Lost Souls by J. Bishop (the giving tree read aloud txt) 📗

“And you told the police this?” asked Trick.

Daphne nodded. “I think so, yes.” Her face paled. “Oh, dear. Did I implicate Cissy?”

Mason reached for the fresh bottle of water Jenna had brought him before Daphne arrived. “Don’t worry about it, Daphne. That’s not enough to convict anyone.” He didn’t tell her that it could still be used against Cissy at trial, doubting Daphne could handle it. He sipped his water. “But I’d like to get back to Lydia. What was Chad’s relationship with her?”

Daphne twisted her tissue. “Well, Lydia worked in Accounting. She’d occasionally come up if she had a billing or expense question, and she’d be in department meetings on occasion with Chad.” Her fingers tightened on the tissue. “I didn’t know her all that well, and to be honest,” she lowered her voice. “I didn’t like her that much. She was a little odd.”

“Odd how?” asked Trick.

“Uhm, well…she seemed easily distracted. We’d be in a conversation and she’d just stare off, as if she was going through her to-do list or something. And she could shift moods in a second. Be all business in one moment, and then impatient and angry over the smallest error the next. I thought it was me, and that maybe she just didn’t like me. And then when we spent that weekend together─”

Mason leaned forward. “Weekend? You spent a weekend with Lydia?”

“I thought you said you didn’t know her that well,” said Trick.

Daphne touched her forehead. “Oh, dear. I’m sorry. Yes, I did, and no I didn’t.” She shook her head. “I’m getting confused.”

“It’s okay, Daphne. Take your time,” said Mason. “Tell us about the weekend. Did Chad know about it?”

Daphne offered him a smirk. “Well, yes. He was there, too.”

Mason tried not to show impatience. “When and why were you two spending a weekend with Lydia?”

Daphne sighed. “Gosh. It was last spring. We had a system crash. It was a huge mess. Chad lost a lot of billing information and expense reports, and we had to re-enter a lot of data that couldn’t be recovered. I told Chad maybe we should be securing our own files as well as we secure our clients’.” She bit her lip. “He laughed, but agreed.” Swallowing, she dabbed her eyes. “Anyway, Lydia said we had to get it re-entered as quickly as we could and agreed to help us. It took a full weekend, and Lydia offered her home for us to meet and work, which was probably convenient for her because she didn’t drive. We could spread everything out on her dining table and just knock it out. It took the full two days, but we got it done.”

“Lydia didn’t drive?” asked Trick.

“No,” said Daphne. “That was another one of her odd quirks. She rode her bike or the bus to work.” Her face fell. “I remember going to her house. She lived in one of those areas that used to be upscale, but was now a little run down. The grass was uncut and the paint was peeling. I figured with the real estate prices around here, that’s what she could afford, and one of the reasons she didn’t want a car.” She sighed. “She had a small pool in the back, the one she later drowned in. The wall was crumbling, and it didn’t look well maintained. Now I wonder if that’s how she fell and hit her head.” She paused, and her breath caught. “So tragic.”

Trick reached for his refilled coffee. “Did Chad spend any time over at Lydia’s on his own?”

“I don’t know,” said Daphne, “but it’s certainly possible.”

Mason regarded Trick. “That’s something to look into.”

“Definitely,” said Trick. “Anything else you can think of where Chad and Lydia might have spent time together? We heard they had an argument at the company picnic.”

“Argument? At the picnic?” asked Daphne. “I hadn’t heard that. I just saw them talking, and then Cissy got upset.”

Mason clasped his hands together. “You saw Chad and Lydia at the picnic together?”

“Well, not together together, if that’s what you mean,” said Daphne. “They were having a conversation, and then they walked off. Cissy came back and had asked where Chad was, but I didn’t know. Then she disappeared, and I tried to help Linda - she’s a co-worker - clean up, and maybe sneak some leftovers. That beef brisket was delicious, and so was the potato salad.”

“Did you see any of them again?” asked Trick.

“Yes. Chad and Cissy returned, but Chad was quiet, and Cissy sullen.” Daphne leaned in. “I think they’d had an argument.”

“And you didn’t see Lydia?” asked Mason.

“Not that I recall.”

Mason paused. “Was there anything else about Lydia you noticed that, as you say, seemed odd?”

“Again, I didn’t know her well,” said Daphne. “Except for her temper.”

Mason felt another chunk of his energy dwindle. “Temper? Lydia had a temper?”

“Didn’t I mention that?” Daphne held her chin. “Gosh, yes. I remember she got a phone call when we were working at her house. She went into another room to talk, but I could hear her yelling. Whoever it was, they weren’t making Lydia happy. She was very upset, and I heard some harsh language.”

“Did you ever see her mad at Chad?” asked Trick.

“No,” she said.

Mason remembered the potato incident. “We heard Chad yelled at the cafeteria manager a couple weeks before Lydia died. Tony said he had to intervene. You know about that?”

Daphne tipped her head. “If I recall, Chad wanted potatoes, and they were out.”

“Had Chad done that before?” asked Trick.

“Certainly not,” said Daphne. “I guess he was just hungry. We all have our days.”

Mason grunted, giving up on that line of questioning. “Let me ask you about this.” He pulled out his cell and opened the picture Mikey had texted him. “This picture from the picnic. Which one is Lydia?” He held out the photo.

Daphne didn’t look. “Oh, she’s not there.”

“But she was at the picnic,” said Trick.

“She was, but Lydia never wanted her picture taken. It was