“Most likely, Earl put up a fuss. He don’t like being left out of things.” She paused. “Did anyone explain about Earl to you?”

Marge said yes, someone did. She asked Sue Beth what time did she see her parents at the convention.

“They were there when we arrived,” Sue Beth said.

“But you said you left before them,” Marge said.

“Oh, I forgot. We all stopped off at a restaurant to eat. Nice one in La Mesa called Montequilla’s. Sort of a family tradition when we go down to Fall Springs.”

Marge said, “So your parents and Earl were at Fall Springs when you arrived.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“You’re sure about that?”

Sue Beth paused a moment. “Yes, ma’am.”

Marge didn’t know if the pause came from Sue Beth remembering something differently or an honest attempt to make sure she’d answered the question truthfully. Marge wrote down the reply and put in the word “pause” in the margin of her notes.

“What time did you arrive at Fall Springs?”

“’Round two, two-thirty.”

“How long does it take to get to there from your place?”

“’Bout two hours.”

“Okay,” Marge said. “And everything was normal when you left?”

“Yes.”

“And your parents seemed…just fine?”

Sue Beth frowned. “’Course, they were fine. What are you trying to say?”

“Just trying to get a total picture of everything, Sue Beth.”

Sue Beth still looked unhappy, but she didn’t say anything.

Marge asked, “Your parents get along with Luke?”

“They worshiped him,” Sue Beth said. “That man was the salt of the earth….” Her lower lip began to tremble, and tears spilled onto her cheeks.

Marge pulled a clean tissue from her pants pocket and gave it to her. “I’m so sorry, Sue Beth.”

She wiped her face, then nodded for Marge to continue. Casually, Marge asked, “Your parents get along well with Luke’s wife?”

“Huh?”

“Your parents like Linda?” Marge repeated.

Sue Beth looked up, her features hardened. “As a matter of fact, they didn’t. None of us did…’cept…well, Linda was nice to Earl. I’ll say that much for her.”

“So your parents didn’t like Linda.”

“So what?” Sue Beth countered. “Lots of parents don’t like their daughters-in-law.”

Marge agreed with her. Then, she asked her about her sister, Carla. How did her parents relate to her? Sue Beth seemed pained.

“They thought Linda was a bad influence on her. She was, you know.”

“What do you mean by bad influence?”

Sue Beth covered her mouth with her hands. “My sister was only fourteen when Luke married Linda. She was very—what’s the word, impressed-like….”

“Impressionable?”

“Yeah, that’s it.” Sue Beth went on to explain. Baby sister Carla was never a looker, very shy, and the boys didn’t treat her too nice. Then Linda came along and showed Carla ways to attract the boys’ attention.