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

would be coming in later, and he thought she would know more.

Mikey had thanked him and now sat at the sandwich shop, waiting and thinking. She’d texted Mason, who was on his way to speak to the detectives, and told him she might be a little late to dinner, depending on when she would be able to talk to Cissy’s co-worker. She’d invited Rem and Daniels for tacos, and they would be meeting them at the house later.

Adding some sugar to her drink, she thought about her progress. She’d talked to Cissy’s parents and had tracked down and talked to a couple of ladies from the women’s group that Cissy had joined. None of them could shed much light on Cissy’s activities prior to Chad’s death. Kyle Morrow’s background was oddly bland. There were no other red flags regarding him and domestic abuse, or angry girlfriends. Lydia appeared to be the only one who’d filed a complaint against him. She’d also failed to determine if Lydia had left money to Bradley. She supposed she could call Bradley and ask, and see how he responded, but decided to talk to Shay first and see if Lydia’s sister might tell her something. Mikey debated calling Shay again since Shay had not returned the call, when her phone buzzed, and Shay’s number popped up on the display.

Anxious, Mikey answered. “Hello?”

“Is this Mikey?” The voice was high and nasally.

“Yes. Shay Stanford?”

“Well, close enough. That’s my mom’s last name.”

Mikey recalled Shay had a different father than Lydia. “Thank you for calling me back. I hope I’m not bothering you.”

She heard a sniff on the line. “It’s fine. I would have called sooner, but I’m dealing with a horrible cold.” Mikey heard her blow her nose. “I’m guessing you want to talk about Lydia?”

“Is that okay? I just have a few questions.”

“I suppose. Is something wrong? I thought her death was ruled an accident.”

Mikey thought about Lydia’s drowning and wondered how much to push. “No. Nothing’s wrong. I’m just looking into the death of her co-worker, Chad Howard. Did you know him?”

There was a pause. “The man who was murdered? What would Lydia have to do with…?” Mikey heard a snort. “Oh, no. Is that the man Lydia was sleeping with?”

Mikey perked up. “You know she was sleeping with someone?”

“I did, but figured it was another loser. Lydia was a mess. If she wasn’t on her meds, or rather, if she wasn’t correctly on her meds, she made stupid choices, which was most of the time. Girl had the eye of a tiger and the sense of a mule.”

“We know she and Chad worked together, and that Chad spent some time at Lydia’s. Chad’s wife suspected him of seeing someone, and we suspect it was Lydia, but then Lydia drowned right before Chad passed.”

She heard a sharp inhale of breath. “What are you saying? That Lydia and Chad’s deaths are related?”

“We don’t know, which is why I’m calling around to talk to Lydia’s friends and family to see if they know anything that might help.” She pulled out her notebook and opened it. “Can you shed some light on Lydia’s mental state and what you know about her relationships?”

Shay sneezed.

“Bless you.”

“Thank you.” She sniffed. “Well, good luck finding any friends. If Lydia had any, I never met them. And if you talked to our mother, then you already know what a waste of time that was.” She paused and Mikey thought she heard Shay drinking something, and recalled Michelle suggesting that Shay was an alcoholic. “She and I, we had our good days and bad. Depended on what she was taking, and when.”

“Lydia took a lot of pills?” asked Mikey.

Shay laughed. “She’s been taking something since I was in diapers. Mom drugged her up or else Lydia wouldn’t shut up. Nothing much changed over the years. Lydia was smart though. Went to school and graduated. Made good grades and got a decent job. Dated real losers though. Between that and the pills, her life was a wreck.”

“What about Bradley?”

“Bradley?” She paused. “You talked to him?”

“I did. Yesterday.”

She snorted again. “He’s the worst of all of us. I’m surprised he was coherent enough to talk. I’m guessing you know his background?’

“Some. He’s been in and out of jail. Has been in rehab. He said he’d been estranged from Lydia for a while but they’d reconnected.”

“Yeah. I know. Because of that damned Kyle Morrow. Lydia’s ex. We all stayed away while she dated him.”

“Was he abusive?”

“He was possessive of her. Didn’t like her spending time with anyone but him. They had terrible fights, and Lydia always caved. Me and Bradley tried to tell her to leave him, but she never listened, until finally she got smart and dumped his ass.”

“How long ago was this?”

“Oh, I think about a year ago.”

“And then she started seeing someone else?”

“Yeah. Not long after. She went from sad and depressed, to active and energetic. Personally, I think she was bi-polar, but don’t think she was ever diagnosed.”

Mikey scribbled on her paper. “She never mentioned Chad to you?”

“Not by name.”

Mikey nodded and considered her next question. “Do you know anything about her financial situation?”

“Financial?” Shay paused. “Like salary and shit? I think she made decent money. Nothing to write home about. I know she helped Bradley out a lot, and mom a time or two.”

“How was her relationship with Bradley?”

Shay grunted and sniffed. “Depended on the day. They had their moments, just like me and her, but I think she felt sorry for him and tried to help when she could.”

“Your mom said Lydia named Bradley as the executor of her will. Do you know if she left him any money or if she had a life insurance policy?”

Shay coughed. “Excuse me a second.” Mikey heard more coughing and then Shay returned. “Sorry about that. Life insurance? Not that I’m aware of.” Mikey heard her drink something again.

A new question popped into Mikey’s head. “Did you find it odd that Lydia had a will