The Fire and the Veil (Veronica Barry Book 2)

by Sophia Martin

  “Um, you haven’t said anything,” Daniel said. “I take it your silence is agreement?”

  “No,” Veronica said. “I’m sorry. I just have a hundred things running through my head right now. But I’d like to meet your family. I’m a little nervous, though.”

  Daniel chuckled. “You can face the ghosts of murder victims but you’re afraid of my family?”

  “The ghosts scare me too.”

  “You’ll be fine, Ronnie. I’ll be at your place around five, okay? Samchon Jung-Hwa and Sukmo Eun Hee like to eat by six.”

  “Alright, see you then.”

  ~~~

  Veronica picked at her pancakes until Melanie abruptly put down her fork.

  “What’s going on?” Melanie demanded.

  Angie blinked and looked at her mother, then realized that the outburst wasn’t directed at her, and looked at Veronica.

  “I’m just worried about Lola’s sister,” Veronica said. “I think she’s in danger.”

  “Lola Hekili?” Angie said.

  “Yeah,” Veronica said.

  “I heard she’s in juvie,” Angie said.

  Veronica nodded. “She’s in a lot of trouble.”

  Angie frowned. “Her sister’s name is Lei, right? I think she was over at Alicia Hall’s a couple of days ago.”

  “What makes you say that?” Melanie asked.

  “Alicia was at the party,” Angie said. “I guess Alicia’s little sister Dory is friends with Lei. Alicia kept talking about what a mess Lei and Dory made in the kitchen and how she had to clean it up.” Angie paused to eat a bit of pancake. Veronica stared at her, not wanting to say anything, afraid that if she did, Angie would clam up. “She was upset, too,” Angie continued after a moment, “because she said nobody came to pick Lei up. They just didn’t come.”

  “They didn’t come?” Melanie said.

  “Yeah. She said Lei spent the night and went to school with Dory the next day, but it didn’t sound like that was planned at all.”

  “Did her parents try to call Lei’s parents?” Melanie asked.

  Angie shrugged.

  Veronica put a hand on her mouth and tried to think. Lei did not seem to be in the house when she saw Paul arguing with his father or setting the fire. It could very well be that she was at her friend’s house when it happened. But thinking back, Veronica thought she remembered Owen Carver saying something about picking Lei up. In the next vision she’d had, he and Terri were in bed. Why hadn’t they gone to get Lei? Something else must have happened between the two visions. Why hadn’t she seen it? The last thing she could remember about the first vision she’d had in the ruins of the house was Terri—herself in the vision—walking down the hall towards Paul, on her way, presumably, to pick up Lei. Then the vision ended. What happened?

  Maybe Paul hit her. Maybe he knocked her out. Maybe he knocked both Terri and Owen out. Could he have dragged them into their bedroom? It had seemed odd, she thought now, that they would both just go to sleep when Paul was so obviously furious. It seemed like they might have woken up, hearing him moving around out in the hall. Maybe they didn’t because he’d already hurt them.

  If Paul had hurt them, would that be something that a medical examiner would figure out? Or were their bodies too badly damaged in the fire?

  Veronica tapped a finger on the end of the table, obvious to her cooling pancakes. Melanie’s hand slapped down on the finger.

  “V.”

  Veronica forced her eyes to focus on her friend’s face.

  “What is going through your head?” Melanie asked.

  “I think I need to talk to Daniel,” Veronica said. “And then I think I need to find Leinani Hekili.”

  “How?” Angie asked.

  As Veronica’s eyes caught sight of Carrotonio lying on his side on the kitchen counter, she felt a rush of energy and resolve. “The same way I found you.”

  Chapter 16

  Maybe it was because she phrased it that way, but after she made the statement, Angie insisted on coming along. And where Angie went, Mel would follow. So they all piled into Melanie’s car, with Melanie driving, as Veronica dialed Daniel.

  “Hey,” he answered.

  “Do you know the ME well enough to ask him some questions?” Veronica asked.

  Daniel paused. “Uh… that depends. I have to be careful. You don’t want a defense attorney saying the detectives on a case skewed the report.”

  Veronica inhaled deeply and told herself to be patient. “Okay. But you’re not the detective on the Carver case, right? It’s not even through Sac PD.”

  “True.”

  “So could you maybe have an informal conversation with the ME?”

  “Possibly.”

  Melanie glanced over at Veronica as she steered the car towards the Carver’s neighborhood.

  “Okay,” Veronica said to Daniel. “So ask him if there’s any sign that Terri got knocked out—well, both of them. I think maybe Paul hurt them before he burned the house.”

  “You think he knocked them out?”

  “It fits with a few other puzzle pieces.”

  Daniel said nothing.

  “I mean, I don’t expect you to convince the ME to lie about it or something. Just ask if he saw anything like that when he did the autopsies.”

  “I’ll talk to him,” Daniel said.

  “Today?”

  “I’ll go over there now.”

  “Thanks.”

  “See you later.”

  Veronica put the phone in the front pocket of her jeans. As they approached the scene of the arson, the hairs on the back of her neck prickled, and goose bumps spread over her arms. This is the only way, she reasoned. I have to find Leinani.

  Melanie pulled up to the curb in front of the house still marked off in yellow tape. No one worked the scene now, though. Veronica exited the car and Angie and Melanie followed her. Veronica strode over to the piles of toys on the lawn. She squatted by the stuffed animals and after a moment’s consideration, she reached out and touched the blue dog.

  ~~~

  Lei clutching the blue dog, hiding between her bed and the wall, people shouting outside the door.

  ~~~

  Lei’s arms around the blue dog, curled on her side on the couch, watching TV as Lola danced in a frenzy around the room, angrily singing off key.

  ~~~

  The blue dog hanging from one of Lei’s hands as she froze in a doorway, watching Owen Carver slap her mother.

  ~~~

  Veronica pulled her hand away.

  “Come on,” she whispered. “Show me where Lei is now.”

  She wrapped her fingers around the dog’s paw again.

  ~~~

  Red plastic jungle gym with yellow ladder visible through a window across from her. The table hit her at about chest level. A small half-eaten burger rested on a wrapper. Across the table, a large hand pulled French fries from a red carton. Yes, this must be Lei’s view.

  The wrapper and carton had the trademark yellow “M.”

  Come on, Veronica thought. Which McDonald’s?

  “Finish that,” Paul said, stuffing a fry in his mouth.

  Small hands took up the burger and brought it to her mouth. It tasted like congealed grease.

  She chewed the bite and looked at the jungle gym through the window again. “I want to go climb,” she said.

  “Forget it. Eat that,” Paul said. “I got business in a half hour across town.”

  Leinani turned away from him, her gaze veering out of the window on the wall to her right. Veronica spotted a USBank.

  ~~~

  She released the stuffed dog and stood up. “Melanie,” she said. “Where is there a McDonald’s across from a USBank?”

  “It’s on Hurley and Howe,” Angie said. Melanie turned and raised her eyebrows at her. “I went there a few days ago after school with the club. It’s near the mall.” Melanie kept eyeing her. “I got money out at the USBank so I could buy a Happy Meal.”

/>   “Okay,” Veronica said and produced her phone, hitting send to call back Daniel.

  “Hey,” he answered. “I talked to Doc Ortiz, he was getting to the autopsies tomorrow but he’s going to go in today instead. He said he’ll check especially for any blunt trauma.”

  “Good. Thank you, Daniel. Look, I know where Paul is, but he’s not going to be there much longer.”

  “Paul Carver? Where?”

  “McDonald’s on Howe and—” she looked at Angie.

  “Hurley.”

  “Hurley,” Veronica echoed.

  “Okay, I’ll tell dispatch to send anyone they’ve got nearby,” Daniel said.

  “Daniel, I don’t want Lei to just disappear into the system,” Veronica said.

  “I’ll see what I can do,” he said.

  Veronica closed her eyes and breathed in, the smell of burned things tainting the air. “Thanks,” she murmured, and hung up.

  When she opened her eyes, Melanie and Angie stood looking at her.

  “He’s going to tell dispatch to send whoever they’ve got,” Veronica told them.

  “This is off the hook,” Angie said.

  Melanie glanced at her, then turned back to Veronica. “Okay. Well, we’ve done what we can, right? Or do you want to drive over there?”

  Veronica considered this. “I doubt we’d make it in time—the cops will get there before us and take Paul in, or he’ll leave before they get there—either way, we’ll arrive long after it’s over.”

  Melanie nodded. Angie frowned.

  “I think maybe it’s just time for me to go home now,” Veronica said.

  “Aw,” Angie said.

  Melanie smiled. “You’re going to meet Daniel’s parents tonight, huh?”

  Veronica smiled back. “I guess so.”

  “You sure you don’t want to go shopping for something to wear? Weren’t we going to do some retail therapy?”

  Veronica’s eyebrows drew together. “You know, I do remember something about that.” What else could she do? If anything could be done for Lola, she’d do it, but finding Lei had been the only goal she had, and now the cops had to play their part. “It might be nice to have something new to wear tonight.”

  “Shopping?” Angie said, brightening. “Yes!”

  ~~~

  Which meant going to the mall, Veronica realized. No one suggested that they take Howe, but Melanie did. As they approached the big M, everyone’s attention focused out of the car windows. Within a block they could see the flashing lights of two patrol cars.

  “Yes!” Angie exclaimed.

  Melanie slowed down as they approached, and Veronica spotted a figure in the back seat of one car. “I think they got him!” she exclaimed.

  “Look, that’s Lei!” Angie said, pointing to the other car.

  Sure enough, a small silhouette could be seen in the back seat sitting beside a uniformed officer.

  Veronica’s heart pounded. She didn’t know whether she was more relieved that they’d arrested Paul or worried about what would happen to Leinani. She turned to keep looking as Melanie drove past the McDonald’s.

  “Do you want me to stop?” Melanie asked.

  Veronica hesitated. “No. Those cops don’t know me. They’ll just think we’re looky-loos.”

  “Okay,” Melanie said, and picked up speed.

  As they wandered through the mall, Veronica found it hard to concentrate on the task of finding something to wear to Daniel’s family dinner. Angie kept up a stream of excited chatter that didn’t help either.

  “I’m going to tell Shona and the others it happened at that same McDonald’s,” she said. “I can’t believe we got somebody arrested.”

  “Hey, Ange, don’t tell them about… what I can do, okay?”

  Ange paused and peered at Veronica. “Sure. Okay. I’ll say we were going to the bank and we spotted them in the McDonald’s, and that you’re dating a detective…”

  Veronica stifled a groan. She did not want her life to become the topic of teenage discussion, but from the looks of it, she’d never find a way to rein Angie in now. The best she could hope for was that Angie wouldn’t out her as a psychic. That was a headache Veronica preferred to do without.

  Melanie pointed out sale signs and Veronica followed her into one store after another, but her heart wasn’t in the shopping. Between worrying about Angie gossiping about her and Lei disappearing into foster care she couldn’t muster any enthusiasm even when Melanie found a 70% off rack.

  “It’s okay, Mellie, I’ve got a blouse I like already,” Veronica said at last.

  Melanie knit her eyebrows as she pulled a sleeve of a dress to get a better look at it. “You sure, hon? You nervous about tonight?”

  “Actually, no,” Veronica said. “I haven’t been thinking about that.” She glanced at Angie who stood a few feet away, punching keys on her phone with both thumbs. “I just really don’t want to start getting parent calls.”

  Melanie let go of the sleeve. “Parent calls?”

  “Yeah. As in, ‘Miss Barry, my daughter Alicia says you’re a psychic. What’s this nonsense all about?’”

  “Oh,” Melanie said, glancing at Angie. “You want me to talk to her?”

  Veronica shrugged. “I already asked her not to mention it. Do you think she’ll slip?”

  Melanie narrowed her eyes. “My Angie? Evil mastermind? Slip? Not unless she means to, and I know she doesn’t want to hurt you, V.”

  Veronica smiled. It had been a while since Melanie called Angie an evil mastermind, but true enough, Angie could be deviously clever. Maybe Melanie calling her that meant things would finally go back to normal with them. Veronica hoped so.

  “It’s not just that,” she said. “I’m worried about Leinani Hekili.”

  “Yeah?”

  “Yeah. This little girl has been through so much already, and now she’s about to get swallowed up by the system.”

  Melanie gave her a sympathetic smile. “That sucks. But what can you do? You’ve done everything you can. You got her away from that Paul person. He was bad news, right?”

  Veronica nodded. “Yeah. I hope he didn’t have a chance to hurt her.” But she suspected he had. He’d taken her from school on Friday—he’d had her to himself for over 24 hours. Veronica rubbed her eyes. If only she could make sure Lei would be safe wherever they placed her. She should have kept the blue dog, she realized. She could have tried to watch over her, from afar, at least.

  Chapter 17

  Veronica opened the door as Harry barked and hopped up and down. Daniel stood in her porch light, smiling. He wore jeans and a navy sweater. He looked really, really good. Maybe nervousness had finally caught up with her, but Veronica suddenly wanted to suggest that they stay in and watch movies tonight. But she couldn’t do that.

  He reached for her and slipped a hand behind her waist, pulling her close and kissing her mouth. It took her by surprise, and she relaxed into it, enjoying the feel of his lips, the smell of his skin.

  “Hey,” he said as he pulled away. “You just look so nice, I had to kiss you.”

  Veronica felt a smile spread on her face. How odd it was that she’d have episodes where the only logical choice seemed to be to break up with him, and then at other times he’d make her feel so good! “You look pretty good yourself,” she said.

  “Ready to go?” he asked, leaning down to give Harry a pat on the head.

  “Let me put him out back and then yes,” Veronica said.

  She scratched Harry behind the ears before sending him to the back yard. With a quick look around the kitchen and the living room, she determined that nothing else needed her attention, and she had no excuse to delay any longer.

  “Alright,” she said as she approached Daniel, who waited by the door. “Hey, how do you say hello in Korean?”

  “Anhyonghaseyo.”

  “Wow. I’m getting nervous,” Veronica admitted, stopping in front of him.

  “It’ll be fine.”

&nbs
p; “I don’t know anything about how to be polite in Korean culture.”

  “They know that, and they’ll forgive you your trespasses.”

  Veronica gave him a wide-eyed look. “I’d rather not trespass to begin with.”

  “Fine. Don’t stick any spoons or chopsticks into the rice, don’t be picky about food, eat a bit or a lot of everything, and don’t show lack of appetite. Generally, it’s more polite to ask for seconds.”

  “Oh god.”

  Daniel grinned at her and opened the door.

  ~~~

  Daniel’s aunt Eun Hee and uncle Jung-Hwa lived in a medium-sized house off of M Street not very far from Veronica’s own neighborhood. Veronica’s heart thumped as they opened the door. Daniel mounted the steps and Eun Hee and Jung-Hwa came out together to greet Veronica with smiles. Daniel gave them quick head bows, saying “Anhyonghaseyo.”

  Veronica mimicked him awkwardly, “Anhyonghaseyo.”

  “Oh! Listen, Eun Hee,” said Jung-Hwa. “She speaks Korean.” He beamed at Veronica and Eun Hee nodded with a wide smile.

  “Very nice,” she said.

  The two of them led the way inside.

  Veronica had met Jung-Hwa when Daniel asked him over to check on his fish, and he had not changed: a short, stocky man with gray hair in a comb-over, wearing khaki slacks and a blue button-down shirt. His wife stood perhaps an inch or two taller than him. She wore her near-black hair in a short bob and dressed in maroon pants and a cream-colored polo.

  “How is work, Danny?” Jung-Hwa asked as he ushered them into the living room. A large TV dominated it, with a sectional couch upholstered in red and white stripes.

  “Fine, Samchon Jung-Hwa,” Daniel said.

  “Catching lots of bad guys?” Jung-Hwa asked.

  “Every day,” Daniel said. “How is the store?”

  “We just got a shipment of new corals. You should come by.”

  Daniel raised his eyebrows. “I’ll come tomorrow,” he said. Jung-Hwa gave a nod and then excused himself.

  A young woman appeared from the kitchen, wiping her hands on a towel. She had a Betty Page hairstyle and she wore bright red lipstick and a retro house dress of white polka dots on a red background.