Page 25 of Little Stolen Memories

I thought about how best to answer the question and decided to keep it simple. “It’s personal.”

“Personal in what way?”

Keeping it simple didn’t seem to be working.

“I’d appreciate it if you could point out his place of residence,” I said.

She tapped a finger on the bike’s handlebar and looked me up and down. “You’re about the furthest thing from Danny’s type, driving around here in your vintage Jaguar and fancy attire. I’m guessing you’re not here for a good time. If you want me to tell you where he lives, I’m going to need more to go on.”

My patience was wearing thin.

“I’m Georgiana Germaine,” I said. “I’m a private detective. I just need to ask Danny a few questions.”

“A private eye, eh? What’s he done?”

“Nothing. Are you going to tell me which place is his or not?”

She moved a hand to her hip. “No, I don’t believe I will.”

“Fine. There are plenty of other residents who live around here. I’ll ask someone else.”

I started to put the window up, but she stuck her bony arm in to stop me.

“Now, wait just a second,” she said.

“Why should I?”

“My name is Dorothy. Danny is my brother.”

“Your brother? Why didn’t you say as much in the first place?”

“Danny doesn’t get a lot of visitors, not ones who look like you, at any rate. I suppose I can be overprotective at times, but why shouldn’t I be? You’ve gone out of your way to tell me nothing about why you want to question him.”

I was stunned.

I sat there as I tried to contemplate the best way forward.

Did I tell the truth?

Did I tell a partial truth?

Would it even matter whether I told the truth or not?

“As his older sister, I have a right to know why you want to speak to him,” she pressed. “He doesn’t like visitors much, and he doesn’t like talking to people he doesn’t know. I guess what I’m saying is, if you don’t have a good reason for being here, you can just turn your car around and head right on out of here.”

“How long have you lived in the area?” I asked.

“What’s that got to do with anything?”

“If you answer my question, I’ll tell you.”

“All my life. I was born in Cambria. We moved around a bit. Lived in this mobile home park for the last ten years. Why?”

“Do you remember the teenagers who were murdered twenty years ago?”

“Who doesn’t? Made national news. All sorts of people were hanging around town during that time. The Feds even got involved. Not that them being here made one bit of difference. The case was never solved.”

“It wasn’t, but I’m hoping it will be now. The case has been reopened.”

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