“Do you really believe she’ll be found after all this time?”

She leaned toward me. “Look, I have a good job at a good salary. I can afford whatever it takes.”

“It’s not about that. It’s about the probabilities. I could waste a lot of my time and a shitload of your money, and at the end of it, you’d be right back where you are. I can as good as guarantee it.”

“I’m not asking for any kind of guarantee.”

“Then what?”

“Help me, that’s all. Please tell me you’ll try.”

I sat and stared at her. What was I supposed to say? The woman was earnest. I had to give her that. I looked down at my plate, then used an index finger to pick up a fallen glop of cheese that I put on my tongue. Still tasty. “Let me ask you this. Didn’t someone investigate the disappearance at the time?”

“The sheriff’s department.”

“Great. That’s good. Have you asked what they did?”

“That’s something I was hoping you’d do. I know my dad filled out a missing-persons report. I’ve seen a copy so I’m sure he talked to at least one detective, though I don’t remember his name. He’s retired now I think.”

“That’s probably easy enough to find out.”

“I don’t know if Tannie mentioned this, but Dad thinks she was having an affair and the two of them ran off.”

“An affair. Based on what?”

“Based on her past behavior. My mother was wild… at least that’s what everybody says.”

“Assuming there’s a guy, do you have any idea who?”

“No, but she did have enough money tucked away to support herself. For a while, at any rate.”

“How much?”

“That’s a subject of debate. She claimed fifty thousand dollars, but that was never verified.”

“Where’d she get that kind of money?”

“From an insurance settlement. As I understand it, there was a problem when I was born. I guess the doctor botched the delivery, and she had to have an emergency hysterectomy. She hired a lawyer and sued. Whatever she collected, she signed a confidentiality clause promising she wouldn’t disclose the details.”

“Clearly, she did.”

“Well, yes, but nobody believed her. She did keep something in a safe deposit box she rented in a bank down here and she emptied that the week she left. She also took the Chevy my dad bought her the day before.”

“Tannie says there’s been no sign of that either.”

“Exactly. It’s like she and the car were both vaporized.”

“How old was she when she disappeared?”

“Twenty-four.”

“Which would make her what, now, fifty-eight or so?”

“That’s right.”

“How long were your parents married?”

“Eight years.”

I may be lousy at math, but I picked up on that. “So she was sixteen when she married him.”

“Fifteen. She was sixteen when I was born.”

“How old was he?”

“Nineteen. They had to. She was pregnant with me.”

“I could have guessed that.” I studied her face. “Tannie tells me people in Serena Station think he killed her.”

Daisy flicked a look at Tannie, who said, “Daisy, it’s the truth. You have to level with her.”

“I know, but it’s hard to talk about this stuff, especially when he’s not here to tell his side.”

“You can trust me or not. It’s up to you.” I waited a couple of beats and then said, “I’m trying to make a decision here. I can’t operate in a vacuum. I need all the information I can get.”

She colored slightly. “I’m sorry. They had what you’d call a ‘volatile relationship.’ I can remember that myself. Big screaming fights. Slaps. Broken dishes. Doors slamming. Accusations, threats.” She put an index finger in her mouth and began to worry the nail with her teeth. I was getting so tense watching her, I nearly slapped her hand.

“Either of them ever hit you?”

She shook her head with certainty. “I usually stayed in my room till it was over.”

“Did she ever call the cops?”

“Two or three times that I remember, though it was probably more.”

“Let me take a guess. She’d threaten to file charges, but in the end, she’d always back down and the two of them would get all lovey-dovey again.”