Free Strangers by Mary Anna Evans

did,” Suzanne said. “Much to Dick Wheeler’s disappointment.”
    So Glynis had been the face of a controversial political movement, and that face had cost some influential people dearly. Faye knew what that might mean, and so did Daniel and Suzanne. Their pride in Glynis and her accomplishment faded from their faces, and they returned to sliding slowly to and fro on the glider.
    “You’ve told Detective Overstreet all this?”
    The dejected couple nodded silently.
    Faye, like many people, had strayed from organized religion, despite all the efforts of her mother and grandmother to keep her on the straight and narrow path. That didn’t mean she never prayed. Thinking of Glynis lost and alone and maybe hurting, Faye prayed more fervently than she had in a long time.
    ***
    When Detective Overstreet returned in mid-afternoon, Faye worried that he’d come back to harass Levon or Kirk or even Joe. Her interview with the detective had gone well, up until the point where she was forced to answer some very pointed questions about her crew:
    Where had each of her employees been during the hour before the police arrived, especially the men?
    They’d been working since at least eight, according to Joe. But from the police’s standpoint, even Joe was suspect. If forced to tell them only what she’d seen with her own eyes, she could only say that Joe was with her when she woke up about six. After that, he’d gone to the dining room, loaded up two breakfast plates, then come back to the room to eat with her. He’d left her and Magda just before eight, and Faye’d seen nobody else from that time until the moment the house staff had come to tell her that they heard sirens outside.
    She suggested to Overstreet that he check with Suzanne and Daniel to confirm Levon’s and Kirk’s alibis. Both of her technicians had the typical appetite of the very young man. She felt sure that they’d taken advantage of Dunkirk Manor’s generous breakfast spread before coming to work. The people feeding them couldn’t help noticing diners who ate so very well.
    Had any of her employees shown an unusual interest in Glynis?
    She’d felt compelled to mention that Levon had obviously found her attractive, but she felt silly and disloyal doing it. Of course he did. Glynis was an unusually pretty woman and any man would show a noticeable interest in her.
    Kirk had certainly perked up whenever he saw Glynis coming, as well, so she told Detective Overstreet that she thought he’d been interested in her, too. Faye had bristled a bit when Joe’s name came up, but she’d assured Overstreet that her husband had barely ever spoken to the missing woman.
    Had any of them ever shown signs of having a temper?
    This was a question Faye felt comfortable answering. She couldn’t imagine three mellower men than Joe, Levon, and Kirk. The only ill-tempered person on her crew—other than, on occasion, Faye herself—was Magda. And Magda, who knew that Faye and Joe got up with the chickens, had been standing on Faye’s doorstep shortly after sunrise, demanding to know why Joe had borrowed her cotton gloves. Therefore, Magda had two people to give her an alibi, Faye and Joe.
    Then came the question that Faye couldn’t possibly have anticipated.
    How close were you, personally, to the missing woman?
    There was only one answer. “Not at all.”
    Faye thought back over the past week. “I only knew her for a day. Well, we spoke on the phone a few times while I was bidding this job, and afterward, while I was planning the field effort. I don’t think Glynis and I ever had a personal conversation, though. She delivered messages to me from her bosses, and she said hello when she came outside to visit with Levon and Kirk. That’s about it.”
    “Well, you may have been the last person she communicated with before she disappeared.”
    The officer paused a minute, looking at her with a neutral expression. With his salt-and-pepper hair, plain features, bland