“April 17 was the last time I heard from her. We were supposed to take the jitney to the dollar store, but she didn’t show up at the clubhouse. That’s where we board the jitney. When we got back, I went over to her apartment; I have a key, and she has one to my place too. I let myself in, but she wasn’t there. Everything looked normal. Nothing was out of place. I felt like a sneak going through her things, but I felt as if I had to do it. I couldn’t tell whether anything was missing. Her purse wasn’t there. Ellie had this . . . what I call a satchel that she carried everything in—her knitting, personal things—and it was gone, and so was her cell phone. There was quite a bit of food in her refrigerator, and her pantry was well stocked. Her bed was made too. She had no pets, said she didn’t want the responsibility of taking care of an animal.

“I went back every day for a week. I called her cell phone at least a hundred times during that week, then I asked Gentry Lomax to look into it.”

Maggie felt like pumping her fist in the air. At last, something to sink her teeth into. She was about to ask a question when Mrs. Gossett continued, “And that’s not all. Other people have left here in more or less the same way. My next-door neighbor Porter said his friend Will left too. He reported it the same way I did. Nothing came of it, either. Will’s unit is also empty. Will was some bigwig in Silicon Valley, and he moved here, Porter said, about two years ago. Meaning he was wealthy. I don’t know if he paid his rent ahead of time like Ellie did or not. That’s one of the reasons Gentry gave for not being able to do anything. His mantra was they were free agents, older than twenty-one, in good health, and not answerable to anyone but themselves. Porter has a key to Will’s place, and he still checks it every day, hoping to find that Will has come back. He and Porter used to play chess every day, and he misses him. It’s hard to lose a friend. I miss Ellie terribly and am so glad I have Sawdust. Do you think you can do anything about this, young lady? Do you think it might have something to do with Mr. Cricket’s getting shot?”

“I’m not sure what I think at the moment. So that’s two missing tenants, and no one has done anything, is that what you’re saying?” Maggie asked tightly.