by Dianne Emley
Nan now held her phone away to protect her eardrums from Kaitlyn’s ear-shattering enthusiasm as she said, “We’d love to take Emily for the weekend. Maybe to the Four Seasons Biltmore in Santa Barbara.”
But of course, Nan thought.
“Em and I can go shopping and do girly stuff and take her mind off everything that she’s been going through.”
“Kaitlyn, that’s generous of you and Wes, but Em’s been through an ordeal and I think it’s best for her to rest at home. She’s still asleep. She’s not up to shopping and running around and whatnot.” Emily’s welfare was Nan’s primary concern, but she also wanted to keep her close. She couldn’t shake the image of her unconscious daughter’s deathly pale and clammy skin and seeing her limp body being carried like a rag doll.
“I’m not talking about just shopping. I think Em could use time to decompress, out of her environment.”
Kaitlyn’s voice had taken on a patronizing tone that got under Nan’s skin. “What environment are you referring to?”
“Well, you know, I mean that Emily could use a break and some girl talk. Ashton is Em’s first true love and this has all got to be so difficult and confusing for her.”
Nan bristled at her suggestion. Kaitlyn and Wes had been married for ten years, and for a long time Emily’s relationship with her stepmother had been contentious. More recently, though, Em had begun to consider Kaitlyn as an older, wiser sister and had started to enjoy spending time with her five- and seven-year-old half brothers. Nan thought it was all positive. It was healthier for everyone in the family if the extended Vining clan held hands and sang “Kumbaya” around a virtual campfire. Now, though, she felt unsettled about Emily’s closeness and the sharing of confidences with Kaitlyn. Just like Becky McCarthy seemed to know more about what was going on in Emily’s life than Nan did, she wondered what Em had confided to Kaitlyn and kept from her.
“Thank you, Kaitlyn, but Emily’s staying home this weekend. What’s best for her is quiet and rest and not buying more clothes and having mani-pedis and whatever the hell else you do to try to buy Emily’s affection.”
Kaitlyn huffed. “That’s offensive, Nan. I don’t try to buy Emily’s affection. I’ve nurtured her love. Wes and I give her a normal life, something that you either can’t or won’t do.”
“Some of us have to work for a living. Why don’t you go have a massage or a Pilates session and I’ll check in with you later.”
“Nan, maybe you should have a massage. It would do you good to relax every once in a while.”
Nan started to speak but Kaitlyn interrupted. “I wasn’t going to bring this up now, but Wes and I have discussed Emily living with us and transferring to school out here. Calabasas has an excellent high school with a better reputation than that little school Emily goes to.”
“Think you might have mentioned this to me or Emily?”
“Emily brought it up to us. Then Ashton entered her life and she dropped the idea. I think a separation from that entire world would do Em good. You’ve done a great job raising Em. Truly. But she’s going on seventeen. Your work hours are so crazy. I’m a stay-at-home mom and can keep a closer eye on her. She can be a free-spirited girl, as you know.”
Nan swallowed hard. How had Emily grown so distant that she’d been keeping a raft of secrets from her? She calmly said to Kaitlyn, “That’s something we can discuss as a family when Emily is feeling better. I’ll call you later with an update.”
She had just been patting herself on the back for never losing a battle but she feared she might be losing the most important thing in her life: her daughter’s love and respect.
Chapter 29
It was nearly ten A.M. when Emily woke up. Her eyelids were heavy and she felt groggy. It took her a moment to remember why she was in her mom’s bed. When she did remember, she closed her eyes again and heaved out a sigh, remembering the memorial, the party, and the scene by Ashton’s pool. It all seemed like a nightmare, but it had really happened. She pushed herself up, pulling pillows with her to lean against the headboard, and rolled her head around as she tried to fully wake up. She was still a little nauseated and her throat was parched. She was glad to see that her mom had left a glass of water for her on the nightstand. She drank half of it as she looked around for her cell phone. She saw it in its purple cover on a dresser across the room.
She slowly got to her feet, tentatively walked to get the phone, and returned to the bed. Her mom had turned the phone’s power off. She turned it on. Once it came up, texts starting coming in. Some were from Aubrey and other friends who’d heard what had happened. Most of them were from Ashton.
Where r u?
R u there? R u OK?
Text me. I want to c u.
U have to be awake by now. I’m sorry. I had nothing 2 do w the roofie. I swear. But I was dumb 4 not calling 911 or your mom. Can u forgive me? Logan n Max r sorry 2.
Emily hadn’t had time to think about the whole situation last night with him, but she knew she didn’t want to see him.
She texted: Just woke up. I believe u about the roofie, but I’m mad about how u behaved. I’m still sick. Talk later.
Ashton texted back immediately: A roofie doesn’t make u sick for that long. Come meet me.
She responded: I can’t c u. How do u know so much about roofies?
Ashton: Everyone knows. Cop’s daughter. Thought u would know.
Emily: GTG. Sleepy. Bye.
Ashton: I’m not lying 2 u. I had nothing to do with what happened to u or Max or Logan.
Emily was mad and texted: U got kicked out of poly and u lost ur license bc of DUI. U lied to me about that. She didn’t know for sure that was actually what had happened but given Ashton’s crummy behavior last night, she accepted that her mom’s take on the situation might be right.
Ashton: That’s not what happened. Who told u that? Ur mom?
Emily: We need to take a break. I’m confused and need to think.
Ashton: That’s what ur mom wants u 2 do.
Emily scowled as she typed: I have a mind of my own.
Ashton: I need 2 see you. I want 2 tell you I’m sorry in person.
Emily: GTG. Bye.
—
It was nearly ten-thirty A.M. when Emily trudged into the kitchen.
Nan shut the top of her laptop and turned over the yellow pad on which she’d been making notes about the Silver Spur case. “Good morning, sunshine. How do you feel?”
Emily rubbed her eyes and shuffled in her slippers to the kitchen table, where she plopped onto a chair. “Spacey.”
“How’s your head?”
Em sat back in the chair and frowned as she assessed how she felt. “A little headache. Not as bad as last night.”
“How about your stomach?”
“Feels okay. I’m hungry.”
Nan grinned. “That’s great news.” She stood, gave Em a hug, and kissed the top of her head. “Want some scrambled eggs or…” She went to a cabinet and began moving boxes around, turning with a box in her hand. “Cream of Wheat? Granny’s remedy for an upset stomach.” She pulled open the tab on the box and sniffed the contents. She made a face and looked at the expiration date. It was two years past. She rarely adhered to expiration dates but this went beyond even her lax standards. She threw the box into the garbage.
Emily raked her fingers through her tangled hair. “Blech. How about a smoothie?”
Nan opened the refrigerator. She could have pulled together a fruit and veggie smoothie but she wanted to cook for her daughter. “Let me make you scrambled eggs. I can put in spinach and feta cheese. Sound good?”
“Okay.” Emily took her phone from a pocket of her robe and began tapping the screen with her thumbs. “Beat the eggs a lot, with all the whites mixed in. And coffee, please.”
“Yes, princess,” Nan said with a wink as she set a small glass of orange juice on the table in front of Em.
Em looked up at her. “I don’t drink orange juice.”
&
nbsp; “Since when?”
“Since forever. Has too much sugar.”
“Maybe you can choke some down today.” Nan was glad to see that Em’s eyes were clear and bright.
“Mom, I don’t want OJ. Do you even listen to what I say? What I desperately need is coffee.”
Nan let the snarky retort go. She wondered if Becky McCarthy or Kaitlyn knew about Em’s aversion to orange juice or if she would be as nasty if they’d offered her some. She filled a mug with coffee, added a splash of milk from a container in the refrigerator, and set the coffee in front of her daughter.
“Thanks, Mom.”
“You’re welcome.” Nan poured juice for herself. She put a little olive oil in a frying pan and set it over a flame, then took a bag of prewashed spinach from the refrigerator, tore leaves into the skillet, and began sautéing them. She got a bowl and started breaking eggs into it. “Blueberry bagel?”
“Sounds good.”
Nan was glad that Emily was no longer concerned about eating gluten. The girl wasn’t allergic to it but had gone through a recent stint in which she’d decided it was evil.
Emily had set down her cell phone and was watching her mother. “Thanks for making breakfast.”
“I’m happy to do it, sweet pea.” Nan detected Em’s prickliness receding and sensed that something was on her mind. She reached for the shaker of table salt but corrected herself and grabbed a grinder of pink Himalayan sea salt that Emily had bought and gave a few twists over the eggs. She poured a little milk into the eggs and began whipping them with a whisk.
Emily was still looking at her mom with an undercurrent of anxiety. “Are Ashton and Logan and Max going to get into trouble?”
“Not so far. There’s no evidence or witnesses linking Ashton or his two buddies to your spiked beer. However, the doctor had to make a report to the police about your urine testing positive for Rohypnol. Early this morning the police served a search warrant at Ashton’s house.”
Emily said under her breath, “Great.”
“They didn’t find any Rohypnol or illegal drugs.” Nan knew that Leo Balsam would have anticipated the possibility of a search warrant and would have already gotten rid of anything illegal.
As Nan stirred the eggs with a spatula, she caught Emily out of the corner of her eye turning her coffee mug on the table as she stared into it. The air was heavy with things unsaid on both their parts. Nan tossed crumbled feta cheese into the pan, folded it into the scrambled eggs and spinach mixture, and finished cooking the eggs, making them fluffy and not dry, the way Emily liked them. She turned off the burner and put a lid over the pan to keep the eggs warm.
It was Emily’s job to set the table, but Nan let it go this time, picking up the laptop and yellow pad and taking out plates, silverware, and napkins. “Have you heard from Ashton?”
Still looking down, Em grimaced. “Yes. He said he’s sorry and what he did was dumb and hopes I can forgive him. He swears he didn’t have anything to do with the roofie and that Max and Logan didn’t either. He’s known them since, like, forever. Since grammar school.”
Her phone, lying faceup on the table, buzzed with an incoming text. She leaned to look at the preview, pressed her lips together, and didn’t reach for her phone to read the entire message.
“Mom, I’ll never believe that Ashton gave me a roofie. He’s not like that.” Emily brought the mug of coffee to her lips with both hands. “But I am mad at him and Max and Logan. I mean, I’m unconscious and they’re carrying me someplace rather than calling 911 or calling you? Seriously?” She sharply set down the mug, leaned back in the chair, and again dragged her fingers through her hair.
Nan scraped butter onto the toasted bagels. “Where do things stand between you and Ashton?”
“I’m glad he apologized but I don’t know where to go with that. I would never put somebody in danger like that. He supposedly cares about me but he sure didn’t act that way last night. I could have died. I know he’s not a bad person but sometimes I can’t figure him out.”
Nan filled two plates with food and set one in front of Emily and the other at her own place setting. She refilled their coffee mugs, sat down, and took a bite of the eggs. She was impressed by how good they were. She had become a better cook since she’d been with Jim, who was an excellent cook.
Emily said, “Really good, Mom.”
“Thank you, sweetheart.”
The girl slowly ate in silence. She bit into a bagel half and studied its surface as she chewed.
Nan felt as if she were pulling teeth. She rephrased her earlier question. “How will you go forward with Ashton?”
“I told him that we need to take a break. That I’m confused and I need to think.”
“Did he respect that?”
Emily’s phone again buzzed with an incoming text. She frowned at the screen and shook her head, not touching the phone. “Obviously not. That’s him again. Are you there? So annoying. He said that you put me up to telling him that I need a break. I’m like, ‘No, I have a mind of my own.’ He’s all, ‘I need to see you. I need to tell you I’m sorry in person.’ ”
Nan looked at Emily as she held a forkful of egg in the air. “I’m happy to talk to Ashton and his parents.”
“Mom, I’m can handle him. He hates being told what to do. That’s his problem. It’s like he’s giving up power or something. Maybe I’ll just tell him it’s over. I feel like it is for me.” She dug into her food.
“You should follow your instincts.” Nan took a bite of her bagel and changed the subject. “I called Principal Rivers this morning. Told her you wouldn’t be in school today. She said she’d already had a meeting first thing this morning with Ashton and his mom and stepdad. There’s no evidence of any wrongdoing on his part, so he’s attending classes as normal.”
“It’s fine, Mom. School will be out soon for summer break so I’ll only have to see him around for another few weeks.” She kept eating as she wiped away a tear. “I’m sorry, Mom. I was stupid about Ashton.”
“It’s okay, sweetheart. We all make mistakes. You learn from them and move on.”
“Yeah.”
“Ashton is cute.” Nan set her fork on top of her empty plate. She’d been working on eating more slowly but all the years of grabbing quick meals while on the job had taken a toll.
Emily smiled. “Yeah. He is.”
“And a charmer. He can make a career for himself as a politician…if he can stay out of jail.”
Emily smiled halfheartedly. “He’s done some things that make me wonder about that.”
“What do you mean?” Nan didn’t realize that she was holding her breath as she waited for Emily to speak.
After a long pause, Emily said, “Mom, I have to tell you something I saw.”
Chapter 30
“I found out that Ashton’s friends with this gangbanger, Nacy Dena,” Emily said. “Well, I don’t know if they’re friends exactly but they’re friendly. I think maybe you saw Nacy Dena with me and Ashton at the memorial?”
“I did. I also saw Nacy and his crew on the street in front of Ashton’s house not long before I found you unconscious.”
“Nacy was at the party. Ashton told me that he had to talk to him and for me to get a beer. I went over to the keg and they went to a corner of the patio and were huddled there. I thought Ashton might be buying pot from him.” Emily raised her hands, palms out. “Ashton smokes pot, okay? I don’t, so don’t even go there. I’ve never touched it.”
“Did you see them exchange anything or did one of them set something down and the other pick it up?”
“I saw Ashton showing Nacy something that he took from his jeans pocket. They were standing close, kind of turned away. Nacy reached for it but Ashton closed his hand real fast and backed up and started smiling and shaking his head, like Nacy wasn’t getting his hands on it. Nacy followed Ashton and I had the impression that he was trying to make a deal. He and Ashton went back and forth talking until Nacy looked like
he was ticked off and walked back to his friends. Ashton came over to me.
“I said, ‘What’s going on?’ And he’s like, ‘Trying to do a little business.’ I said, ‘If it’s drugs, don’t tell me about it,’ and he said, ‘Something better than drugs. If Nacy wants it, he has to give me my price.’ I said, ‘What is it? Why the big secret?’ He said, ‘Can’t tell you, but it’s cool.’ I said, ‘Why can’t you tell me?’ He said, ‘Because you’ll tell your mom.’ I said, ‘Did you steal it?’ He said, ‘I found it in a public place.’
“Then it clicked for me. I told him, ‘You did go down there, didn’t you? Into the ravine by the bodies. I knew it.’ He got that grin again, all proud of himself. I said, ‘What did you take?’ He said, ‘It’s valuable.’ I said, ‘Show me.’ He said, ‘No way. You’ll just tell your mom and then she’ll be jacking me up.’ I said, ‘You have to turn it in to the police. It’s evidence.’ He said, ‘F the police. It’s not evidence, like a gun.’ He said he’d just get into trouble for taking it and he didn’t need trouble from the police, and Jared had murdered Mrs. Keller so it wasn’t like it was important. The case is closed. He said, ‘It was on the ground. It could have been lying there before Mrs. Keller and Jared even got there. If I hadn’t picked it up, someone else would have. I’m gonna sell it or trade it.’ I was so ticked off at him and that’s even before he started carrying me around when I was unconscious.
“I think he does stuff like that just to do it. To shock his parents or something. Like hanging out with those gangbangers. He bought pot from Nacy Dena and now he acts like they’re buddies. I told him that they’re just taking advantage of him. Coming over to his folks’ house and drinking their booze and swimming in their pool.”
