Hal thought about that for a minute. He actually seemed torn. “I’d hate to stir something up that would otherwise rest in peace.”
“Rest in peace?” Marshall asked and cleared his throat to keep the frogginess at bay. “The whole town’s concerned. Annie Barnes has a national following, and the media are vultures. She says the right thing in the right place, and we’re smeared all over the news. Is that what you want?”
“How will my talking with teachers prevent that?”
“It’ll keep them from talking to Annie Barnes. You see, that’s the key. If we stand together and stonewall, she can’t get a thing.” Stonewall. He liked that word.
Hal must have, too, because he nodded. “That makes sense. Good idea. Thanks, Marshall.” Arching a mischievous brow, he cocked his head toward his car, tossed a thumb that way, and took off.
Kaitlin DuPuis followed Annie around town most of Saturday, but she didn’t get her opening until Sunday morning, and that was purely a fluke. She rarely went to church—hated sitting between her parents listening to all that talk of love, when there was none to the right or the left. As far as she was concerned, this was the most hypocritical of the hypocrisies in her home.
But it was important to her parents that people see them together in church, and because Kaitlin didn’t know what would come of the Annie Barnes thing, she figured that this week she’d better go too.
Then she saw Annie in the parking lot, climbing out of her convertible and running around to the passenger side to help her sister Phoebe. Once they connected with Sabina Mattain and her family, Phoebe went up the stone steps and inside with them. Annie separated and headed around behind the church.
Kaitlin followed her parents up the steps and inside, then stopped and said the one thing that was guaranteed to buy her time. “I want to go see Gramma. I’ll be right back.” She went down the side stairs and out the lower door, which put her one walkway, a small span of neatly mown grass, and a white picket fence away from the graveyard.
Hurrying through the gate in the fence, she proceeded down the stone path that led to her grandmother’s stone, but she didn’t stop there. She continued up over the rise, then down to a hollow ringed by woods. Though this was technically the back end of the cemetery, Kaitlin had always thought it the prettiest part.
Annie was at her parents’ grave, and suddenly that gave Kaitlin pause. The stone with BARNES on it wasn’t new, but the sod on Alyssa’s side was. This death was fresh. If Kaitlin was intruding on Annie’s privacy, it wouldn’t help her cause.
Then again, for all Kaitlin knew, Annie had been here before. Kaitlin came often to sit with her grandmother, just as she had done at the nursing home in the months prior to her death. Her grandmother had loved her—really loved her. When the rest of the world seemed unbearable to Kaitlin, visiting here helped.
So maybe Alyssa Barnes was helping Annie, in which case Annie would be softer, more relaxed, and receptive to Kaitlin’s plea. Or so Kaitlin hoped. Not that she had other options. Catching Annie alone in a place where all of Middle River wouldn’t see was proving to be next to impossible.
She slowed when she neared. Annie sat on the grass with her legs curled to the side. She was wearing sunglasses. Still, it was clear she was looking at that stone with its newly etched addition.
Kaitlin waited quietly, hoping Annie would look up and smile. When that didn’t happen, she took one step forward. She waited, then took another. She was about to clear her throat when Annie finally did look. After a moment of nothing, Kaitlin thought she saw her eyebrows go up. Surprise? Recognition?
“Hello,” she said. Her voice gave nothing away.
“Hi,” Kaitlin replied in a voice that gave everything away. It was shaky. She was totally nervous. Given the slightest provocation, she would have turned and run. Lest she do that, she rushed out the words. “I have to ask you a big favor. It’s about the other night. I know you know it was us, but like, I want you to know that it’ll be really, really bad if you tell anyone about it, and it’ll be even worse if you put it in your book. See, my parents don’t know about Kevin. They would go ballistic if they did because he isn’t the kind of guy they want me with, and it doesn’t do any good for me to say we’re in love, because love doesn’t mean a thing to my parents.” She pressed her heart, which was where she was feeling the ache. “Kevin is so special to me. He’s the first guy who has ever, ev-er been interested in me, and he didn’t just do it for the sex, because if he had, he’d be gone, because I don’t think I’m very good at that, either. He doesn’t care that I’m not pretty. I mean like, he loves me—is that awesome?—loves me—like nobody else ever has except my grandmother, and she’s dead too.”
“The other night?” Annie asked. Her brows were knit now.
Kaitlin felt herself blush. “You know. The other night.” When Annie didn’t say anything, just sat there looking confused, Kaitlin felt her first inkling of doubt. “You saw us, I know you did. You knew it was me the minute I walked into the front room at your sister’s store.” The inkling grew. “Didn’t you?” Still Annie seemed baffled. That came through, sunglasses and all. “Like, if you didn’t, why did you wink?”
“I winked because you were staring at me.”
“But then it happened again at Omie’s—I mean, you waved at me then.”
“I recognized you from the shop.”
Annie Barnes was perfectly serious. And Kaitlin DuPuis felt like a total jerk.
“Omigod,” she whispered, then did it again, because she didn’t know what else to do. Should she stay? Run? Dig a big hole and crawl in beside Gramma?
She was looking back, then ahead, then back again when she heard a vague “hey” from somewhere. When it came a second time and louder, her eyes flew to the source. Annie had taken off her sunglasses and was gesturing her closer.
Kaitlin didn’t budge. “I don’t believe I did this,” she said in dismay and put a hand on the top of her head. “You didn’t know.”
“How could I see? It was dark.”
“That’s what Kevin said, but we were there in the headlights, and I was sure you had. So now I’ve told you.” She wrapped her arms around her middle, but that didn’t stop her eyes from tearing. “This is so bad. Like, I am such a loser.”
“You’re not a loser.”
“What do you know about it?” she asked. She didn’t care if she was being rude. Annie Barnes would do what she wanted, regardless of how Kaitlin behaved.
“I’ve been there,” Annie said. “Want to come sit?”
“What I want is for you to forget what I said, but that won’t happen, will it.” No question there. Kaitlin brushed at the tears and looked back in the direction of Gramma. Gramma would know what to do next. Standing here, though, Kaitlin didn’t feel any vibes.
“I won’t tell anyone,” Annie repeated.
Kaitlin should have listened to Kevin. He had been right. Now, she had messed up everything. “I’m cooked. I’m done for. My parents will accuse him of rape. Do you know how awful that’ll be?”
“I said, I won’t tell.”
Kaitlin was embarrassed just thinking about it. She put a hand back on her head, like that would somehow keep her grounded. It was only then that she heard Annie’s words. She looked back. Annie seemed serious.
Actually, she looked like she might have been crying. Her eyes weren’t exactly red. But the area around them was shiny. Like, wet. And still she said, “Why would I tell? What’s the point?”
Kaitlin could think of several, but mentioned only the most obvious. “Uh, your book.” Her voice rose at the end. It was a no-brainer.
“I’m not writing a book.”
“Everyone says you are.”
“They’re wrong.”
“You could still tell my parents.”
“Why would I do that? I don’t owe your parents anything. What you do is not my affair. How old are you?”
“Seventeen.”
“And you don’t t
hink that’s a little young for sex in the street?”
Kaitlin stiffened. “See? You agree with them.”
“No.” She gave an odd kind of smile. “But I’m an adult. I’m supposed to say that.”
Kaitlin tried to interpret that smile. “Yeah, are you supposed to tell, too?”
“Why would I bother? No one would believe me anyway. They’d say I’m envious, because I never pulled a backabehind. And they’re right. I didn’t have many friends, much less of the male variety. Like I said, I’ve been there.” She patted the ground. “Are you sure you don’t want to sit?”
Kaitlin did want to—not because she needed to sit, but because something about Annie pulled at her. It had to do with that smile, or whatever it was. It suggested Annie wasn’t one of them. But Kaitlin already knew that. She wasn’t supposed to be talking with Annie. Word around town said she was dangerous.
She didn’t seem dangerous to Kaitlin, at least not sitting here at her mother’s grave. She looked…sad.
Of course, it could be an act. It could be that she would leave here and tell the first person she met that it had been Kaitlin DuPuis and Kevin Stark making love in the middle of Cedar the night she had blown into town. But she wasn’t getting up to leave and do that. And now that Kaitlin was here, she didn’t see the harm of staying. It was better than sitting with her parents. It could even help. If she and Annie became friends, she might be able to convince Annie not to talk. Wasn’t that one of Kaitlin’s mother’s pet thoughts—win ’em over, then call the shots?
She started forward, but stopped. “Are you sure you want me here? Aren’t you, like, talking with your mom?”
“No. I’m just sitting. It’s lonely. I’m not exactly Miss Popularity around town.”
Kaitlin knew how that was. It had only been the last two or three years that she’d had friends—at least, friends that mattered. Coming the rest of the way, she lowered herself to the grass.
Annie gave her the smallest smile, before looking back at the gravestone.
“Are you sure I’m not intruding?” Kaitlin asked.
Annie nodded, seeming content with the silence. And so, for a short time, was Kaitlin. Birds were making noise in the woods, but not so loud as to drown out the distant strains of the church hymns. Kaitlin enjoyed the hymns from here. They helped clear her mind, helped her focus.
“And you really won’t tell?” she asked Annie.
“I won’t tell.”
“You didn’t already tell your sister Phoebe? Or James Meade? I saw you talking with him at Omie’s.”
“How could I tell either of them? I didn’t know it was you.”
“Will you tell them, now that you do?” Kaitlin asked, cursing herself again for her own stupidity.
Annie looked at her. “There are more important things. I don’t even know your name.”
Unfortunately, everyone else in Middle River did, which meant that even if Kaitlin refused to give it, it was easily found out. “Kaitlin DuPuis.”
“Kaitlin. That’s pretty.”
“Uh-huh. It’s pretty and light and perky—all the things my mother hoped I’d be that I’m not.”
“Why are you so down on yourself?”
“Because it’s the truth. I’m my mother’s biggest disappointment. Well, next to my dad.”
“I’m not touching that one. About the mother thing, though, maybe we’re all destined to disappoint them. We just can’t be what they want.”
“You weren’t?” Kaitlin asked in surprise. “Why not? I mean, like, look at you. You’re wicked successful.”
“My books sell. That’s not everything.”
Kaitlin thought about it. No, selling books wasn’t everything. Still. “You don’t seem so bad.”
Annie made a throaty noise. “Not as bad as they say?”
“I’m sure they meant when you were little,” Kaitlin put in. “You know, before you left here. I also thought you were ugly.”
“I thought so, too.”
“But you’re not at all. I mean, you’re really beautiful. I’d give anything to look like you. I got all of my dad’s bad features—bad nose, bad hairline, bad skin.” She pointed at her eyes. “These are contact lenses, and this nose is fixed. Same with my teeth and my jaw. I had the worst receding jaw, but they fixed that with a retainer too. We’ve done everything we can to make me look a little attractive.”
“I think you’re very attractive.”
“I will ne-ver be very attractive. I mean, all we can do is patch things up and then watch for the bad stuff popping up again in my own kids.”
“Who says that?”
“My mom. She tells me I’d better marry someone rich to pay for plastic surgery for my kids.”
“Are you serious?”
“Oh yeah. My mom’s into beauty. She’s done everything she can for me. She’s harping on low-carb now, but she’s just about given up on the weight thing, because packing it on is just like my dad, too. I don’t know if South Beach will work. Nothing else seems to. I mean, if we’re at Omie’s and everyone’s ordering stuff with fries, am I supposed not to order that? It’s like I’d be wearing this, this scarlet letter on my forehead—F for fat.”
“You aren’t fat.”
“I am. Ask anyone.”
“I wouldn’t have singled you out from your friends as being fat. Don’t put yourself down. You don’t want to be as scrawny as some of those others.”
“See?” Kaitlin caught her there. “You did notice. I am bigger.”
“Not bigger. Normal. Much prettier and softer for it.”
Kaitlin didn’t believe that for a minute. But she did like hearing Annie say it. Prettier and softer? She certainly wanted to be that.
Annie was after something. She had to be. Why else would she be passing out compliments? It struck Kaitlin that they could make a deal. Kaitlin could give her something else for her book, in exchange for Annie keeping quiet about Kevin and her.
“I know things about this town that you’d probably like to hear,” she said quietly. “I’d be willing to trade.”
But the words weren’t even fully out when Annie was shaking her head. “Your secret is safe with me. You don’t have to pay to make it so.”
“Are you sure? I mean, I really don’t want them knowing about Kevin. And I will help you. I know a lot of stuff.”
Another head shake. “Thanks. But I’m fine.” She looked back at the grave.
“I’m sorry about your mom.” When Annie simply nodded, she pushed herself up. “I should be getting back. I don’t want my parents to come looking for me. They’ll die if they know I’ve been talking with you.”
A rustling came from the woods. Kaitlin looked there just as a man emerged. It was Mr. Healy, the high school principal. He seemed as startled to see them as they were to see him. Actually, Kaitlin was more than surprised. She was appalled.
“Omigod,” she murmured. “Omigod, I’m outta here.” Backing away from Annie, she raised her voice. “Hi, Mr. Healy. Just leaving. I was over there visiting with my gramma and I heard a noise down here, so I ran over. Just leaving. Gotta get back. Bye-bye.”
Hal Healy watched her go. When she disappeared over the rise, he slicked back his hair with a hand. His tie was neat; he had checked that before. Running his thumb and forefinger along either side of his mouth, he turned to Annie. She was sitting on the grass, looking, frankly, provocative. He didn’t doubt for a minute that she was a scandal waiting to happen.
“Why was Kaitlin here?” he asked.
“She was visiting her grandmother’s grave.”
“Yes, she did say that, but I’m not sure I believe her.” He sighed. “I wasn’t going to approach you about this, but finding you here says I’m meant to do it. I’m worried, Miss Barnes.”
“Annie.”
“You know what my job is. So much of what the kids in this town do is my responsibility. Now, here you come, back to town after fifteen years, and you’re just about the age Grace
Metalious was when she was shocking the living daylights out of folks living here.”
“You don’t need to tell me about Grace. I felt the effects of her book more than most.”
“Then you’ll understand what I’m saying. The kids here are impressionable. They’re also apt to be a little in awe of your fame. If they see you snooping around, looking for titillating stories, they’ll be fired up to give them to you. We have enough trouble trying to control them without that kind of instigation.”
He had to hand it to her; she was tough. She stared at him with cold, hard eyes—and those, here at her mother’s new grave. Her voice, too, was cold. “I’m not in the market for sex and titillation.”
“Well, that’s good,” he said. “I’m pleased to hear you say it. These kids are our future. We have to make sure they’re up to it. I wouldn’t want our jobs to be made more difficult than they are.”
She continued to stare, silent now. He figured he had made his point.
“That’s all I wanted to say. Thank you for listening. I’m sure you’ll keep this in mind. We only want the best for our children, agreed?”
“Totally,” she said.
He nodded. Raising one hand in a half wave, he stepped around the Barnes burial plot and made his way up the hill, back toward the church. Once inside, he slipped into a free seat in the back row. He could see Pamela’s head up near the front, her black hair distinct. He could also see Nicole DuPuis across the aisle, with Kaitlin dutifully returned to her side.
He was prepared to let it go at that. As the service went on, though, he began to worry that Kaitlin would tell her mother she had seen him coming out of the woods. He would rather Nicole hear his story than hers.
So he waited until the service was over and the congregants were milling around out front. Kaitlin went off with her friends, while her father went off with his friends. Hal positioned himself not far from Nicole’s car. Unfortunately, though, before she could reach him, Pamela appeared, and the moment was lost.
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