At the Quiet Edge(55)

“His uncle?” When she nodded, a good thought seized Everett, and he sat up. “He died?”

“What? No, his uncle is in a nursing home in town. He can’t take care of himself anymore, so Alex is here to help go through his things and make some decisions for him.”

“Oh. So is that who you had dinner with too?”

“I . . . Um. Yes. And today he was working here so he picked up lunch for me. That’s all. It’s not . . .” Whatever she’d been about to say, she decided not to say it and closed her mouth.

“But who is he? Do you know anything about him?”

She shrugged. “I mean . . . He lives in Memphis. He worked for a newspaper.”

Memphis. “But he grew up here?”

“No, he didn’t. I think he said Ohio.”

Everett relaxed a little. That was good news. Very good news. Tennessee and Ohio, those places were far away from the murders. And if he wasn’t involved . . . Was it possible Everett could ask him why his uncle had collected the information? But he couldn’t ask without revealing his trespassing.

His mom moved closer, then sat on his bed, her hand reaching for his knee. “Ev, are you upset that I went on a date?”

“No,” he protested immediately.

“Because it wasn’t even really—”

“I’m not upset about that.”

“Well . . . you did tell me to do something on my own.”

He frowned at the awkward smile his mom pulled. “What?”

Sighing, she slumped a little. “Nothing. Look, I’m home now, so it doesn’t matter.”

“Is he gone?”

“I’m not sure. Probably. He was just grabbing a few more things. And he’s leaving town soon.” She patted his leg. “Want to go get ice cream?”

Everett’s eyes slid away toward the open door and the computer beyond it.

His mom sighed again, and he felt guilty, though he wasn’t sure why. “It’s fine. I need to study, anyway. Maybe later.” She sounded tired. But she was safe, and that was all that mattered.

When she went to her room, Everett tensed, waiting for the slide of a drawer, a shout of outrage, but instead she emerged quickly with a textbook and a stack of papers. He heard her quietly arranging stuff on the kitchen table with none of her usual humming.

Everett couldn’t log on to Discord on the computer with her out there, but he had a solution now. “I’m going to read and listen to music,” he shouted before closing his door. Although he tucked his earbuds in, he didn’t turn anything on as he slid down to sit on the floor between the window and his bed. He carefully arranged a paperback open on the floor beside him, then slipped the tablet out from under his bed and fired it up.

No message from his dad yet. Everett reached out to Josephine, but as he suspected, she wasn’t online. He started typing out a message anyway, but it seemed less alarming the more he typed. This wasn’t the man who’d rented that locker. Everett had seen the driver’s license. Probably this Alex was just doing what he said he was. Everett deleted half of his exclamation points before sending.

When he got up to open his window, Shadow was there, waiting patiently for her food. The sight of her relaxed some of the tightness in his shoulders. His mom was here, Shadow was here, and he’d be talking to his dad soon. Everything was okay.

As soon as he set the food on the windowsill, a bubble popped open on the tablet.

You there, LM?

Everett gasped and dropped back to the floor. Yes! I’m here!

How’s it going?

After glancing over his shoulder in nervous guilt, he decided to tell his dad what was going on. He probably knew all about criminals, right? Maybe he could offer advice. Today was kind of crazy, actually. I’ve been looking into these murders from like 20 years ago. Or I guess they’re technically missing women since they’ve never been found.

Wow! Sounds cool! Unfortunately today was crazy for me too. I had to move again. Things aren’t good.

The tentative smile that had spread over Everett’s mouth faded. What did that mean? Were the cops closing in?

Lips parting in shock, he typed, Are you okay???

For now but I need your help, his dad responded immediately, and Everett’s heart leapt into a wild rhythm.

He had to type and retype his response several times as he cursed his clumsy hands. Absolutely! Yes! What do you need?

Maybe I shouldn’t ask.

He was shaking his head as he wrote back. No. Go ahead. Tell me. He’d do anything if it meant his dad could keep talking to him.

Ok. I didn’t want to ask this but . . . Your mom has something of mine. It’s nothing dangerous, I swear. But if I don’t get it soon, I’ll have to turn myself in.

Everett’s eyes went so wide he felt an ache at the strain of it. What is it?

Just a notebook.

“Oh.” The word came out on a grunt, like Everett had been punched in the gut. A notebook. Something he’d left behind. Something he needed.

Are you . . . ? Everett shook the chaos from his head and tried to form a clear thought. Are you nearby?

I’m not far. You think I wouldn’t check on you, LM? I have to make sure you’re doing ok every once in a while.

His eyes flew past Shadow to the space beyond the window as if his dad might be standing right there on the patio. He was here? Somewhere close?