He acknowledged her with a slight nod.
“You’ve heard about Grace Hartman’s death, I suppose.”
“Yes.”
“Did you know Grace, sir?”
“No, I did not.”
“Were your kids friends with her?”
“How the hell should I know?”
Stella stayed friendly. “We’re advising parents to talk with their teens about being extra cautious, especially those kids who were friends with Grace. Ask them to go out only when accompanied by a parent or have them stay in groups. That sort of thing.”
Patrick stared and offered nothing.
“Could we have Tommy join us? We’d actually like to ask you both a few questions.”
“Tommy ain’t here.”
“Can you tell us where he is?”
“Nope, I have no frickin’ idea. Tommy’s hard to pin down.”
“I hear ya. Most teenagers are. That’s why we decided to talk with families. No need for panic, but it wouldn’t hurt to keep a closer eye. Are you aware of the antidrug campaign we’ve started in town?”
“Nope.”
“There’s been some drug traffic through town this past year. Have you been aware of that?”
“Nope.”
“Well, we’re making sure people know that we won’t stand still for it. We have zero tolerance for illegal drugs in this community.”
“Doesn’t affect me.”
“I’m glad to hear it.” Stella paused. “We’ve also lost another citizen lately. Mike Chadron. Have you heard about that?”
“Nope.”
“Do you know Mike?”
“I do not.”
“Okay.” Stella took a different turn. “I understand you’re going to start work at the mine in Rigby.”
A trace of confusion crossed his face. “Where’d you hear that?”
Stella turned to Mattie. “Deputy Cobb? Didn’t Mr. O’Malley’s son Tommy say that’s where they were going to work?”
“Yes, ma’am, he did.”
Patrick snorted. “Tommy’s a liar. Don’t listen to him.”
“So where are you working then?” Stella asked.
“I’m a handyman. I work all over.”
“And where are you working currently?”
“At the school. I’m doing a job for the principal.”
“Have you worked there for long?”
“A couple weeks.”
“So you were working there last week? Did you work on Friday?”
“Yeah, I did. What does that have to do with anything?”
Stella pressed on. “Did anyone see you working there Friday morning?”
Patrick gave her a suspicious look, not oblivious to the turn in her line of questioning. “Yeah. Friday was payday. The secretary gave me a check that morning.”
That gave him an alibi for Grace’s death, but Mattie wondered why he hadn’t used the money then to buy groceries for his family. She wanted to ask but didn’t want to interrupt Stella’s momentum. It was a detail she could check later.
“The police are planning to have more of a presence at the school this fall,” Stella said. “In fact, they started last spring before school ended. Have you noticed our patrols while you’ve been working there?”
“That big cop drives by a lot. He spends a lot of time at the school.”
Stella smiled. “The biggest cop we’ve got is Deputy Brody. You might be talking about him. Do you know if he’s the one?”
“I don’t know the guy’s name.”
“Were you working at the school last spring?”
“Yeah. That’s when I first saw him. Always hanging out in the parking lot before and after school. Seemed to be talking with the kids a lot.”
“Did you see him with anyone in particular?”
“I didn’t pay attention to that. Saw him talk to the principal a few times. He’s stopped in to talk to the principal this summer, too.”
“Oh, yeah?”
Patrick shrugged and didn’t offer anything else.
Geez. Like pulling an elephant’s teeth. Mattie wondered why Brody was stopping in to talk with Brennaman. What business did he have at the school during the summer?
Finally, Patrick went on. “He showed a lot of interest in those old buildings I tore down. Went in and out of ’em, carried some things out and put ’em in his car.”
“Like what kind of things?” Stella asked.
“Hell if I know. I didn’t stop working to look.”
“Were you around during any of these meetings Deputy Brody had with the principal?”
“Oh, yeah. He wants my opinion on a lot of things,” Patrick said with sarcasm. “I fix things, I tear things down, I clear things out. I don’t sit in meetings. You want to know what’s going on? Ask your cop friend. Why are you asking me anyway?”
Stella smiled her sweet smile. “I thought if you knew I’d save myself some time. Oh, yes. One more thing.”
“What’s that?”
The smile fell from Stella’s face. “I hear your wife looks like someone might have hit her.”
His face reddened. His eyes darted from Stella to Mattie. “Did she tell you someone hit her?”
Mattie cut in. “No, Mr. O’Malley, she didn’t. It’s something I noticed earlier.”
“Did you hit her?” Stella asked.
“No! I don’t beat my wife.”
The silence lengthened while they all stared at each other.
“Good to know,” Stella said, breaking the lengthy silence. “But you need to remember that we’ll be keeping an eye on her now.”
More silence while Patrick glowered.
“Well, sir, thank you for your time. We want to talk with Tommy again later, so we’ll come by this evening,” Stella said.
He frowned. “I don’t know if he’ll be home.”
“We’ll take our chances. It’s not far to drive. But if he’s not here, we’ll need to find him and bring both of you to the station so we can question him.” Stella turned to leave but stopped when Mattie stayed.
“Mr. O’Malley,” Mattie said, “Sean got caught shoplifting food on Saturday. I was just wondering, if you got paid on Friday, why didn’t you get groceries for your family then?”
He took on a mean look. “I didn’t have time to get the damn check cashed when I got off work. The bank was closed.”
“There’s an ATM on the side of the bank.”
“Shit, I don’t use those things. Don’t even have an account there. We pay cash for everything.”
Mattie paused. This was truly a family who lived from paycheck to paycheck. “I see. A social worker will be stopping by again with services to offer your family. I wish you’d consider taking advantage of what she has to offer. It could ease some of the pressure you have when your cash falls short.”
His face tightened. “And I’ll warn you to mind your own business when it comes to my money and my family.”
Mattie felt a flare of anger but held it back. “It’s my duty to make sure you and your family have the means to be safe and secure. It’s what we do.”
Stella smiled her sweet smile. “And we stay at it until we’re satisfied. Thanks again for your time, Mr. O’Malley.”
This time Mattie followed her to the car. “What do you think?” she asked Stella once they’d driven away.
“I’ll verify Brody’s account of the two tournaments, and we’ll keep an eye on him. We need to find out what he was taking out of those buildings.”
“And why he’s been going by the school this summer,” Mattie said.