Sally's Bones

by MacKenzie Cadenhead

  She nodded.

  “Well, then, how about a nice cup of tea, Mrs. Vanderperfect? And no, that’s not a request.”

  Vivienne made her displeasure known with a loud huff but exited the living room nonetheless. Officer Stu and the D.C. followed close behind. Sally’s father gathered his things and held out his hand. “Sal? You ready to go?”

  Sally looked at Viola, the girl who she had so long feared. She expected her to say something, but what did Sally want to hear? She didn’t know, and Viola never said a word. She just continued staring silently out the window.

  Sally turned to her father and smiled. “Yeah, Dad. I’m ready.”

  Taking Seymour’s hand, she scooped up Bones with her other arm. The canine corpse nestled into Sally’s shoulder and softly kissed her neck. When they were halfway down the drive, Sally looked back at the house and found the living room window at which Viola had sat. No one was there.

  “I’m sorry,” she whispered to the empty, black night.

  Chapter 19

  And then, he just came back to life. I’m not kidding, Patty. We were sure Lance was a goner but, poof, there he was, flying around and nibbling on an apple core like he hadn’t just flown into a lightning trap.” Seymour Simplesmith kneeled beside his wife’s grave. His daughter leaned on a nearby headstone, and her skeleton dog sunned himself at her feet.

  “Come on, Dad. It’s three o’clock already. The hot dog guy is usually gone by three fifteen, and I have to be at Chati’s for dinner at seven,” Sally said impatiently.

  “All right, all right,” her father conceded. “I just wanted to make sure your mom was up to date on everything at the lab.”

  “Well, if you’ve forgotten anything, which I highly doubt, you can tell her next week. Trust me,” Sally deadpanned. “She’s not going anywhere.”

  “Har har, Sal,” Mr. Simplesmith teased. “It’s just that I’ve got a few years of missed visits to make up for. I’ve a lot to get in.”

  Sally took her father’s hand and held it tightly.

  He squeezed back. “Blow your mom a kiss and let’s go.”

  Sally did as she was told and then watched her father do the same. “See you soon, Patty,” he whispered. “We love you.”

  “Love you, Mom!” Sally added. She touched her finger to her nose and then placed it on her mother’s mended headstone. Smiling, she skipped out of the cemetery.

  “GGGgggruff!” Bones added as he raced to catch up.

  The Simplesmith family walked down Hope Hill toward Lazarus Park, as had become their custom on recent Sundays. When they reached Shepherd’s Green, it was packed with families picnicking, kids throwing Frisbees, and more than one pickup game of hacky sack.

  “Dad, over there,” Sally said and pointed at an empty patch of grass under a dogwood tree.

  “Why don’t you put down the blanket, and I’ll grab the grub. Ketchup and sauerkraut?” Her father asked.

  “Don’t forget the mustard,” Sally added. “I want mustard too.”

  “You’ve got it, kiddo.” Mr. Simplesmith winked at his daughter before jogging off to find the vendor.

  Sally and Bones claimed their spot under the dogwood and spread out their blanket; Bones held one corner in his teeth while Sally fluffed and smoothed the other three. Though the tree provided little shade, Sally was more than happy to bask in the sunshine that was reflective of her current mood.

  “It’s funny, Bones,” she said to her devoted pup as he snuggled next to her. “I always thought of myself as more of a winter or fall kind of girl. But there’s something to this spring thing. It certainly makes visiting the cemetery a bit more lively.”

  Sally chuckled at her own joke, but Bones ignored her. He walked to the edge of the blanket and began to growl. “Geesh. This is some of my best material here. Give a girl a—”

  “Grwof,” Bones said quietly as he gestured with his snout toward the far end of the green. There was the D.C., standing alongside his blindingly white van, barking orders at a worker who was hunched over, picking something up from the ground.

  “Hey,” said Sally. “Is that—” she gasped and covered her mouth. The D.C.’s worker bee was none other than Vivienne Vanderperfect. “And it looks like she’s on pooper-scooper duty! Barf!”

  Bones panted, while Sally tried very hard not to laugh. “We really should be more forgiving, Bones,” she scolded. “We should not revel in someone else’s misfortune.”

  Bones closed his mouth and drooped his ears. He looked at Sally, ashamed.

  “Starting tomorrow, that is.” She giggled and threw her arms out for her puppy. He leapt into them with staggering force and knocked Sally on her back.

  The pair was still laughing when a wayward Frisbee sailed onto their blanket. Bones scooped it up in his mouth and dropped his chest and front paws to the ground. He stuck his backside high in the air and wagged his tail furiously.

  “Nice downward dog,” an approaching voice trilled. Sally jumped up to receive their visitor.

  “Oh, um, sorry about that, Viola,” she said, sounding more nervous than she would have liked. “That’s the universal dog sign for ‘let’s play.’”

  “Princess Poopsy does the same thing,” Viola offered.

  “Cool,” said Sally. Both girls looked awkwardly around the green. Sally accidentally glanced at the sun. She winced and stumbled a couple of steps to her left.

  “Are you all right?” Viola asked, reaching out an arm to help.

  “Yeah. Just stupidly blinded myself,” Sally laughed as she regained her balance.

  “I’ve done that before,” Viola admitted, crossing her arms behind her back.

  “Huh,” Sally replied. She couldn’t think of what to say next.

  Bones regarded the painfully mute girls. He growled to let them know he was beginning to get bored.

  “Oh, right.” Sally snapped to. “Bones, give Viola back her Frisbee.”

  “Grwof,” he replied, still holding the toy tightly in his mouth. He wiggled his high butt.

  “Bones, come on,” Sally commanded, but when she moved toward him, her disobedient dog darted just beyond her reach. “Awesome,” Sally sighed. Viola laughed and kneeled on the blanket.

  “Bones, I know we’ve had our differences in the past, but may I please have the Frisbee back?” she asked, not unkindly. “You see it’s not actually mine, but the people I was playing with were too scared to come over and ask for it themselves.”

  Bones moved from playful stance to a sit. His ears drooped and he wrinkled his brow.

  “I agree. They’re pretty lame,” Viola told him. “So if you want to keep the Frisbee, be my guest.” She glanced at Sally, who hovered above them. “But, if you want to give it back and show those dorks that you’re a pretty classy little guy and that they’re the weird ones, I’d be down with that too. The choice is yours.”

  Bones looked to Sally, who nodded. He dropped the Frisbee. Viola picked it up and fearlessly stroked the top of his head. “Thanks, Bones,” she said and stood to face Sally.

  “So, bye,” Viola said. She half waved, then played with her hair instead.

  “Yeah. See ya,” said Sally. She smiled as Viola walked away.

  Plopping down on the blanket, Sally leaned against the dogwood tree. She crossed her legs, and Bones crawled into her lap.

  Nearby there was a sudden commotion, followed by the frightened cries of a young child. “Help!” a little boy wailed from a picnic bench. “My mommy’s been stolen!”

  Sally and Bones looked at each other. Though they had not discussed making a habit of their detective work, they were both quite proud of how well their first case had turned out. In silent agreement, they turned in the direction of the crying child, ready to offer their services. But when they looked again, they saw that he was already wrapped in his found mother’s embrace.
>
  “Maybe next time,” Sally said.

  “Grruff,” Bones agreed as he settled back into her lap.

  Closing her eyes, Sally inhaled deeply. When she opened them again, Bones was looking up at her. Grinning at her dead dog, she leaned in and wiggled her nose against his snout.

  Together, they watched the people of Merryland enjoy a bright, sunny Sunday. Sally felt Bones’s tail wag like a metronome in her lap. Her cheeks began to hurt from the wide smile that was etched on her face, but it was nothing to complain about. It was the type of pain she was happy to live with.

  Acknowledgments

  I’ve been very fortunate to have a good number of talented, generous people give their time and energy to Sally’s Bones. Many thanks…

  To Nicole James, the very best agent a girl could ask for. Your hand-holding, straight talk, and unflagging support is as appreciated as the home you found for Sally.

  To my fantastic editor and fellow dog-lover Rebecca Frazer, whose storytelling insight brought Sally to a whole new level; and to the terrific team at Sourcebooks Jabberwocky, especially Kelly Barrales-Saylor, Kristin Zelazko, and Aubrey Poole. Thank you all for giving so much of yourselves to this book.

  To the brilliant T.S. Spookytooth for his incredible illustrations—I am in awe of your superpowers.

  To an exceptional group of writers and artists who, from the start, were my most trusted critics and tireless cheerleaders: Heather Upton, Stefanie Pintoff, Alison Sheehy, Susan Ludwig, and Doreen Marts. And to Jim McCann for coming up with the tagline, which still makes me smile!!

  To my mentors, Kimberly Benston, Sue Benston, and Joe Quesada, who taught me about storytelling in its many forms.

  To Jim Casey, Joe Fumarola, and the Crew for keeping me honest and making sure I didn’t slack off.

  To my amazing parents, Julie and Ian Cadenhead, and to my family and friends for simply being the best.

  Above all, thank you to my partner in crime, Dan Buckley; my bun in the oven; and my puppy/muse, Smudge. Respectively, you believed in me always, whether I did or not; you let up on the nausea when it was time to revise; and your adorable antics inspired this story in the first place. With you three, I hit the jackpot.

  About the Author

  MacKenzie Cadenhead is a former dramaturge and was an editor for Marvel Comics. She lives in New York with her family, Dan, Phinn, and Smudge.