Tracy stepped forward. “A lady down the road pointed us in this direction. She said you might be able to help us.”
“Well, you don’t look like muggers.” The woman handed her grocery bag to Tracy and gripped her son harder so he wouldn’t fall forward. “Hold this a sec, will you? I’ll get the door.” She fished around inside her purse and pulled out a key.
She held it up for them to admire. “That’s the good thing about one of these old relics. It’s always the first thing I feel. It’s impossible to lose it.”
Tracy looked down at the key, then over to Janya. Janya was looking at the key, as well. Both women had seen one exactly like it. In fact, the key Herb had clutched in his hand as he died was now at home at the bottom of Tracy’s purse.
“Do you want me to unlock it for you? That’s really an antique, isn’t it?” Tracy wasn’t as good at disguising her feelings as Wanda. She knew she sounded elated, but the woman didn’t seem to notice.
“As old as the house. My mother gave it to me when I moved here.” She nodded at a new dead bolt inches above the knob. “There’s a modern lock, too, but I like to use this key. I guess it’s sentimental, but it’s the same one my grandmother used when she lived here.”
“You’re Louise Franklin’s granddaughter?”
The young woman turned, surprised. “How did you know her name? Voter rolls or something? I’d better warn you, I’m a Democrat. If you’re here to get me to register as anything else, you’ll do better somewhere else.”
“No.” Tracy drew a deep breath. “We, well, we didn’t know who you were. In fact, we just found out this was Louise’s house, and that her daughter, Pamela, still owns it.”
“Pamela’s my mother. Pamela Bishop. I’m Katie Bishop Ayres, only daughter and heir. Not, I hope, that there will be all that much to inherit. Mom and Dad deserve to enjoy retirement.” She leaned over carefully and inserted the key, playing with the lock until there was an audible click.
She faced them. “So what is this about? You’re not political, and if you sang ‘Silent Night,’ you did it silently.”
“We’re actually here because of a man named Herb Krause.”
Katie sobered. “Poor Herb. I heard he died. I guess there was no funeral?”
Tracy didn’t know what to say. “Well, no…”
“Were you friends of his?”
“Neighbors.”
“Please come in. You can explain inside where it’s cooler.” Katie opened the door and went in, leaving them to follow.
Tracy looked at the other women. Everybody appeared as perplexed as she felt. She shrugged and followed Katie into the kitchen. From the shape of the living room, she guessed the very front part was the missing porch, now enclosed. Katie tucked the little boy into a corner of an L-shaped sofa and put a cylindrical pillow in front of him. He slept on.
The kitchen was tiny, but the appliances looked newish, and the cabinets were a pretty white beadboard with mottled blue counters accenting them. Katie took the groceries from Tracy and set them on the counter.
“So you were Herb’s neighbors,” Katie said. “He stopped by a couple of times, just to make sure Frankie and I were doing okay. He was such a sweet old guy.”
Tracy was stumped. She didn’t know what to ask, but Wanda had no such problem.
“So you didn’t know him well?” She started unpacking the bag and handing the items to Katie to put away. A half gallon of milk. A loaf of French bread. Fresh mushrooms.
“Oh, no, not at all,” Katie said from inside the refrigerator. “But after the help he gave Mom all those years, I was glad to make his acquaintance. She always said she couldn’t imagine what she would have done if Herb hadn’t been in charge here.”
Tracy repeated that. “In charge?”
“May I have a glass of water?” Olivia asked.
“You bet.” Katie closed the refrigerator and got a glass from the cupboard beside the sink. “Anybody else?”
The water break did nothing to help Tracy put the story together. “I’m sorry, Katie, but we’re, like, mega-confused here. Your mom knew Herb, too?”
“Well, not the way you know a good friend. But Herb took care of this property for years. And she met with him every time she had to come and check on it. She liked him a lot. She said he took care of the house and the yard like