“Something like that. She was turning into a real good-looking woman by then. Her acne cleared up and she lost a little weight. Guys were noticing, and Brook didn’t like that. They got into an argument and he slapped her at first. Then it escalated. She left him when she was about twenty-five.”

“Then what happened?” Decker asked.

“Brook was crazy. After she left him, he started stalking her. He called her a million times a day. He followed her home from work and followed her around on weekends. She had a couple of break-ins that we think he did. She finally did get a restraining order, but you know what that’s worth.”

“Not much,” McAdams said. “How long did the stalking last?”

“About three years after they divorced. It would stop for a few months, then it would pick up again. Back and forth. She finally got so nervous, she moved out of state.”

“Where was she living at the time of the stalking?” Decker asked.

“Denver, I believe. Anyway, she finally had enough. She picked up and left for Texas. I forget where. She moved around a lot.”

“Did the stalking persist after she moved?”

“I don’t know. She stopped complaining, though. A few years later, she met Cal. That marriage lasted longer than it should have.”

“Meaning?”

“Same old, same old. They’d get high or drunk and start arguing. But they were married a while. She divorced him about four years ago.”

“Did he stalk her?”

“Cal? Nah. He remarried as soon as the ink was dry on the divorce papers.”

“And she never heard from Brook again?” Decker said.

“If she did, she didn’t tell me,” Marion said. “Like I said, we lost touch except for a few cursory texts.” A pause. “I hope this helped.”

“It does help,” Decker told her. “Would you happen to know where Brook is living now?”

“Don’t know and don’t care.”

“But she was living in Denver when she was married to him?”

“Around those parts, yes.”

“Let me just repeat a few things. She was living in Denver with Brook. Then she moved to Texas with Cal.”

“No, she moved to Texas first and there she met Cal. She and Cal moved a few times. They settled somewhere in the Midwest—Kansas or Iowa. Some farm place. After they divorced, she moved to Philadelphia.”

“How did she meet Elsie?”

“I’m not exactly sure. Pauline worked as an aide at a nursing home. Elsie was a nurse. Maybe they met in a work situation or something.”

McAdams said, “Do you know where Pauline worked?”

“Just somewhere in Philadelphia. No names come to mind.”

Decker said, “We might call you again for information. Would that be okay?”

“Call as often as you’d like, Detective,” Marion said. “Do you know when the body is going to be released? We’d like to bury her.”