Page 62 of Death on Gallows Path

Also she didn’t put on the video and she was all business.

The pieces clicked together — her gentleman caller was there. But she hadn’t been able to resist the temptation to get the latest on the murder.

I filled her in quickly — skipping the historical details. Not the time to get into that when I wanted information from her and she wanted to get off the call.

“Kit, what do you know about covering up a bruise with makeup?”

Of course she made me explain first.

She clicked her tongue when I finished.

“Amateur,” was her verdict on Zoley’s makeup skills.

Kit doesn’t wear much makeup herself, but doesn’t allow slack for people who didn’t at least hit the internet for how-tos.

“When I researched at that Broadway theater for a book — before we lived together — the makeup artist showed me what I needed for the murder plot. The mistake most people make is trying to cover a bruise by slathering on regular foundation. They miss the most important aspects. First, you assess the bruise—”

“Because they change color over time,” I inserted to show I’d done homework.

She grunted a yes. “—for what colors you’re trying to hide. You use concealer that’s opposite on the color wheel. That neutralizes the bruise color. You can get concealer kits at a drug store, though of course my source had professional grade.”

“Of course.”

Another grunt, this one with the flavor of smart ass. “Picking the right color to neutralize is step one. Next blend, blend, blend. The makeup woman would move back, look at the bruise from all angles, add concealer here or there, then go back to blending like crazy.

“Only when she was satisfied with that did she put anything over it. After foundation was set, she used powder. Absolutely necessary with stage makeup. Don’t want it sliding off their faces under stage lights. By the time she was done, I couldn’t see the bruise from across that cramped dressing room, much less anybody in the audience seeing it.”

Clearly, Zoley didn’t have that expertise, since Clara and I spotted her makeup across the training area, without stage lights.

“Kit, that seminar on domestic abuse said experienced abusers hit in the torso, maybe the neck, places clothes are likely to hide. Clothes can also cover defensive injuries. What about the face?”

“Soft areas show damage. Around the eyes, for instance — the classic black eyes. That’s where abusers who aren’t thinking about getting caught go. Why do you want to know?”

I told her about spotting Zoley’s thick makeup.

“What’s bothering you about it?” she asked.

No point asking how she knew something bothered me, especially when my answer was, “I don’t know.”

“It’ll come. Anything else?”

“No. Thanks. I’ll—”

“Bye.”

She hung up before I could promise to keep her updated.

* * * *

I looked up Florence Shoemaker Thompson, the Owensboro sheriff during the 1936 public hanging.

Disturbingly, some sources displayed her image as if she’d been the victim. I could hear Kit on that sloppiness.

I focused on the more reliable sources.

After being named as temporary sheriff in the spring of 1936, she ran in a special election to complete her late husband’s term and drew more than 9,800 votes . . . to 2 for the runner-up.

She didn’t run again after completing that term, but she later spent nine years as a deputy sheriff.