Picture Them Dead

by Brynn Bonner

  After we’d studied the menu and made our selections, Jack leaned across the table and whispered, “You really do look beautiful, Soph.”

  “Thanks,” I said, “you’re not so bad yourself. I feel a little strange. This is all very special, but next time let’s just order in a pizza, okay?”

  Jack laughed. “Sure, but this is our first real date and it should be special. Speaking of which, I got you a little something to mark the occasion.” He handed over a slender box.

  I hesitated. It had never occurred to me to bring him a present. Jack read my mind. “It’s not a big deal. I just wanted to get you something. Go on, open it.”

  I tore off the paper and lifted the lid off the box, pulling out a delicate silver chain with a small round pendant disk etched with a branching tree, similar to the one on the locket Winston had gotten for Marydale.

  “Not as romantic as a heart,” Jack said, “but it looks like the family trees you draw for people, so I thought it would suit you better.”

  I put the necklace on and knew I’d never want to take it off. I’d had it for two seconds and already it was precious to me. Which made me think of Laney finding her bracelet at River’s house. She’d been so happy to get it back. Though when I thought about it more, what she’d actually said was that James would be happy.

  “Do you think it’s possible for a couple to have an equal relationship?” I asked Jack.

  “Yeah, sure,” he said, each word drawn out. “Is this because you didn’t get me a present? Or you don’t like the necklace?”

  I smiled. “You know I love it,” I said. I told him how it had made me think of Laney and James. “She’s such a strong, confident woman, and yet when I’ve seen her with him it seems like she sort of folds in her wings and turns everything over to him.”

  Jack laughed. “Believe me, Soph, I have no expectations that you’ll fold in your wings. Maybe it’s the age difference with them, or something about their political careers; that’s got to be touchy. Or maybe they weren’t friends first, like us.”

  Our food arrived and from there on out the evening was grand. We ate and chatted aimlessly about whatever crossed our minds, and all the things I’d always loved about our easy friendship came back, only with an extra bonus.

  Jack insisted on walking me to my front door when we got back to my house. “You know,” he said, “if we ­really were coming home from the prom, your dad would probably be peeking out the window to see if I kiss you good night.”

  “Don’t worry, I’m sure Esme’s got that duty covered,” I said, and we immediately heard footsteps shuffling around inside.

  Jack kissed me. It was a very nice kiss, an extremely nice kiss.

  “We said we’d take it slow, right?” he asked as he pulled back to look at me.

  “Yes, we did,” I agreed.

  “What the hell were we thinking?” He gave me a crooked smile. Then he kissed me again, lightly this time, and called out good night as he jogged to his truck.

  * * *

  Dee called me the next morning, rousting me from some very interesting dreams. “Can you come down to the police station?” she asked.

  “Do I need to bring bail money?” I muttered. “What have you done, Dee?”

  “Ha-ha,” she said. “I’m down here with Laney. Denton called her yesterday and asked her to come in this morning on an official matter. She’s got no idea why she’s here and she’s a little ticked about it. I don’t want to put you on the spot, but do you have any idea what this is about?”

  “Don’t put me on the spot, then, Dee,” I said. “It’ll all be clear soon. It won’t be particularly pretty and Laney’s not going to be happy, but it may be a relief in the end.”

  I debated whether my going down there would violate Denny’s order. He said not to talk with Laney, but he didn’t say I couldn’t be there for her after this all came out. I told Dee I’d be there right away.

  * * *

  Dee was sitting with Laney on a bench in the tiny front lobby when I got to the station. She raised her eyebrows at me, but I shook my head.

  Laney was checking her watch. “I’ve got a full day,” she said. “I hope this doesn’t take much longer. I hate to keep people waiting. And because they’re keeping me waiting, my schedule is going to get jammed. You really don’t have to wait with me, Dee.” She looked up and saw me approaching. “Sophreena, what are you doing here?”

  I glanced at Dee, who gave me a rueful smile. Apparently she hadn’t told Laney she’d called me.

  “I needed to see Denny about something,” I lied. “And you?”

  “Well, Denton called me yesterday and asked me to come down. They said they needed my help. I assume it’s village business, though I wonder why it was Denton calling and not the chief. In any case, they’re making me cool my heels. Sit down,” she said, patting the bench beside her.

  I sat. I felt duplicitous, but at the same time I truly believed this would help Laney in the long run. It must have been a terrible secret to carry for all these years. But for the immediate future, it was going to be like taking nasty medicine in hopes of a cure. I wished I could brace her for what was to come, but I couldn’t. I was already technically in violation of Denny’s order.

  We all turned as the door opened and Gavin stepped inside the lobby. He squinted to let his eyes adjust to the interior lighting. He spotted us and gave a quick nod, then checked in at the desk. The desk officer hit a button and the door buzzed open. Gavin disappeared into the business end of the station.

  “Oh no,” Laney said, once the door closed behind him. “I hope he hasn’t done something dumb again. Poor Gavin, he just can’t seem to stay out of trouble. I worry about him.”

  Next came Bryan Mason. He went through the same adjustment as he passed through the doorway out of the bright morning sunlight. He looked around and spotted us. Laney smiled and gave him a little wave. His expression was hard to read, but if somebody had forced me to label it, I’d have called it hurt, which wasn’t an emotion I’d normally associate with cocky Bryan Mason. He went to the desk and was immediately ushered to the back.

  “I wonder what’s going on,” Laney said.

  “So do I,” Dee said, looking across at me.

  Just then the door opened again and Luke Mitchell came in. He nodded at me and was approaching the desk when the side door opened and Jennifer beckoned him to come through. She stepped out into the lobby, still holding the door open. “Sorry to keep you waiting, Ms. Easton. We’ll be with you in a few minutes.”

  “Okay,” Laney answered, glancing at her watch again. “But do let me know if it’s going to be much longer. I’ll need to cancel some appointments.”

  I longed to tell her she should go ahead and cancel everything for the rest of the day, maybe for the rest of the month. This was going to be such an embarrassment for her, even though she’d been only indirectly involved.

  “Do you know that guy who just went in?” Laney asked.

  I nodded. “Luke Mitchell, Sherry Burton’s brother.”

  “Oh, my God, do you think this has something to do with her murder?” Laney asked, wide-eyed.

  “I don’t know,” I answered, honestly this time. I’d thought it was about the prank call, but maybe the two things were related somehow.

  The parade continued. A young woman came in, looking around nervously. She went to the desk and I heard her give her name—Francesca Creswell. So this was Gavin’s date. She was petite, with a beautiful figure, long chestnut hair, and dark eyes. She was gorgeous. And she’d asked Gavin out?

  Laney’s frown deepened when she saw the woman. “Do you know her?” she asked. “She looks familiar, but I can’t place her.”

  “I don’t know her,” I said, “but I think she works at the golf course.”

  “Yes,” Laney said, “that’s where I’ve seen her.” Sh
e went back to thumbing at her cell phone, texting her secretary to cancel her morning appointments.

  The next person to enter was James Rowan. He spotted Laney and came over, bending to peck her cheek. “What are you doing here?” he asked.

  “I’m here to see Denton,” she said. “Village business,” she added. “But something’s come up for them and I’ve been moved to the back burner.”

  “I think the something that’s up is what I’m here for,” he said. “I’d best get on back and find out what it’s about. See you tonight?”

  “You bet,” Laney said, and I noticed her hand went instinctively to her bracelet. She was worrying it, twisting it around her wrist.

  A few minutes later, Nash Simpson and his wife arrived. Both ignored us completely and went straight to the desk, complaining loudly about having been called in and demanding to know why. The desk officer buzzed them in and they disappeared into the black hole of the back offices.

  “Wow, it must be getting crowded back there,” Dee said.

  “It must,” Laney said with a forced laugh. The bracelet action had picked up, and I thought maybe she was finally catching on to what this was about. If not, the next visitor to the station should have tipped her. Quentin Calvert came in, his face stony. Given his life experience, police stations probably seemed like the gateway to hell. He was directed inside and I sincerely hoped they were going to put him in a different room from Nash Simpson, or else the cops might need to don riot gear.

  The dime finally dropped for Laney when Esme came in the door, pushing Claire Calvert’s wheelchair. Laney’s breathing went ragged and I could see the panic in her eyes, but she put up a good front. She greeted Claire like the old friends they’d been, and to Claire’s credit, she was cordial in return, if a bit cool.

  Claire was taken to the back and Esme settled in the chair opposite us to wait.

  We sat in silence for a few long moments, then Laney spoke, her voice soft. “You know, Dee, you were lucky Marydale didn’t let you hang out with us when Sherry was here. Be grateful she cared enough to look out for you. Don’t get me wrong, I loved being with Sherry, I really did. She was absolutely her own person and she didn’t care what others thought of her. I always cared way too much what other people thought of me.” She gave a rueful laugh. “Still do. But Marydale was right; she was a bad influence. She could talk you into doing things you knew you shouldn’t do. Things you might come to regret.”

  She was still twisting away at her bracelet and I thought back to the afternoon she’d found it in the seat of her car. There had been red mud stuck in the links. Had she dropped it? I replayed the scene in my head. No, she’d started to get into the car, then squealed and turned, with the bracelet in her hand, holding it up so we could see. How had it gotten muddy stuck down in the car seat?

  I looked over and saw Esme studying Laney. It was a peculiar look.

  Dee was pressing Laney about what she meant by regrets, but I was only half listening, since I already knew.

  We waited for what seemed like hours but was really only twenty minutes or so. Suddenly the door from the back pushed open with some force and James Rowan strode into the lobby, his face pale and his mouth set in a horizontal slash. Laney got up to go to him, but he brushed past her. She grabbed onto his sleeve, but he jerked away and kept walking without a backward glance.

  Laney chewed at her lip and I could see she was struggling to force back tears. “We’ll talk later,” she said, her voice unsteady. “I’ll explain everything. I was just a kid.”

  I could see Jennifer talking to the desk officer and I wished she’d come get Laney and let her get this over with.

  “But you weren’t a kid last week,” Esme said, staring down at her hands. “Were you, Running Deer?”

  Laney looked at Esme, her face contorting. “How did you—”

  “Isn’t that what she called you, your friend Sherry?” Esme asked.

  “Yes,” Laney said uncertainly, “but how did you know that? Oh, let me guess, Gavin, or Bryan? So we had silly tribal names, so what? We were kids,” she said again. “Just kids.”

  Esme kept talking, and I saw Jennifer coming up behind her. I tried to signal Esme that we weren’t alone, but she seemed to be somewhere else. I couldn’t reach her.

  “Remember the promise you all made?” Esme asked. “It was kids’ stuff, yes, but you meant it. You joined hands and chanted: A pledge is a pledge and a promise is a promise. If either is broken, a curse be upon us.”

  “How did you . . .” Laney began, her lips trembling. “It was Gavin, wasn’t it? I always knew he was the weak one. It was so long ago. We were children,” she wailed.

  Esme continued as if she hadn’t heard. “She called herself Walks by Night. I have a message from her; it’s for you. She says she gave you a chance. She warned you that you could never hope for a good life unless you wiped the slate clean and atoned for the harm you’d caused. But you didn’t give her a chance, did you? She’s dead.”

  Tears were streaking down Laney’s face and dripping onto her lap. She didn’t seem to notice. She squeezed her eyes shut and after a very pregnant pause she began to speak in a rasping whisper. “I didn’t mean to hurt her. She wanted to go out to the spot down by the creek where we used to meet. Sacred ground, she called it. And she wanted to go at the time we used to meet back all those years ago. She roamed around for a while, then told me she was going to Claire Calvert to tell her about making the phone call. We argued. It was all well and good for her if she wanted to turn over a new leaf—she was a drug dealer, did you know that? She was running from some people in Miami, but she didn’t tell me that when she asked if she could stay with me. She brought that danger into my home with no regard for my safety.”

  All of us sat in stunned silence. Jennifer was standing totally still and I could see she was debating whether to interrupt, no doubt analyzing the legal ramifications of this impromptu confession.

  “I love this town,” Laney went on. “I love the ­people, I love Claire,” she said, hiccupping a sob. “Sherry would be somewhere far away in another week. I’d still be here in Morningside. I tried to make her see it would ruin me, but she didn’t care. She was going to tell Claire right that minute. The vigil people were just clearing out and Claire’s lights were still on. I grabbed her and we fought. I didn’t realize until later I’d lost my bracelet. She took off running and I ran after her. I didn’t mean to hurt her; I only wanted to stop her. I had to stop her. She was the one who made the call, but I knew we’d all get the blame. We’d all promised we’d never tell and now she was going back on it. And what would it have helped, really, to have it come out now? James had already been criticized for talking Quentin Calvert into that plea bargain. He wouldn’t want that in the news again. And I knew if he found out I had any part in what happened, no matter how small a part, it would be bad.” She looked up then, her eyes pleading. “And it is bad. It’s very bad. You saw him.”

  “But Laney,” Dee said, her voice catching, “you killed her?”

  “I didn’t mean to,” Laney said, sobbing now. “It was an accident. It was starting to rain and I was chasing her, trying to get her to listen to me. I grabbed at the back of her shirt and we both fell. She hit her head on something, I guess. It was an accident, a freak accident. I saw she was dead and I panicked. I just left her there.”

  “Oh, Laney,” Dee said.

  “It gets worse,” Laney said, folding her arms across her middle and rocking. “I should have called for help. She must not have been dead like I thought, because when she fell we were down in the middle of the field. The only thing I can figure is that she came to at some point and somehow made her way up to that grave before she died. If I’d called 9-1-1, she might still be alive. Her life is over, and now so is mine.”

  * * *

  I’d walked to the police station but I crawled into Esme’s SU
V for the trip home. I was emotionally spent. I felt sad and angry and betrayed, like the world’s biggest sucker. How had I not seen this sooner? The business with the bracelet had bothered me, but I’d ignored it. And now I saw clearly that Laney’s attempt to rekindle our old friendship had only been a ploy to get information about the investigation.

  Esme drove in silence until we were in our driveway, then she switched off the motor and drew in a long breath.

  “I’ve never had that happen before,” she said, sounding so tired she could hardly push the words out. “When I went over to Claire’s this morning I decided to walk down to the creek just so I’d have a better picture of where those kids used to gather. Sherry came to me so clearly it nearly knocked me off my feet. I’ve never gotten any kind of message from someone so newly deceased, and I’ve never gotten anything that word-for-word precise. It scares me. I know I’ve complained in the past about how wishy-washy the messages can be, but I want that back now.”

  “Maybe it was a one-shot deal,” I offered, “because you’re so close to Claire or because Sherry Burton was so determined to clear the slate.”

  Once we were in the house, Esme trudged straight up the stairs to rest and I wandered around, stewing. I wanted desperately to talk to Jack, but he was still at work. In the end the emotional exhaustion got me, too, and I fell asleep on the family room couch. When the doorbell woke me I looked out the window and saw the gold and magenta hues of twilight.

  Denny was standing on the steps, a cone of flowers in his big hands. He held them out to me. “I know you and Esme had a hard day. We’re supposed to have supper together tonight, but if she’s too tired, I’ll understand. She’s not answering her phone.”

  “I’ll go check,” I said, shaking my head to clear the cobwebs.