“Not you, Austin.” I watched her face, wondering what her reaction would be. Tears, laughter; at this point, it could be either one.
She unwrapped her own muffin, ripped it in half, and then loaded it with butter. “I don’t believe he killed Kacey.”
Her voice was calm, soothing, and absolutely certain. I hated to break her poise, but she needed to know. “There’s something you don’t know about Austin. He’s been living under an assumed name.”
She nodded. “I knew that. He was almost totally honest with me.” At this her lips curved into a smile so sad it made my heart ache.
“You knew? Do you know why?” I sipped on my coffee, not wanting to appear too curious.
“Of course. He was accused of a bombing when he was a kid. But he didn’t do it, I’m sure he was only protecting his girlfriend. Once they’d left the area, he said she confessed and he didn’t know how to fix it, so they ran away to Mexico.” Sadie picked at the crumbs on the table. “They can’t prove anything, not this long after.”
“So you still think he had nothing to do with Kacey’s death? Maybe she found out his secret?”
“He told me his secret and I’m still alive. Why would he kill Kacey for finding out something he told me without holding back?”
I thought about her question, and she was right: It didn’t make sense. “So what was this girlfriend’s name? Did he tell you that?”
“Mary Jane. That’s all he said.” Sadie sipped on her coffee. “You tell Greg he’s not guilty of this. He’s just an easy scapegoat.”
I took my notebook out of my purse and wrote down Mary Jane and Mexico. “Did he tell you where he was from?”
“Deary, Vermont. I guess it’s a little hole-in-the-wall farm town. His folks had a place outside of town, and I think his dad was a pastor at some church.” Sadie had a faraway look in her eyes. “We’d talked about visiting someday, but of course, someday isn’t a day of the week.”
I kept writing. “What about this Mary Jane? She was from Deary, too?” It couldn’t be too hard to find a Mary Jane from Vermont about Austin’s age. Of course, I still didn’t know his real name.
“No, they met in college. I guess Austin went his first year, and then dropped out. Too many fun things to do rather than studying, at least that was his story.” Sadie smiled and sipped her coffee. “I got the impression they were big into the anti-war protests and traveled around the country with a bunch of organizers.”
A memory was nagging at me. Something about a group of protesters whose peaceful march had gone totally wrong. “So, that’s when he disappeared? While he was working the war protest circuit?”
“You make it sound like the car or horse races. I’m sure he believed in what he was doing.” A buzzer went off. “I’ve got another batch to get ready for the oven or your display case is going to be empty tomorrow. Do you want a couple of those to take to Greg?”
Just like Sadie to worry about feeding the man who’d put Austin in the clink. No matter what, I knew I could always count on her. Even if I said stupid things like I did with Amy. I took the bag with more than a few for the guys at the station, gave my friend a hug, and decided to see what I could find out about Austin’s prior life. Facebook and Google had been my research tools before; hopefully they would be as knowledgeable this time.
Esmeralda was at the desk when I walked through the station door.
“Hey, Jill, he’s in a meeting with John and I don’t think he’ll be done soon. They just had me order lunch for the team.” She looked at the bag in my hand, sniffing the air. “What do you have in there? Don’t tell me you baked?”
I shook my head. “You don’t want what I could bake.” I set the bag on her desk. “Sadie sent these over for you all. She’s trying out a new recipe.”
“Well, isn’t that sweet of her. She’s got a good heart, that’s why people tend to take advantage of her.” The town’s fortune-teller nodded, pointing her finger at me. “You need to protect her from those who want to use her good nature.”
“Like Austin?” This message from beyond sounded more like a message from a concerned neighbor.
Esmeralda nodded. “Austin appears to be a wounded soul, but he’s got a dark side that Sadie can’t see.”
“I totally agree with you. Do you know anything about him that I need to know?” I pulled out my notebook and pen, waiting for the gossip I was sure was coming.
Esmeralda leaned closer. “I’ve already told Greg this, so I don’t see the harm. I visit a local nursing home over in Bakerstown and do readings for the residents. They enjoy talking to their friends who have passed on, so I try to go once a month. Last month, I went on a different day and Austin was there talking to a resident. A woman who’d just moved from up north.”