“That’s what I like to hear. It makes me happy to see my friends doing well,” I said and cut a slice of fudge for her and wrapped it up.
She nodded. “I’m pretty happy about it myself. Say, Mia, I heard about Hailey Strong. That she was murdered. Do you know anything about it? I suppose I shouldn’t be asking, but you know how it is. In a small town like this, rumors start flying. I just can’t get over the fact that she was killed and buried at the park like she was.”
I put her piece of fudge into a decorated paper bag and folded over the top and set it on the counter. “I agree, it’s awful. Ethan doesn’t know much about it at this point.”
She nodded and looked over her shoulder, then turned back to me. “Between the three of us, my sister works at the high school in the attendance office. She said Hailey was a real handful. She was in trouble all the time when she was there, and they worried she wouldn’t be able to graduate. I don’t know if that means anything, and maybe it’s just idle talk, but it was the first thing I thought of when I heard she was dead.”
“What kind of trouble did she get into?” I asked, lowering my voice even though we were alone in the shop.
“I don’t know a lot about it. We had had this discussion last year when I asked her about students that might not graduate. I just had never thought about it before, and I wondered if they had many that might be in jeopardy of not graduating. My sister isn’t supposed to be talking about students, so please don’t let this get around, but apparently, Hailey was a troublemaker. Her parents had to come down to the high school several times because she fought with other girls and was always having boy trouble.”
“Boy trouble?” Christy said.
I put my hands on the front counter. “Really. That’s interesting to know.”
She nodded. “I guess she shouldn't be talking about the students, but she’s my sister, and occasionally we do. Not often of course, but when I heard who it was that was murdered, I just felt like maybe that was something Ethan needs to know about.”
“I’ll let him know and tell him that it needs to be kept quiet. He’ll keep your secret.” I picked up a white cloth to wipe down the top of the counter.
She nodded. “I hope they find her killer soon. It just makes me sick that a young woman was murdered. Do they know how she died yet?”
I shook my head. “No, Ethan’s waiting on the report from the medical examiner.”
She nodded and Christy rang up her fudge. “Well, with Ethan on the case, I feel safe. I just feel bad about Hailey.”
“We feel bad about it too,” Christy told her. “I just can’t imagine what her family is going through. Her life was just starting, and now it’s over.”
She nodded and picked up the bag of fudge. “Well, I had better get back to the shop, otherwise we’ll be late opening. Tell your mother I said hello and that I certainly appreciate her fudge.”
“We sure will,” I said as she left the shop.
Christy turned to look at me. “Girls who get into trouble at school sometimes get into real trouble later in life.”
I chuckled and shook my head. “Thank goodness most seem to grow out of it by the time they get out of high school. But you’re right, her murder might be a holdover from someone she had trouble with in high school.”
Chapter Eight
Joey Harper wasn’t hard to find. He worked at the Happy Feet shoe store. After Christy and I got off work the following day, we took a drive over there. If you looked at the weather outside, you would think it was a bit premature to be thinking about boots and sweaters, but sitting in the window was an array of suede and leather fall boots.
“Well, will you look at those,” Christy said, looking into the window at a pair of rust-colored suede boots that came up past the knee. “Aren’t they a pretty little pair?”
“Do those boots speak to you, Christy?” I asked. It was too hot to look at boots, but I had to admit, they were cute.
She nodded. “Oh yes. They’re saying, take me home, Mama. And I’d hate to disappoint them.”
I chuckled and pushed open the front door. The air conditioner was going full blast inside the shoe store, putting me in a slightly better frame of mind for looking at fall boots.
“Oh, look at these,” I said, picking up a pair of suede oxfords. They were a dark chocolate brown and were as adorable as any shoes I had ever seen.
“I can’t look now, I’ve got to try on a pair of these boots.” She picked up the display boot and ran a hand over the suede. “They’re so soft.”
“I think I’ve got to try on a pair of these shoes.” I picked up the display shoe. The laces were rolled string, and I liked the way they looked with the suede.
I glanced around the store. There was one other customer, and Joey Harper was waiting on them at the front register. I brought the shoe over to where Christy stood with the boot in hand.
“They’re pricey,” she whispered, turning the boot over.
“I figured they would be,” I said. “Aren’t these shoes cute?”
She looked at them now. “They really are cute. I wonder what
