The Silent Sister(67)

“Stay,” Jade said when they’d pulled apart, and Celia nodded.

“I don’t have a phone for you to let Charlie know you won’t be coming home, though, and you—”

Celia pressed her fingertip to Jade’s lips. “I told him not to worry if I didn’t come home tonight.”

“Oh.” In spite of how open the three of them had been with each other all evening, Jade felt a little shock. “What did he say?”

“He said to be good to you. He said you’re very, very precious.” Celia smiled. “But I’d already figured that out.”





32.

Riley

“What are you two doing here?” Tom Kyle said when Verniece let us into the stifling hot RV. Verniece had that jittery look that I’d seen in her a couple of times. I imagined life wasn’t pleasant for her when her husband was upset and I hated being part of the cause. They didn’t ask us to sit down, and the four of us stood awkwardly in the small kitchen. I was next to the door, one hand on the doorknob, nervous about my brother and his unpredictable anger. Already, I couldn’t wait for this to be over.

“We have a few questions,” Danny said. “You laid some news on my sister and you owe us an explanation.”

“About what?” Tom nodded in my direction. “What’s she been telling you?”

Verniece reached toward the refrigerator. “Would you like—” she began, but Tom put his arm out to stop her from opening the door. I was disappointed. I would have loved some of that cool refrigerator air to seep into the RV.

“We don’t need to entertain them,” he said to Verniece. He looked at Danny. “Get to the point, all right? It’s going to rain this afternoon and I want to get some fishing in before the downpour.”

“We’re supposed to get an inch or more,” I said, like this was a pleasant visit between neighbors.

“How did you know there was a second set of footprints at that marina where our sister’s car was found?” Danny asked.

Tom couldn’t seem to look my brother in the eye. He fiddled with a pill bottle that sat on the counter. “Why are you dredging up that old nonsense?” he asked. “It’s like I told her.” He nodded toward me as if he’d forgotten my name. “I read it somewhere.”

“But that information was withheld from the media, Tom,” I said. “You couldn’t have read it.”

“Really?” Verniece looked puzzled. “I remember reading about it, too. At least I think I did. It was so long ago.”

I wondered if Danny could be wrong. Maybe the information had made it to one of the papers after all.

“You couldn’t have,” Danny said to Verniece. “So, come on. Out with it. How did you know?”

“Please think back, both of you,” I said, almost gently, trying to counter my brother’s harsh tone. “Try to remember how you heard about it.”

They fell silent. Tom folded his beefy arms across his chest and looked into space, like he was considering the question. Verniece gave him a stubborn glance as she reached for the refrigerator door again. She opened it and took two bottles of orange soda from inside the door, then handed them to Danny and me.

“Here, Riley,” she said. “You look like you need to cool off.”

My phone rang as I took the bottle from her, and I pulled it from my pocket to check the caller ID. Christine. No surprise there. She’d be annoyed when I didn’t pick up. I set the phone on the counter and twisted the cap off the bottle. I took a long swallow, then pressed the cool bottle against my neck. Did they have any air-conditioning blowing in this trailer at all? How did they stand it?

“You know what I bet it was?” Tom said finally, as though he’d thought the question through and come to a conclusion. “I was with the U.S. Marshals Service back then. I knew people. The state police got involved with that case. FBI, too. I had a few buddies in both places, so maybe I didn’t read it. Maybe I heard it from one of them.”

“And then you probably told me sometime over the years,” Verniece added. She looked relieved to have an answer.

“And what did your buddies make of those two sets of footprints?” Danny asked.

Tom shrugged. “That maybe it was some kind of setup. You know. Like the second person got her out of there somehow.”

“Why would they … your buddies … jump to that conclusion?” Danny asked.

“How the hell would I know?” Tom snapped. He leaned forward to look out the window above the sink. “Clouds coming in,” he said impatiently. He pushed between us to open the door, clearly showing us the way out. “We’re done here,” he added.

Danny hesitated, and I tensed, unsure what he was going to do or say. Finally, he turned toward the door. “For the moment,” he said, and I was relieved he was letting this go, at least for now.

I held my soda bottle in the air as I followed him out of the RV. “Thanks, Verniece,” I said. I hoped my smile conveyed an apology.

* * *

“He knows more than he’s saying,” Danny said once we were in his car. He had a faraway look in his eyes, as if he was trying to solve a puzzle.

“Well, he didn’t want to talk to us, that’s for sure.” I adjusted the air-conditioning vent so the cool air blew on my face. “But what could he possibly know? Don’t you think the police would have gone over any evidence with a fine-tooth comb twenty-three years ago?”