Sister Dear (14 page)

Allie gulped. “I had no idea.” Emma had been wild as well, but her antics had never gotten her arrested and into a courtroom. In high school, her sister would have positively wasted away from mortification, despite her don't-care attitude.

Natalie shrugged. “It's no secret, but we don't go around promoting it either. We came here—and bought your dad's business—to get away from the kids he was messed up with.” She pressed her palms together. “When this all went down with Russell, and we sat in the courtroom, I prayed, ‘Please, please, please. I'll do anything. I'll give up wine and chocolate, be less grouchy, stop cussing so much.' ” She grinned wryly. “I told God, if my son was able to do this—really change—I'd look out for other kids like him. People who'd lost their way too.”

Allie's throat tightened. She wasn't about to correct Natalie, but she hadn't lost her way. She was in the wrong place at the wrong time. And the killer was still out there.

After another beat, Natalie took one last look at the résumé and put it down on the counter. “I'm only going to say this once. I run a tight ship. I'm demanding. I need you to be on time and not call in sick, if at all possible.”

“Of course.”

“We offer a three-month probation. At the end, you can walk away, or we can let you go. No questions asked. No hard feelings.”

“Sounds more than fair,” Allie said.

Natalie crossed her arms. “It's a tech position. Doesn't pay much. Two dollars over minimum wage, with two weeks' vacation. If you work over forty hours, you'll get overtime. We take most holidays off. The office is closed the week of Christmas except for emergencies.”

A tiny surge of hope bubbled up in Allie's chest.

“I have one last question for you,” Natalie asked, giving her a long, hard look.

Allie didn't flinch or look away.

Natalie paused for a beat. “Did you do it?”

“No.” Allie held her gaze as long as she could.

“Good,” Natalie replied, her face softening. “Then I guess all that's left is to decide one thing. When can you start?”

“Yesterday,” Allie said quickly.

“Excellent.” Natalie jerked her thumb toward the back of the building. “If you're not busy now, I have all of these boxes to move. Of course, my husband and son have disappeared,” she added. “I'd like them out of here before Monday morning. I was thinking the storage shed out back?”

Allie grinned. “Say no more.”

EIGHTEEN

CAROLINE

2016

Caroline's days were playing out like a Stephen King movie. Everywhere she went, tension built. It was the anticipation, the beats leading up to the moment when tragedy struck the main character. It didn't matter how many times she'd seen
The Shining
with Emma, the scary parts still made her jump.

In gym class, no one looked in her direction. In the hallway, her classmates stopped laughing and talking when she walked past. In class, the heat of people's stares singed the back of her neck like sparks from a brush fire.

She'd finally confessed to Maddie right there in homeroom, amid the dull roar of rustling papers, the scrape of chair legs on the floor, and the endless chatter. When a substitute teacher walked in and set her briefcase down on the front table, her arrival did little to dissipate the noise. For that, Caroline was grateful.

“I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner about my mom,” Caroline answered. “I should have, right away.” She glanced across the aisle to Maddie, gauging her reaction.

“Did you think I hadn't heard?” Maddie knit her brow and
almost sputtered the sentence, her voice just an octave above a whisper. Her face reddened and she rolled her eyes.

Caroline sucked in a breath. She'd expected disappointment from Maddie, but not necessarily anger.

“We're supposed to be friends.
Best
friends. And you let me go on thinking I'd done something wrong?” Maddie stared at Caroline as if she were a specimen under a microscope. Bacteria. Something contagious.

“You have to believe me. It wasn't what I'd meant to happen,” Caroline struggled to explain. “I couldn't talk to anyone.”

“You don't trust me.” Maddie traced the line of the desk with one finger.

Caroline shifted closer, trying to get Maddie to look at her. “I didn't know how to tell you. I've been sick about it.
Every
day. I haven't talked to anyone.”

But Maddie ignored that she'd said anything. Her eyes were icy blue, frozen over. “After all this time I've had your back,” she hissed and finally glared in Caroline's direction.

Stung by Maddie's reaction, Caroline slid back in her seat and jerked her eyes away, willing herself not to break down.

She swallowed hard with the realization that—right or wrong—she'd crossed the line with Maddie. Maddie, who lived to be the first to know everything, who prided herself on creating and controlling gossip with their circle of friends, and the entire school, for that matter. She operated, more than a bit, through fear and intimidation.

“I'm sorry,” Caroline apologized, knowing it wasn't enough.

Maddie turned her head slowly and gave Caroline a sidelong glance. “It's too late.” She paused. “And what you did to Jake's Mercedes after he broke up with you? Cutting up the leather seats? Tearing up the ragtop? That's not just juvenile . . . You destroyed his car.”

Blood rushed to Caroline's cheeks. “What? I-I didn't!” Heads turned all around them at her exclamation.

But instead of making things better, the denial only served to fuel Maddie's fiery mood. She set her jaw and crossed her arms. “Really? So I suppose you don't know anything about keying the sides of the car or the slashed tires either?”

“I would never,” Caroline sputtered.

“I'm beginning to think you were never really my friend.” Maddie scrunched up her shoulders and narrowed her eyes.

“That's not true,” Caroline pleaded.

Maddie sniffed and turned her head away.

Caroline shrunk down in her seat, trying desperately to hold back tears. She dug her fingernails into the soft part of her arm, focusing on the pain. She started shaking. She wouldn't lose it. She couldn't. Not in front of Maddie, God, and everyone at school.

With all of the strength left inside her body, Caroline focused on breathing in and out. She stared at a mark on her desk and tried not to think about anything other than existing. Surviving.

When the bell rang, Maddie stalked off.

Caroline sat still and let everyone in the room file out first. When every seat was empty, she got to her feet. For a split second, her thoughts flitted to her mother. Was this how she felt? Alone? In a corner? Like everyone hated her?

In a fog, Caroline pushed the thoughts away and stumbled to her locker. She put her hand on the lock and dialed the combination. Her fingers fumbled with the numbers on the dial. She couldn't make them work. Finally, on the fourth try, the lock released and swung free.

Breathe
, Caroline reminded herself.
Just get through the day.

Maddie and all of her friends didn't understand the kind of pressure she was under. Neither did Jake. How could they? If anyone else's parents screwed up, they did it behind closed doors. Drinking,
affairs, gambling. None of them were arrested and thrown in prison. Those names weren't splashed in huge letters all over the local newspaper. Their parents weren't on TV being shouted at by reporters. They weren't ignored and ridiculed.

And despite being upset, even angry, Caroline would never destroy someone's car.

As she yanked open the locker, rattling the thin metal door, the bell rang. Caroline would be late for class. The hallway emptied, doors closing like dominoes falling in a row. Another locker door slammed. Shoes clicked, staccato, on the tile. Caroline grabbed her textbook and hugged the weight to her chest, trying to slow her racing heart. Eyes drilled forward, she ducked into Spanish class and slid into her seat.

At the disruption, her teacher grimaced, clapped her hands, and called the class back to order. Caroline flipped open her textbook, turning page after page. She clenched and unclenched her fists, picked up her pen, then glanced at the clock.
Faster
, she urged silently.
Tick, tock. Tick, tock.

She sunk down in her chair, forced her fingers to write.
Muchas gracias.
Thank you very much.
Socorro!
Help!

Caroline bent her head and concentrated.
No entiendo.
I don't understand.

That was for sure.

Caroline jumped when her cell buzzed in her pocket. She shifted in her chair, and as quickly as she could, drew out the phone, silencing the vibration. But as Caroline started to slip her phone into her backpack, she couldn't help herself. After a moment, she looked at the screen and the text from a number she didn't recognize.

You missed our ice-cream date. Want to try for Saturday?

It was Russell.

He'd remembered.

NINETEEN

EMMA

2016

For ten minutes that morning, Caroline had hovered around the sink, rearranging cups and emptying the dishwasher. When the clinking and banging didn't stop, Emma wandered into the kitchen, set down her coffee, and interrupted. “Hey, sweetie. What's up?”

At the sound of her aunt's voice, Caroline jumped. After catching her breath, she turned around and leaned against the counter. “Hey, did you hear someone messed with Jake's car?”

Emma frowned, tamping down her internal satisfaction. “I had, as a matter of fact. His was one of a row of them in their neighborhood. The cops think some kids came through and vandalized them around three o'clock in the morning.”

“Oh.” Caroline's eyes had grown wide. “I had . . . no idea.”

“Yeah, crazy, right?” Emma added, picking up her mug to take a sip and hide her smile of satisfaction.

Caroline frowned. “I-I'll bet he's furious.”

“Some people get what's coming to them,” Emma added sharply, stirring sugar into her cup.

“Well, Maddie actually thought I had something to do with it.” Caroline gulped, her eyes misting.

Nearly choking, Emma sloshed her coffee on the table, spots of liquid splattering like dark raindrops. “What in the world?” She narrowed her eyes as she reached for a napkin to catch the drips.

“Yeah.” Caroline shrugged. “She's not really talking to me.”

Emma hesitated, steadying her anger. Now she would have to set Maddie straight. The girl wouldn't bother Caroline again when she was through with her. “I have a feeling that Maddie has found out by now that you didn't have anything to do with it, Caro.”

“Really?” Caroline's forehead crinkled, but her pale face brightened. She leaned against the countertop, playing with the edges of her shirt. “I hope so.”

“Let me know, all right?” Emma asked, ducking her head to catch Caroline's eyes.

“Okay.” Her niece tried to smile. “Um, and so, anyway, I need to go to the library for a little while, to work on a project for school. After that, I wanted to meet a new friend at the coffee shop. Can I go?”

Emma reached for the newspaper, glanced at the headline, and pushed it to one side. Her eyes flickered to Caroline. “A new friend?” The corners of her lips edged up.

Her niece flushed. “His name's Russell.”

“And who is this Russell?”

“Just a boy I volunteer with at the nursing home.” Caroline's face grew hot.

“What? I need to know.” Emma grinned. “And I
am
allowed to ask. I want to make sure you're safe,” Emma said, playing at defending herself. “It's my job.”

Caroline ducked back, smiling, then scuffed the floor with the toe of her shoe.

“Does he go to Mansfield?” Emma searched her brain, trying to remember if Caroline had ever mentioned him.

“Brunswick. He's a senior. He just moved here with his parents. He doesn't know many people yet.” Caroline looked up at the ceiling and attempted a casual shrug.

Emma tapped her fingertips on the countertop, gazing out the kitchen window. Inside, she turned cartwheels. This meant Caroline wouldn't be moping around over Jake. “Blood type? Social security number?”

Her niece folded her arms across her chest.

“You know I'm teasing,” Emma said with a laugh.

“It's not really a date either.”

“I wasn't asking,” Emma replied, smoothing out the curve of her lips. She was desperate for the girl to get outside, see other people. Of course, she'd hunt down the new guy, too, if he even thought about wounding Caroline's fragile heart.

“All right.”

Caroline grinned and slung her bag over one shoulder.

“Have your cell phone?”

“Yes.”

Emma reached for her purse and pulled out a few twenties. She folded them in half and handed them to Caroline, whose eyes widened at the gift.

“Thank you.” She flung her arms around Emma, giving her a quick squeeze.

“In case you decide to go to the bookstore. Or whatever.” Emma winked.

Caroline grinned and picked up her keys. She flew out the door a few minutes later, shutting it so quickly that the table quivered.

Emma sighed and smiled to herself. She could hear Caroline's
steps across the porch. A few minutes later, with Caroline almost out of sight, her cell buzzed with a text from Allie.

Need a needle and some thread. Have any?

What in the world? Emma reread the message and sighed. She was tempted to ignore the text, but after thinking about it, now was an excellent time to find out what her sister was up to.

Emma saved her work, shut down the computer, and headed for the storage closet inside her small garage. It was a small mess, as she'd never unpacked many of the boxes since they'd moved to the house five years earlier. After rummaging through a half-dozen containers, after moving Caroline's roller skates and paint cans, she found her sewing box.