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her favorite books. She was trying to appear nonchalant. “Did Switzer have any enemies?”
    “You mean other than your father?” Diane asked, shaking her head. “No. He was a kind man. Too kind, in fact. Let that woman walk all over him.”
    Diane went back to her table. Missy wasn’t sure why she’d even come over to talk, other than to be a nuisance. Noreen just shook her head.
    So there was more to the story about her father and Switzer. A lot more, apparently. But with Dad long gone, that only left Mom. And even if Switzer had done something horrible to their family, she just couldn’t see Mom killing him. Like Tyler had said, Mom didn’t have a mean bone in her body.
    But still, there was more to this story and Missy figured it wouldn’t hurt to get the details. She stood and walked outside.
    ***
    “Missy, dear. How are you?”
    “Hey, Mom. How’s it going?” Missy walked away from the school so that anybody coming out wouldn’t be able to hear her.
    “Good, dear. I just heard about Albert Switzer. I can’t believe it.”
    “Yes. It was awful.”
    She went on to explain what had happened. The story was getting a little easier to tell, the more she told it. But it still left her with a sick feeling in her stomach.
    “I’m so sorry, sweetheart,” Mom said. “Why didn’t you call me yesterday?”
    “It was just a crazy day. By the time I sat down to relax, it was already pretty late.” Mom was usually in bed before nine. Missy hadn’t wanted to wake her up.
    “You know you can call me whenever you need, Melissa,” Mom said. “I wish you had, because I’ll bet everybody’s asking you about Daddy, aren’t they?”
    “Yes, Mom. That’s why I was calling, actually. What happened between them?”
    Mom took a deep breath. “Your father and Albert worked at the factory together for a number of years and became work friends. Not like you and Noreen are friends. They were more acquaintances that recognized each had something to offer the other. They were both good with their hands, your father more so than Albert, and Albert was good at talking to people. At first they liked the work at the factory but after a few years they both tired of it. In the course of their job they had plenty of opportunities to speak to one another of their mutual frustration. I think they both looked into the future and saw the same thing. They could work at the factory for the rest of their lives and live comfortably, or they could strike out on their own. By the time they were thirty-five, they were both ready for the latter.
    “They came up with a plan to start their own business. A smaller machine shop that would handle custom jobs. I was so happy for your father. Other than when you were born, it was the happiest time of his life. Merely the idea of walking his own path made him a different person. He was energized, full of life, and brimming with hope. You remember your father, normally he was very low-key, reserved, and was inclined to see the glass half-empty out of fear of getting his hopes up.
    “They agreed they had to quit their jobs on the same day. They even drew up a contract on it, if you can believe it. Your father was a man of his word. On the agreed-upon day, he walked right into his manager’s office and told him he was leaving to start his own company. He left out the details about Albert joining him.
    “He discovered that afternoon that Albert had a change of heart at the proverbial eleventh hour. Instead of quitting that day, he’d called out claiming he was sick. Your father drove over to confront him about it, but Albert’s now ex-wife, Loretta, wouldn’t let him in to talk to Albert. She told him to stay away from her husband. She accused him of putting these ridiculous thoughts into Albert’s head and tricking him into doing something really stupid.
    “Without Albert’s half of the money, Dad didn’t have enough capital to get the venture off the ground. He quickly realized he had no