“Carnita says you’re always looking for diabetic recipes for him. And Ellie Smith says she sees you checkin’ out with fresh fruits and vegetables at the Dollar General. She said you were even asking about a farmers market.”
I made a face, glancing down at the cute kitten cuddled in my hands. “He had the diet of a teenager, and I want him to keep his remaining leg, as well as live a long, healthy life.”
“She also says you buy his food with your own money.”
How would she know that? Max only paid me in cash, so I wasn’t using my card. “He doesn’t charge me rent.”
“Ruth says you bought Jerry a coat.”
My eyes narrowed in exasperation. I didn’t like that the town was gossiping about me, even though it wasn’t exactly malicious gossip. Where was she going with all of this?
“Sounds like you’re a good person, Carly Moore,” she finished, tilting her head as if to study me.
I wasn’t so sure about that, but I wasn’t about to protest. If she thought that, she’d be more inclined to help me.
A playful look filled her eyes. “I’ll tell you what you want to know on one condition.”
I cocked my head. “And what’s that?”
“If you decide to take a kitten, you have to choose two. It’s gonna take me forever to find homes for them, and I know you’ll give ’em a good one.”
I shrugged. What was one more? Besides, maybe they’d be happier if I kept two of them together. “Deal.”
She opened the baby gate and walked in, sitting on the floor across from me. Picking up a kitten, she said, “So what do you want to know?”
“How long did you know Heather?”
“Most of us were born here, but occasionally we got a newcomer. Most of them were treated as outsiders, interlopers, but Heather was pretty and vivacious, and soon she had most of the girls eating out of her palm. Half the boys too.”
“What grade did she move to town?”
“Third. Me and Mitzi were the closest to her. The three of us were best friends all through high school. Or so we thought.”
“What does that mean?”
She pushed out a sigh. “Heather could have taught a master class in gaslighting and manipulation. She loved to play us against each other, sometimes to get what she wanted, but I’m sure sometimes she did it for sport.”
“So a lot of people didn’t like her, then?” I asked.
“Well, that’s the weird part. She didn’t really have any enemies. She could lay on the charm as smooth as silk and as sweet as honey. When we were out of her orbit for a while, we’d realize that she’d held us under a spell and tell ourselves that we wouldn’t fall for it again. But we always did.” She gave me a pointed look. “I’m not a stupid woman. You have to be pretty intelligent to get into vet school let alone make it through, so take my word for it when I say that Heather could get anyone to do anything. She had a way of pulling people’s strings like they were puppets. Of course, when she came back the last time, I was in vet school in Knoxville, but Mitzi was still here and I’m pretty sure she got roped back into her nonsense, although she’s never admitted to it, and after Heather left, we had this unspoken agreement to not talk about her.”
“Everybody believed that the Drummonds paid Heather to leave town. Why do you suppose no one considered that she might have been murdered?”
Abby lifted a shoulder into a shrug. “Maybe for the same reason most people don’t think too much about it when Lula takes off.” She shook her head a little, with a ruthful smile. “I can’t believe you thought someone had snatched her.”
I tried hard to look nonplused. Someone had tried to snatch Lula, and she’d gone into hiding. “So everybody just figured Heather had left and that was the end of that? No one ever tried to contact her or wondered why she never called or visited?”
“You have to understand,” she said, leaning forward. “Heather was an out of sight, out of mind kind of girl. She was your best friend when she was there with you, but once you fell off her radar, it was radio silence.”
“Do you think Mitzi would be open to talking to me?”
“I don’t know,” she said. “I suspect you’re here to help Wyatt, and Mitzi’s not too fond of him. Especially after Wyatt crashed Heather’s goin’-away party.”
I blinked hard. “Going-away party?”
“Yeah. Heather told everyone she was leavin’ for Tulsa and got Mitzi to throw her a party. She told everyone the Drummonds had paid her to leave town, showed them the check and everything.”
“Why Tulsa?” I asked. “Did she have family or a friend there?”
“Dunno,” Abby said, glancing down at the kittens. “All I know is what Mitzi told me. Rumor has it that Wyatt showed up, drunk off his ass, and they went into a bedroom. When they came out, they were fightin’ like cats and dogs. Then he took off.”
“Wyatt drove drunk. Again?” That would have been after his DUI arrest.
“I guess so, if he was drunk when he got there. Mitzi said he didn’t stay very long. Long enough to screw her in the bedroom, then yell at her as he left.”
“So a half hour or so?” I asked, my voice rising at the end.
She laughed. “I couldn’t tell you, but if he was as drunk as
