“Thanks, babe.” Jacob pecked Grace on the cheek. “I really appreciate it. Come on, Mom. No time to waste.” Jacob was halfway out the door.
Ten seconds later, the house was silent except for the screech of tires out in the driveway.
Grace sank down on a chair and sighed. “This is crazy. All of it. Chief Andrews thinks it’s a murder now, Mom. He isn’t going to announce it to the press but—”
“I know, sweetheart. He told me,” Nora said. “Listen—”
“Dad went home, by the way,” Grace said. “Something came up at the office so he had call a taxi and go deal with it. Uncle Finley is out somewhere, too. So it’s just you and me right now.”
“Good.” Nora sat down next to Grace. “Sweetheart, I want you to hear this from me because, otherwise…” Nora took a breath.
“Hear what, Mom?”
“It’s...” Nora hesitated. She wanted to tell Grace about Jacob and about the fact that Chief Andrews suspected him. But she just couldn’t get the words out. She felt exhausted, like someone had dipped her in ice water and then hung her out to dry.
“Mom?” Grace sounded worried.
The door flew open and little Kaylee stepped in, a pink backpack with ponies on it dangling from one shoulder. She looked around the house, confused. “Hey, Aunt Grace. Where is everybody? The bus just dropped me and I saw the cars racing away.”
“Oh…they had to run some errands, honey.” Grace jumped up. “So do we. Will you help us cook lunch?”
“Cook?” Kaylee looked uncertain. “Grandma never allows me to cook. She says I’m too young.”
“Well, we’ll be there to help you.” Grace smiled. “And you’re not too young. I’ve been helping my mom cook since I was five!”
“Really?”
“Sure! Come on, want to help me make pie?”
“Oh yeah!” Kaylee tossed her bag on the couch.
“Go wash your hands and I’ll take out all the stuff,” Grace said.
“I’ll come with you.” Nora tried to follow her, but Grace held up a hand.
“Uh-uh. You stay here. Or, better yet, go upstairs and take a nap. You look really stressed and tired, Mom. This whole incident is clearly getting to you. I want you to relax, okay?”
Nora’s lip quivered a little. “I’m the parent, Grace. I’m the one who’s supposed to be taking care of you. Not the other way around.”
“I’m an adult, Mom. Your parenting duties are done!” Grace laughed.
“They’re never done.” Nora followed Grace into the kitchen anyway and put on an apron with “I don’t wanna Taco about it!” printed on it.
Grace laughed. “Alright. Let’s see what we have in here...” She poked her head into the fridge and rummaged around then said, “What should we do with the leftover turkey, Mom? Make sandwiches?”
“Pie,” Nora said. She looked into the fridge, too. “We can make turkey pot pie.”
“Ha. Won’t it be a bit too much pie? I was planning on baking another apple pie for dessert.”
“When you’re my age, sweetheart, you’ll find that life’s taught you a few things. For example, You Can Never Have Too Much Pie!”
“I’ll bow to your wisdom, then.” Grace grinned.
“Hey! Don’t start without me!” Kaylee rushed back in, her face shining.
*****
Like any experienced cook, after years of working in her own space, Nora felt out of sorts in this new kitchen. Back at home, she had an easy rhythm about her as she moved around grabbing ingredients from cupboards and banging on pots and pans. Here, from the shape of the sink and the positioning of the cabinets to the lack of counter space, everything felt awkward. Still, in ten minutes, just being in a warm kitchen with the oven pre-heating and a pot on the stove felt like a welcome respite after all the madness that had preceded it.
After washing their hands, Kaylee helped Grace chop up the apples as Nora melted butter in a saucepan and began stirring in onions, mushrooms and garlic. When the mixture had become tender, she stirred in flour, sage and thyme until they were blended. After this, she poured in the leftover gravy, added water and some whole milk, stirring to blend. She waited until it all came to a boil before adding in the roughly-chopped leftover turkey and some carrots and peas. While the mixture boiled, she smiled up at Grace and Kaylee, who had now moved on to rolling out the dough.
The two were covered in flour and giggling together, occasionally playing pranks on each other. Nora felt her heart tighten as she watched. Somehow, she found herself flashing back to another day, years ago. Hazel had been going through her “terrible twos”, and Grace had just entered first grade. She was talking Nora’s ears off as she rolled the dough a little too thin, standing on a chair so that she could see over the counter.
Nora hadn’t even known that particular memory was still with her, but now she could see everything as though it had been preserved in a photo album. Hazel had been hugging her one-eyed teddy bear and Grace, wearing a navy blue dress, had giggled in delight as she used a cookie cutter on the dough.
“Think it’s time to take that off the stove now, Mom?” Grace asked.
Nora blinked. “Huh? Oh. Yes.”
Kaylee helped drape the bottom crust onto the pan and Nora poured the turkey mixture onto it. After this, both she and Grace stepped aside slightly and let Kaylee create a lattice-crust on top, criss-crossing strips of dough over the pan. When it was done and the pan was inside the oven, Kaylee stared at it, her face aglow.
“I did that! Did you see, Aunt Grace? It’s bubbling now!”
“Yep. Now let’s do the same thing for our apple pie!” Grace exclaimed. They began preparing the pie, wanting it ready to pop into the oven as soon as the other one came out.
Nora, meanwhile, was feeling her stomach grumble.
“We’ll leave the pot pie for the others, I think,” Nora said. “It won’t feed us all.”
“Aw, won’t I even get a bite?” Kaylee looked crestfallen.
“Of course, you will, muffin.” Grace pressed her finger on Kaylee’s upturned nose. “But Mom’s just going to rustle up something first so we aren’t as hungry as zombies by the time the others get home.”
“Cool! What will she make?” Kaylee asked.
Nora looked into the fridge again. There was just enough of her mashed potatoes leftover that she could make a dish Grace loved.
“We’re going to make something your Aunt Grace used to eat all the time as a kid,” Nora explained to Kaylee. “In fact, she even took them to school in her lunch bag sometimes.”
“Can I help?”
“That’s why I said ‘we’!” Nora confirmed. “Can you guess what it is Grace?” She took the container of mashed potatoes out of the fridge and placed it on the counter-top, and Grace threw back her head and laughed.
“Oh, gosh. I’d forgotten how much I loved these. You’re making potato patties, right?”
“That’s right! Now let’s see what else is in the fridge...” Nora paused. “Kaylee, do you like cheese?”
“Who doesn’t?!”
“Great. Let’s get started. First, we’ll dump this shredded cheese into the mashed potatoes. We’ll add some spinach in, too, so we don’t feel too unhealthy.” Nora winked. “Ok, now use your hands and really mix them up. Go crazy!”
“Really? My hands?!” Kaylee laughed. “But I’ll make a mess!”
“That’s ok. We’ll clean it up later. Go on, be as rough as you like!”
Delighted, Kaylee smooshed the ingredients together for a few minutes, laughing like a maniac all the while. After she was done, Nora taught her how to make potato patties in the frying pan. Ten minutes later, they were all at the table, enjoying the patties together.
“I needed this.” Grace sighed, as she poured a generous amount of ketchup onto her patties.
Nora wrinkled her nose. “All that extra sodium?”
Grace stuck her tongue out. “Peace and quiet. I feel like—” She cut herself off, eye
ing Kaylee. “Things have been a mess, that’s all.”
“You mean because of Bobby Black?” Kaylee asked, still shoving patties into her mouth.
“Say what now?” Grace blinked. “You know about him?”
“Everyone at school is talking about it,” Kaylee said. “I heard my teacher tell my other teacher that he was murdered.”
Grace’s face clouded over.
“I knew him, you know,” Kaylee said.
“They…what?”
“He was teaching a dance class in our school, but then people found out he was in jail, so they fired him,” Kaylee explained.
“Oh. Wow.” Nora whistled.
“That’s…” Grace shook her head. “Kaylee, sweetheart, you never talked to him, did you?”
Kaylee’s eyes shifted sideways. “No,” she said.
“Come on, Kaylee.” Grace’s sharp eyes caught her deception. “Tell the truth.”
“I didn’t exactly talk to him myself,” Kaylee said. “But one time, Aunt Ramona was dropping me off at school and I think Bobby Black was flirting with her.”
“What?!”
“They seemed to like each other,” Kaylee said. “Aunt Ramona told him she would see him at dance class later. Bobby asked if I was her daughter and Ramona just laughed and said, ‘not a chance’.” Kaylee looked hurt. “I don’t think Aunt Ramona likes me, you know.”
Grace’s lips pressed together. “Why don’t you think Aunt Ramona likes you?”
“Well, she pretends to, but I don’t think she actually does,” Kaylee said. “Not like you, Aunt Grace. My grandma likes Ramona but I’m glad Uncle Jacob chose you.”
Before Grace could reply to this, the door was pushed open and the Jacob’s family walked in with Lucas leading the pack. He glared at Nora, contempt written on his face. Grace, not noticing, jumped up happily.
“Hello!” Grace jumped up and said. “We’re so glad you’re back! We were so worried. What did Chief Andrews…you know what…no. We can talk about that later. Right now, you all must be hungry. We made turkey pot pie.”
“I made the crust!” Kaylee exclaimed. “Aunt Nora said there may not be enough for everybody but I want a slice! Pleeeeaaase?”
“Grace.” Jacob stepped forward, his face serious. “I need to talk to you. Alone.”
“What is it?” Grace looked worried.
“Come on.” Jacob cocked his head to the door. “Let’s go for a walk.”
“Wait!” Nora sprang up, suddenly realizing she’d never gotten a chance to tell Grace about Jacob.
Jacob put up his palm. “Please, Nora. Just give us five minutes alone.”
“Of course! We’ll be right back.” Grace was already following him out.
Nora turned to the others who were all eyeing her as though she were an unpleasant sight. Squaring her shoulders, she prepared herself for whatever would come next.
*****
Chapter 17
The Meeting In The Woods
Jacob strode out, lost in thought. Grace had to jog to keep up with him. Confused, she caught his hand and squeezed it.
“What is it, sweetheart?” Grace asked. “Whatever it is, I’m here for you. Does Chief Andrews have some evidence against Lucas? Is the lawyer helping? I can ask my Dad if you think someone else—”
“Grace…” Jacob held up a finger. “Just give me a minute. I need to sort out the thoughts in my head.”
Grace stilled. She’d never seen Jacob act like this before. He was in a strange mood. His eyes were almost panicked, even though his body was held stiff.
“Jacob?” Grace pulled at his hand, forcing him to stop. They stood surrounded by the woods now, with dirt trails stretching out in a criss-cross around them. Behind them, the Giordano house stood like some ancient temple, grim and full of its own legends.
Jacob bowed his head for a second, then looked up at Grace. “I messed up,” he said.
“What are you talking about?”
“I found the body. I told the police that I had no idea who the dead man was,” Jacob said. “Remember that?”
“Of course, I do.” Grace nodded. “But what’s—”
“That wasn’t true,” Jacob said. “I’d met him earlier that day. I even talked to him.”
“What?!”
Jacob nodded. “That morning, Kaylee didn’t have regular school since it was Thanksgiving, but she had her ballet class. I dropped her off and then I took a shortcut back through the woods. Bobby Black…I think he was following me, though I’m not sure. He stopped me a ways from the house and told me we needed to talk.”
“Bobby Black met you that morning?”
Jacob nodded. “His face looked familiar, the way faces do when you’ve seen them around town all your life, but I didn’t know who he was. He introduced himself and then said that we had unfinished business.”
“Unfinished…what could you possibly have to do with that…criminal?”
“I didn’t…I don’t know,” Jacob said. “The truth is, I was spooked. I asked him what he wanted to talk about but he acted as though he was just as uncomfortable. He wouldn’t tell me. He said something about family history and bloodlines. But then Lucas jogged by and Bobby seemed to lose his nerve altogether. He bolted.”
“Family history?” Grace’s brows knit together. “But wait, why did you lie to the police? You said you didn’t recognize him.”
“I didn’t,” Jacob said. “It was dark when I found the body and I…I don’t know how to explain it to you…but I was in shock. I’d had a few glasses of wine with dinner, remember, so I wasn’t fully steady. All I saw was a body…a stranger. My mind felt like it was swimming in molasses. I promise you, Grace, I was telling the truth — in the sense that I believed it totally. I really thought I’d never seen him before. I just didn’t make the connection between the man who’d stopped me that morning — an incident I’d dismissed as a random crazy dude trying to get money or something from me — and this dead body inside my home.” Jacob swiped his hand over his eyes. “You don’t believe me, do you?”
Grace hesitated, then put a hand on his shoulder. “Of course, I believe you, sweetheart. If you say you didn’t recognize him, then you didn’t. It’s perfectly plausible.”
“By the time I realized that he was the same man who’d stopped me in the woods that morning, I’d already given my testimony to the police,” Jacob said. “I admit it, I got scared. I wanted to tell Chief Andrews but…I just…didn’t. It was a mistake. A huge mistake.”
“So how did Chief Andrews find out?”
“Lucas jogged by and saw me and Bobby that morning. He didn’t want to tell the police, but your mother forced him to. So now… here I am.”
“My mom?” Grace blinked. “Well…I suppose she’s a big believer in telling the truth.”
“Yeah, I know. I don’t blame her. It’s just that now, instead of me telling the police voluntarily, which I would have done if I’d just had some time, well…now it just looks like I lied to them.”
“Well, they can’t arrest you based on flimsy evidence like this,” Grace said. “You didn’t lie to them and that’s all that matters. You just had a shock and a mixed-up memory. That’s okay. It doesn’t mean Chief Andrews will paint you as a killer.”
“The thing is…” Jacob sighed. “I messed up in more ways than one. Because I did lie to the Chief. About something else…”
“What?!”
“Remember I told you I was in the kitchen getting water when I heard the scream that night?” Jacob asked.
“Yeah?”
“That was a lie,” he said.
Grace felt like the world had suddenly compressed itself into a tunnel. The woods, the grass, the chirping birds all seemed to vanish, and all she could see was Jacob. Every inch of him. He was dressed in a plaid shirt that she’d seen hundreds of times. Only now she could see each small wrinkle and flaw on it. His blue eyes were clouded over like thunderstorms were imminent and his mouth was curling a bit to
the side.
“Look, I need to explain,” he said. “I just can’t seem to find the right words.”
“You’re scaring me, Jacob.”
“I’m scared myself. I’m being investigated by the police!” Jacob said. “I lied in self-preservation, really. I don’t know why I was such an idiot. It’s just…I’ve seen how rumors have impacted my mom’s life and I guess I was trying to protect myself from them. I’m an idiot, I know.”
“Of course, you are. This looks really bad, Jacob. I’m not going to lie,” Grace said. “Where were you that night if it wasn’t the kitchen?”
Jacob took a breath. “After you and Mom and Uncle Finley went off to sleep, I was downstairs alone,” Jacob said. “I locked up the house and was ready to turn in. But then…I got a phone call.”
“Who was it?” Grace felt her heart sink, somehow knowing the answer before Jacob said it.
“Ramona.”
Grace turned away. She didn’t want to hear any more. She squeezed her eyes shut. “You went to her.”
“No! Grace, please! It’s not what you think. Please just listen to me.”
“Why should I? There’s nothing more to say, is there? I knew Ramona was in love with you since the day I met her. You kept defending her—”
“Because you’re wrong about Ramona. She’s just a friend. She has no interest in me. More importantly, I have no interest in her.”
“Oh, please! She was flirting with you all Thanksgiving. I thought I could trust you totally. But you really let me down, Jacob. I feel like such a fool.”
“Sweetheart,” Jacob caught her by the waist, pulling her to him. “It’s not what you think, I promise.”
“Don’t call me that!” Grace clenched her fists. “And don’t touch me, either.”
Jacob dropped his hand and stepped back.
“Finish your explanation,” Grace said. “So Ramona called you over after midnight and, like a good little boy, you went running to her.” She couldn’t keep the bitterness from her voice. Her heart felt like iron bands were squeezing it tight. Jacob had betrayed her.
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