by Holly Plum
Mari continued searching through the house. There was a stack of unopened mail on the coffee table and dirty dishes in the kitchen sink. On the kitchen counter, Mari found a note on a white slip of paper. It had been dated one day prior and read – cemetery noon, our usual spot.
The local cemetery wasn't very far away. Mari stared at the note. There was no signature. Mari's concentration was broken when Tabasco came trotting into the kitchen looking pleased with himself.
“Tabasco,” she scolded him, scooping him up in her arms and kissing him on the top of his head, “why are you such a naughty boy sometimes?”
Tabasco barked in reply, but Mari said no more. Something had caught her eye. It was a picture in a silver frame in the living room. Mari took a better look at it.
In the picture, Robin, Hazel, and Rex were standing together against a vibrant red and orange backdrop of fall trees. Hazel was wearing a knit sweater, Rex was wearing a flannel shirt and faded blue jeans, and Robin was wearing a gray hoodie. Hazel smiled, and Rex had his arm around her while Robin stood awkwardly off to the side. Mari remembered how different Hazel had looked back in high school. She wasn't as timid. But Robin hadn't changed.
***
The cemetery was mostly deserted except for an old caretaker who was walking gravely from headstone to headstone. Mari nodded at him. The cemetery was far enough away from the main part of town that the hum of traffic on Main Street didn’t disturb it. Mari walked in silence through the oldest parts. Some of the names were hard to read, and some had been covered with overgrowth.
"You have to trim the grass," a voice said from behind her. "Otherwise, them plants will cover everything." The caretaker pulled a small pair of scissors from his pocket.
"I take it that some of these graves no longer get visitors?" Mari guessed. She glanced down at Tabasco who stood respectfully still for once.
“Sadly, no," the caretaker responded. "Are you looking for someone?"
Mari gulped, unsure what to say or what to ask. All she knew was that Robin was supposed to have met someone there and now she isn't answering her phone.
“I am, actually,” she said, reaching into her purse and searching for a photo of Robin on her cell phone. “Do you know this woman?” She showed the man the first picture she came across.
The caretaker peered at it closely from behind large glasses.
“I do,” he said after a short pause. “She comes here from time to time. Her and her friend.”
“Really?” Mari's eyes went wide. "Do they visit anyone in particular? Please, anything you can remember would be very helpful."
“Let me show you,” the caretaker responded. He slowly shuffled toward the newer rows of headstones. Mari followed with a thrill of curiosity and a sense that, finally, some of her questions were going to be answered.
He stopped before a modest headstone, no bigger than the cat’s bowl in the kitchen of Robin’s house. There was just enough room for a name—Sarah Browne. It was obvious from the sheen on the stone that it had been planted there fairly recently.
“Where have I heard that name before?” Mari said aloud.
It only took a second for her to remember. She had seen the name written on a plaque in the back of Hazel's family furniture store.
Sarah Browne was Hazel’s sister.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
As Mari jogged back toward her apartment, Tabasco running alongside her, she tried once again to call Robin. No answer. Mari knew that she was close to figuring out what was really going on. She took a deep breath and dialed the number for Hazel's family furniture store. On the second ring, someone answered.
“Hi,” Mari said. “I'm looking for Hazel. Is she in?”
A man’s voice came through on the other hand. “Sorry, she’s not here right now. She just left. Can I take a message?”
Mari hung up.
Why hadn't Hazel mentioned that she had met Robin the day before at the cemetery? Everyone seemed to have conflicting stories. When Hazel had shown up at her apartment the night before, she made it seem like she hadn’t seen Robin at all that day. But the letter in Robin’s kitchen suggested that they had met in the cemetery just a few hours before. If Robin had really gone to meet Hazel yesterday, then either Hazel was lying, or Robin hadn't shown up.
Hazel didn’t seem like the sort of person who would lie to her, so Mari concluded that Robin had stood her up. Still, it seemed strange that Hazel hadn’t mentioned wanting to meet her in the park. Perhaps she hadn’t thought it worth bringing up.
Mari raced back up the stairs to her apartment and changed out of her sweaty clothes and into new ones. At that moment, her most pressing need was to find out how Sarah Browne had died. It might be the key to unlocking the whole case. And since she wasn’t having any luck reaching Hazel or Robin, she decided to try Rex.
She dialed his number on her way out of the parking lot.
“Rex, I need to talk to you," Mari said urgently. "Something isn't right."
“Meet me at the school,” he replied. "I'm here catching up on some grading."
“I’ll be there in ten minutes.”
"Is everything okay?" Rex asked. "You're freaking me out a little."
"I'll explain everything," she assured him. Mari was interrupted by a call on the other line. It was her brother David.
"Okay." Rex hung up, and Mari switched to her next caller.
“David, I’m busy at the moment,” she answered. “What’s up?”
“We really need you over here, if you can make it,” David said. He had lost his usual air of composure. “Dad’s gotten into another fight with Mr. Chun.”
“What, again?”
“Yes, again. This one is even worse than before. One of our customers called the police. They caught them in the dining room throwing mushrooms at each other.”
Mari couldn't help but chuckle. “Okay. Look, just offer the customers a free meal for the inconvenience. I'll put up with dad's lecture about freebies later.”
“What, all of them?”
“David, the police are there," Mari responded. "Do whatever it takes to keep them happy."
"You're the boss…because Dad is in handcuffs."
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Mari tried to call Rex back, but he didn’t answer. She tossed her phone impatiently as she pulled into the parking lot at the back of the gymnasium. Tabasco wagged his tail as he waited for her to open the car door. Since it was the weekend, the school was mostly deserted. There were only a few places Rex was likely to be at this hour. She tried his classroom first, but although the door was open and one of the lights was on, he wasn’t at his desk. No one was in the main office except for a secretary who hadn’t seen him, and it was only on her second trip back to his classroom that she thought to try the teacher’s lounge.
She slowly pushed the door open, and Rex was seated at the end of a long table clutching a brown paper bag. Mari pulled a chair up to the other side of the table. Rex looked at her and then at Tabasco, startled as he broke his concentration.
“Oh, Mari. That was quick. Did you have any trouble getting into the building?” Rex grinned.
“It was open.” She brought him up to speed on her trip to the cemetery, being careful to omit the part where she had broken into Robin’s house to get Tabasco back. Rex listened without saying anything.
“What do you know about Sarah Browne?” Mari asked him.
Rex raised his eyebrows. “I haven't heard that name in a while. It's not important, anyway."
“I need you to be honest with me,” Mari said. She sensed that he was trying to avoid the subject. She decided to be more forceful. “It’s important. I think Hazel might be in serious trouble.”
Rex’s eyes met hers for a second. “Fine. Sarah was a couple of years older than Hazel. She died while we were dating.”
“How did she die?”
“I don’t remember very much about that time in my life. It wasn’t a happy time for me, and I think I m
ay have suppressed some memories. I remember Hazel being devastated by it.” He wrung his hands nervously. “That’s all I can tell you.”
“Why did you and Hazel break up?”
Rex shrugged as he opened the bag and pulled out a strawberry turnover. “I guess we just grew apart.”
Mari saw that she wasn’t going to get much further. Rex’s hesitation to talk seemed to be growing with each new question. She watched in silence as he rose and went to the sink for a plastic knife.
“Where did you even get that pastry?” Mari asked, in an effort to be friendly.
“A student left it for me.” Rex smiled as he returned to the table. “It’s my favorite dessert.”
“You’d better eat it quickly before Tabasco begs." Tabasco had already spontaneously appeared at Rex’s feet. But when Rex offered him a piece, to Mari’s surprise, he turned up his nose at it.
“That's the first time that’s ever happened.” Mari responded, but she was cut short by a loud scream from across the building.
Without a second thought, Mari rose from the table and ran into the hallway toward the source of the noise. Rex followed behind her. Her heart raced. Around the corner, in the cafeteria, she heard voices. Familiar voices.
She ran into the cafeteria. It was empty, and next to every table were neatly stacked blue chairs. But a light was on in the kitchen near the back of the building. Mari saw a pair of arms waving erratically. She ran toward them.
Hazel was standing beside a tray of silverware, her back pressed against the wall and her body rigid. Hazel was staring at someone on the opposite end of the room. Mari interrupted without taking a moment to assess the situation. She gulped, seeing Robin in the kitchen as well. She was clutching a kitchen knife.
“What’s going on here?” Mari asked, trying to catch her breath. She was standing in between them. Tabasco looked from Robin to Hazel and growled.
“Mari, get out of here,” Hazel whimpered, tears streaking her cheeks. “Please, don't drag Mari into this. This has nothing to do with her.”
"Oh shut up, Hazel," Robin responded harshly.
"Mari, call the police." Hazel wiped a tear from her cheek. "She's crazy. She doesn't know what she's doing!"
“Yes, call the police,” Robin said in a stern voice. "I would love to talk to that detective right about now."
“Robin,” Mari said cautiously, unsure what Robin had been rambling on about. “Put down the knife and we’ll—”
“Call the police!” Robin shouted.
Tabasco barked as Rex arrived on the scene. He stood in the doorway, looking from one woman to the other. His expression was blank.
“Okay, I will call the police,” Mari said, mouthing the instructions to Rex. “But first, Robin, I want you to tell me why you killed Karlie Lam.”
“I didn’t kill her,” Robin argued. “I had nothing to do with it.” She pointed her knife at Rex. “It was him. He caused all of this!”
Rex was in the process of calling the police, but he suddenly dropped his phone following Robin's accusation. "What?"
“I know everything, Rex,” Robin continued, her voice trembling. "I know what you did, and it makes me sick."
"But…I…" Rex hesitated as he looked from Mari to Robin, and then to Hazel.
"Rex?" Mari questioned him.
“Say it out loud," Robin shouted. "Tell everyone here what you really are. A cheater. If you hadn't cheated on Hazel all of those years ago, none of us would be here."
“Someone better explain,” Mari said, turning sharply to look at Rex.
“Rex and Hazel were both so happy together,” Robin went on, still holding the kitchen knife. “Not many high school relationships last past graduation, but I honestly thought they might make it. But then, Rex had to go and break her heart. He didn’t even have the courtesy to break up with her first.”
“I’m sorry, okay?” Rex said. “That was a long time ago." Rex looked at Hazel as Hazel glanced down at her shoes. "Hazel, I'm sorry. I was just a boy back then."
“Tell that to Hazel,” Robin said, pointing at Hazel with the knife.
“Rex,” Mari asked in a quiet voice. "Who did you cheat with?"
Rex sighed, hardly able to look at anyone in the room. "Karlie Lam."
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Silence filled the kitchen as Mari processed the news that Rex had cheated on Hazel with Karlie Lam. If it were true that Karlie had stolen Rex away from Hazel, then Hazel would have had every reason to hate Karlie. But why kill her over a high school crush? Mari bit the corner of her lip as Tabasco continued to growl at everyone in the room.
"I said I was sorry," Rex continued. "But I don't see why that matters. I did not kill Karlie. I cared about her."
"Yes, we know," Robin added.
"Robin put that knife down," Rex said firmly.
"No." Robin clenched her jaw. There was something else she hadn't said aloud yet. There had to be.
Mari tried to piece it all together, but there was a still an extra piece that didn't quite fit. Why did Robin disappear and why had Hazel set up a meeting with her at her sister's grave?
“I think it is time you answered my question, Rex,” Mari said softly, her arms hanging loosely at her side. “How did Sarah Browne die?”
Rex’s face turned ashen, but he said nothing. Hazel looked up, her eyes wide with fury.
“Are you going to answer her?” Hazel asked. Her tears were dry, and her cheeks were no longer pale.
“Someone should,” Mari replied.
“Of course he won’t tell you,” Hazel said, looking at him with disgust. It was a side of Hazel Mari had never seen before. “He’s the reason she’s dead. Sarah would never have gotten into that car that night if Rex hadn’t been with Karlie.”
“That’s not fair--” Rex tried to explain.
“Shut up,” Hazel said viciously. “How dare you even speak after what you did? I have put up with you for too long."
“What car?” Mari asked, desperately wanting to understand what was going on.
“Mom and I had gotten into a nasty fight the night Sarah died,” Hazel began. Her eyes darted back and forth from Rex to Robin. “I called Rex. I needed him. That night, more than I ever had before, I needed him by my side. I called him four times, but there was no answer. Finally, he picked up on the fifth try. He said he was sorry, but he couldn’t come over to comfort me, even though I was crying like crazy. He said he didn't have his car. He was too much of a coward to tell me what he was really doing.”
“Hazel…” Rex said.
“Shut up!” Hazel cried. “No more excuses. I’ve heard them all, and they can’t bring her back!”
Mari slowly began moving toward Robin, hoping to coax the knife out of her hands. At the moment Robin was too distracted by Hazel's story to notice.
“It was an accident," Rex said as calmly as he could.
“Sarah offered to drive me to Rex's house," Hazel continued. "We would have made it too if it hadn't been for a drunk driver. I walked away without a scratch, but Sarah wasn't so lucky. It should have been me in that casket.”
“Rex was with Karlie that night, wasn't he,” Mari added. “Of course, he wasn't going to tell you that so he made up excuses." Mari looked from Hazel to Rex. "And you never forgave either of them."
"Well Mari, it took you long enough," Robin muttered.
"And Robin…" Mari glared at her kitchen knife. All this time she had assumed that Robin was in attack-mode. But Mari had been wrong. Robin had been using the knife to defend herself.
"If it weren't for me, the both of them would be dead," Robin admitted. She fixed her eyes on Hazel.
“You stupid woman.” Hazel spat in Robin's direction. “I should have never stolen that arsenic solution from your office. You should have turned a blind eye. A good friend wouldn’t have tried to stop me, Robin. You know what Sarah meant to me. You know how much I've struggled after her passing."
“Revenge is never the answer,” Mar
i said quietly.
“I don’t care,” Hazel replied. “At least, Karlie got what she deserved.”
Rex remained standing in the doorway, his face varying shades of white. “So, was it you, Hazel, who broke into my house? What were you looking for?”
“Just you,” Hazel said plainly. “I was hoping to find you sleeping or something. Instead, I learned about your love of strawberry Danish. Like the one in the teacher's lounge with your name on it."
Rex's cheeks looked blanched as he realized what he had almost eaten. Poison.
“But you failed,” Robin said. “And now you are going to stop all of this and explain it to the police. I tried to reason with you, but that didn't work. You should have listened to me the day Karlie came back into town. You should have let all of this go." Robin slowly lowered her knife.
“The police aren't here,” Hazel replied, reaching into her purse. Robin's eyes went wide as she raised her weapon again. Hazel pulled a second knife from her purse.
“Hazel, no!” Mari shouted at her. Tabasco stepped in front of Mari, protecting her.
But Hazel had never planned on moving on with her life. With a menacing look on her face, she lunged for Robin. At roughly the same instant, Rex ran forward and grabbed Hazel by the shoulders as she flailed wildly in all directions. She didn’t seem to care who she stabbed as long as she struck someone.
Rex let out a scream as Hazel's knife sliced across his shoulder. He fell back against the wall, leaving a bloody imprint where he had made impact. Tabasco bit at Hazel's ankle, and she quickly dropped her knife.
Hazel froze in fear as the sound footsteps filled the cafeteria. A second later Detective Price and his partner Officer Penny burst into the kitchen, followed by a small group of policemen. They grabbed Hazel’s arms and handcuffed her while Officer Penny tended to Rex.
“Have you ever hated someone so deeply that you could feel it in your bones, Ms. Ramirez?” Detective Price asked her.
“I don't think so,” Mari said truthfully, feeling taken aback by the question.