“Did you think maybe she’d run away with somebody, did anybody pop into your mind—even if it was wrong?”
“Skip said maybe she’d found her a chubby-chaser. But no, she never had anybody like that. She had one boyfriend, but that’s like ancient history. He was in the band in the tenth grade, I say ‘boyfriend’ but they just talked and giggled like a couple of girls and did homework. He was a big sissy though, wore one of these little Greek fisherman’s caps? Skip thought he was a, you know, a queer. She got kidded about going out with a queer. Him and his sister got killed in a car wreck though, and she never got anybody else.”
“What did you think when she didn’t come back?”
“Pam thought maybe it was some Moonies got her, I didn’t know, I was scared every time I thought about it. I wouldn’t any more go out at night without Skip, I told him, I said uh-uh, buddy, when the sun goes down, we go out.”
“Did you ever hear her mention anybody named Jame Gumb? Or John Grant?”
“Ummmm … no.”
“Do you think she could have had a friend you didn’t know about? Were there gaps in time, days when you didn’t see her?”
“No. She had a guy, I’d of known, believe me. She never had a guy.”
“Do you think it might be just possible, let’s say, she could have had a friend and didn’t say anything about it?”
“Why wouldn’t she?”
“Scared she’d get kidded, maybe?”
“Kidded by us? What are you saying, because of the other time? The sissy kid in
high school?” Stacy reddened. “No. No way we would hurt her. I just mentioned that together. She didn’t … everybody was like, kind to her after he died.”
“Did you work with Fredrica, Stacy?”
“Me and her and Pam Malavesi and Jaronda Askew all worked down at the Bargain Center summers in high school. Then Pam and me went to Richards’ to see could we get on, it’s real nice clothes, and they hired me and then Pam, so Pam says to Fredrica come on they need another girl and she came, but Mrs. Burdine—the merchandising manager?—she goes, ‘Well, Fredrica, we need somebody that, you know, people can relate to, that they come in and say I want to look like her, and you can give them advice how they look in this and stuff. And if you get yourself together and lose your weight I want you to come right back here and see me,’ she says. ‘But right now, if you want to take over some of our alterations I’ll try you at that, I’ll put in a word with Mrs. Lippman.’ Mrs. Burdine talked in this sweety voice but she turned out to be a bitch really, but I didn’t know it right at first.”
“So Fredrica did alterations for Richards’, the store where you worked?”
“It hurt her feelings, but sure. Old Mrs. Lippman did everybody’s alterations. She had the business and she had more than she could do, and Fredrica worked for her. She did them for old Mrs. Lippman. Mrs. Lippman sewed for everybody, made dresses. After Mrs. Lippman retired, her kid or whatever didn’t want to do it and Fredrica got it all and just kept sewing for everybody. That’s all she did. She’d meet me and Pam, we’d go to Pam’s house on lunch and watch ‘The Young and the Restless’ and she’d bring something and be working in her lap the whole time.”
“Did Fredrica ever work at the store, taking measurements? Did she meet customers or the wholesale people?”
“Sometimes, not much. I didn’t work every day.”
“Did Mrs. Burdine work every day, would she know?”
“Yeah, I guess.”
“Did Fredrica ever mention sewing for a company called Mr. Hide in Chicago or Calumet City, maybe lining leather goods?”
“I don’t know, Mrs. Lippman might have.”
“Did you ever see the Mr. Hide brand? Did Richards’ ever carry it, or one of the boutiques?”
“No.”
“Do you know where Mrs. Lippman is? I’d like to talk to her.”
“She died. She went to Florida to retire and she died down there, Fredrica said. I never did know her, me and Skip just picked up Fredrica over there sometimes when she had a bunch of clothes. You might could talk to her family or something. I’ll write it down for you.”
This was extremely tedious, when what Starling wanted was news from Calumet City. Forty minutes was up. The Hostage Rescue Team ought to be on the ground. She shifted so she didn’t have to look at the clock, and pressed on.
“Stacy, where did Fredrica buy clothes, where did she get those oversize Juno workout clothes, the sweats?”
“She made just about everything. I expect she got the sweats at Richards’, you know, when everybody started wearing them real big, so they came down over tights like that? A lots of places carried them then. She got a discount at Richards’ because she sewed for them.”