True Places(65)

“Brynn . . .”

She held a mechanical pencil between her index finger and thumb and wiggled it, tapping a rapid rhythm on her book. “Sure. I get it. It’s like your job to suck the fun out of my life.”

Suzanne let this go. It was such a standard teenage complaint, she couldn’t take it personally.

Brynn went on. “Do you know some parents rented rooms at the Omni for their kids? For the whole night?”

Suzanne shook her head in disbelief.

“It’s true. So instead of getting on my case about a stupid limo, maybe you should be thanking me for not asking Grammy Tinsley for that.” Brynn raised her eyebrows. “Because she totally would’ve.”

“Maybe that’s true, Brynn. And if I’m getting on your case about anything, it’s because I’m looking out for you.” She leaned over and kissed Brynn’s forehead. “Because I love you.”

Brynn didn’t say anything, but at least she didn’t smirk.



The following day was Monday, and Suzanne had never been more relieved for the weekend to be over. The conversation with Brynn had left her nerves frayed, and she still didn’t feel comfortable with the plans around prom. It was possible, she supposed, that no parent ever did. She ought to have been delighted that Reid had decided not to attend, but her son had returned from the club fund-raiser in a sullen mood, brushing off her inquiries about the cause. Not surprisingly, Whit didn’t have any insight into Reid’s state of mind, only confirming that their son had done everything the organizers of the event had asked of him. Whit’s take on Tinsley’s limo order was predictable; he could see nothing to object to.

If she was honest, Suzanne would have to admit she had been happy to see all three of them disappear down the walk that morning.

While Suzanne cleaned up the dishes from breakfast and last night’s dinner, Iris worked on her math problems in the dining room. Suzanne had enrolled her in the Kumon program, and the self-paced approach was a perfect fit. By the end of the summer, Iris would probably be ready to take high school algebra, a remarkable achievement considering the girl had been homeschooled only in basic arithmetic. No doubt she was bright and blessed with an orderly mind, but it did make Suzanne wonder what purpose all that classroom time truly served, especially in a trade-off with the freedom and self-reliance Iris had enjoyed for most of her life.

Having restored some semblance of order to the kitchen, Suzanne considered the remaining disarray on the breakfast table, on the dining table, and in the laundry room, wondering which area to attack first. Her phone buzzed on the counter beside her. She thought about ignoring it, certain it had to be someone from Boosters complaining about her lack of direction, or Tinsley demanding help with yet another fund-raiser, or a class mom asking her to chip in for a bake sale, a carpool, or an appreciation lunch for the vastly underappreciated, but knew whoever it was would be as persistent as she had once been and call back. To her surprise, the phone screen read DETECTIVE DECELLE. She accepted the call and headed through the pantry into the living room, closing the door behind her. She and the detective exchanged greetings.

“I tried to reach your husband but couldn’t get through.”

“He’s in meetings all morning.”

“I figured. Ms. Blakemore, I’m calling because we’ve got a lead on Iris’s family.”

Suzanne lowered herself onto the couch. “Go on.”

“We sent the father’s sketch and the approximate date he went missing to all the jurisdictions in central and southern Virginia. Got a lot of leads that didn’t pan out for one reason or another. But yesterday an officer in Salem—that’s near Roanoke—thought the sketch looked familiar, someone he helped put away.”

“Prison?”

“Yes, ma’am. He did three years for assault with a deadly weapon, plus resisting arrest. Served his parole. The date of the felony was close to when the girl said her father disappeared.”

“Jim Smith?”

“I can’t give you a name until we know more.”

“Is he a veteran?”

“No confirmation on that yet.”

Suzanne’s mind was spinning. If Iris’s father was alive, what would happen to her? Would she go off to live with him, just like that? What about his criminal record?

The detective continued. “Here’s the thing. We had the police down there follow up on his last known address. The guy who lives there said he never saw him after his parole was over.”

“So where is he?”

“Who knows? The uniforms mentioned to the friend that this guy might have family looking for him, in case he knew where to find him and just wasn’t saying. It might bring him out.” He didn’t sound convinced.

“Do you think he’s Iris’s father?”

“It fits. Plus the friend? Name’s Henry, but he goes by Buck. Then again, so do a lot of fellows down there.”

Detective DeCelle said he’d let her know when they had more information and suggested she hold off on telling Iris anything.

“A guy like that, with a record, a loner. Hard to tell which way he’s going to fall.”

Suzanne agreed.

She closed the call. Her limbs were numb. The news was so unexpected. Iris had insisted her father was dead, and Suzanne had believed her. Or had she simply wished it were true? Suzanne wanted a chance with Iris, to help her fit into this world for which she was so ill prepared. It wasn’t turning out the way she had hoped. She had expected Iris to soak up all the comforts and pleasures of the civilized world Suzanne introduced her to. Instead Iris was holding back, picking and choosing what she allowed to affect her, what she permitted to alter her. Suzanne didn’t have the power she’d thought she would. And, more, she was learning that Iris was probably wise to not accept this new world with open arms. Iris’s parents had been more right than wrong. The water Suzanne and everyone around her were immersed in, that they all kept swimming in, was a toxic soup. Suzanne had known this for a very long time. When she left for college, she had rejected her parents’ false existence, their loveless marriage, but she had faltered. She had not been strong enough and had allowed herself to be swept up, carried along, despite what she knew. She had been leading a false life, one that Iris saw through easily. The girl wanted to return to the woods, to a hard, simple existence, and Suzanne could not blame her.