“Do you live here alone?” Jane asked after the agent had retreated into the hall.
“No, ma’am. I live here with my son. And Mr. Sam. It’s his house.”
“Sam?”
“Sam Quarry.”
“I know that name. He has a daughter, doesn’t he? Tippi?”
“Yes, ma’am. She ain’t here right now. I don’t know where she be.” Ruth Ann looked as though she wanted to run out of the room, but she just sat there picking at her apron with her stained, work-hardened fingers.
“Has anyone been by to visit you lately?”
Ruth Ann looked down. “I… uh.”
Jane reached over and put a gentle hand on the woman’s bony shoulder. “I didn’t come here by accident, Ruth Ann. I know things, you see. I know about Sam. I wanted to come here and try to help him. Help you. And your son. Is he here?”
Ruth Ann shook her head. “He done gone off with those folks.”
“Folks? What folks?”
“Man and a woman.”
“You knew them?”
“No, they just showed up here early this morning.”
“Really, you just let your son go off with complete strangers?”
“I… he wanted to. They with the government, like the police. And Gabriel say he wants to go help Mr. Sam out. And Mr. Sam, if he done something wrong, I don’t know nothing about it. Gabriel neither.” A tear plunked down on the stained apron.
“I’m sure, Ruth Ann. I’m sure. So these people came here. Did they tell you their names?”
“Man say his name… King, that’s right. King.”
“Tall, good-looking man? The woman was also tall, brunette?”
“You know’em?”
“They’re actually friends of mine. What did they want here?”
“They looking for your niece. I told’em we ain’t know nothing’bout that. And I swear to God, ma’am, we ain’t.”
Jane said soothingly, “I believe you. Of course you didn’t.”
“And then Gabriel he was all fired up wanting to show’em that room.”
“Room?”
“One down in the basement. Mr. Sam got stuff in that room. Stuff on the walls. Pictures and writing, whole bunch of stuff. It had your niece’s picture on it. Gabriel showed me. She a pretty girl.”
“And King and his friend saw this room?”
“Oh, yeah, they was in there a long time. They got real excited.”
“Can you show me this room?”
“Ma’am?”