“I’m curious why you’d tell me when you never mentioned it before. Reporters must have asked.”

“I wasn’t under any obligation to them. For one thing, I don’t like journalists. What do they call themselves… ‘investigative reporters.’ Oh, please. Like they think they’ll get a Pulitzer out of the deal. They’re rude, and half the time they treated me like I was on the witness stand. All they cared about was selling papers and promoting themselves.”

“What about the sheriff’s department? You didn’t think to go back and set the record straight?”

“No way. By then they’d made such a federal case of it I was scared to say a word. I’m willing to admit it now because I’m fond of Daisy and I’m glad she’s doing this.”

I thought about it briefly, wondering how this fit in with what I knew. “Something else came up today. Winston Smith told me he saw her car out on New Cut Road that night. This was sometime before the fireworks ended because he could hear ‘em in the distance. He didn’t see Violet or the dog, but he knew the Bel Air. I can’t understand why she wasn’t gone by then if she’d left the house at six fifteen.”

Liza shook her head. “I can’t help you there. How does that fit in?”

“I have no idea.”

“So why didn’t he bring it up before? You talk about me keeping quiet. He could have said something years ago.”

“He did. He mentioned it to Kathy and she shrugged it off. It was one of those occasions where the longer he kept quiet, the harder it was for him to speak up. If she’d given him any encouragement, he might have passed the information on.”

Liza’s expression held a tinge of distaste. “I’m not sure how much credence you can give him. He and Kathy are having a hard time. He’d probably say anything to make her look bad.”

“Maybe so, but the point is it shores up Foley’s claim.”

“I never said Foley killed her. Just the opposite.”

“But a lot of people thought he did. His life has been ruined. The point is, with the car all the way out there and him at the park, how’s he going to kill her and get away with it?”

“Dumb luck, I guess.”

“I’m serious.”

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to be flippant.”

“Am I overlooking something here?”

Her gaze shifted to the floor and I could see her running the possibilities through her mind. “Not that I believe this, but just for the sake of argument, what if she was already dead by then?”

“That’s not out of the question,” I said. “But if Foley was the one who killed her, how’d he pull it off? He was at the park until the fireworks ended, then he went to the Moon. How’s he going to get out there, get rid of her body, and then dispose of the Bel Air. He doesn’t have transportation because he’s traded in his truck and she’s driving the only car they own.”

“He could have borrowed a car or even stolen one. He drives out and buries her. What’s so hard about that?”

“But then he’s stuck with two cars, the Bel Air and the one he borrowed or stole. You said he came in after midnight, but the timing’s still too tight. What’d he do with her car? If he drove it off a cliff or pushed it down a ravine, he still has to walk back to the stolen-slash-borrowed car, pick that up, and drive home. It’s too elaborate and it’s way too labor intensive. It would have taken him all night.”

I saw a tint of pink rise in her cheeks. She said, “You really don’t even know if she was there. You’re just arguing for the sake of it. She could have abandoned her car and gone off with someone else.”

“Ah. You’re right about that. I like that. But then what? A car thief conveniently arrives and makes off with her Bel Air?”

Liza was getting impatient. “Oh, who knows? I don’t even care by now. I care what happened to her, but not the car.”

“All right. Skip that. Let’s go back to your point and say she ran off with some guy. Any idea who?”

“I never saw her with anyone. Besides, I’m not sure I’d tell you even if I had.”

“You still feel protective?”

“Yes, I guess I do. If there was a guy and they figured out who, it might tip them off to where she went.”

“I thought you said you wanted to help Daisy. If you have any ideas, it’d be nice to hear.”

“I didn’t say that. I said I was glad she was doing this for her sake. It’s not like I’m withholding information. I mean, what if Violet doesn’t want to be found? Shouldn’t she be left in peace?”