“It’s all public knowledge,” she replied, trying not to sound annoyed. “The dead girl has been identified, at least. She was Russ and Bethanne’s cousin, apparently. Grew up in Lubbock, Texas. She and Freddie met online, and it looks like she came here to see him and try to get some money out of Russ.”

“Poor Russ,” Alice said.

“He’s taking it pretty hard,” Brynne admitted. “According to Eli, he feels guilty because Tiffany died before they could get together. He would have helped her.”

“Eli gives you inside information?” Alice asked hopefully.

Brynne took a deep breath, released it slowly, reminded herself how much she loved her nosy but well-meaning mother. “No,” she said firmly, “he doesn’t. That would be unethical, and Eli is all about ethics.” A pause. “Like I said, most of this is public knowledge. The rest was probably leaked. You know how things like that work around here.”

Both Mike and Alice were silent.

Finally, Alice asked, “Did this Tiffany person have family in Texas? Someone to claim her?”

“No,” Brynne answered, more patiently this time. “People pitched in to pay the expenses, and Russ had her buried locally. This whole thing has really thrown him—I guess because Bethanne’s almost certainly dead and Tiffany was family, even if she was a stranger.”

“He still has Shallie,” Mike put in. “From what I’ve seen, she and Cord have been mighty good to Russ. Helping him get back on his feet and all.”

“Yes,” Brynne said, feeling a special warmth for her friends. “They’ve been good to him. They really care, and given some of the stories Shallie’s told me about being fostered with the Schafers, that’s pretty amazing.”

“Well, please remember us to Russ,” Alice said. “I trust you took him a food basket, too—the way you did for the Lansings?”

“I did.” Brynne smiled sadly, though no one was there to see her expression. “Let’s just say Russ was a bit more appreciative than Fred and Gretchen were. At least, he invited me in and said thank you.”

“It’s not about being thanked, of course,” Alice reminded her daughter, who didn’t need reminding. “Poor Gretchen would probably be ashamed to have visitors. I doubt that old house of theirs is in good repair.”

“Neither of them will let anybody get within ten feet of the front door, even when they’re not pretending to be out,” Brynne said. “They turned Freddie’s computer over to the sheriff’s department, but it’s pretty clear that they were just trying to avoid being served with a search warrant.”

“What are they looking for?” Mike asked. “Eli and his people, I mean.”