Interview with a Witness

by MOLLY GINTY

"She always seemed so nice, and so normal. Beautiful girl, with those wide blue eyes and legs that stretched on forever. She had a special way of smiling whenever she bought nails, razor blades, or drills from me. Always wanted the best quality, and always wanted to know where everything was crafted.

During the years that Gretchen stopped by the hardware store every week or so, she usually bought a knife of some kind--snap blade, fixed blade, retractable, you name it. She never paid with a credit card, only cash. She was always vague about where she lived and what she did professionally. We would joke about how she was my prettiest customer, and I'd give her her change and a peppermint gumdrop before she grinned and swished out the door. I always thought Gretchen was a catalog model or an executive secretary and maybe married to a guy who worked in construction. Then I saw her picture in the papers on the eve of her murder trial. Jesusmaryandjoseph my heart leapt to my throat. The box of screws I was holding in my good left hand fell and scattered on the floor. Since then, I've installed a security camera behind the front counter and have had trouble sleeping nights. I got a real fright just last week, when one of the stock boys swore he saw Gretchen sashay in the store and buy a miter saw from my second cousin, our part-time clerk."

EDDIE McGUINN, 72
OWNER
SLIGO HARDWARE