Andie didn't.
Mrs. Rankin returned to her stool behind the counter. Andie went back to sewing sequins on the wedding dress, wondering what that was all about.
The corrections officer took Shirley back to her cell. Gus and Pappy met alone in the attorney-inmate conference room to discuss the test results.
"Well?" asked Gus.
Pappy looked up from the long scroll of paper on the desk. "The good news is, I'm confident the results are reliable." "And the bad news?"
"No real bad news. The results are just interesting." "Good interesting or bad interesting?"
"Mixed."
"Cut to it, will you, Pappy?"
"Any polygraph is good for about three, no more than four test questions. We had four. Two questions came clean. Whether she'd ever met Beth. And whether she had anything to do with Beth's disappearance. She said no to both."
"True or false?"
"No sign of deception there."
"Good. That should satisfy the FBI's concerns that they're dealing with an inmate who was behind Beth's kidnapping. What else?"
"I also asked her if she knew where Beth was. First she said, I might. Then she said no."
"What's your take?"
"I can't tell whether she might know. But I can tell you this. I saw no sign of deception when she said she didn't:"
Gus felt a wave of disappointment. "So you're saying she's bullshitting me? She can't lead me to Beth?"
"I wouldn't read it that way. She probably was able to say no because she isn't a hundred percent certain where Beth is."
Gus nodded slowly, wanting to agree. "That's why she initially said she might know. She has a theory about what happened to Beth. Probably a pretty good theory. But she can't say for certain."
"I think that's a fair interpretation."
"Which only reinforces the notion that she had nothing to do with Beth's disappearance. This is perfect. I want you to type up your report right away, Pappy. I can't wait to show this to the FBI."
Pappy made a face. "You might want to give that some thought."
"What are you talking about?"
"There was a fourth question. I didn't expect it to elicit any reaction, but it did."
"Which one was that?"
"I asked if she had ever killed anyone. She said no."
"That's the truth. She was convicted of conspiracy to commit murder, but the murder never happened. They nailed her for planning to kill someone, not for murder."
"Then she must have had another body in mind when she answered this question."
"I don't understand."
"She was lying, Gus. She has killed someone."
Gus couldn't ask Pappy to leave that out of the report. The guy had too much integrity. He knew, however, that the FBI wouldn't be eager to cut a deal with a woman who had apparently gotten away with murder.
"You want me to type up the report?"
Gus thought for a second, then said, "Hold on, Pappy. Let me look into this first."
Chapter Forty-Three.
There was nopanic at midnight, no missing glass slipper. Even so, if Mrs. Rankin made her mop the floors once more, Andie was going to change her alias from Kira to Cinderella.
The store had been closed on Sunday, but Andie had worked a full day just cleaning the place up. Monday had started the way the weekend had left off, one menial task after another. In the make-believe world, Kira was about halfway to earning that necklace the old lady had promised her. In the real world, Andie was trying to find a discreet way to get the story behind that innocent-looking woman Mrs. Rankin had run out of the store Saturday afternoon.
Andie squeezed the soapy brown water from the mop into the bucket. Mrs. Rankin stood over her and inspected the damp and shiny floors.
"Not bad," she said, arms folded across her sagging bosom. "Corners need some work."
Andie rose and leaned defiantly on her mop handle. She'd about had it. "The corners are just fine."
"They're fine when I say they're fine."
"This is a thrift store. Not an operating room."
"Don't sass me. Or I'll fire you on the spot."
"You'd like that, wouldn't you? A nice power rush." "Watch yourself," she said sternly.
"What is it with you? You sit on your butt all day long just waiting for the chance to jump down somebody's throat."
"I'm warning you, Kira."
"No, I'm tired of it. You abuse me, you abuse your customers. Like that woman in here yesterday, just minding her own business."
"Don't get into that."
"She wasn't hurting anybody. Just looking at sweaters." "Shut your trap. You don't know what you're talking about."
"I was standing right there. I saw what happened." "I had every right to throw her out of here."
"Well, people also have the right to be treated with a little respect. A little kindness. Maybe you should try it sometime."
"Maybe you should zip it up before I fire you."
"Maybe I'll quit if you don't start treating people nicely."
"What's your problem? You don't even know that woman."
"Makes no difference. She seemed nice enough to me." The old lady was steaming. She grabbed Andie by the ann.