I carried the coffee into the living room and put it on the table in front of them. Sister handed Fairchild a cup and poured some cream in it. “Say when.”

“When.”

“Mouse,” Sister said, “I think there are some sweetrolls in the freezer.”

“I couldn’t swallow a bite,” Fairchild said.

I took my coffee and sat down in a chair across from them. “Who was she meeting at the Redneck last night?” I asked.

“Probably some of the folks from Blue Bay Ranch. She told me, but I was watching the Braves game.”

“She told us about Blue Bay Ranch,” Mary Alice said.

“Running out of names if you ask me.” Fairchild studied his coffee. “Anyway, that’s where Jason Marley and the rest of the crew like to hang out. At the Redneck.”

“Jason Marley sounds like his face should show up on a door knocker,” I said. Sister and Fairchild both looked at me blankly. “You know, like in Scrooge. Jacob Marley, the partner. Scrooge thinks he’s seeing him because he’s eaten a greasy supper, but he’s really there to tell him he’ll be visited by the three spirits.” They continued to look at me. “Write his name down, Sister.” I bent to my coffee.

“I expect Laura’s already called him,” Fairchild said.

“What about relatives in De Funiak Springs?” Mary Alice asked.

“There’s a brother and a sister. The sister has a bad heart condition, though, and the brother is considerably older. I’d hate to alarm them unnecessarily.”

“You could just call them to chat, couldn’t you?”

“I could do that.” Fairchild put his cup on the tray and rubbed his hands across his eyes again. “I think what I should do, though, is call the sheriff.”

“Then that’s what you ought to do. Here,” Mary Alice reached behind her, got the phone, and handed it to Fairchild.

“I’ll call from my apartment.” Fairchild stood up. “I might drive over to the development and look around first. I just had a thought that maybe she went back to work and dropped off to sleep over there.”

“Very possible,” Mary Alice said. I agreed but didn’t believe it for a minute. The way Millicent had looked the night before had sent me a clear message: there was another man in the woodpile.

“You sure you don’t want us to call anybody? Jacob Marley?” Sister added as we followed Fairchild to the door.

“Not yet. But thank you for your help.” Another rub of the eyes. “When I woke up and realized she hadn’t been home, I panicked.”

Mary Alice patted his arm. “Everything’s going to be all right. You let us know, now.”

“I will. I’m sorry I bothered you so early.”