Buried in Secrets (Carly Moore #4) - Denise Grover Swank Page 0,62

the towel. They nearly lost the house after that.”

If this was a Bart favor, maybe it wasn’t Jim who’d asked for the favor. Maybe it was Melinda.

“So they’re in financial trouble?”

“Not like they were a few years ago, but rumor has it their credit cards were maxed out.”

“Melinda must have put a lot of money into her inventory.”

“You don’t know the half of it,” Selena said. “She said she was trying to bring class and culture to eastern Tennessee, only her insinuations insulted half the town, and the other half wasn’t about to buy her stuff anyway. Plus everything was overpriced for the area. I heard she started selling her inventory online, but by then it was too late.”

“What about their kids?” I asked. “Have they been in any kind of trouble?”

Selena’s eyes narrowed. “What do Jim’s kids have to do with Pam shootin’ him?”

How much should I tell her? She was a huge source of information, and the more invested she was, the more she might share. Still, I ran the risk of endangering myself. What if Selena couldn’t be trusted? What if she picked up the phone after I left and called Bart himself?

“I’m just trying to understand the situation,” I said. “Obviously, something made Pam snap. She has a controlling, abusive husband, and two of her three children have had issues—”

“Three,” Selena said. “Ricky nearly flunked three classes this spring. Pam had to go to the school and ask the teachers to work with him so he’d bring them up to Ds.”

Poor Pam, but I felt for her kids too. When children were unhappy, they acted out, and sometimes in big ways. “Unless Pam just drove around randomly and stopped at Jim’s office, he somehow fell onto her path. I’m trying to figure out the connection.”

She nodded, her lips pursing as she contemplated what I’d said. “Laurie is a bright girl, but also pretty and sweet. She’s not popular, but the other students like her well enough. Now that I think about it, she’s a lot like her father.”

“Is she in any sports or activities?”

She drew in a breath. “I don’t know…” She sounded frustrated, but I didn’t think her annoyance was with me. “I think she was on the yearbook staff.” Getting to her feet, she walked over to a bookcase and grabbed a hardcover book off the shelf. “This is last year’s yearbook. Laurie will be in there. You can see what she was involved in. Also, maybe check the newspaper. It lists all sorts of things from grade school game scores to dance recitals. I’m sure you’ll find both kids in there. Plenty about Jim and Melinda too.”

“Okay. I’ll get it back to you soon.”

She handed the book to me. “No hurry. I get them every year, then promptly place them on a shelf. I rarely have occasion to open them.”

I placed the yearbook on my lap, covering it with my notebook, then looked over my notes. “Back to Pam,” I said as Selena took her seat. “I know she had a daycare that she ended.”

“Yes, after Thad’s accident. It was only part time and the parents found other caretakers while she was dealing with his recovery.”

“Did she get another job?”

“No, Rob preferred she stay home, but he let her volunteer at the church.”

Rob sounded like a real prince. “And did she volunteer at the church?”

“Oh yes.” She nodded. “She’s in charge of the nursery, or I guess she was. She’s always loved babies. After she got over the disappointment of Ashlynn’s pregnancy, she started lookin’ forward to his arrival. She planned on spendin’ a lot of time with her grandbaby.”

“Is there anyone who doesn’t like her?”

She laughed. “Are you askin’ if Pam has any enemies? Heavens, no. Everyone liked her, but people did take advantage of her.”

That didn’t surprise me. I’d seen her with Diane at the ladies’ lunches. “Do you think Jim Palmer could be connected to anyone who upset her?”

Her lips pursed. “A revenge killing? Doesn’t seem like Pam.”

“But she went off her meds. I know anxiety is a side effect. I just don’t know how long it lasts.”

She shook her head. “I don’t know. That was three months ago. Pam just isn’t the vengeful type.” She frowned. “Except…”

“Yes?”

“A couple of weeks ago, I saw her snap at the store clerk in Ewing. We were at a secondhand shop, and Pam found a crib she wanted to buy for Ashlynn. But we were going to lunch, so she asked the clerk