fire which displaced two families earlier this week was the result of arson. The tenants, whose names have not yet been released, are the latest victims of an arsonist who has been targeting the area in recent weeks.”

The story stated the fire started late at night and the tenants, all alerted by smoke alarms, safely made it out, but the contents of the burned units couldn’t be salvaged .

Gloria let out a low whistle. “The place is in rough shape.”

Liz studied the black-and-white photo. The structure’s roof was completely gone, and the windows were nothing more than gaping holes where the glass, now blown out, had once been. “The place was a total loss.”

Ruth shot her a look. “Has Echo mentioned a fire?”

“No, but then I’m not sure if she would in the normal course of a conversation. Although, looking back, she made sure the mobile home’s smoke detectors all worked. We put in new batteries and tested both alarms the day she moved in.”

“Is there any sort of description about what type of area Echo lived in?” Gloria asked. “I mean, if she knew Mick Grotto personally, perhaps he lived nearby.”

“I have access to a nifty site that can give us the lowdown.” Ruth pulled up a new screen and entered Echo’s former zip code in the search bar. “This zip code gets a sixty-two percent livability score.”

“Which isn’t good,” Liz said.

“Not really. The crime rate is higher, although the home prices are a lot lower.”

“Because the area is less desirable.”

Ruth scrolled through the screen. Not only were they able to access the livability score and cost of housing, but it also listed crime stats and rental rates. “I’m gonna take a wild guess this might not be the best area, but it might not be the worst one either.”

“Where Echo is living now is a far cry from Detroit and the city,” Gloria said.

“She seems to enjoy country living,” Liz said. “I was wondering if maybe we could find out more about her previous job. ”

Ruth grabbed her job application and pulled up a nationwide employment database.

“How in the world did you find this?” Liz asked.

“You don’t want to know.”

“I’m sure it involves her friend, Leonard,” Gloria said.

“Leonard?”

“Leonard Navoy, tech guru and space explorer.” Ruth grew quiet as she navigated through several screens. She accessed the county’s website and drilled down until she found the evidence technician department. “Crud.”

“What?”

“We hit a dead-end. This only lists current employees. I can’t access information about former evidence technicians.” Ruth snatched her cell phone from the table. “I’ll text Leonard to see if he knows a workaround. ”

It took a few minutes of back and forth and finally, Ruth set the phone down. “He gave me an idea.” She flew through several more screens, flipping back and forth as she consulted one and then entered keystrokes in another.

“I would be so lost,” Liz said.

“It’s tricky. This site has taken me a while to become proficient at…”

“Snooping,” Gloria teased.

Ruth arched a brow, shooting her friend an annoyed look. “Nothing like calling the kettle black.”

“You have me there.”

“And…” Ruth leaned back in the chair and folded her arms. “We have Echo Olive Quigley’s employment records. I’ll print a copy.” She hit the print key and hustled out of the kitchen, returning moments later clutching a small stack of papers. “She was telling the truth. ”

The trio gathered at the table, poring over Echo’s employment record. Most of it was a cryptic language. What Liz could glean was that her tenant was telling the truth. She had lived in Detroit and worked for the county as an evidence technician.

“This is interesting.” Gloria tapped the top of the paper. “Her official title was a D3 evidence technician. I wonder what that means.”

Ruth opened another screen. “D3 is an area of Detroit, the D3 zone.”

They finished going over the employment report, but nothing stood out as a clue.

“So there you have it, gals. Echo was being truthful about her job and where she was from.” Ruth began exiting out of the screens and Liz stopped her. “There’s one more thing, and I hate to keep bothering you, but I was wondering if you could research Mick Grotto. ”

“The guy who showed up on your doorstep looking for Echo, the one she claims she doesn’t know?” Ruth asked.

“And whose name and number we found on a sheet of paper in Echo’s living room,” Gloria said.

Ruth wrinkled her nose. “We’ll be tiptoeing into some murky waters.”

“Which has never stopped us before.”

“True.” As opposed to Echo, Ruth found a great deal of information about the former convict. “He’s from Detroit and was recently released from prison.”

“What sort of crimes has he committed?” Gloria asked.

“He was convicted of Class E felonies,” Ruth said. “Class E includes carjacking, home invasion and carrying a firearm or other dangerous weapon with unlawful intent. ”

Gloria wandered to the window. “This former convict shows up on Liz’s doorstep, looking for Echo, who had been employed by the state as an evidence technician and then, hours later, is attacked.”

“And Echo went MIA,” Liz reminded them. “She told me she was heading back to the Rasmussen farm, but Floyd said she never made it.”

“That’s all I have,” Ruth said.

“You’ve been a tremendous help.” Liz thanked her.

“You might want to sleep with one eye open until you can connect the dots between Echo and this person,” Gloria warned.

“I was thinking the same thing. Should I tell her we found the piece of paper with this guy’s name on it and see what she has to say?”

Ruth gave a thumbs down. “She’s hiding something. Confronting her will only put her on the defensive. ”

“I’m with Ruth on this one,” Gloria said. “I don’t see how it would help. In fact, it could very well backfire.”

Liz gathered the information on Echo, thanked her sister and Ruth, and headed home. During the drive, she mulled over what they’d found. At least her tenant had been truthful and honest regarding her former occupation and where she’d lived.

She thought about Echo’s former home burning and investigators ruling it arson. She had never mentioned it to Liz, not that it made a difference. It was possible she believed, as the news story had suggested, the fire was one of several linked to the area.

Still, there was a nagging concern over her tenant’s connection to the former convict.

Back home, Liz spread the papers out on the kitchen table. Echo had worked for the county for several years, moving from a lower-paid level one technician to a level two .

She studied the information about Echo’s former home, noting a gap between the timeframe of when the place had burned and her arrival in West Michigan. Where had she lived in the interim?

There was no notation in her work records about why Echo had left. She’d told Liz and Floyd she’d loved her job and only quit after deciding to move to West Michigan. Which brought up another point…if she loved working as an evidence technician, why wasn’t she pursuing a position with Montbay County?

Knock. Knock. Liz shoved the papers in the drawer and hurried out the door. “Hey, Lucy.”

“Hey, Liz. We have a question about the front foyer’s medallion.”

“The one I tripped and nearly broke my neck on?” Liz joked.

“Yeah. We found someone to refinish it, but it might be a little pricey.” Lucy rattled off a number that seemed reasonable to Liz .

“I say go for it. The medallion is the first thing you see when you step inside. We want it to look nice.”

“Got it. I’ll put together a change order.” Lucy turned to go. “Before I forget, Echo stopped by earlier. She was looking for you.”

Liz consulted her watch. “She must’ve left work early.”

“She seemed kind of nervous about something and told me she would catch up with you later.”

“Nervous?”

“Yeah. She kept watching the road while we were talking.” Lucy told her Echo said she was heading home, but within minutes, she tore out of the driveway and sped off down the road. “Hopefully, everything is all right.”

“Thanks. I’ll get ahold of her.” After Lucy went back to the house, Liz sent Echo a brief text. “Lucy said you were looking for me. Is everything all right? ”

Liz exited the RV and meandered along the fence line, making her way to the riverbank near the back of the property. She paused near the edge and took a deep breath.

The air was several degrees cooler, and she wondered what it had been like living there at the turn of the century, in a town that no longer existed.

She thought about her own life, how she’d gone from being flat broke to marrying a wealthy farmer and moving into an RV. Never in her wildest dreams would she have dreamed she would be where she was right now…married to a man who loved her, who tolerated her high-maintenance personality and wasn’t the least concerned about her champagne tastes. Floyd was her blessing, her perfect mate. Liz was content…truly content now.

God had given her exactly what she needed and a man she would love for the rest of her life.

She turned toward home and noticed Lucy and Margaret standing in the driveway, chatting with someone in uniform. Liz froze for a fraction of a second and then she took off at a dead run, certain that something terrible had happened.