His family knew no one in the area. Nothing.
A walk that took her away from the house for fifteen minutes resulted in a horrific unexplained death.
A stranger to people of this town.
People like Gale.
His life was destroyed that day.
Every part changed, and nothing would ever return to normal.
“Everything changes when something like that happens,” he mumbled.
The new employee and an older woman returned.
“Gale.” The woman he assumed was Barb walked forward with a massive grin on her face. “Always so lovely to see you. Did you bring me donuts?”
“Sorry,” she said. “I didn’t, but if you could help Rory with what he’s looking for, I’ll bring you a dozen tomorrow before court.”
“You’ve got a deal,” Barb said. “I can’t get enough of them.”
“Everyone says it,” she said. “Rory, you wanted some court records.”
“Yes,” he said. “Sorry. I’d like to get the court records for Rene Connors’s murder trial.”
“What a sad situation that was,” Barb said. “I can’t believe they never caught the person. I was just as stunned as everyone else when they thought it was Cooper. So glad he got off, but horrible what he went through. Your parents went through it just as much, Gale.”
He whipped his head to her, but held as much of his composure as he could. “How is that?”
“Cooper and my father were good friends. My parents were there for support more than anything,” she said.
She could be an excellent resource for him. Maybe. She lived here at that time. Rumors rarely led to facts, but sometimes they led to something else people missed.
The right questions had to be asked.
Stop focusing on the wrong things, Rene had said to him.
Right now, he just needed to focus on something. And the woman in front of him might be the key to getting him started.
“Since you had some inside knowledge, do you think I could pick your brain a little? I can pay you for your time.”
Her eyes searched his face, then did a quick perusal of his body, the sadness he’d seen earlier when he mentioned his sister’s case gone, something more like interest in her eyes now. He wasn’t sure what it might be directed at, but he’d use it to his advantage.
“No payment,” she said. She pulled a business card out of the side of the briefcase she had in her hand. “But reach out to me with questions. I’d love to help any way I can. What I’d love more is to find the bastard responsible who not only took Rene’s life and destroyed her family, but ruined the family of a good man.”
He took the card and watched Gale walk out, her back straight, her head high, a strut to her step.
“She’s a good girl,” Barb said.
He looked at the card and then back at Barb who had just put a form on the counter with a pen.
“Who? Gale?”
“Yes. Their family is a staple in this area, but Gale, she’s a tough one. The whole family is. If you’ve got questions, she’ll have answers, and if she doesn’t, I bet she can find them for you. One word of warning though...people in this town, they don’t always like the past dredged up. Watch who you say what to.”
“Why?”
Barb looked around and lowered her voice as she leaned closer to him. “Some people around here think they know who did it and got away with it. Depends who you ask. Some will voice it, others will warn you off.”
