Angela started shaking her head even before Mattie had finished her sentence. “No, Grace wasn’t like that. She wouldn’t even smoke a joint.”
“I hear ya. So what I’m searching for is someone else then. Someone who might have been involved with drugs that she hung out with.” She was thinking of Mike Chadron but needed Angela to be the one to say it.
Angela expelled a breath of air and swiped at a lock of hair that had fallen toward her face. “Okay, some of our friends smoke weed. Once in a while. But I’m not going to tell you who they are.” She met Mattie’s gaze with all the teen defiance she could muster under the circumstances.
The vet fidgeted in his chair, and Mattie could guess how hard he was working to keep silent.
“You don’t have to tell me, Angie,” she said in a soft voice. “I’m not interested in those kids right now. But I do need to know of anyone involved in cocaine. Not just students, anyone around town.”
“None of the kids I know use cocaine. I mean, like I told you before, maybe Tommy O’Malley and his crowd, but I’m not even sure about them. That’s just something I heard from someone who heard, you know? Rumor.” Angela moved around in her chair as if trapped. “I don’t know for a fact about anyone using or selling hard drugs at school or around town. I don’t hang with kids that do hard drugs. And Grace didn’t either. I do know that.”
Walker leaned forward. “She’s telling you the truth, Deputy. We’ve talked. I believe she can’t give you any more information to help you with that line of your investigation.”
Mattie was quick to agree. “Oh, I believe she’s telling the truth, too. I’m grateful for that, Angela. And don’t think you’re not helping. Anything you tell us about Grace and what she might have been doing this summer could help us find her killer, even though you might not be able to point a finger at anyone. Let’s shift gears for a minute and talk about Tommy O’Malley.”
Angela’s eyes opened wide and then narrowed as her brow knit. “Is Tommy a suspect?”
“Not necessarily.”
Sophie skipped up with Robo gamboling at her side. “Tommy O’Malley smokes weed,” she piped up.
“Good Lord,” Walker muttered.
Frowning, Angela asked, “How do you know that?”
“His little brother was my kindergarten partner last year.”
“Kindergarten partner?”
“The teachers gave each of us second graders a kindergarten kid to read to. I got Sean.”
Mattie checked in with Walker by giving him a direct look. It was one thing to interview a teenager with her parent’s permission but quite another to question a child Sophie’s age.
Walker took over. “Did Sean ever say anything about his brother using cocaine? I’m assuming you know all about cocaine, too, you being such an expert.”
Sophie smiled at him, looking wise beyond her years. “Sure I do. Nope, he only talked about Tommy smoking weed. He says he does it at the park with his friends.”
“And you know that’s against the law, and if you ever do something like that you’ll not only be in trouble with me but with the police, too?”
“Drugs are bad, Dad,” Sophie said. “I know that. Mom told me.”
“I’m just saying, Sophie. So you know what I think, too.”
Mattie decided to switch topics, trying to see if Angela knew anything about Chadron’s involvement with drugs. “Just one more thing, Angela. Did you happen to remember anything else Grace said about Mike Chadron that could help us?”
“Dad said he heard Mike killed himself last night,” Angela said.
“That’s what it looks like.”
“Grace talked about him a lot, but it was just silly stuff. Nothing about drugs.”
“Did she happen to mention any of his friends?”
Angela was shaking her head when a blue Ford pickup truck turned into the lane. Mattie paused her questioning to see who had arrived. The truck parked beside her cruiser, and she recognized the man exiting the vehicle as Garrett Hartman.
“Oh, no . . .” Sophie moaned. “Here, Angie, take Robo.” The child stuffed Robo’s leash into her sister’s hand and darted into the house, firmly closing the door behind her.
Mattie wondered what was wrong with her.
“Uh-oh,” Angela said, tears welling in her eyes. She turned to Mattie. “Mr. Hartman’s going to take Belle home.”
“Excuse me,” Walker said, pushing up from his chair and going out to greet the man.
Garrett Hartman stood well over six feet with a rangy build, his craggy face sheltered by a worn felt Stetson. A Viking of a man, he was a familiar figure in town, one of the community’s leaders. His startling blue eyes found Mattie up on the porch, and he seemed to watch her even as he greeted Walker.
“Here, I’ll take Robo,” Mattie said, reaching for the leash. She moved off the porch, Angela and Robo following.
“I’m Deputy Cobb, Mr. Hartman,” she said as she approached the two men. “I’m sorry for your loss.”
“I know who you are,” he said, clasping Mattie’s extended hand in both of his. “You and your dog found my Grace.”
Apparently that was all Angela could take, because she burst into sobs.
“Angie, come here, honey.” Hartman stretched out a long left arm and tucked Angela against his side while still holding Mattie’s hand in his right.
He continued to speak to Mattie as he gave Angie a comforting squeeze. “My wife and I are eternally grateful. Without you, we might never have known.”
“I’m glad we were in the right place at the right time. Without the ranger’s call, we wouldn’t have been up there at all.”
Hartman nodded, his eyes reddened and sad. He gave Mattie’s hand another squeeze and released it. Then he enfolded Angela in both arms and bowed his head over hers, dwarfing the slim girl. “Ah, Angie,” he said quietly. “We’re going to miss her.”
Feeling awkward and out of place, Mattie wanted to leave, but interrupting their grief seemed inappropriate, so she took a step backward to allow them privacy. Walker placed a comforting hand on Hartman’s shoulder, and his dark eyes searched out hers, including her in the circle. She wished she knew what to say but didn’t, so she waited in silence.
After gathering himself back into a semblance of control, Hartman squeezed Angie and then set her back away from him, putting an arm over her shoulders. The girl had also quieted her sobs. “There’ll be a funeral for Grace this Wednesday at eleven. You’re welcome to come,” he said to Walker and Mattie.
“The girls and I will be there,” Walker said while Mattie merely nodded.
“I can take Belle off your hands now.”
“She’s inside the house. I’ll go get her,” Walker said.
“I’ll settle up my bill, too.”
“No, you won’t. There’s no charge.”
“I can still pay my way.”
“Of course you can, but it’s the least I can do to help you and Leslie. If there’s anything else you need, please let me know.” Walker turned and headed toward the porch but hesitated when a charcoal Toyota 4Runner turned up the driveway.
He changed directions and walked toward the Toyota. Mattie recognized Principal John Brennaman as the newcomer. He exited his car and, holding a covered dish in his left hand, shook hands with Walker. He glanced her way, appearing as surprised to see her as she was to see him.