Death Before Facebook

some time with Nina. “I feel for them,” she said, nodding at Grady and Sugar.
    Nina simply shook her head, as Skip had seen dozens of friends and relatives do when confronted with death.
    “Have you worked for them long?”
    “A few years.”
    “I gather from Grady the old man was difficult.”
    She shrugged. “Grady’s not so easy himself.”
    “And Mrs. Hebert?”
    “Complicated. I feel sorry for her.”
    “Why?”
    “Arthur treated her like dirt, for one thing. For another, she’s got some real little emotional knots.”
    “What sort?”
    “She doesn’t really have a lot of self-esteem.” Phillips thought a moment. “And I guess she thinks she can get it by pretending.”
    Nina had a maddening way of throwing out enticing generalities that made little sense initially. “Pretending what?” Skip asked.
    “Whatever. It varies.”
    Skip still didn’t get it, but she couldn’t stay there. There was too much to cover in a hurry. “Do you know the family pretty well?”
    To her surprise, Nina snorted. “I’d say so. Grady and I were an item once, God help me.” She paused here. “Reed and I are best friends. And Dennis is my cousin.”
    “Dennis! But I thought—” She stopped, but Nina made her complete the sentence. “I thought he was white.”
    “Oh, he is, I guess. He’s from a white branch of the family, anyway. We didn’t grow up together; I didn’t even know about the Fouchers—the white ones. Dennis looked me up when we were already grown.” She snorted again. “He wanted money.”
    “Was this before or after you knew the Heberts?”
    “Before. He introduced me years later. What you have to understand is he was a different person then. He was an addict.”
    “I see.”
    “Oh, there never was any harm in him, not a bit. He’s a gentle soul—a very sweet man.” She stopped and stared at the wall. “Lord, lord.”
    “What is it?”
    “I was just thinking how much he and Grady are alike. Passive. Sweet, but ineffectual.”
    Grady hadn’t struck Skip as sweet, but she kept her mouth shut.
    “No wonder Reed and I hit it off so well. We’re like mirror images, one black, one white. Otherwise, we could be twins. Well, no, not exactly. I’m more of a rebel than she is. Good lord, Goody Two-Shoes is more of a rebel than she is. But how we’re alike is—we’re real obsessive. Can’t rest till everything’s done, and done perfectly.
    “But her daddy criticized everything she did and to tell you the truth—” she dropped her voice “—her mama’s not much different. Reed never steps outside the lines they draw, and in the end, she can never really believe she can do anything very well. But of course she’s a whiz. Terrific mother, great cook, runs her house, runs the restaurant, supports Dennis in his little venture.”
    “A nursery, isn’t it?”
    “Yeah. That’s what I mean about him being a gentle soul. Loves his plants to death.” Something in her voice sounded like contempt.
    “Reed sounds like she’s wound pretty tightly.”
    Nina shrugged. “I guess. She’s so busy being nice to everybody you wouldn’t notice.”
    Paul Gottschalk came out, trailed by the two Heberts. He said, “The gun’s there all right. I’d be surprised if it’s been fired.”
    Skip nodded. “Thanks, Paul. I’m going to leave you folks now.” She wanted to examine the crime scene. “But, Mrs. Hebert, I need you to walk with me through the house when we’re done, to see if anything’s missing. Are you thinking of staying with friends?”
    “I might just stay at Reed and Dennis’s house—I don’t think they’d mind, do you?” She looked at Grady, holding her hands at breast level, rather like a prairie dog. She was beginning to look tired and very frightened. Skip thought the shock was starting to wear off.
    Grady said, “My hovel certainly isn’t suitable.”
    “Do you think you could maybe—” She let it hang, clearly not wanting to ask her son for something.
    Grady looked meaningfully at Nina, and Skip realized he wanted her to come to his rescue. Nina ignored him. Finally, he said, “Yes, Mother, I’ll stay with you,” speaking not nearly so gently as the circumstances called for. To Skip, he said, “Can I take her there and bring her back when you call?”
    “Sure, but one last thing. Can you point out Reed and Dennis’s car?”
    “Of course.”
    He and Skip walked up and down the street. “It’s not here.”
    “It’s not?”
    “It’s a