“I’m not saying I know it was her for sure,” Donna cautioned. Her brown hair was pulled back in a severe bun and it made her sharp features more pronounced, reminding Cooper of a bird. “I’m just saying that the woman clearly wasn’t part of our group.”
Since he was open for any lead, Boone smiled indulgently. “And you saw her right before Velma was killed?”
Donna nodded solemnly. “I did. I know it was about that time because I remember thinking how weird-looking the woman was. Then I saw some of the others grouping together and it was obvious something had happened. I moved to join them and then looked back at the parking lot. The woman was gone.”
“Fair enough.” Boone couldn’t help thinking they were wasting time — Donna didn’t seem like the most reliable witness — but he opted to let things play out. “Can you describe this woman for me?”
“Well, she was wearing a black cape.”
Boone’s eyebrows migrated up his forehead. “A cape?”
“It wasn’t a cape,” Wendy countered, shaking her head. “It was a dress.”
“No, it was a cape,” Donna argued. “I saw it clearly.”
“It was a dress,” Wendy insisted. “I saw the same woman you did.”
“You did not.”
“I did so.”
“You did not.”
Boone pinched the bridge of his nose to calm himself. The bickering women reminded him of his teenaged daughter and her friends ... although even more immature, if that was possible.
“It was definitely a dress,” Leslie interjected. “I saw her, too. She was standing next to that blue truck. I remember thinking the truck stood out because it was new and the other vehicles in the lot looked older.”
Cooper slid his eyes to her. “You saw a blue truck?” He racked his memory and came up empty. “I don’t know any workers who have a blue truck.” The statement was aimed at Boone, but Nick was the one who responded.
“I take it you don’t have any cameras in the parking lot either.”
Cooper shook his head. “Only on the lift. I wasn’t lying about that. Sorry.”
Nick held up his hands in capitulation. “I wasn’t accusing you of anything. It’s just that cameras might’ve come in helpful in a situation like this.”
And come back to burn them in other instances, Cooper silently added. There was no way he could explain about the paranormal forces that kept descending on Casper Creek, though. Nick might’ve been married to a psychic, but it was clear he wasn’t familiar with other creatures. That was probably for the best, at least for the time being.
“There’s nothing we can do about it now,” Cooper said, focusing on the women. “Can you describe the woman in the truck?”
“She wasn’t in the truck,” Leslie replied quickly. “I can’t say with any degree of certainty that the truck belonged to her. The truck is what caught my attention, though, and when I looked to the right I saw her.”
“Where was she standing?” Boone queried.
All three women pointed at the exact same spot, near the fence that marked off the town’s outer limits. To Cooper, that served as confirmation that the woman had actually been there. The location was the one thing they’d all agreed upon since the conversation kicked off.
“Was the truck still there when you looked again?” Nick queried. “I mean, did you look at the lot after news spread about Velma’s death?”
“I honestly don’t know.” Leslie was rueful. “I’m sorry. I didn’t realize it was going to be important. Once I heard about Velma, I forgot about everything else. I didn’t even remember the woman until these two started arguing about her.”
“Fair enough,” Boone said. “We need a description, though. You said she was wearing a black dress. Was there a logo on it?”
“Not that I saw.”
“What else can you tell us about her? For example, I know you were probably too far away to see her eyes, but what about her hair? What color was it? How long was it?”
“Her hair was unique, completely stood out,” Leslie answered. “It was ... weird.”
“It was,” Wendy agreed on a serious nod. “It’s not often that you see a woman with white hair.”
“White hair?” Nick was intrigued. “Are you saying this was an older woman?”
“No.” Leslie shook her head. “She looked young. She just had white hair.”
Nick was about to ask a follow-up question but a quick look at Cooper and the grim set of his jaw told him all he needed to know. “Well, we thank you for the information. We’ll probably be back around to talk to you again.”
“Yes, thank you,” Boone intoned. “You’ve been a great deal of help.”
8
Eight
“You know who she is.” It was a statement, not a question, although Nick kept quiet until the three men were separated from the crowd. “The white woman. You know who she is.”
“White witch,” Cooper corrected, rubbing the back of his neck. “And, yes, we know who she is.”
“What do you want to do?” Boone queried. He seemed lost in thought. “If we go in there guns blazing she’s liable to shut down and it’s not as if we have anything concrete on her.”
“She’s not going to respond to you anyway,” Cooper noted. “She hates you because of what you are.”
“Which is what?” Nick asked. He felt out of his depth but had no intention of pulling out of the investigation now.
“Sheriff,” Boone supplied. “She has no respect for law enforcement.”
“She has no respect for anybody,” Cooper countered, his eyes on the rolling fields that surrounded the town. “Screw it. I’ll head over there and talk to her. You should stay back, at least for now. We have nothing on her and for all we know she was out here for a different reason.”
“And what reason is that?” Nick asked. “I don’t want to invade what looks to be a private issue, but I’m genuinely at a loss.”
“Her name is Astra Bishop,” Cooper volunteered. “For a time, she worked here at Casper Creek. She was
