Free Gone to Green by Judy Christie

real name?”
     
    “His real name's Bill, but he's gone by Major since his days in the Army Reserve right after college.” That was all Lee Roy was going to say about Major.
     
    We parked on the street near the side entrance of Wilson's Department Store and headed in for our meeting with Eva Hillburn. After Major, I didn’t know what to expect. We walked directly into the office, skirting an empty desk out front.
     
    “Louise takes Friday afternoons off,” Lee Roy said as we passed. “Let's go on back.”
     
    Eva was on the phone when we entered, but waved us to sit down. She was a tiny woman in her mid- to late-fifties, with a helmet of dyed black hair—hair so black that it looked like the color would rub off on your hand. Intricately poufed— yes, pouf is the only word I could think of—it didn’t seem to be so much a hairstyle as an arrangement. I wondered what was in there.
     
    I tried to take my eyes and mind off her hair and focus on the office and the rest of the woman. I finally had to make myself look away. Her desk was a small, ornately carved, dark wood antique. An Asian screen with hand-painted cranes sat in the corner. Some sort of silk-looking cloth behind glass hung nearby. Other Far Eastern pieces dotted the room, including a handful of vases and a few interesting mementoes. Everything was spotless, without a hint of clutter. Even her desk was nearly empty.
     
    I judged and dismissed Eva as someone who had inherited money, didn’t do any real work, and probably went to the beauty parlor and the country club on the same day every week.
     
    How wrong I was. Her phone conversation blew that theory.
     
    As I settled into my chair, she continued a complicated discussion about an upcoming meeting in Europe. “We have a major problem in Budapest,” she said in a professional tone and then proceeded to outline a half-dozen things that needed to be done right away.
     
    I realized the knick-knacks that decorated her office were souvenirs of world business travels, not something she had picked up at Pier One.
     
    “Great. I’ll check back with you on Monday. Keep me posted from your end.”
     
    Hanging up the phone, she walked around the desk to give my hand a firm shake, nodding to Lee Roy in the process. “I apologize for keeping you waiting. Good to meet you, Lois. Happy to have you in Green. Nice to get some new blood in town.”
     
    “My pleasure,” I said. “It's an interesting place. So you’ve lived here awhile?”
     
    “Born and raised. Went off to college and followed my ex-husband to West Texas but came to my senses and headed home. I love this community, even if it does wear on you at times.”
     
    My “go-to guy” sat on the edge of his chair, noticeably less at home here than he had been at Major's. He frowned at Eva's last comment.
     
    ”What are your plans for The News-Item ? Any changes in store there?” Eva asked.
     
    “I hope to build on the traditions of the paper and do what's needed to take things to the next level. I’ll assess the situation before I jump in.” My voice had the personality of a bowl of Jell-O without any fruit in it. Eva Hillburn looked at me in a way that told me she knew I was feeding her a line of bull.
     
    “We can use some change around here,” she said. “I hope you’ll be a leader in that direction.”
     
    “I hope so too,” I said, although I didn’t see myself being much of a leader in this dumpy town.
     
    “I’m sure you know that Wilson's Department Store and Hillburn's Ford are big advertisers,” Eva said. I winced, waiting for her to make some demand I didn’t want to hear. “I look forward to working with you and continuing our good relationship.”
     
    “I look forward to that too,” I said, “as does Lee Roy.” The ad director looked surprised when I mentioned his name.
     
    “We’ve hit some snags in the past, as I’m sure Lee Roy has told you,” Eva said, “and I don’t want that to get in the