enough.”
“Local? Oh, you mean Parker Bowen?” The woman sucked in a loud breath, her hand patting the silvery curls that appeared to be shellacked by layers of spray. “I wasn’t talking about him. He’s such a lovely man.”
Kir resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Instead he concentrated on the reason he was there. “I don’t suppose you have a key to Rita’s house, do you?”
She narrowed her eyes. “Why?”
“Rita called me just before she was killed and said that she had something to give me,” Kir admitted with blunt honesty. He had no idea how well the two women had been acquainted. The last thing he wanted was to get caught in a lie. Not when Leah might have some information that might help him.
“What could she have for you?”
Kir shrugged. “I assume it belonged to my father.”
“Ah.” Leah nodded her head. “That makes sense. The two of them were thick as thieves over the past few years.”
“Do you have a key?”
“No.” Leah pursed her lips. “But I believe her daughter is coming back later today to plan the funeral. I’m sure she’ll be happy to help you.”
Kir squashed his flare of frustration. It was a long shot to think the woman had a key. Or, even if she did, that she would let him go in and search through Rita’s belongings.
About to return to his vehicle, Kir halted as he was struck by a sudden inspiration. “Did you happen to see Rita leave the house yesterday?”
“I did.” Leah jerked her thumb over her shoulder, indicating the room behind her. “I was sitting in my easy chair watching my favorite game show when I caught sight of her stepping off the porch. It was quite a surprise.”
“Why a surprise?”
“Rita never left her house during the day,” Leah said. “In fact, she used to joke she could be a vampire since she never saw the sun.”
Kir glanced toward the fading, empty house. It was sad to think of Rita in there alone, refusing to leave until the darkness could hide her from the world.
He shook his head, returning his attention to Leah. “Did you see what time she came back?”
“She didn’t, poor soul,” Leah said without hesitation. “She walked down the street and never came home. As if the daylight just swallowed her whole.” Leah turned and Kir heard the scratch of a lighter before a cloud of smoke drifted through the screen. “Maybe Rita was a prophet. Maybe she knew she was destined to die beneath the sun.”
He wrinkled his nose at the nasty smell of tobacco, but he remained standing next to the window. “You’re sure she didn’t come back?”
Leah nodded her head in an emphatic motion. “Yes. I was worried about her.”
“Did she appear afraid? Concerned?”
“Not really. But like I said, she never left the house that early, so I kept watch for her. I wanted to ask if she’d been sick and went to visit the doctor.”
Kir accepted the woman’s explanation. The citizens of Pike were nosy, but they possessed a genuine concern for each other. Anyone in trouble could count on their neighbors to step in and lend a hand.
“I was hoping . . .” He shook his head in defeat.
If Rita hadn’t returned to the house, that meant whatever she’d found at the grave was on her when she’d been run down. Which meant it was now in the hands of the killer.
Leah pressed her nose against the screen. “Hoping for what?”
“Never mind.” He forced a smile. “Thanks for chatting with me.”
“Do you want me to tell Rita’s daughter to give you a call when she gets here?”
“No. I’m afraid I’m too late. Again,” he said, turning away.
Once in his vehicle, Kir pulled out his phone to discover he’d missed a text from Lynne. Quickly replying that he was fine, he drummed his fingers on the steering wheel.
His instinct was to head to the clinic and discuss his morning with Lynne, but what did he really have to tell her? That a task force had been formed? That Pastor Bradshaw hadn’t been able to reveal anything about his father that they didn’t already know?
Kir frowned. That wasn’t quite true. He’d discovered where his father had been the morning he’d taken the list to the pastor.
He absently glanced at his phone. Lynne hadn’t answered. Which probably meant she was busy with a patient. Tucking the phone back in his pocket he started the engine and headed out of town. He would retrace his father’s journey