“Me neither,” Loretta said, leaning over to carefully stitch her square to the bigger pieces.
Flossy nudged Ophelia in the arm. “I listened to your conversation in the truck. Was that your boss?”
Ophelia nodded. “Oh, yeah. That was my boss.”
Flossy grimaced. “Are you in trouble? Is that why they sent you all the way out here?”
Might as well tell the truth. “Yes. I had the same partner for a year, and it turned out he had a gambling problem and ended up stealing money and getting in deep with the wrong people.”
“How is that your fault?” Monica asked, her brow furrowing.
Ophelia’s stomach cramped. “He was my partner, I’m an FBI agent, and I didn’t see it. Plus, well…”
Loretta twittered. “You were more than partners with this man.”
Ophelia nodded. “Yep. That’s also against the rules.” She’d thought he was the one. Boy had she been wrong. “So, I’m on my last chance here, according to rumors at the Bureau.” And what her boss had said.
Loretta winked at her. “I’ve been accused of murder, so I don’t really pay attention to rumors because they’re usually wrong.”
Ophelia coughed and set down her wineglass. “Huh.” She didn’t know what else to say.
Loretta laughed. “Go ahead. You know you want to interview me, and I don’t have anything to hide. Feel free.”
Ophelia paused, wanting to do her job but also needing to relax. “You have a right to a lawyer.”
Loretta’s louder peal tinkled like bells. Her brown eyes sparkled. “Thanks, but I don’t need one. Tamara Randsom was a cranky woman who didn’t like anybody, including Leo. I don’t think she abandoned her kids, but she definitely left him. Their divorce went through and she moved out to the Tundra Haven complex.”
Ophelia paused in watching Delores’s hands. Finally. Some relevant facts. “A complex?”
“I guess a long stay motel that folks used as apartments?” Delores murmured. “Yeah. That’s how I’d describe the place.”
Monica nodded. “Tammy lived at the Tundra for at least a month.”
Ophelia tried to keep her tone level. “Tell me about the Tundra Haven. Did Tammy live with anybody? Who owns the place? What happened to her belongings after her disappearance?”
Loretta held up a hand. “Whoa. Slow down. I had a drink earlier today. Let’s see. She lived alone as far as I know, Jarod Teller owned the complex, and her belongings burned in the fire that demolished the whole place.”
Fire? Ophelia sat back. “How long after she disappeared did the fire occur?”
Loretta twisted her lip. “The fire took place sometime in the spring, maybe May? I don’t know exactly when Tammy disappeared. Nobody does. She partied a lot in town from what I heard, and it’s not like she and Leo had a custody arrangement in place. He kept the homestead and kids, and she took them when she finished partying and acting like a teenager. That’s what he said, anyway.”
Ophelia sat back and watched Loretta’s facial muscles. She seemed to be telling the truth. “Does Leo have any idea where she is?”
Loretta shook her head. “No, he doesn’t. He also thinks she never would’ve left the kids, so something bad probably happened to her. But neither of us hurt her, and we have no idea who did.” She sighed. “We’ve searched our property for any sign of her but have found nothing. Sometimes people disappear around here, and we don’t know if it’s because of animals, the weather, or something worse.” She bit her lip. “I wish she had just taken off and would come back and see the children someday, but it doesn’t feel like that’s possible.”
“Is there any chance she died in that fire?” Ophelia asked.
Flossy shook her head. “Oh, no. I don’t remember the exact date of the fire. When the insurance guy found out we lacked a fire marshal, he had a buddy from Anchorage come here with his cadaver dog, and we all searched the rubble for valuables that might’ve survived for those who’d lost their homes. The expert and dog confirmed that there were no human remains. Thank goodness.”
Ophelia sat straighter. “You wouldn’t have the names of the insurance adjuster or his buddy?”
“Nope,” Flossy said. “I’m sure Jarod does. He did get a big payout, I think. Don’t know the amount.” She patted her gray hair. “If you ask me, Tammy just didn’t want to stay in Knife’s Edge.”
Delores nodded. “Yeah, I agree. Tammy always acted too good to live here and didn’t make friends. She didn’t care much for Leo and wanted to live in a city—a real one. But she loved her kids and wouldn’t have just left them.”
Ophelia studied how Delores moved the quilting needles. “When was the last time you saw Tammy, Loretta?”
“I think it was during the kindergarten graduation,” Loretta said, pursing her lips as she thought. “I’m pretty sure.”
