Wanda Gail looked at least ten years older than her classmates, Reede and Junior—even Stacey. Alex wondered if it had been her previous wild life, or her married life with Plummet that had accelerated her aging process. She would bet on the latter. He couldn’t be much fun to live with. For all his piousness, he brought no joy or love to those around him. To Alex, that’s what one’s faith should be about. Her admiration for this woman was tinged with pity.
It became even more so when Wanda Gail looked up at her and shyly remarked, “You were nice to me, too. I didn’t expect you to be nice, ’cause you’re so fancy and have such pretty things.” She gave Alex’s fur coat and eel handbag a wistful glance.
“Thank you,” she replied. Then, because Wanda Gail seemed stricken with self-consciousness, Alex resumed the questioning. “How did your sisters react to your marriage?”
“Oh, I’m sure they didn’t like it.”
“You don’t know?”
“Fergus thought it would be best if I didn’t mix with them anymore.”
“He separated you from your family?”
“It was for the best,” Wanda said, immediately rising to his defense. “I left my old life. They were part of it. I had to turn my back on them to prove to Jesus that I was forsaking sin.”
Alex chalked up another reason to despise the preacher. He had brainwashed his wife against her family and used her immortal soul as leverage. “Where are your sisters now?”
“Peggy Gail died a few years ago. I read about it in the newspaper. She had cancer,” she said, her face sorrowful.
“What about the other one? Nora Gail?”
Wanda’s lips narrowed with stern disapproval. “She’s still living her sinful ways.”
“Here in town?”
“Oh my, yes.” Again, she clasped her hands beneath her chin and said a quick prayer. “I pray to God that she’ll see the light before it’s too late.”
“She never married?”
“No, she likes men too much, all men. She never wanted one in particular. Maybe Reede Lambert, but he didn’t want anything permanent.”
“She liked him?”
“Very much. They enjoyed each other physically, but it never amounted to love. Maybe they were too much alike. Stubborn. They both have a mean streak, too.”
Alex tried to make the next question sound casual. “Do you know if he still sees her?”
“I expect he does,” she said, folding her arms across her middle and sniffing righteously. “He liked us all, but Nora Gail was always his first choice. I don’t know if they still sleep together, but they’ve gotta stay friends ’cause they know too much about each other. Ever since the night Celina was killed, there’s been—”
“What about it?” Alex interrupted.
“What about what?”
“The night Celina was killed.”
“Reede was with Nora Gail.”
Alex’s heart fluttered. “He was with your sister that night? You’re sure?”
Wanda gave her a puzzled look. “I thought everybody knew that.”
>
Everybody but me, Alex thought bitterly.
She asked Wanda where Nora Gail lived. Reluctantly, Wanda gave her directions to the house. “I’ve never been there, but I know where it is. I don’t think you can miss it.”
Alex thanked her for the information and rose to leave. At the door, Wanda became nervous again. “I don’t think Fergus would like it that I talked to you.”