She went to work with a whisk, her dark eyes gleaming whenever she glanced at him. “Well, good, then. I wouldn’t want to gossip. When Coral Lee showed up six months back, I knew it was about Lexie.” Mariah Denton lived right behind her eyes, and every word falling from her crinkly pink mouth had the ring of gospel. If he could ask the right questions, she would tell him what he needed to know.

“Had you stayed in touch?” he asked.

“Not really. Just Christmas cards after the church split. I try to get my cards out by—”

“The church that you went to together split?” he interrupted. He needed to get a rhythm going with her. Question, answer.

“Yes. Over doctrine. The congregation simply shattered. Pastor Farley left town in the dead of night like a criminal, and the bank took the building. After that Larry and I got our preaching off the radio. Now that he’s passed, I take the shuttle bus to the Methodist church. It’s nice. They have a dedicated minister for seniors.”

He nudged her gently back on track. “The church you attended with Mrs. Pine, was it Methodist, too?”

That made her laugh. “Oh, Lord, no! Larry said the Methodists were full of nonsense.” Her whisk paused. “I hope that doesn’t offend you?”

“No, ma’am. Though I am a Methodist,” Marshall said, smiling. He liked her, overshares and all. But he did not have the time to indulge her much.

She smiled back. “We went to a nondenominational church called Christ Redeemer. That was Larry’s pick. He was a good, dear man, but he needed things a certain way. None of it bothered me enough to want to make it a bone of contention.”

“A certain way?” Marshall asked, to get a sense of it.

“Oh, he didn’t think there ought to be musical instruments in the church, and he didn’t hold with dancing or wine or mixed bathing or card games, even Crazy Eights. Larry used to say, ‘Give me a church that’s just plain Bible, nothing added, nothing took away.’” Her tone was wry but fond. “Never mind King David in the Psalms talking all about drums and lyres and dancing. If I pointed that out, though, he’d get all foamy and preach at me. And I like a cappella singing fine.”

She was drifting off topic again. “Mrs. Pine was like Larry in her beliefs?”