Dead Guilty

parents are real snobs. They’re nice, but snobs.’’
‘‘Do you know if it was a real diamond?’’
Madison looked at her wide-eyed. ‘‘Why wouldn’t it be?’’
‘‘Diamonds are expensive. Do you know how Chris was able to buy it?’’
‘‘I just assumed he put it on his card.’’
Madison wasn’t being much help. Diane thought perhaps she wasn’t asking the right questions. She should have just passed her along to Garnett, but she really didn’t think he would fare much better.
‘‘Did Chris have a second job?’’
‘‘Besides his forestry job? I don’t think so. He was working hard on his thesis and his job—and seeing Kacie. He didn’t have time for much else.’’
‘‘What did you think of Chris? Did you think he was good enough for Kacie?’’
‘‘Oh yeah. He was a great guy. Sweet. Good sense of humor. He wasn’t self-centered like most guys.’’
‘‘Do you know his friend, Steven Mayberry?’’
‘‘Steve. Yeah, sure. A little. We’ve gone out a cou ple of times.’’
‘‘What is he like?’’
‘‘Not like Chris. He talks about himself a lot. Has big plans for getting a job in his uncle’s paper com pany. He always talks like he has a lot of money, but I don’t think he does. At least he never spent any on me. We ate out mostly at fast food places.’’
‘‘Who are Chris and Kacie’s other friends?’’
Madison shrugged. ‘‘I don’t know, really. The guys in their department, I suppose.’’
‘‘Do you know if they had any friends who are missing?’’
‘‘Missing? What do you mean? Like Steven, you mean?’’
Diane had made smaller copies of Neva’s drawings to carry in her purse. She pulled them out and showed them to Madison.
‘‘Do you know any of these people?’’
Madison looked carefully at each one. ‘‘They don’t look familiar. Who are they?’’
‘‘Have you heard from Steven lately?’’
‘‘Not for about a week—since he’s been missing. What’s all this about?’’
She looked at Diane with large, liquid brown eyes— she wanted answers, Diane could see. She needed some meaning to all this. Diane needed meaning too.
‘‘When was the last time you spoke with Steven?’’
‘‘Spoke with him? Not for a long time. He left a message on my voice mail about a week ago. He wanted to go out, said something about having a ship come in. I have no idea what he meant. I didn’t call back. I really don’t like him very much.’’
Ship come in. That was the first sign that anything was going on. She was surprised at the sense of relief she felt. Finally, something.
‘‘Did Chris or Kacie mention anything about what he might have meant?’’
‘‘I didn’t tell them. It was just a voice message. It didn’t really mean anything.’’
‘‘Did you get a sense that Chris was about to come into some money?’’
‘‘Well, he got the ring—but then, I just thought he charged it.’’
‘‘He’d need one big credit limit.’’
‘‘When you’re a student, that’s pretty easy. They send you cards in the mail by the dozens with huge limits. My dad’s an accountant, and he’s lectured me from the time I was three about owing money, so I don’t use them big time, but some people do.’’
‘‘Did Chris seem especially happy about something?’’
Her face brightened. ‘‘Yes, now that you mention it. Kacie did mention that he’d been really happy lately— almost manic. She didn’t know why—she figured he’d gotten a really good job and was going to surprise her.’’
‘‘Did any of them seem to be frightened of anything?’’
‘‘No. Just after—you know—Chris died, Kacie was a basket case, as you can imagine. She had nightmares and was taking Valium.’’
‘‘Were her nightmares about anything specific?’’
Madison looked at Diane as if she were an idiot. ‘‘She found Chris.’’
‘‘I know, but I thought her dreams might have some clue that her subconscious was trying to bring to the surface.’’
‘‘She didn’t say. It was always about finding Chris like—like that.’’
    ‘‘Madison, if you remember anything, however
    small, give me a call.’’ Diane fished a card out of her purse and wrote on it. ‘‘I put my cell number on here, and the number of Chief Garnett. He’s the detective in charge. Call him or me if you remember anything or need to talk.’’
    Madison took the card, turned it over and looked at the numbers. She nodded. ‘‘I will, I