OC: This is all so terrible, Miss Mimi. I’m sorry.
MH: Maybe in his heart, Trey wanted to die for what he’d done.
OC: Maybe you’re right.
MH: We all tried to help Angie and Kasey back then too, but…we couldn’t.
OC: That’s a shame, I know.
MH: Just make sure you also put down there that Rosemarie, Ada, and Kasey were at my place for a long time.
OC: Mm-hmm. When was that?
MH: Whatever night Trey went missing.
OC: Oh, okay. They were?
MH: Of course they were, Silas. I wouldn’t say it if it wasn’t true, would I?
*
Nancy Simmons
Officer Castelow: Hi, Miss Nancy.
Nancy Simmons: Hi, Silas. Don’t forget I remember when you were in diapers…I even changed a few of them when I’d stop at the B and B to drop off lavender from my garden when you were little and your mama and I would get to talking.
OC: Ha! I do love your stories, Miss Nancy. Thank you for sharing them with me. You know just about everything that happens in this town, don’t you?
NS: Sure do.
OC: You said you had something important to tell us about the night Trey went missing?
NS: Very important. This is a murder investigation now, is that right?
OC: Yes, ma’am.
NS: Okay then. Since you like my stories so much, I got another one for you. I saw Trey Foxberry skulking around behind the Fritz farmhouse that night. No one came to ask me about it, which I thought was odd since obviously I know everyone in this town calls me Nosy Nancy, and I’m okay with that because I don’t mind keeping an eye on Goldie. You know it was my great-grandfather who was so nosy he found out that those caves in Adora Springs made the water taste so good? But we got good water too, don’t we? I know everyone loves Adora Springs because they got that big shopping center and they’re talking about building the baseball stadium there, but that’s what makes Goldie the magic that it is…it’s smaller and off the beaten path and unexpected. Those are the best things in life sometimes…the good, unexpected ones. That’s Goldie, one hundred percent.
OC: I agree with you on that. Did you want to tell me more about what you saw Trey Foxberry doing on…what night was it, Miss Nancy?
NS: Friday night. The day after the tornado in Adora Springs. I remember it because I’d stepped out front to see if that big tree in our yard still had that long branch hanging down like it was fixin’ to fall off, and I hollered for Donnie to come look at it too. He asked about you, by the way, since he hadn’t seen you in what—a week? Y’all never go too long without bumping into each other. He said to tell you hi.
OC: Tell him I said hi back. We’ve been friends for a long time.
NS: You sure have…since y’all were both toddling around. That’s how I remember how old you are, Silas, because you were born the same year as my grandson—1986. Although his birthday is right there at the end; he barely made it in time. Anyway, Friday night I saw Trey’s car in the driveway, but I didn’t see him until it was dark…he’s tall and long and I recognized him by how he was walking. I remember when Trey was born too, same year as y’all. He was a pretty little baby, but he never acted right. Anyway, I’d know him anywhere, even in the dark. He was out back of the house wandering around, but I never saw Kasey or anybody else out there in case y’all were thinking she had something to do with this; she definitely didn’t. Kasey Fritz was raised in that hell of a household with that man Roy, and I used to see him acting a fool over there. I called the police several times, but Angie would never press charges; she just sent them away. I talked to her about it time and time again, begged her to let somebody help her, but she seemed determined to love that man no matter what. And Kasey’s not violent. I would see Roy snatch her in the backyard, and that little girl didn’t even fight back. I wish she would’ve! I called Child Protective Services once, but I hung up because I didn’t want Angie to get in any trouble for what Roy did. It made me feel better that I saw Kasey sneaking out of that house so much. I knew she had safe spaces to get to. She went to the Plums’ or the Kingstons’， or Mimi kept an eye on her. I know you know I have my sons and grandsons, but I had a granddaughter die a day after she was born that same year in 1986. My other son’s child. The one who lives way up in Ann Arbor. Anyway, I always kept an eye on Kasey and thought about my granddaughter…how she’d be that same age too.
OC: I’m sorry to hear that. I didn’t know about your granddaughter.
NS: Thank you, Silas. I just wanted y’all to know I saw Trey walk up to the edge of the dock with my own eyes. I got my binoculars out because I wondered what the devil he was doing out there. Donnie got me a new pair of those binoculars that make it so I can see in the dark…everything glows green. I looked right through that green and saw Trey fall in the water. I figured he’d find a way to get himself out, but I guess he didn’t. I didn’t know he couldn’t swim. I would’ve got down here earlier to tell y’all what I saw, but I was under the weather. I was in bed and didn’t know Trey was missing, then I was gonna call, but I didn’t even have a voice. Laryngitis. Happens every time I get sick. And when I did call…did you know they told me there was a waiting list to sit down with somebody? I can’t sit too long because of my hip. I have to lie down. I can stand, but I figured only the Lord knew how long I’d have to stand down here. My hip’s aching right now sitting here with you like this, but it’s worth it. Anyway, I figured since it was a death investigation maybe it didn’t matter what I saw…but when I heard it was a murder investigation, I said, Nancy Frances Simmons, you better get your butt down there, aching hip or waiting list or not, before somebody gets in trouble who shouldn’t. Back when it happened, I tried coming down here and telling someone that although I had no proof…I was pretty sure Roy Dupont had killed Angie Fritz, but they wouldn’t let me see anyone. Can you believe that? What a racket. I would’ve been down here earlier this time, but I thought everybody else had handled it. I thought it was over like it should be. I want to make sure the right thing happens this time. No one did this. It was an accident. I know it because I saw it with my own eyes. Do you understand?
OC: I understand.
NS: And I’d say it’s a damn shame Trey never learned to swim, but I heard what he did to Caroline, and I don’t think it’s a shame he’s dead. He just…walked too close to the edge and…fell in…that’s all.
OC: Something in your eye, Miss Nancy?
NS: Oh, nothing. Looks like I’m winking at you but it’s just my allergies, ain’t it? Or at least I hope so. Hope I’m not getting sick again.
OC: All right. Thank you for coming down to tell us this, Miss Nancy. I probably shouldn’t say this to you, but I agree that Trey probably fell in the water on his own.
NS: Well, and you know Kasey and the girls much better than I do, so you know they’re telling the truth about everything too. Speaking of…I saw you at the farmhouse late the other night, and right after you left, a little white hatchback pulled up that I’d never seen before. You and Kasey used to be so cute together in high school. I remember y’all holding hands walking down the sidewalk with ice creams from the Dairy Dee like something out of a movie.