“To my knowledge, Mr. Cricket doesn’t usually come out here much during the week. I’ve seen him pretty often on weekends, when we’re all on duty. He’s always trying to do more for the tenants. This is just a guess on my part, but the boys here agree with me. So for whatever it’s worth, we think Mr. Cricket came out here that day specifically to see Mr. Lomax because he was upset about something. We think it was about the twenty tenants who have gone AWOL. But we don’t have anything definite to base our opinion on. Bessie Love confided in me that Mr. Gentry gets a bonus at the end of the year based on the rentals. With empty units, his bonus goes down. He even squawked about Bessie’s getting a reduction in her rent or maybe free rent to work in the office. I’m not sure how that works, and it’s none of my business anyway. All she has to live on is her Social Security, and it isn’t much. She’s a kind soul, and Lomax treats her like a slave. One of these days, he’s going to pay for that.”

“So what you’re saying is, you and your people really don’t know anything. Do you suspect anything?” Ted asked.

Nick raised his hand. “I think—and this is just my opinion—but I think Mr. Lomax makes too many trips outside the village on a daily basis. Some of the tenants who are a little more alert and sharper started to keep track at our request. The day of the shooting was a legitimate trip to pick up sinks. That we verified. One of the tenants told us that one day Lomax left wearing his standard outfit, khaki pants and the Happy Village T-shirt, but when he returned he was wearing jeans and a plain white T-shirt. I don’t know what if anything that means.”

“Do you know anything about Zack Meadows, Mr. Cricket’s partner? Does he come out here, do you know?” Ted queried.

The four members of the Cavaliers looked at one another and shrugged. All eyes turned to Lionel Lewis, who suddenly looked like a deer caught in the headlights. The young man cleared his throat, not once but twice, before he spoke.