“Abby was the best friend I had. Her loyalty and support were unwavering. Always.” Her gaze flicked to Luke. Was that accusation he read in her eyes? There was a part of him that wanted to step forward and answer the unspoken accusation, to let everyone know exactly whose loyalty and support had been suspect in their relationship. But then Sadie stepped back and his parents stepped forward, surrounding her, cocooning her with their love. They had never said as much, but Luke knew they blamed him for the feud. He hadn’t told them what happened, any of it. Only one person knew, and she was now being lowered into the ground. Aunt Abby had somehow known everything and remained neutral. At the time, her neutrality had aggravated Luke. How could she not take his side? Now he began to understand that maybe in her own way Sadie had needed Abby’s support just as much as he had.
As more people from the town stepped forward to say a few words, Luke’s mind traveled back half a lifetime ago to his fourteenth birthday, remembering the beginning of the end.
He and Sadie lay under their tree in Aunt Abby’s yard, staring up at the canopy while Luke thought about kissing. He had thought about it with recurring frequency since he and Sadie shared their first and only kiss a couple of years before. Neither of them had ever mentioned it after that day, almost like it hadn’t happened. Luke wished it hadn’t, not only because it had caused a subtle shift in his relationship with Sadie, but because he was afraid it would never happen again. Not that he wanted it to happen with Sadie. They seemed to have some sort of mutual agreement that they were better off as friends. But there were other girls who had caught his attention. Not only were the other girls not interested in him, but there was a not-so-small part of him that was afraid none of them would ever measure up to Sadie. Even without anything else to compare it to, he knew the kiss had been special.
“We’re not going camping this weekend,” Sadie blurted. She had been uncharacteristically silent for a while. Luke would have realized how ominous that was if he hadn’t been lost in his own thoughts about kissing. Now he sat up and looked down at her.
“What? Why not?” The two of them and Gideon had gone camping on the weekend after his birthday for as long as he could remember. It wasn’t even a question of “if” anymore; it just was.
“I have a pageant,” Sadie said.
He curled his lip in disgust. “So get out of it.”
“I can’t. It’s important to my mom.”
“But camping is important to me and your dad,” Luke said. He lay back down, sure the conversation had been decided in his favor.
“I have to do the pageant this weekend, Luke. You don’t understand how much this means to my mom.”
Sadie’s mom had been sick a lot which he supposed might account for some of Sadie’s odd behavior. Lately he had caught her looking at him a few times with an unreadable expression on her face, a sort of sadness, almost as if she was trying to tell him goodbye. He took a breath to argue with her again when he realized Sadie was crying. He didn’t know what to do with her when she cried. He stared, horrified, as his insides twisted with agony. How did she do that? How did she make him feel sad and guilty at the same time whenever she turned on the waterworks?
She shifted closer and rested her head on his shoulder. His arm slid awkwardly around her back, patting a few times. “I don’t know what to do,” she whispered.
“Just go to your stupid pageant. Maybe we can go camping next weekend,” he said.
“It’s not that. It’s Mom and Dad. They fight all the time, and Mom’s so sick and so weak, and Dad’s so angry. Dad doesn’t want me to do the pageants and Mom does. She wants me to be popular. She wants me to be a cheerleader next year.”
Luke chuckled before realizing she was serious. Sadie as a cheerleader—wow. “Tell her you don’t want to be a cheerleader,” he said.
“It’s not that easy, Luke,” she snapped. “We’ve been getting along really well lately, and it makes her so happy when I do the stuff she wants me to do. I can’t say no. But Dad…” she trailed off, pressing her face to his shoulder again.
Luke zoned out. He lost the thread of the conversation as he noted the changes in Sadie’s body now pressed to his. He had a good three inch height advantage on her. By everyone’s standards, she was shorter than most of the other girls in their class. She was softer in more places than she had been before. The uncomfortable heat now flooding his face made him want to move away and get some space. Sadie sat up and looked down at him, her blond hair forming a canopy around them. When had it gotten so long and silky?
“Do you understand what I’m trying to tell you?” she asked.
He nodded. He had no idea what she had just said. He would spend the next few years wondering what it was, if it would in some way explain her upcoming behavior. She smiled and lay down again, hugging him. “You’ll always be my best friend, Luke,” she muttered, then she stood and dashed to her house. Luke stared after her for a long time, wondering what it had all been about.
The following Monday, the beginning of their freshman year of high school, he found out. Sadie was nowhere to be found. She didn’t walk to school with him, didn’t meet him at his locker—it was as if she had disappeared from the planet. Just when he was starting to really worry, he saw her in the cafeteria, but she wasn’t alone and waiting on him like usual. She was sitting with the richies—their term for the popular group of mean girls who had taunted them since fifth grade. The girls had spent so many years torturing them that Luke was confused, but too intimidated to find out what was going on. Perhaps Sadie was being held captive against her will. And maybe she had Stockholm Syndrome. How else to explain why she was laughing so hard without ever once looking in his direction?
He sat with the geeks, the ones who shared his love of comic books. They tried to talk to him and be friendly, but he wasn’t paying attention. Instead he was staring at Sadie, trying to figure her out, trying to figure out the gaping hole inside his stomach. What was she doing? Was this some type of social experiment? If so, why hadn’t she asked him to come along?
That night he waited in Aunt Abby’s back yard, and for the first time in fourteen years he was unsure whether or not Sadie would show up. She did, and she looked as sad as he felt, and guilty, too. “What was that?” he yelled as soon as she came within range.
“It’s just the way things have to be now, it’s the way they are. We can’t be friends at school anymore. We can be friends here if you want.”
Her attitude was matter-of-fact, her hands clasped behind her back. Luke wanted to shake her. He had never been so angry with her. “What are you saying? Your girl hormones are making you stupid. You can’t dump your best friend of fourteen years and get new friends. No one does that, Sadie.”
“I have to, Luke,” she replied. Later he would think maybe she sounded tired and a little bit sad, but just then he was too angry to notice.
“You don’t have to do anything. I can’t believe you’re doing this.” He felt as desperate as he sounded, and he hated that. But Sadie was part of the fabric of his being. Who did he have if he didn’t have her? And who was he without her? He was afraid the answer to both questions might be “no one.”
“I’m sorry,” she said in that toneless voice he was starting to hate. “I tried to explain, to make you understand. I thought you did.”
“You thought I would understand how you’re cutting me loose just like that for the richies?”
“It’s not like that,” Sadie said. Some misery was beginning to leak into her expression. Good.
“It’s exactly like that,” Luke accused.
“We can still be friends,” Sadie pled.
“No, we can’t. I can’t be friends with someone who’s too weak and shallow to say we’re friends when other people are around.”
She took a tentative step forward. “Luke…”
“Go away, Sadie. I don’t want you here anymore. I hate you.”
Luke had the satisfaction of watching her face crumple be
fore she turned and ran, but it didn’t make him feel any better. For a few minutes, he stood staring at the spot she had just been, trying to figure out what had just happened. Then Aunt Abby stepped out her back door and hailed him.
“Luke, come here, please,” she said. He shuffled forward and she put her arm around his shoulders, herding him inside. He was shaking and he didn’t know why; it wasn’t cold outside.
“I know it’s hard, but try to understand, Luke,” Abby urged. ”Sadie is going through things you can’t fathom, difficult things that most grownups don’t have to deal with.”
Luke couldn’t understand, and he didn’t want to try. “I would never do that to her,” he said. “Never in a million years.” Then he burst into tears.
It would be the last time he ever cried in front of another person. Abby hadn’t mentioned a word about either his tears or the dustup between Sadie and himself again. Instead she had retrieved a container of her ever-present mint Milano cookies and shoved it into his fingers, watching with approval while he ate the whole bag.
Chapter 5
The reading of the will took place immediately after the funeral dinner. Luke and Sadie were the only ones invited. The mood of the town shifted from sadness to curiosity as soon as the announcement was made. All eyes were on the duo as they followed the lawyer into the study. They sat close together on the two chairs across from the desk. Sadie smelled good. Different, yet familiar somehow. Luke shifted away and tried to breathe through his mouth as the lawyer took his seat.
He spouted the usual legal jargon that neither of them paid much attention to. They perked up when they came to the part Aunt Abby had actually written.
My dear Luke and Sadie, How I have loved watching you grow up these last three decades. I don’t know why everyone in town calls me Aunt Abby when I’m related to none of them, but in your case it has actually felt true. You’ve both brought me delight and good cheer, proving your loyalty by never letting our friendships falter. I couldn’t think of two better people to leave my earthly possessions to, especially because I’m confident in the fact that you would rather have me than the things I’m leaving you. Yes, Sadie, too. Don’t look at her like that, Luke. She’s not as shallow as you want to believe.
Luke shifted his eyes away from Sadie with an embarrassed flush. The lawyer cleared his throat before continuing.
Luke, to you I leave my house and an account with enough money to pay taxes and upkeep for the next five years. It’s your decision, but now seems like a good time to finally get your doctorate. Hint, hint. I love that house, my beloved family estate, and I know I’m leaving it in good hands.
Sadie, to you I leave two things. The first is less tangible—to you I bequeath the right to be who you are. I gave up trying to live for others a long time ago. I hope you will learn from my example and do the same. Be who you want to be, child, and do what you want to do.
The second thing I leave is a request. Find the person who killed me, and you’ll find my money. What’s left of it after his conviction is all yours.
With all my love, Aunt Abby.
PS. Life is short, too short for anger and grudges. Take this last nugget of wisdom for what you will.
Sadie and Luke looked at each other, stunned. Tears streamed down Sadie’s face unchecked.
“What does that mean?” she asked. She tore her attention from Luke and looked at the lawyer instead. “What does she mean about finding her killer?”
The lawyer sighed. “We all know Aunt Abby was a bit eccentric with a flair for drama. Personally, I think this was her last hurrah. She went out on her own terms, with one final dramatic announcement.”
“If that’s so, then where is her money?” Abby was wealthy from a family inheritance. Her family founded the town, passing down their grand Victorian mansion through the generations. Abby had never worked a day in her life beyond sitting on the boards of several charities and foundations. Her wealth was rumored to be in the millions.
The lawyer shifted. “There’s no trace of any money beyond what’s in Luke’s account for the upkeep of the house. And that amounts to somewhere around ten thousand dollars.”
“The money is missing?” Sadie asked.
“We think there was no money,” the lawyer replied. “Our theory is that she burned through it long ago and has been living on appearances for quite some time.”
Sadie shook her head. “Abby wouldn’t say it if it weren’t true. Someone took her money. Someone killed her.” Her voice dropped to a whisper. Her hands shook and she drew them into her lap for stability. The lawyer regarded her with a combination of condescension and pity. She turned to Luke and saw the same look on his face with a whole lot more irritation thrown in for good measure.
“He’s right, Sadie,” Luke said. “We both know Abby liked gossip and drama and she was proud. Instead of saying that she had no money, it makes for a much better story to say that someone took it and killed her. She died of natural causes.”
“How do you know?” Sadie asked. “Did you see her? Did you see the body? Because I didn’t.” She had been cremated. In lieu of a casket, they had stared at an urn sitting on a pedestal.
“Don’t be crazy,” Luke said. She had the same calculating look she used to get when they were kids and she was hatching a scheme.
The lawyer cleared his throat and closed his briefcase. “I’ll leave you to discuss the matter in private. If you have any questions, please feel free to give my office a call.” He picked up his briefcase and hurried from the room. Smart man, Luke thought. He and Sadie were about to have a good, old-fashioned brawl. The lawyer was smart to run away before the bloodshed started.
“I am not being crazy,” Sadie said. Her hair bounced around her head as if a strong wind were whipping behind her. Her cornflower-blue eyes blazed with righteous indignation, and her finger was jutted in his direction, her perfectly manicured nails brandished like weapons.
“Clearly,” Luke said. His palm jutted out and shoved her index finger away from the direction of his heart.
“How could you think Aunt Abby made that up to get attention?” she yelled. “She wouldn’t do something like that.”
He quirked an eyebrow at her. “Are we talking about the same woman who, when a few people forgot her birthday, showed up at the supermarket in her bathrobe and curlers to make people think she had dementia? Half the town ushered her to the doctor for tests that day and she was delighted.”
“Yes, but this is death. This is permanent. She wouldn’t trifle with something so serious, not when she knows how…” her voice broke and she took a shuddering breath. “Not when she knows how much it hurts.”
Her azure eyes filled up again. She dashed impatiently at her tears and turned away to sniffle. Luke wasn’t sure what to make of her. Her emotion appeared to be real, but Sadie was a convincing liar. During their junior year of high school, she had faked a sprained ankle for three weeks to get out of running the mile in gym class. Everyone had fallen for it but him, and even he had felt some measure of pity for her until he saw her doing yoga in her back yard when she thought no one was watching. He had told on her, but of course no one believed angelic Sadie would do such a thing. For the remainder of the three weeks, she had given him an evil, triumphant little smile and found ways to make him do her bidding. Luke, my leg is killing me. Can you carry my backpack? She just happened to say it in front of his mother who gave him the death glare and threatened to ground him when he refused. He hated her, all perfectly beautiful 5’4” of her.
“You must want that money really bad,” he said.
Her eyes snapped from weepy to icy as they narrowed on him. “You’re a jerk, Lucas,” she said. She stood and eased by him, keeping her head high as she left the room.
Luke sat still, feeling like the jerk she had accused him of being. With anyone else, he would never have made such an insensitive accusation at such a difficult time. Why did Sadie bring out the worst in him? He was a nice guy. No one else
made him want to say mean things or do mean things. She was the human equivalent of nails on a chalkboard; she made him crazy. He was going to have to find her and apologize. After a few minutes of silent battle with his pride, he left the study and went to make amends. Too late, though. Sadie was nowhere in sight.
Sadie wove her way through the crowd of curious friends and neighbors. Though she hadn’t seen him, Gideon must still be at the party because he wasn’t there when she let herself inside the house. She paused in the bathroom to wash off her makeup before heading to her bedroom to change. After she took off her black dress and slipped into cropped sweat pants, she curled up on the bed, clutching her oldest and most-loved stuffed animal. Everything was wrong. She had no job, no money, no friends, no family. Worst of all, Aunt Abby was gone. Not only that, but she said someone had killed her. Who would kill Aunt Abby and why?
Pecked to Death Page 4
