Everything We Didn't Say(69)

“Oh, no. She’s something else. You’d love her.”

“I met her,” Juniper said. “At Mom and Tot Hour.”

Cora wrinkled her nose as if she smelled something unpleasant. “She comes off a bit ditzy, but the girl graduated from UCLA and is working on her capstone project for a master’s in psychology. She’s great. Seriously.”

“Jericho Unscripted? It’s a little Real Housewives, if you ask me.” Juniper held out both hands, palms up toward the computer screen as if it were all the evidence she needed.

“It’s ironic. India’s really bright. She went to a crime-solving convention last fall where the attendees dove deep into a cold case and tried to solve it over a weekend. India came home with an embroidered deerstalker hat because she did the most to advance the case.” Cora paused, taking in Juniper’s obvious skepticism. “You know, deerstalker because—”

“Sherlock, I get it.” Juniper’s mind was whirling. Crime-solving convention? Surely she’d found her podcaster. But she had a hard time reconciling the sparkly young woman at Mom & Tot Hour with: I’m going to prove that bastard Jonathan Baker did it. What did India have against Jonathan?

“Don’t be judgmental,” Cora chastised her, oblivious to what Juniper was really thinking. “Give her a chance. I think she could help you with your vandal and…”

“And what?”

“And Jericho’s own cold case. You haven’t let it go, June. Don’t pretend that you have. I think you’re right to believe that Jonathan’s accident has something to do with what happened to the Murphys.”

“I never told you that,” Juniper said quietly.

“You didn’t have to.”

Juniper held Cora’s steady gaze. Her mentor and friend had never steered her wrong before, but Juniper was annoyed that her instinct had been so off about India. She was usually a very good judge of character. “Fine,” Juniper said eventually. “Give me her contact info. I’ll reach out tonight.”

Cora’s eyes glinted. “I think you’ll hit it off.”

“We’ll see.” Juniper tried to give Cora a stern look, but the woman was already scrawling on an index card. Apparently, Cora knew India’s number by heart. Juniper couldn’t help but feel a twinge of jealousy—and irritation. What secrets had Cora unknowingly shared with the woman who seemed hell-bent on ruining Jonathan?

“Here.” Cora slid the card to her. “Be open-minded. India might be just what you’ve been waiting for.”

Juniper sincerely doubted it, but she took the number and stuck it in the back pocket of her jeans.



* * *



Around lunchtime, Juniper realized that she hadn’t eaten a single thing all day. Hustling Willa out the door and then dealing with the drama of her slashed tires had made food a moot point, but by noon her stomach felt hollow and the room swayed gently when she stood. She had promised to meet Everett at twelve but decided a few minutes wouldn’t make a difference since she would be late anyway. Although Barry had offered to lend her his car again, she assured him she needed the fresh air and would enjoy the walk. She stumbled into Cunningham’s half-frozen with cold, a stiff wind at her back, and her fingertips blue after only a few blocks.

Of course the place was packed. Too late, Juniper considered all the people she might bump into during lunch break in February. But before she could duck back out the door, an older couple pushed in behind her, crowding the small entryway, and any hope of an easy escape was extinguished.

Thankfully, a quick scan of the restaurant didn’t immediately reveal any familiar faces, and she was able to order a tomato bisque and grilled cheese to go without any fanfare or fuss. While she waited, she slid her phone from her coat pocket and texted Everett.


Sorry, running late.

Grabbing lunch from Cunningham’s.

Want anything?

She watched for the three dots of an impending response, but they never came. Strange, since it was 12:10 and he was supposed to be meeting with her. But she didn’t have long to wonder about his silence, because only a few minutes later she was walking out with a greasy paper bag and a hot to-go cup in her hands.

Juniper sipped from the cup as she hurried toward the Jericho Police Station. It did much to fortify her as she prepared to meet with Everett on more formal ground. She didn’t know what to expect. Was this a routine Q&A? Or was Officer Stokes going to drop a bombshell? The thought of new evidence, of the Murphy case being cracked wide open and spilling secrets like a rotten egg, made Juniper’s pulse quicken. She just couldn’t decide if it was in anticipation or fear.

Juniper let herself in the front door of the police station and discovered a small, tiled entryway with a single, unassuming desk. No one was behind it. Against one wall was a line of four blue plastic chairs, and Juniper considered sitting there to wait, but the clock above the desk told her it was already twenty after twelve. She had to be back at the library at one so that Barry could take his lunch break, and she wasn’t going to be a minute late. She would not be indebted to Barry any further than she already was.

Instead of sitting down, Juniper walked around the desk and peered into the hallway behind it. “Hello?” she called. “Everett? Is anyone here?”

No answer. No movement at all. There had been a police cruiser parked in front of the squat building, but Juniper had no idea how many cars and officers Jericho employed, and frost on the windshield made it seem as if the cruiser had been parked there for a while. Maybe overnight.