The Spite House(58)

Lafonda shrugged, let out a short coughing laugh. “You know, a week ago I’d have said ‘nothing.’ I wouldn’t even be doing this, I suppose. But after the last day or two, and after last night especially, her wanting to hide what happened from you, I don’t know. I’m sure she wouldn’t do anything too bad, but there’s a big gap between ‘too bad’ and the right thing.”

“Yeah, I see,” Dess said. Now she understood why Emily Steen viewed Eunice and anyone who worked for her with suspicion.

She didn’t have any concrete cause to have faith in Emily, either, but considering the risks, she didn’t find it too reckless to run out and meet with a woman who, at minimum, cared enough to show up at the spite house to give them some information. Dad ran her off, but even on the way out she’d shared something with him. She’d mentioned that memorial, which he might not have followed up on yet. He was so focused on the money that bigger-picture things were escaping him, like his own well-being and simply staying alive. Or maybe the money was the bigger picture to him, and he thought that if it came down to his survival versus the girls being set for life, the latter was more important. He was being foolish if that’s what he thought. She and Stacy needed him more than the money.

She shouldn’t have let him go back to that house. It clearly wasn’t harmless after all. It put a woman in the hospital. And Eunice had known about that and kept it to herself. Now even Eunice’s own people were doubting her judgment and morals. Dess had to do something.

Lafonda’s directions were easy. Follow the long driveway off the estate and onto the connecting road, then turn left and follow that to the nearest crossroad less than half a mile away. Emily would be parked there and standing outside.

“She’ll wave when she sees you,” Lafonda said. “If anything comes up, I’ll call you, but I think Eunice will believe me if I just say you went for a run. Just try not to be too long.”

On her way out, Dess stopped to check on Stacy. She didn’t ask about what happened the night before, because she knew if she heard the slightest bit more about it she would want to stay, and that would be—as Mom would have told her—short-term thinking. Once Eunice was up, this opportunity would be gone. Lafonda and Dana were willing to help her behind Eunice’s back, but with her awake and watching, maybe not so much.

She brought Miss Happy down with her and gave it to Stacy, which put a bigger smile on her face than the pancakes already had. “This house is big. Don’t lose her.”

“I won’t,” Stacy said. “Thank you.”

“I’m just going to go out for a run, all right? You be good for Miss Lafonda. Listen to her like she was me, okay?”

“I will. She’s going to let me see the library today.”

Dess said, “That sounds awesome. Have fun, I’ll be back.”

Then, despite telling herself not to, she hugged her sister and said, “Love you, Staze.” It might give away that things weren’t exactly as normal as she was making them seem, since they didn’t hug every time they might be apart for a little while, but “Odessa Ross”—real name Desirae “Dess” Emerson—could not help herself. She didn’t want to think about it, but things seemed to be coming to a head, and there was a chance she might not get to see Stacy again after she left. That wouldn’t really happen, but just in case—just in case—she wanted to make sure it wouldn’t be like the last time she thought she’d never see her sister again. This time she’d get to hold her and tell her she loved her while Stacy could still hear it.





CHAPTER 28



Millie



What would she do if this turned out to be a bait and switch? If Lafonda said she was sending the girl but instead Eunice pulled the sheriff out of her pocket and sent him to pick Millie up? Jail her for a day on some horseshit charge—trespassing or harassment. She wouldn’t put it past her former friend. And what would she do if something like that did happen?

Reset and try something else, Millie thought. There wasn’t another option. She wasn’t going to stop at doing half of a right thing. She wouldn’t allow herself to be content with saying, “Hey, I tried,” if Eric Ross got hurt. She was involved now, like she should’ve been before.

The children were out of the house, at least, but from her conversations with Dana and Lafonda this morning, Millie was under no impression that the situation was that much improved.

It was early, still, but the sun was out and made the day feel more like spring than autumn, neither of which really existed in full or for very long in this part of Texas. Parked where she was, on a road as open as this, it was silly to think that the sunlight left her any more exposed than an overcast day would, but that was nonetheless how she felt, and it made her antsy. For the tenth or hundredth time she checked her watch.

“She’ll be here when she gets here,” Millie said to herself, then looked up to see someone running alongside the road, far enough away that she couldn’t make out any features. Emily raised her arm and waved at her like she was alerting passing drivers of an accident ahead.

Dess picked up her pace when she saw Emily’s signal and didn’t appear to be too winded when she got close enough to say, “Are you Emily Steen?”

“Yep. I take it you’re Odessa.”