Thats some lofty praise, Foster said, but I can certainly do my best.

Well, what do we have on information regarding who all three of the Fullers spoke withaside from one anotherbefore the murders occurred? Kate asked.

Alvin Fuller spoke with an old friend of his from high school as he was checking out at the Citgo out on Highway 44, Foster said. He was coming home from work, stopped by to grab a six-pack of beer, and they ran into each other. The friend says they simply chatted about work and family. Very surface-level stuff just to seem polite. The friend said Alvin did not seem strange in any way.

As for Wendy Fuller, the last person to speak to her other than her family was a co-worker. Wendy worked at the little shipping warehouse just outside of town. The co-worker in question said the last thing they spoke about was how Wendy was concerned that Mercy was starting to show a lot of interest in boys. Mercy had apparently had her first kiss recently and Wendy was afraid of what that could mean. But other than that, things seemed pretty much the same as always.

And what about Mercy? DeMarco asked.

The last person she spoke with was her best friend, a local girl named Anne Pettus. Weve spoken with Anne twice, just to make sure she told the same story. She said the last conversation they had was about a boy named Charlie. According to Anne, this Charlie kid was not Mercys boyfriend. Anne also told us something that sort of bumps up against what her parents might have known about her.

Like a lie? Kate asked.

Yes. According to Wendys co-worker, they spoke about this supposed first kiss. But according to Anne Pettus, thats not true. Apparently, Mercy had her first kiss a very long time ago.

Was she promiscuous?

Anne would not say as much. She just said that she knew for a fact that Mercy had done much more than kiss a boy.

In regards to her disappearance, where does the evidence lean at this point? Kate asked. That she was taken or that she left of her own accord?

Unless the two of you found something new in the house, there is no evidence to suggest that Mercy was taken against her will. If anything, we have small pieces of circumstantial evidence that suggests she might have left on her own.

What sort of evidence?