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said. “Considering the circumstances, it feels strange to thank you for the cookies, but thank you. They are—well, mostly were—delicious.”
    “You’re welcome. You have a minute? I’d like to ask you some questions.”
    I glanced toward Sam and Denny and then looked at Officer Norton. “About the . . . about Reggie?” I said.
    “Yes.”
    “I thought Sam would be questioning everyone.”
    “Well, considering that the two of you are a couple, it wouldn’t be prudent to have him talk to you. He sent me over.”
    “Good point.”
    I had warily liked Vivienne Norton when I first met her. I found her intimidating in ways that I didn’t usually find women intimidating. She wasn’t the only female officer on the small Monson police force, but she was the only one I’d ever had dealings with. Her muscular build was something she must have had to work hard to maintain, but I wasn’t aware of a gym in Monson or the surrounding areas. She probably had to be diligent about maintaining her bleached hair and thick makeup, too. She was such a boatload of contradictions that for a long time I wasn’t exactly sure how to behave around her. I’d realized, though, that she and I were much more alike than we were different. She worked the job of her dreams, she worked hard, she wanted to be the best she could be at her career, and she chose to the look the way she did, just like I chose my wardrobe of overalls and mostly forgotten makeup.
    I’d been surprised by her continued enthusiasm about my and Sam’s relationship, and I liked her even more for it. Although she was thrilled that Sam and I were a couple, I had no doubt that Officer Vivienne Norton would throw me to the ground and cuff me if she ever thought I was guilty of a crime.
    “Come on,” she said as she looked toward Sam and then back at me again. “Let’s go somewhere away from everyone else.”
    I followed her to the edge of the Bailey’s lot, the side farthest away from the entrance and a good twenty feet back from the Ridgeway setup. Because of their big truck, Officer Norton could conduct her interview in private. We were hidden from everyone except those driving by on our side of the adjacent two-lane highway. Given close inspection, it might have looked like something unusual was going on in the parking lot, but it was typical for it to be full, so passersby didn’t even give the market a second glance.
    “You found Mr. Stuckey’s body?” she asked me.
    “Yes. Allison and Denny Ridgeway were there, too.” I sounded way too defensive already. I’d found a few dead bodies in my time, and Officer Norton had an accusatory tone to her voice, emphasizing that she remembered my involvement, peripheral though it might have been. I cleared my throat.
    “Tell me the events that led up to you opening the back of his truck. Why did you—the three of you—decide it was something that needed to be done?”
    “We couldn’t find Reggie,” I said. “And we were worried about him and about the trees.”
    I explained that we’d checked the cab, that Allison had said that she hadn’t received an answer when she’d called Reggie’s office that morning, and that the Ridgeways hadn’t seen him.
    “So, Mr. Ridgeway said that the
three
members of his group hadn’t seen Mr. Stuckey? He was specific about all three of them?” she said.
    I thought back. “I think he said ‘we,’ but I don’t know if that was meant to be specific to the three of them. I don’t know if he really knew if the others had or hadn’t seen Reggie.”
    “What dealings did you have with Reggie Stuckey?”
    “None. I’d never seen him or met him before yesterday. I’ve probably heard of his farm, but I can’t remember when. I’ve often heard about the Ridgeway Farm.”
    “Those Ridegway trees are amazing,” she said as she jotted in her small, black notebook. There was a rising tone to her voice, as if she wanted me to add something.
    I didn’t know what exactly to