214 Palmer Street(24)
“She told me about her parents’ divorce,” Sarah said.
Judy nodded. “She was flirty with all the boys. I think Kirk may have been sweet on her, or maybe Gavin was the one with the crush, but who knows?” She sighed. “You’ll see when you have kids—they don’t want you to know anything. Girls are usually more communicative than boys. I was left out of a lot of it.”
Sarah pointed. “And who were the other two?”
“The boy was a good buddy of Kirk’s from the time they were little guys. Jeremy Bickley. The girl next to him is his little sister, Stephanie. Now that was a sad story. The two of them came from a troubled family. Alcoholic father, a mother who tried to cover it up to keep the family intact. One night after his father beat him up, Jeremy just took off. He was eighteen by then, so he left a note in their mailbox saying he’d had enough. It sounded like he’d been planning to do it for a long time. He said that once he got settled somewhere he’d contact them with his new address. His mother was about out of her mind with worry, poor thing. And all these years later, they’ve never heard a single word from him. His parents reported his disappearance to the police. They went on TV pleading with him to come home. They sent out flyers, posted a reward for information, created a website. Basically, did everything they could, but never heard anything. I heard the parents separated and shortly after that the dad died. So sad.”
“When did this happen?”
“The summer after Kirk’s junior year. Jeremy was older than the other boys, already eighteen.”
Sarah asked, “What do you think happened to Jeremy?”
Judy shrugged. “I don’t know. Something awful, I’m afraid. Back then there were reports of young people disappearing while hitchhiking, never to be found. I would guess it was something like that. Otherwise, I would think he’d have called. He was devoted to his mother and he and Stephanie were very close.”
“How awful.”
“He didn’t have a car or take a bus, so he must have decided to hitchhike. That’s all I can come up with, anyway. After that, it’s anyone’s guess.”
Sarah nodded, staring at the picture of Jeremy and his sister. Anyone could see they were related. Their dark eyes, thin nose, and smiles were nearly identical. In one of the photos she’d rested her head on his shoulder. They had to have been close.
“I pray for the Bickleys every night. I can’t imagine what they went through. What they’re still going through. You don’t ever get over something like that.”
“It must have been terrible for Kirk too. I can’t believe he’s never mentioned it.” She thought of all the hours she poured out her heart to him, telling him about the day she got the news of her parents’ death in a car accident. She and Maren had to go identify their bodies. The experience had been horrendous and after that they’d had to plan the funeral. And just when she’d found happiness again, fell in love and got engaged, her fiancé, Trevor, had died of a heart attack. For months afterward she’d had nightmares. It was only through counseling that she’d been able to move on. She’d experienced so much pain in her life and hadn’t held anything back from Kirk. Why wouldn’t he tell her about his own loss?
“It’s probably just too painful,” Judy said, by way of explanation. “He and Gavin were both gutted when it happened. I know that Kirk cried in his room some nights. He came down in the morning with red eyes, said he was fine, said he was getting a cold, but I knew better. The whole thing was just so odd and unexpected.”
“What about the police? They never came up with anything?”
“No.” She shook her head. “They questioned all his friends, talked to the neighbors, checked the bus station. No one knew anything.”
Sarah stared down at the photo album. Inexplicably, she felt like crying. Since she’d been attacked, her moods had swung wildly, mostly from frustration and fatigue. Now she experienced a sadness for the family of the lost son, coupled with a troubling sense of unease. Why would Kirk keep this from her? Awash in emotion, she was only dimly aware of Judy’s voice, speaking as if from a distance.
“I’m sorry,” she said, raising her head. “What did you say?”
“I said that it seemed to help once we did away with the bomb shelter,” she said. “They spent so much time down there playing Risk and writing screenplays and what have you. When Kirk said he and Gavin wanted to fill it in, Bert and I understood. Too many memories.”
“You had a bomb shelter?” Sarah’s eyes widened.
“In our backyard.” Judy frowned. “I can’t believe Kirk never told you about that either? It came with the house. The original owner built it himself. I’m sure there was no building inspector involved.” She chuckled. “They constructed it during the Cold War era. Back then people built them so their family would have a place to go in case of a nuclear attack. It was all the way in the back of the property, smack dab in the middle, close to where our property abutted the state park.” She pointed to the concrete block wall behind the kids in the photos. “These were taken down there. Kirk and his friends made it into a sort of clubhouse.”
Sarah felt her breath catch in her chest. “And why did Kirk and Gavin want it filled in?”
Judy said, “I was the one wanted it filled in right from the start, if you must know, which is what put the idea in their head, I think. From day one I thought it was a disaster waiting to happen. It had these steep concrete stairs that were super narrow. The floor was originally sand when we bought the house, but after we moved in, Bert covered it with pieces of plywood. And the bugs!” She shuddered. “It just smelled damp and closed up. Like a musty basement but worse.”