“Who are you, and why are you looking for him?” The girl asked, now more awake.
“He’s an old friend,” Amy said. “He used to be the drummer in my boyfriend’s band, the Lance—”
“The Lance Hayes band.” The girl cut in. “I remember that. They used to call him Sticks. He was really mad when Lance fired him.”
“I’m sure he was. I know Lance felt bad about having to let him go.” Amy hoped to get the girl talking. “When was the last time you saw Eddie?”
“It’s been forever.” She brushed the hair out of her eyes. “He came to pick up some stuff shortly after my grandma’s funeral last October. That was right around the time he got fired from the band. I bet if he’d just told Lance what he was dealing with, Lance would’ve understood and wouldn’t have fired him.”
“You’re probably right,” Amy said, although she doubted it. Lance had only ever been loyal to himself. “So, your grandmother was Eddie’s grandmother too?” She asked, trying to get as much information as she could.
“No, my grandma was his aunt, but she was like a mother to him. His own mom walked out when he was young. He lived with my grandma as a teenager, after his dad went to prison. She got sick last year and died. Eddie took it hard. And to lose his job about the same time, it wasn’t fair, you know.”
“It wasn’t.” Amy nodded. “Do you know where Eddie lives now?”
“Not really. I think he’s living in his dad’s old house.”
The house I visited with Lance?
“Do you know the address of his dad’s house?” Amy held her breath. When the girl didn’t say anything, she said, “You see, my boyfriend lost his drummer again.” It was true. Although, she doubted Lance would ever hire Eddie back. He’d been too flaky.
“I don’t know... I barely remember going there once or twice when I was young, but I do remember it was on the other side of the Tri-Cities. Way out in the middle of nowhere, in the forest or something. I remember a lot of trees.”
Amy’s heart rate kicked up.A lot of trees.That’s what she remembered too. Further questions to the woman, didn’t provide any more information concerning the location of Eddie’s dad’s house. But she did get his father’s name, Larry Green, and his aunt’s name, Gladys Pike. She wanted to check obituaries to see exactly when she died in comparison to the accident that killed Melanie.
As Amy left, she paused again where the state road met the highway. Had Eddie been visiting his sick aunt last year on that rainy night?
She hurried home, anxious to see what she could find out about a property owned by Larry Green.
