“You two lost or something?” the woman called out. Despite her shabby clothing and rough mannerisms, she seemed friendly enough.

“No,” replied Tessa, summoning up a smile. “We were just about to leave, actually. This house belonged to my grandmother at one time, and my mother grew up here. I just - we were in Minneapolis for business and decided to make the drive out here.”

The gray haired woman walked over to them now, taking in the top of the line BMW sedan, Ian’s black leather jacket, Tessa’s designer purse. And then, as she got a good look at Tessa’s face, her eyes widened.

“My God, you look exactly like your mother, don’t you?” she exclaimed. “It’s been a long time since I’ve seen her, more than thirty years, I think, but it all comes back to me now. I don’t recall her name, but that face and hair - well, hard to forget someone that pretty. And you’re her spitting image, young lady.”

Tessa’s smiled widened. “Thank you, you’re very kind. And my mother’s name was Gillian. Gillian Pedersen. I’m her daughter – Tessa - and this is my fiancé, Ian Gregson.”

Ian extended his hand towards the older woman. “Did you know Tessa’s grandmother then? Or any of the family?”

The woman shook Ian’s hand briefly. “Not well, no. Your grandmother - Corinne - kept to herself a lot. Most of the time, anyway. You know, when she wasn’t having one of her episodes.”

Tessa was on instant alert at the woman’s rather matter-of-factly uttered statement. “Episodes? How do you mean?”

The woman hesitated. “How much did your mother tell you about, well, your grandmother? And about her life here? Oh, by the way, I’m Annie Lange. My husband Tim and I have lived here a little over thirty years. Moved here when your mother was already a teenager. That’s why I couldn’t remember her name, since I really only saw her around for a year or so before she left town.”

Tessa’s hands began to tremble again, whether from cold or fear, and she shoved them into her jacket pockets. “My mother never talked about my grandmother,” she acknowledged. “Or about growing up here. She always changed the subject whenever I asked. But I always knew that things weren’t - well, happy for her here.”

“I don’t think they were either,” replied Annie gently. “Your mom was never around much, seemed to avoid coming home as much as possible, and then just took off when she was around seventeen, eighteen. Never saw her again. But Corinne got real bad after that, started having more and more of her episodes. She’d raise a ruckus of one sort or another, sometimes just stood in the road in the middle of the night and scream at the top of her lungs for no reason. A few times she’d curse at one of the neighbors, say all sorts of crazy things, even throw rocks at their houses or cars. Most of the time she’d just go back into her house afterwards, and then we wouldn’t see her again for a week or two. Other times, when it got real bad, someone would call the sheriff and they’d come and take her away for awhile. But she always came back. Until, well - you know she passed on about ten years ago, right?”

Ian answered for her, since Tessa had grown increasingly pale with every word out of Annie’s mouth, and clutched his arm tightly for support.

“Yes, we did know that,” he said. “And that her death was ruled a suicide. But we don’t have any other details. And since Gillian passed away almost ten years ago herself, there’s no one else Tessa can ask about her family.”

Annie reached out to pat Tessa on the arm. “I’m sorry about that, honey. Your mother was such a pretty girl, but it was obvious how unhappy she was living here, how hard things were with your grandmother. And I’m sorry I don’t have more information to give you. As I said before, Corinne was something of a recluse, especially after your mother left. She didn’t talk to any of the neighbors, hardly ever came outside unless she was having one of her episodes. And, frankly, most of us were all too happy to avoid her. Because, you know, she was sort of -”

“Crazy?” finished Tessa. “Don’t worry, I figured that out pretty quickly. My mom - she was sick, too. She didn’t have outbursts like you described with my grandmother, but she had a severe case of bipolar disorder.”

“Do you know if either Corinne or Gillian had any friends elsewhere in town?” inquired Ian. “Someone who might be able to share some information with Tessa?”

Annie shook her head. “Not really, no. Like I mentioned before, we hadn’t been here all that long when Gillian left town. And none of us around here paid much attention to Corinne. We were just happy when she stayed inside her place and kept quiet. Not that there’s many of us left in this neighborhood any longer. You can see for yourself how many vacant houses there are. When the big recession hit back in 2008, the factory in town closed up and lots of people lost their jobs and their houses. Things are gradually starting to recover, but it’s going to take some time yet. As for your grandmother’s house - well, I doubt anyone will ever buy it considering the shape it’s in.”

“Thank you for the information,” Ian told her gently. “We appreciate your time. We’re going to head back into town now, maybe stop by the high school and see if there are any teachers who might remember Gillian.”

“Good idea. Oh, and while you’re there, you might want to look up old Doctor Phelps. He’s been the town doctor here for almost fifty years from what I understand. Mostly retired now, sold his practice to a younger doctor, but I think he still sees a few patients now and then. And he knows everyone. You’ll find his office in between the realtor’s and the post office. As you probably noticed driving in, Oak Grove’s not a very big place, so you can find everything pretty easy.”

Tessa thanked the woman again, and then gratefully took refuge inside the plush confines of the car. The snow was falling a little heavier now, and she shivered even as Ian cranked up the heater.

He drove back towards town silently, waiting for her to speak first. But when they reached the main street and she still hadn’t said a word, he prodded her gently for a reply.

“Tessa? What would you like to do next, love? Did you want to stop by the high school? Or should we head back to Minneapolis? It’s up to you.”

She shook her head. “Neither of those, actually. I’d really like to find this Doctor Phelps that Annie mentioned. If he’s been here almost fifty years, then I’m sure he knew my mother. And grandmother. This isn’t a very big town, as Annie said, and if he was the only doctor, he must have known them.”