“Thank you for talking to us, Mrs. Gossett,” Maggie said as she led the way to the front door, Dennis right behind her.

“Ah, young lady, there is one other thing you might be interested in.” The little woman in the flowered dress let her hands flutter in the air as her facial expression turned worried.

Those words were just what Maggie wanted to hear. She whirled around so fast she nearly lost her footing. “What?” she all but screeched.

Taken aback, Frances Gossett stepped back and stared at Maggie. She cleared her throat. “I don’t know if it means anything, but I have been concerned simply because when I asked questions, no one had any answers to give me.”

Maggie clenched her teeth. She wanted her to say it, spit it out already. Instead, she took a deep breath and then said, “What questions would that be, Mrs. Gossett?” She could feel Dennis’s hot breath on her neck as he inched closer to make sure he didn’t miss a word.

“It really is none of my business, but Ellie and I were friends of a sort. We were bingo buddies, and we always sat together when we took the jitney to the casino for lunch. We do that one day a week, you know. Each week, it’s a different casino, and it’s free to all of us.”

“And . . .” Maggie prodded gently.

“Ellie Harper was her name. She was . . . is a widow like me. She lives at 202 Lilac Lane. Well, she did live there, but she’s gone. She never said good-bye, and she didn’t leave a note. It was like she disappeared into thin air. No one knows what happened to her. I wanted to file a police report, but Gentry Lomax said he would do that. I assume he did, but nothing came of it. Bessie Love said the police said

Ellie probably just got tired of this place and moved on. I don’t believe that for a minute. Ellie loved it here, and I know for a fact she had paid her rent through the end of the year. Her husband left her very well-off. She even had a portfolio.” It sounded to Maggie’s ears as if to Frances Gossett, a financial portfolio was right up there with the Holy Grail.

“Does she have a family?” Dennis asked.

“No. She had a son, but he died of leukemia years ago. People our age simply do not walk off into the sunset. Our goal is security. We like to surround ourselves with pets and friends, and Ellie was no different. I think something happened to her, and no one cares. That’s what I think,” Frances Gossett said, and sniffed.

“When did she leave?” Maggie asked.