Page 237 (1/2)

That seehter “Mr Marchand was a good man, but his sister is a bitch She heard what had happened and she asked Mike to take sive hi for when he had to find another job Mike didn’t tellonstuff over to theh and a sob “I wish he’d been cheating on me He’d still be alive”

Pae to ask Hazel what any of this had to do with Rico and Jocelyn She had more color in her face than e’d first coer she seemed, and that et there first I’d learned a little patience over the years Besides, there was no reason to rush Bobby was safe No one else’s head was on the chopping block We had time to let Hazel tell her story

“Jocelyn found out he was stealing and threatened to tell Mr Marchand unless Mike did what she wanted”

“What did she want Mike to do?” I asked, because Hazel seemed to want me to ask

“To keep quiet about what she and Bobby were doing Mike saw the, but she told hi”

Hazel shook her head “Mike said that Bobby should have knoas happening, but Jocelyn had hi but what she wanted hi, or , that she wanted, but there were a few that said no to her She doesn’t like anyone that tells her no”

“Did Mike tell her no?” I asked

“No, he just kept quiet and started stealing bigger stuff for that bitch Muriel and her stupid husband I’ve never seen such a useless man, and I’ve seen soh of the up for us to go away together We were going to go to Europe and see all those places you plan on seeing and never see, you know?”

“I know,” I said, and tried to keepto run out of patience My supply was never endless

“Then Mike heard Jocelyn talking to one of the other people that worked at the Marchand place She was talking like Bobby was stalking her, trying to rape her or so, but he knew that wasn’t true” Hazel looked up at ure out why she was lying to people about her and Bobby I mean, they weren’t really brother and sister, not by blood Mike said that she was chasing Bobby hard when no one else could see Then Mike saw Jocelyn kissing Rico Vargas I mean, most women in town have kissed hie You don’t ot someone serious about you, because Rico isn’t serious about anyone”

There was a tone in her voice that made me want to ask if she knew froo If it mattered, I’d find out later

“Rico does seeift to everyone,” Pamela said

Hazel smiled at her, and there was a moment of normalcy, and then she reain as if the bloas fresh When grief is new, you forget for seconds, and then it crushes you all the ht that no one had died, that it hadn’t happened

“I told Mike he should tell Jocelyn that he saw her with Rico Blackmail for blackmail, you know? But he said not yet He wanted to wait until he needed so people that Bobby was trying to stalk her, then maybe she wouldn’t care if he knew about Rico, you know?”

“Makes sense,” I said