“Whatever.” Zoey sighed.
“Shut up!” Shannon screamed, leaning down to her daughter’s face. “Don’t say anything else!” She clutched the girl’s chin in her trembling hand.
Frank got up, not sure what was about to happen next. “Ma’am, please. Just calm down. Yelling is not going to solve anything.”
“Weird,” Zoey quipped. “That’s what she’s always saying.”
Shannon stood upright, put her hand over her mouth, shook her head. Then she said, “You’ve got it all wrong. This is just circumstantial evidence.”
“Not anymore, ma’am. Your daughter confessed.”
Frank turned to find Kay in this madness, but the front door was wide open and she was gone.
20
Kay swerved into her driveway, her tires peeling rubber against the concrete. She grabbed the keys out of the ignition and threw the door open. She didn’t bother closing it as she ran to the front door, the quickest way into the house. It was locked. Her hands shook as she tried to insert the key. Four attempts later, it slid in and she swung the door open. Punching in the alarm code, she hurried to the kitchen.
Kay dropped the keys on the counter, trying to catch her breath.
Jenna sat at the kitchen bar, slouched over a bowl of cereal. She glanced up as Kay practically dived through the room. “Mom? You look scared. I got your note. I knew where you were. It’s okay; calm down. Omelets just didn’t sound good.”
Kay shook her head, but no words would come out. She tried to compose herself, taking deep breaths.
Jenna watched her, a spoonful of cereal hovering over her bowl. “Mom?”
Kay took one final deep breath. Her hands were still shaking, but she couldn’t help that at the moment. She tried a calm, motherly smile as she slid onto the barstool next to her daughter. “Honey…” Her eyes stung with tears, and she knew Jenna hated seeing her cry.
“Gabby’s safe, remember? Everything’s okay.”
“No, everything is not okay. I need to tell you that… I’m sorry.”
“For what?” Jenna kept staring at her but shoved some cereal in her mouth.
“I understand now.”
“Understand?”
“Caydance, Zoey… they are horrible, horrible girls.”
What had earlier been an uninterested expression vanished. A bundle of new expressions flashed over Jenna’s face. Kay knew she’d struck a chord.
“I sat there and told you that you should try to be friends with these girls. You tried to tell me, and I didn’t listen to you. I didn’t. All I could see was what I wanted for you.” Kay wiped the tears that had dripped down her own cheeks. She looked directly into Jenna’s eyes and held her gaze. “Can you ever forgive me?”
Jenna stared for a moment, every feature on her face frozen. Kay started to say something else, but the next thing she knew, Jenna grabbed her around the neck and cried. Hard. Almost wailing.
Kay gripped her as tightly as she could, held her, wishing she could swaddle her and rock her and sing to her like she used to. Instead, she stroked the back of her head over and over, rocking her body back and forth just a little. Jenna laid her head on Kay’s shoulder and didn’t budge.
Frank spotted him immediately and trekked through the middle of the park until he reached the bench that his friend sat on. Damien didn’t even look over as Frank plopped himself down, his belt and all its contents rattling against the cold wood.
“Hey,” Damien said. He looked like he was staring at clouds.
“Hey.”
Damien sighed and finally glanced at him. “Busy morning?”
“We caught the suspects in the kidnapping.”
“I figured,” Damien said, holding his phone up and inspecting it. “Edgar has now texted me eight times and called five. Breaking news.”
“Ah. Probably got tipped off from the department. Nobody can keep their mouth shut around there.” Frank adjusted his belt to sit more comfortably around his waist. “Two high school girls did it.” He faced Damien, who continued to stare upward. “Did you hear me?”
Damien nodded as if it were too much effort to speak.
Frank studied his friend for a moment. Damien looked forlorn, withdrawn, way too interested in the clouds.
A moment of silence passed; then Damien said, “I think I’m having…” His voice trailed off as if he couldn’t find the right words.
“Leg cramps?”
“No.”
“A gallbladder attack?”
“Huh-uh.”
“A nervous breakdown?”
“That’s it.”
Frank grabbed Damien’s shoulder. “Did you buy some expensive item you can’t afford?”
“No.”
“Are you cheating on Kay?”
“Of course not.”
“Have you been thinking about how to fake your own death?”
“No,” Damien said.
Frank smiled. “Then you’re fine.”
“I’m not fine. I can’t get off this bench. I can’t get myself to go back to work.”
“Talk to me.”
“I don’t know. This town, what’s happening. I’m a second-generation Marlo citizen. I always relished the quietness of this town. But it wasn’t quiet, was it? It was just hidden.”
Frank sat. Listening. That’s all he could do.
Damien turned to him, his gaze hard and unmoving. “It’s not you, is it?”
“What?”
“You’re not the one listening to everyone’s conversations, are you?”
Did Frank hear that right? “Me? Why would you think it’s me?”
“Just answer the question.”
“Of course it’s not me!” Frank stood, backing away from the bench. “How could you even think that?”
Damien shook his head, motioned for Frank to sit back down, which he did. “Sorry. Of course it’s not you. See what’s happening to me?”
“We’re all stressed. It’s normal. And people handle stress differently.” Not usually by accusing their friends, but he should let this pass. Obviously Damien wasn’t in his right mind.
“You seem on edge lately. Just kind of acting weird.” Damien stared at the clouds again.
Frank swallowed back a few words that wanted to escape… a confession he had told only one other soul.
But then Damien said, “The thing is, everyone’s acting weird. You should see Edgar. With every bad piece of news, he’s popping champagne corks. Kay’s becoming ultraobsessed with every piece of clothing our daughter wears. My coworkers make paranoia look like a new trend. It’s getting ridiculous.”
“This kind of thing, what’s happening here, it’s what gets me up in the morning. It’s my job. I fight crime.”
“I’m in the news business. It should be what gets me up in the morning too.” Damien gazed at the open expanse of the park. “Marlo Park. Lame name. We should’ve come up with something different.” He faced Frank. “I don’t know how to say this, so I’m just going to say it.”
“What?”
“It’s not just about the incident last night. There are other things on my mind.” Damien pressed his lips together as if he were holding in a mouthful of words. “If Hunter comes and talks to you, that’s cool, okay? I think he’s into some things-some things he shouldn’t be into, some things he can’t talk to me about. You’re like an uncle to the kids, and that’s good. I wish Hunter could talk to me, but if he can’t, I want him to talk to you. I didn’t want you to feel weird about it.” His phone vibrated and lit up. He read the screen, then stood. “Got to go to work.”
“What’d the message say?”
Damien turned his phone for Frank to read. Get here or you’re fired. Then he walked to his car.
Frank sat there for a moment, contemplating, when he noticed a man standing by a distant tree, seemingly watching him. He thought the man would eventually look away. Instead, he began walking toward Frank.
When he was a few yards away, Frank recognized him as Gabriella’s father, Reverend Caldwell.