Lovely Girls(54)

“A body was found at the beach this morning. A teenage girl,” Lita said excitedly.

“A body? How horrible.” It was horrible. I wondered whether someone walking the beach had suffered a heart attack, or whether it was possibly a drug overdose. I shivered.

“They haven’t made an official announcement, but the news is already out. My son’s best friend’s uncle is a paramedic, and he was one of the first on the scene. They found her body on the beach, and get this . . . she was naked.”

She? I thought numbly. And then, as my brain scrambled to catch up, Naked?

“What happened?”

“That’s just it. No one knows yet. No one knows how she got there or what happened to her. It’s a mystery!” Lita said excitedly.

“Lita!” I said, more sharply than I meant. “Whose body did they find on the beach? Who died?”

Lita suddenly looked somber, as though she finally realized how serious the situation was. This wasn’t a particularly juicy piece of gossip. Someone had died. Lita sucked in a deep breath.

“It was Callie Nord. Ingrid Nord’s daughter. Her body was found on Isle Beach this morning.”





CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO




* * *





KATE

“That’s . . . that’s terrible,” I said, trying to keep my voice steady, even as there was a roaring in my ears.

Callie was dead. Ingrid’s Callie. And Alex had been out until late last night. Was it possible those two things were connected? But how? And why?

“It is terrible. I can’t imagine what Ingrid is going through. I mean, you know I’ve never liked her.” Lita raised a hand as if I’d accused her of hypocrisy. “But I wouldn’t wish this on my worst enemy. Poor Ingrid. I don’t think I’d be able to survive losing one of my boys.”

I usually hated it when people made comments like that. I’d gotten them when Ed died. The truth was, you have no idea how you’ll handle grief until it presents itself. But I knew what Lita meant. Being a bereaved parent must be a special kind of hell.

“How did she die?”

“From what I’ve heard, they think she drowned,” Lita said. “Her body was found on the beach, and the tide was going out last night, so . . .” She raised her eyebrows meaningfully.

I stared back at her, not comprehending what she was trying to say. My mind was sluggish from lack of sleep followed by this terrible shock.

“If she was swimming alone and accidentally drowned, her body would probably have been washed out to sea,” Lita explained. “If she did drown, which is what I think they presumed happened, someone must have moved her body back onto shore.”

“That means she probably wasn’t alone,” I said.

Lita jumped in, eager to deliver the scandalous conclusion. “I heard the police are treating her death as a possible homicide.”

Homicide. The word felt like a physical blow. I had to talk to Alex. Immediately.

“That’s terrible.” I nodded toward my house. “I’d better head back inside. I’m in the middle of a pile of paperwork. I was just taking a short break.”

“That’s okay, I’m going to call Karen Weaver and see if she’s heard the news yet!”

Lita turned, and I headed back into the house, my legs stiff, my heart pounding. I wanted to call for Alex as soon as I was through the door, but I was afraid Lita might still be outside and hear my panicked shout.

Callie and Alex weren’t friends, I reminded myself. Callie had bullied Alex. And yet Alex had disappeared for hours on the same night that Callie died. Was it possible Callie’s death and Alex’s unexplained absence were related?

And then there was the perhaps larger issue. Who would believe it was a coincidence?

Think about what needs to be done, I told myself as I strode into the kitchen and rinsed out my coffee cup. Make a list. Right now. Of everything that needs to be done to protect Alex.

I needed to wash the clothes Alex had been wearing the night before. I needed to think of a reason my daughter hadn’t been to school that day, other than that she’d been out of the house the previous night. Although would that even work? Many of our neighbors had video doorbell systems. What were the chances that Alex had left and returned the night before without being caught on a camera somewhere along the way? Probably slim to none. And then there was Joe. He knew she’d been out late. Joe was a nice guy, but I could hardly expect him to lie to the police for us.

“This is bad,” I said aloud.

“Mom?”

Alex appeared in the doorway, the sunshine streaming in behind her, her long hair loose around her shoulders. In that moment, she looked younger than her seventeen years. I saw the small girl she’d once been, all long limbs and endless energy.

“Get your clothes,” I told her. “The ones you were wearing last night. Actually, get me all of the clothes in your hamper. I’m going to wash everything.”

“What’s going on?”

I slapped my hand against the kitchen counter so hard, Alex jumped.

“Just do it,” I told her. “And then we’re going to talk. I don’t think we have a lot of time.”



Fifteen minutes later, Alex and I were sitting in the living room. Alex was tucked into a corner of the leather sectional, her legs curled under her, and I was sitting on one of the cream-upholstered side chairs. It was hard to sit still while anxiety swirled through me, tightening my chest and making it difficult to breathe.