Since She Went Away(78)

As Jenna came closer she saw a hard cast to Ursula’s features, something that had developed during her teenage years. She’d always been strong-willed, always tough, but becoming a teenager seemed to have added an extra shell to her that repelled any and all attempts to break through.

Maybe Jared had been right. Maybe Ursula was just a bitch.

Or . . . Jenna thought of what she’d learned from Ian. Celia’s first affair had happened three years earlier, just as Ursula was entering adolescence. It was hard enough being a kid without having the added stress of your parents’ marital problems. Ian hadn’t said if Ursula knew, but even if she didn’t, she might have picked up on the negative vibes in the house. That would be enough to make anybody mad at the world.

“Do you just hang out here alone?” Jenna asked.

“Sometimes.”

“Is it safe?”

“I’m not spooked by what happened to Mom, if that’s what you mean.”

“Not just that,” Jenna said. “I wouldn’t think a young girl would hang out in any park alone when it’s dark out.”

“I usually have Bobby or other friends with me.” She looked around, flipping her hair off her shoulders. Her voice lost some of its edge when she said, “It is good to see you, Jenna. I always think of calling you, but I never do.”

“I should call you more. I’ve been derelict.”

“It’s okay,” Ursula said. “We’re all kind of living in a swirl. It’s like one of those snow globes you have at Christmas. Except this is real, and it’s been shaken up and a bunch of bad stuff keeps blowing past our faces.”

“Yeah,” Jenna said, struck by the appropriateness of the metaphor. “I still should have reached out to you. Just to talk if nothing else.”

“I know you’ve been talking to Dad more. That’s nice.”

Jenna couldn’t read the girl’s tone. She thought she detected a slight, judgmental edge, but she decided to give Ursula the benefit of the doubt.

“How’s Bobby doing?” Jenna asked. “He lost his father.”

Ursula moved her upper body. It might have been a shrug, but Jenna again wasn’t sure how to read it. “The viewing is tonight. They’re laying him out over at Marcum and Sons.”

“Oh. Tonight? Are you going later?”

“Bobby and I had a huge fight over something, something that belongs to me. I don’t think I’m going.”

“Maybe we should go home, Mom,” Jared said.

“Wait a minute,” Jenna said. “Jared told me that Bobby’s dad worked with this William Rose guy. That’s the connection between the two of them. But what kind of work did he do for Bobby’s dad? How did that lead to his dad being dead in that house?”

“I’m not sure I understand it,” Ursula said.

“Try me. I bet you understand it better than you think.”

Ursula fixed Jenna with an impertinent stare, one intended to burn holes in Jenna’s flesh. The girl didn’t like to be challenged. Jenna knew she came by that honestly. Celia didn’t like to be pushed or challenged either. Queen bees don’t like to have the drones rise up against them. But Jenna had been in stare-downs with Celia. She didn’t always defer to her more polished friend. Jenna’s spine had plenty of steel, especially after the past few months. She could handle Ursula.

“It was some security stuff,” she said. “I guess Mr. Allen had employees he didn’t trust, and he wanted to keep an eye on them. Maybe it was even like blackmail. You know, get some dirt on the employees and then they wouldn’t act out or maybe they’d even get fired. I think William Rose was doing that.”

“Spying,” Jenna said, cutting to the chase.

“Right.”

“But Bobby doesn’t know why William Rose killed his dad?”

“Something went wrong. It usually does, especially if you’re dealing with lowlifes.” The girl sounded wise beyond her years. And she probably was.

“And that’s it?” Jenna asked.

“Could there be more?”

“Why do you want Jared to go on TV so much?” Jenna asked.

“Mom?”

Jenna looked over at Jared, and even in the dark she could read the look on his face. It said, Let it go. Let it rest.

“Can’t we discuss this at home? Just you and me?”

Jenna ignored him and waited for Ursula to reply.

The girl said, “Isn’t it obvious? He’s a new voice. He can plead for the safe return of his girlfriend. Don’t you want her to come back safely?”

“Of course,” Jenna said.

“I’d be happy to go on TV and talk about Mom. Do you remember I did it a few times when she first disappeared? I talked to Reena. I talked to a couple of other shows. I did whatever I thought would help.”

“I remember.”

It was one of the saddest spectacles of those first days, watching Ursula on the TV. She squinted against the lights, her eyes fixed on the camera. Her voice quavered as she spoke from a combination of nerves and grief. Jenna understood why Ian wouldn’t let her back on. It was the same reason she didn’t want to let Jared do it—why expose your kids to that? It was bad enough the adults had to publicly grieve.