Page 118 of Obsession

The GPS announced they’d arrived at their destination, and Sam parked behind a small sedan. The door to the brick, ranch-style house opened, and a woman who appeared to be in her forties stepped out onto the small porch. He grabbed the file Detective Lane had given him and climbed out of the SUV. Emma met him in the front yard, and they walked to the house together.

“Ranger Sam Ryker?” the woman asked.

“Yes, ma’am,” he said. “And I assume you’re Paula Johnston, Kimberly Fisher’s sister?”

“Yes.” She gave Emma a quizzical glance.

Sam introduced Emma. “We believe whoever murdered your sister killed Emma’s brother.”

Sympathy flooded Paula’s face. “I’m so sorry, Ms. Winters.”

“Call me Emma, please,” she said. “And thank you. I still have trouble believing he’s gone.”

“Won’t you come in?” They followed her inside, and she invited them to sit. “It’s been four years, and sometimes, like Emma, I still find it hard to believe. How can I help you?”

“What can you remember about the men your sister dated?”

“That’s just it—she didn’t date anyone except Adam—that’s the man who was killed—although I tried to get her to go out with other men. He was terrible to her. I still don’t understand her fascination with him.”

“Your statement in the report indicated Kimberly received daisies a few days before she died and then there was a bouquet at the funeral,” Emma said. “Do you know who sent them?”

“We never learned who sent them. And they didn’t come from any florists around here. Detective Lane checked all the florist shops in the area, and the few orders for bouquets of daisies weren’t gerberas, the flowers Kimberly received.”

Emma glanced at Sam. “Maybe this person grows his own.”

He hadn’t considered that. “How about friends? Was your sister close to anyone other than family?”

“Hardly. Adam had practically isolated Kimberly. If she’d ever married him, I probably would have completely lost touch with her.” She rubbed the back of her neck. “Although there was this one person ... he stopped by her desk sometimes, and I assumed he worked in the same building as Kimberly, but Detective Lane couldn’t pinpoint who he was.”

Sam flipped through the file Lane had given him. “Did she ever mention his name?”

“If she did, I don’t remember.” Paula stared down at her hands and the ring that she twisted. “You have to understand, our relationship was strained. Adam didn’t like me because I tried to get Kimberly to break it off with him. The only time she ever called was when she kicked him out.”

“It would really help if you could remember.”

She raised her head, pain showing in her eyes. “I have mentally gone over every conversation I can remember. What I’vetold Detective Lane and you are things I’ve pulled out, but ... her calls were always about Adam, and I sort of tuned her out after a bit.”

“There was no one she was close to at her job?” Emma asked.

“No. Adam saw to that. Kimberly had a great job at the billing company. Management was really pleased with her work, wanted to move her up in the company. Just before she was murdered, they had moved her over to their offices in the medical center. She was so smart, there is no telling how far she could have gone.” Paula shook her head. “Too bad her judgment in men wasn’t better.”

Sam shifted his attention to Emma. “Didn’t you tell me Gordon was on staff at the medical center before he returned to Natchez?”

“Yeah. He’s been back in Natchez a little over a year,” she said.

He turned to Paula. “Is it possible the man who advised her to leave Adam was a doctor?”

She thought a minute. “I’m sorry, but I just can’t remember. It’s been over four years, and I never met the man.”

“Do you recognize the name Gordon Cole?”

Paula frowned as she repeated the name. “It’s somewhat familiar, but I’d hate to say yes and be wrong.”

Sam understood. “What can you tell me about the notes your sister received with the drawings on them?”

“Not a lot.”

“Do you know when she received them?” Sam asked.

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