Page 28 (1/2)

"Tell me about Richard," I said

There’s no special trick to conducting an interview All it requires is a little patience, an ear for the ie that to most people the sweetest possible music is the sound of their own voice

"Richard was Merodie’s boyfriend," Mollie said "That’s all I really know about him I don’t think he had a job He was always around, always entertaining friends Must have been a million people in and out of his driveway My ex, the prick, he figured Richard was dealing drugs Sure, dealing drugs out of a split-level in Anoka What a laugh"

"Hysterical"

Mollie’s eyes greide "You think?"

"It’s certainly possible"

Mollie didn’t like the sound of that at all She left her chair and liazed out at Merodie’s e dealer?"

"You said a year?"

After a brief pause, Mollie answered, "Huh? A year? Yeah Richard left after about a year I didn’t see hiot real quiet You wouldn’t have known anyone was even living next door"

"Where did Richard go?"

Mollie shrugged her ignorance

"Do you know his last name?"

Mollie shook her head

"Richard is all I know," she said "I only heard it during the arguments"

"Did you have any contact with Merodie after Richard left?"

"I never had any contact with Merodie before Richard left Not really It was like, ‘Hi, how you doing?’ e met on the street, which wasn’t often We didn’t sit around the kitchen table drinking coffee or anything"

"You saw her coo"

"Not lately As near as I can tell, she was always in her house She never left it"

"Not to go shopping?"

"Well, she , for food and stuff, you know? I just never see her"