“But you said she was different when she came back here to live. What do you mean?”
He shrugged. “Just not quite the girl I remembered. She seemed very concerned with her clothing and with her status, and not very friendly with the people here in town.”
“That doesn’t sound much like the Susan I knew. But she had been on Broadway after I knew her, and her Aunt Kim worked for a fashion magazine. I guess it’s a whole different world when you’re always rubbing elbows with the rich and famous. Oh, and I found out that Susan’s aunt died just a short while before her parents did. Did you know about that at the time?”
“I seem to remember something like that. I guess that could explain some of it, though she seemed more distant than sad, if you ask me. Her mother asked me to talk to her. She said she had been worried about Susan and couldn’t get her to say much of anything. But it was no use. Susan wouldn’t talk to me, either.”
“Did her mother say why she was worried about her?”
“Not specifically. Of course, she was thinking of getting married at the time, and it could have been just uncertainty about making that kind of a commitment. It’s hard to say.” Again there was a twinkle in his eyes. “Especially since twenty years have passed since then.”
“Did you ever meet her fiancé, Archer Prescott?”
“Only once. He came to talk to me about having the wedding in the church. He seemed eager to have it here with Susan’s family and everything, but then she told me she hadn’t decided what she wanted to do. Neither of them talked to me about it again, but I got the impression that our little church wasn’t quite the venue she was looking for. I understand they had decided to have a big wedding out of state.”
“That was the plan.” Annie couldn’t help feeling sorry that Susan and her Prince Charming had never made it to the altar. “I wish I knew what was going on with her back then. I wish I had stayed in touch with her, especially after her mom and dad were gone.”
“I think she left Stony Point rather soon after that. A few weeks, I think. I never spoke to her again once the funeral was over. I tried to, but she never returned my calls.”
“Poor Susan, it must have been hard for her. You don’t—” Annie bit her lip, not liking the thought that came into her mind. “You don’t think she might have drowned herself on purpose, do you?”
“I don’t know. I suppose it’s possible, but I couldn’t say that from the limited contact I had with her.”
“But with all her family gone so suddenly, maybe she was overwhelmed and didn’t know what she was doing.”
“And yet she was getting married and marrying a man of considerable wealth and position. Besides all the material things, from everything I heard, he would have done anything for her, and she was swept off her feet by him. It’s what every young woman dreams of. Or so I’m told.”
Annie exhaled. “That’s what I heard too. It seems such a shame.”
“I’m sorry I can’t be more help to you about Susan. It’s been a long while, and the old memory isn’t what it used to be. Still, let’s not miss the opportunity to help those who are with us now. If you think Mrs. Maxwell is in trouble, I can contact the authorities for you. No one need know that you said anything at all.”
Annie shook her head. “I just don’t think it’s as serious as that. I’d like to talk to her again.”
“I should have stayed in touch with her.” Pastor Wallace kicked at a bright yellow leaf that had blown against the bench. “Of course, some women in bad situations never admit they’re in trouble.”
“That’s what I’m afraid of. I’ll definitely try to talk to her again.”
“And let me know if there’s anything you want me to do. I’ll be more than happy to go with you, if you’d like.”
“No, I don’t want her to feel like we’re ganging up on her. Let me just go over and have a chat with her, woman to woman.” Annie stood up and pulled her coat more closely around herself. “The best thing you can do is pray that everything is all right and that I will know what to do if it’s not.”
Pastor Wallace stood, too, and gave her hand a warm little squeeze. “I’ll certainly do that. You let me know if I can help.”
****
Annie ducked her head against the wind as she walked back to the bank to get her car. It seemed colder all of a sudden.
Of course, some women never admit it when they’re in trouble. Was that true of Sandy Maxwell? Had it been true of Susan too? No one had ever suggested that Susan’s death might be suicide, but it was possible, wasn’t it? Wasn’t it possible that, behind the facade of a fashion-conscious sophisticate, she had been desperately lonely? That she had been grieving for her aunt and her parents, and had never admitted it to anyone? Not even to Archer Prescott?