The leaves had formed purplish-black spots with white centers and powdery mildew. Infected leaves fell prematurely from the tree—a blanket of disease covered Sam’s unmarked grave—like the lies and deceit that had cloaked their lives.
So they moved him to a spot nestled within reach of their mother’s loving arms, beneath a gorgeous live oak, its branches thick and leaden with age. Silver moss clung to the boughs like hoary curtains. After twenty-nine long years they finally had closure.
Coming to grips with everything would become their journey now—a journey the three of them had agreed to embark upon together. If there was one thing this ordeal had done for them . . . it was to bring them closer together.
Savannah booked a flight home the minute she heard. She would finish her book here, unfettered from her life in D.C. Caroline set a date to marry Jack and arranged to empty her storage units in Dallas. Augusta formally quit her job in New York and planned to finish the renovations before making a decision about what she would to do with the rest of her life.
As for Sadie, they were trying hard to forgive her. After all, she was the woman who had raised them . . . and she hadn’t actually known about Josh’s secret life—nor had she consciously suspected until they had begun to unearth the horrors in the marsh. It was only then that she had dared to see her son with different eyes and had come forward to confess.
But she had lied. She had kept Sam’s body a secret from them—and it didn’t matter whom she was protecting. She had lied about Josh, as well. Understanding her reasons didn’t excuse her, but she was only human . . . and none of them could claim to be perfect.
Still, Augusta couldn’t bear to see her grieve for a monster. Josh might have been her son, and their brother, but she could not separate the good from the evil. All their memories now were tarnished beyond repair.
Cody Simmons remained in the hospital, but he would recover. Six days without food or water had taken a toll on his little body. His ankle was broken, and it was possible he would lose the use of his left hand. The pressure of leaning on one side of his body had constricted blood flow to that limb, but he was a lucky little boy and didn’t seem to care. The Charleston police department planned to award him the medal of valor, for acts of bravery and endurance. Without him, Augusta knew neither of them would have survived.
If any one thing had been different, Cody—and Augusta—might be exactly where Sam was right now.
As a matter of courtesy, Sadie had stayed away from the private ceremony, leaving these moments for Augusta, Caroline and Savannah alone. It didn’t seem appropriate for her to be there.
Augusta couldn’t have borne a crowd. This moment was private, painful and long overdue. All the tears she had not been able to shed at her mother’s funeral now flowed from her eyes in an endless stream.
At her side, Ian held her by the arm, as though to keep her upright. Jack stood by Caroline’s side, and Savannah stood stoically at Augusta’s left, leaning close, but standing alone.
There was no way to determine Sammy’s cause of death precisely, but there were no fractures in his skeleton—nothing to indicate his death had been violent. Sadie claimed his body had washed ashore long after the fact, and that she had buried him. But knowing what they knew now about Josh, Sam’s death broke Augusta’s heart all over again.
The rest of her brother’s story remained shrouded in mystery because Josh’s body was never found. They dredged the shore for miles, searching for his corpse to no avail. Augusta couldn’t decide whether that was poetic justice or a crime in itself.
“Give us light to guide us out of our darkness into the assurance of your love, in Jesus Christ our Lord,” the pastor intoned—words she’d heard far too often in such a short time.
“Amen,” all three sisters said in return.
Caroline was the first to step forward to toss her white lily into the grave. Augusta and Savannah followed. And then it was done. At long last, her baby brother’s little patch of empty earth was empty no longer.
The last rays of sun glinted off the boathouse roof in the distance. Ian and Augusta sat on the joggling board on the porch, staring out at the marsh.
At one time, the idea of enjoying the sounds of the marsh from this front porch had been a nightmare. Suddenly, it didn’t seem such a bad thing. After the year was up, they might sell the property, but they hadn’t decided as yet. She still had to restore it, Caroline had to continue to revive the newspaper . . . and Savannah would have to write her book. With eight months left to go, anything could happen . . . and if Savannah was brave enough to write it . . . there was a story to tell . . .
Her sisters and Jack were now inside with Sadie.
Punishing her for Josh’s sins seemed wrong, but it would be difficult to put the past entirely behind them. She and Daniel had come by to let them know that she was giving her property to the city in accordance with Florence’s will. Daniel had asked her to marry him. Sadie had agreed, and planned to move in with him in his house downtown. For Sadie, leaving her home was as much a matter of healing as repairing the main house was for Augusta.
The police were not pursuing charges against her, although they could have. Sadie hadn’t known about Josh’s crimes. Her greatest sin was in trying to protect those she loved.
On the porch, she and Ian lapsed into an easy silence and Augusta sucked in a breath of sulfur-tinged air, trying to feel differently about the place she’d once called home . . . could she do it again?
“This is straight out of a painting,” Ian said at her side.
“Yeah,” Augusta agreed, and nodded. For certain, the marsh was beautiful, but she wasn’t sure she could live here once the house was restored.
Beside her, Ian pulled something out of his shirt pocket, and held it in a closed fist.
“I hear people say all the time that if you wait until the right time to have a baby, there would be no kids born on this planet.”
Augusta looked at him, wondering at the random remark.
“I’ve never been much for doing things the way other folks feel is right . . .” He slid to one knee beside her. “But you’re right . . . asking the woman I love—the only woman I’ve ever loved—to marry me in a text is lame.” He opened his hand to reveal a beautiful silver ring set with at least a two-karat emerald. “So . . . will you marry me, Augusta?” he asked, his heart shining like a light in his bright blue eyes.
Augusta stared at the ring, tears forming in her eyes. Moonlight shone off the silver band with a twinkle that mirrored the one in Ian’s eyes.
“Yes,” she said, and in that instant, a flicker of light lit the air between them. For an instant, the glitter took Augusta aback. Fireflies were becoming rare in this area, but here one was, its light a symbol of hope. It lit again, flying up above their heads like a tiny electric bulb, and then flittered into the night.
She and her sister had once sat right here on this porch counting fireflies ... looking for hope in the rare glow of their bodies. They’d sat here all night, waiting, hoping . . . and they’d seen nothing, going back inside, disheartened and hopeless.
Ian couldn’t have truly understood the magic this insect’s appearance held for her, but he sensed the pent-up emotion she couldn’t share, and kissed her gently.
“I love you,” he said, and pulled her back to lay her head upon his shoulder. Then they sat there, under the veranda, staring out at spartina grass . . . where, if you looked hard enough, a symphony of glow lights accompanied the musical sounds of the marsh.
Tanya Anne Crosby has written seventeen novels, all of which have graced numerous bestseller lists including the New York Times and USA Today. Best known for stories charged with emotion and humor and filled with flawed characters, her novels have garnered reader praise and reviews, and she’s a five-time nominee for the RT Career Achievement Award. She lives with her husband, two dogs, and two cats in North Michigan and grew up in Charleston, South Carolina.
Don’t miss Speak No Evil,
the compelling prequel to Tell No Lies, available now.
Lifting the veil of secrecy on a grand Southern family in decline, author Tanya Anne Crosby explores the lives of Caroline, Augusta, and Savannah Aldridge, three sisters who share a dark past and an uncertain future . . .
Caroline Aldridge was surprised by the number of mourners at her mother’s funeral. Evidently the newspaper heiress who had caused her children so much pain was well loved by everyone else in Charleston. Now she was gone, leaving behind countless secrets—and a few demands: Caroline and her sisters must live together for one year or lose their inheritance, and Caroline must take over The Tribune. But a killer is making headlines, and Caroline may have unwittingly stepped into the crosshairs. . . .
A series of kidnappings and murders resurrect the sisters’ memories of their brother’s disappearance as a child—and Caroline fears she may be next. Yet in the midst of her turmoil, she may be rekindling a romance she’d extinguished long ago. With Jack back in her life and the tattered bonds of sisterhood slowly mending, Caroline hopes the family can restore its position in Charleston society—unless a sinister force beyond their control tears them apart forever . . .
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Copyright © 2014 by Tanya Anne Crosby
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First Electronic Edition: March 2014
eISBN-13: 978-1-60183-144-6
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ISBN: 978-1-6018-3144-6
ISBN-10: 1-60183-222-2
Tell No Lies Page 27
