by Laurel Veil
“At my grandma’s.”
“At lunch then.”
“Grandma’s,” I said before running off to my class.
♦ ♦ ♦
Nolan pestered me all through lunch to tell him what I was hiding. I enjoyed it so much, there was no way I was going to tell him.
“Let’s go, woman,” said Nolan the second he approached me at my locker after our last class. “Chop-chop. We got things to do, secrets to reveal.”
“You know, you’re hyping this so much, you’re probably going to be disappointed.”
“Well, we’ll know in a few minutes.”
Grandma wasn’t home when we got there, so I unlocked the door. Nolan brushed past me and went straight to my bedroom. “Hey! Hold up a sec!”
Nolan wasn’t about to wait. “If there are any ghosts in here, leave now. You are not welcome here! I repeat you are not welcome!” He pushed my bedroom door open and began looking for the picture.
“It’s on my nightstand.”
He froze when he spotted it and let his backpack fall to the floor. He moved slowly toward it, picked it up, and stared.
“What’s the matter?” I asked.
“Nothing. It’s just, I haven’t seen her since . . . you know. It’s weird, that’s all. I remember it from her funeral. It’s a good picture. I can see why you wanted it.” He replaced it gingerly on my nightstand. “So, what else did you want to tell me?”
“That night we got the picture, well, I was so afraid of getting caught, I never even looked at it until I got home.”
“Yeah?”
“It wasn’t the right picture.”
He pointed. “So that’s not the picture you wanted?”
“No—I mean yes. That’s the picture I wanted.” I pulled the top drawer of my nightstand open and handed him the other picture. “But this is the one I brought home first, by mistake.”
He studied it for a second. “It’s Dani and her mom. Wait a second, so how’d you get that one?” He nodded toward the picture of Dani and me.
“I went back and got it that night.”
“Are you serious? There’s a killer on the loose, and you went back out that night, alone?”
“You’d already gone home, and I really wanted it before it got collected by the garbage man.”
“You know you could’ve come by my window. I would’ve gone with you. I mean, I walk you to and from school every day in broad daylight, but you go running around the neighborhood alone at night.” He was furious. “That was so stupid, Noelle.”
“Pizza!” called my grandma the second she opened the door.
“I ought to tell your grandma what you’ve been up to.”
“Very funny.”
“I’m serious. If you keep doing dangerous things, I will.”
“Then I won’t tell you my secrets anymore.” I saw the muscle in his jaw flinch. “And give me that,” I said as I reached for the picture.
He wouldn’t release it so he could look at it a few more seconds. “Why would she dye Dani’s hair?”
“Dani was a teenager; she could do whatever she wanted with her hair.”
“Huh? Wait. You think this is Dani’s natural hair color?”
I shrugged. “I was surprised too.” I studied the picture. “I just assumed it was her natural color. Moms don’t usually dye their little girls’ hair.”
“They do if they are trying to disguise them.”
My scalp prickled. “Why do you think she would want to disguise her?”
“Who knows. Maybe to hide her from Dani’s father.”
“Did you guys hear me?” said Grandma from down the hall.
“Oh, sorry. We did. We just got distracted talking. We’re coming.”
I tucked the picture back into my drawer and we headed to the kitchen.
“Yum,” I said as I pulled out my chair at the table.
“Half pepperoni, half Canadian bacon, and pineapple,” said Grandma.
“Nolan and I were discussing the dream I had last night.”
Grandma peered at me over the top of her glasses. “Did you tell him everything?”
I knew she was referring to what had happened before my dream. I nodded. “I told him about seeing Dani.”
Grandma turned her attention to Nolan. “So, what’s your interpretation of all this?” she asked before taking a bite from a slice of pepperoni.
Nolan swallowed the bite he’d been working on and chased it down with a sip of Dr Pepper. “Well,” he wiped his hands on a paper napkin, “I’m not sure. I haven’t had a lot of time to think about it.” He turned his attention to me. “Did you tell her about the pictures?” Is he threatening to tell Grandma what I did? He arched his brow in a way that told me that was exactly what he was hinting at. My heart started to race, but then I knew he wasn’t going to rat me out when he grinned.
“Pictures?” asked Grandma curiously.
I explained to her about the photos, careful to leave out the part where I’d gone by myself to retrieve the one I had actually wanted.
“You’d told me that Dani’s mom had tossed out some of her things.
I know everyone handles grief differently and at their own pace but tossing away pictures . . .” Grandma sighed.
“In her defense, she said that she had all Dani’s photos digitally saved.”
“Oh,” said Grandma.
“And she said she won’t have a lot of room where she’s moving,” I added.
“She’s moving?” asked Grandma.
“That’s what she told me.” Grandma looked upset. “What are you thinking?” I asked.
“I know some people can’t stay in the home they were living in when they lose a loved one, but I couldn’t imagine leaving this place after your grandpa died. There are just too many memories here. It helps me feel close to him. Is she moving far away?”
“I don’t know. I didn’t ask. Why?”
“If she is, I don’t know how she will be able to stand not being able to visit Dani’s grave. That’s all.”
“I’ll be right back.” I went to my room to retrieve the photos and handed them to my grandma.
She looked at the one of Dani and me first. “Oh, I just love this.” She then looked at the other one. “Why on earth did her mama dye her hair?”
“So, you don’t think that’s her natural color?” I asked.
“Goodness no. If Dani wasn’t a natural blonde, she had the best bleach job in the history of—ever. I mean her hair looks pretty in this picture. You’d never know that she wasn’t a natural redhead if you didn’t already know she was a blonde.”
“Nolan suggested that maybe the reason she dyed her hair was to disguise her.”
Grandma was thoughtful for a while. “I guess anything is possible. It’s probably nothing sinister. Just a mom doting on her daughter.”
“You’re probably right,” said Nolan. “After everything that’s happened, I’m just a little paranoid, I guess.”
♦ ♦ ♦
I didn’t get much sleep. I tossed and turned all night. When I woke, I knew what I needed to do. I was going to go see Officer Harvey.
15.
I was so eager to tell Nolan what I’d planned to do that day that I beat him to the end of the driveway and had to wait on him.
“You’re up early,” he said when he saw me.
We started immediately down the sidewalk. “I want to go to the police station after school. And I want you to go with me.”
“No thanks. I’ve had enough of that place to last me forever.”
“Please.” I held on to his arm and pleaded. I saw a smile break through his stern expression. “I don’t want to go alone. And besides, you have to take me. You told my grandma you wouldn’t let me go places alone.”
“Oh, now you want to do what your grandma says.” I laughed. “Why do you want to go, anyway?”
I told him what I was thinking, and he agreed to go.
♦ ♦ ♦
�
�You’re sure you want to do this?” asked Nolan as we eased into a parking spot out front of the police station.
“I don’t want to. But I think I have to. I’m scared, but that’s why you’re here.”
His smile reassured me that I was doing the right thing.
Nolan held the door for me, and we stepped inside. “Hi,” I said to the first person I came to. “Can you tell me where Officer Harvey’s office is?”
The man chuckled, and I wondered if I had something on my face. “Sebastian’s desk is right back there.” He pointed.
“Thanks,” I said. Nolan walked close behind me. Sebastian Harvey was on the phone but stood when he saw us and motioned for us to have a seat.
A moment later, he hung up. Extending his hand, he said, “It’s nice to see you both again.” He took a seat. “So, how can I help you?”
I suddenly felt very nervous. I looked at Nolan for comfort. He nodded, and I felt a little better. “First, I want to say thank you for letting us come.”
He nodded. “It’s no problem. Really.”
“I-I realize you’re very busy so I’m going to make this fast, so I don’t waste your time.” I swallowed. “You may think this sounds stupid, but I really feel like I need to tell you.”
Officer Harvey glanced down at the notes on his desk. “Noelle, right?”
“Yes.”
“Obviously you thought what you had to say was important enough that you called, set up an appointment, and drove all the way down here. Just relax and say what you came to say. I’ll decide if the information is useful or not, but I’ll never know if you don’t tell me.” He smiled sincerely, and I felt myself calm down.
“I have a lot to say, and I guess the best place to start is at the beginning.” I exhaled. “The last thing I want to do is get someone in trouble that doesn’t deserve it—”
“Noelle, please just say what’s on your mind.”
“Have you investigated Ms. Moretti, Dani’s mom?”
He looked at me with curious eyes. “Of course. We’ve looked at anyone who had a connection with Dani. But may I ask why you feel we need to perhaps take another look?”
“I made Dani’s mom, Ms. Moretti, a cake the other day. When I dropped it off, I saw Dani’s things in the trash. Her backpack, shoes, clothes. Ms. Moretti told me she’d thrown her stuff away because it hurt to look at it. If I were in her shoes, I don’t think I would have done that, but I guess I can understand. The thing that bothered me most though was there were pictures of Dani in the trash too. Ms. Moretti told me she had copies of her photos saved digitally, but I don’t know, I just thought it was weird and it made it seem like she didn’t care. Oh, and there was a man there, I think his name was Jim. Anyway, Dani never mentioned him before. He just kind of gave me the creeps.”
At this, Officer Harvey perked up. “Did he say or do anything in particular?”
“That’s the same thing my grandma asked me. No. It was just a feeling.”
He nodded. “Go on.”
“Ms. Moretti said she was moving.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah. I know people grieve differently, but I don’t think I could move from my daughter’s memories. And I don’t think I would want to move away from where she was buried either.” I glanced at Nolan, and he gave me a gentle, encouraging smile. “So, have you checked to see if Ms. Moretti had a life insurance policy on Dani?”
“I’m not at liberty to discuss details because this is still an ongoing investigation. However, since you are a friend of Dani’s, to put your mind at ease, there wasn’t a life insurance policy on her. I would appreciate it if you’d keep that between the three of us.”
Nolan and I nodded.
“Is there anything else?”
“I hope you’ll keep this conversation between us too,” I said. “Dani’s mom has already been through so much. I would feel terrible if she knew I came here.”
“You have my word; our conversation will not be repeated.”
“Can I say something?” said Nolan.
“Go right ahead,” said Officer Harvey. His eyes widened with interest, and so did mine.
“There’s something Noelle didn’t mention.” Not knowing what was about to come out of his mouth next, I suddenly felt afraid.
“What’s that?”
“Noelle has been having dreams about Dani. She even thinks she’s . . . seen her.”
“That’s a common occurrence among the grief-stricken. Especially when they lose someone unexpectedly.”
“I understand,” said Nolan. “It’s just, well, what’s happening to Noelle may be a little different. Her grandmother will sometimes have a vision before a family member dies.”
“Really?”
“Yes, and I was thinking maybe Noelle might have a gift.”
“Me? I don’t think so, Nolan. I’m probably just stressed out. That’s all.”
Officer Harvey turned his attention to me. “So, what did you dream?”
I wanted to choke Nolan for bringing it up. “Well. She looked younger than I remembered, and she was in a lot of pain. Hunks of her hair were missing.” Officer Harvey’s brows raised, but the rest of his face gave away nothing as he picked up his pen and scratched something down. “It’s not like it just fell out. There were bloody spots— where it’d been yanked out with a piece of the scalp still attached.”
“Anything else you remember?”
“Right before I woke up, she pulled off the sheet that’d been covering her and hundreds of shots were sticking into her.”
“Shots? As in hypodermic needles?”
“Syringes. You know? What doctors use to give you medicine or a vaccine or something like that.”
“You’re needed, Harvey,” came a voice from behind us. “Booker wants you now.”
“I’ll be right there,” said Officer Harvey. “I appreciate you two taking the time to come in.” He flipped through a tiny wooden box that sat on the corner of his desk and removed a business card and offered it to me.
“What’s this?” I asked as I took it.
“Grief counselor. I thought maybe you might want to give her a call.” He shrugged. “I hear it can be helpful.”
“Thanks.” I wondered if this meant he thought I was crazy and that everything I’d just said was a load of crap.
“And look, if you guys think of anything else, or you hear something—anything—please call me.” We nodded and headed to the parking lot.
“So, what do you think? Was that a complete waste of time?” I asked Nolan.
“I’m just glad it's over.”
♦ ♦ ♦
Nolan and I were surprised to see Nolan’s mom sitting at the table with my grandma. They were laughing over a cup of coffee. They used to do this all the time, but it had been a while.
“There they are,” said Grandma when Nolan and I approached. “Come on in. Amber and I are just sitting here visiting like old times.”
“Where’ve you two been?” asked Mrs. Masters.
“We had to go by the library after school,” said Nolan.
Mrs. Masters smiled as her eyes went back and forth between Nolan and me.
“What?” asked Nolan.
“Oh, nothing. I’m just so glad you two started hanging out again. It’s just like it used to be.”
“Mom.”
“Well, I hope you two are hungry,” said Grandma jumping in and changing the subject. “Nolan’s mama brought us a big pot of chicken and dumplings. And she made us some of her delicious yeast rolls to go with it.”
“I’m actually starving,” I said.
Grandma stood and cleared the table of the manilla folders and papers that were scattered about. “What’s all that?” I asked.
“Just some old documents of your grandpa’s. You guys wash up and come have a seat. Are you going to join us, Amber?”
“No, I need to be going. Gary is probably wondering where I’m at. Thank you though.” She looked at Nolan. “You be hom
e before dark.” He nodded that he would.
“Tell that hubby of yours I said hi then.” Grandma waved before closing the door.
After supper, Nolan helped me clean up. This time, instead of just walking him to the door, I stepped outside on the porch with him. Our goodbyes were getting longer and longer. “See you tomorrow,” he said for the third time before finally slipping into the darkness.