He hated having to go back to work right then, but he had no choice. While the forensics team bagged up the skeleton to bring it back to the crime lab for testing, David drove me home.
At first, I refused to just be dropped off. I protested, arguing that I should tag along with him as he returned to the police station. That way I could be there as the test results trickled in.
But David held firm. He kept explaining that it was going to take a while before the lab knew anything and that he had a lot of paperwork to do between now and then.
“I’ll let you know the minute that I get an update,” David said.
“You promise?” I asked.
He nodded. “You have my word.”
I let out a sigh.
“This isn’t easy for me, either,” he said.
“I know.”
“Just go inside, pour a glass of wine, and have some chocolate. When the lab starts getting results back, I’ll call you.”
David gave me a kiss and said good-bye then headed to the station.
I reluctantly went inside, where I ended up wrestling with my thoughts. It didn’t take long for me to realize that wine and chocolate could only do so much. They certainly couldn’t quiet my mind.
Of course, it didn’t help that I was just sitting inside, completely idle. I knew that David had brought me home because he thought it was the right thing to do. That being at the police station would only heighten my anxiety. But sitting at home with nothing to do only made my worries grow.
I wanted to talk through my feelings. Or just talk to someone in general. There was too much going on inside me to leave it all bottled up. Briefly, I considered calling my mother, but I decided against it. If I told her my hunch about the skeleton, she would freak out. Same with my stepfather and grandmother. They would all lose their minds.
That would make the situation far worse. Especially if my instincts did turn out to be wrong. Then I would have gotten my family all riled up for nothing. As much as it pained me to do so, I decided to keep my family in the dark for now.
I did have to talk to someone, though. So I turned to God. If ever there was a time to pray, it was right then. Just as I began to turn myself over to the Lord, Snickerdoodle jumped up on the couch, curled up beside me, and rested his head on my lap.
I couldn’t get mad at Doodle for interrupting my prayer. He was just trying to comfort me. Like all dogs, he could sense how much stress I was experiencing.
I opened my eyes and saw Doodle gazing adoringly at me.
“Doodle, thank you for being there for me,” I said.
I wrapped my arms around him and gave him a big hug.
“I’m barely hanging on here.”
Chapter Six
As wonderfully adorable as Snickerdoodle was, my conversation with him was completely one-sided. Not that I expected any different. It wasn’t as if he had magically learned how to speak English. Sure, it had been a crazy day, but it hadn’t been that bonkers.
It quickly became clear that I needed more than just furry companionship. If I was going to distract my mind from obsessing about the skeleton that had been found, I would need to think of another way to keep myself busy.
Unfortunately, Snickerdoodle was no help. His focus appeared to be on taking a nap. That meant that a trip to the dog park was out. Although, heading outside didn’t seem like a terrible idea. Sitting around my house felt like a recipe for trouble. Either I headed outside, or my mind would go off wandering on its own.
The choice became clear. I jumped into my car and decided to take a drive. First, I headed toward the ocean. But being so close to the beach did me no favors. Some of my favorite memories of Jessica involved the beach.
With the stress mounting inside me, I felt the urge for junk food coming on. Even more, I found myself powerless to resist my temptation. Since I was only a few blocks away from my family’s coffee shop, I decided to stop in at Daley Buzz.
When I entered the shop, my taste buds decided to do the talking for me.
“Cookies. I need cookies now,” I said.
Thankfully, Kelly O’Reilly was the only employee behind the counter right then. The curvy, blue-eyed, angular-faced twenty-nine-year-old seemed shocked that I was so blunt. I had no time for pleasantries.
“All right. How many?” Kelly asked.
“All of them,” I replied.
Kelly put her hands on her hips. “Sabrina, don’t be ridiculous.”
Her stern look was just enough to shame me out of loading the entire rack of cookies from the display case into a to-go box.
“Fine. I’ll start with five and see how I feel after that,” I said.
I headed behind the counter, grabbed a handful of cookies, and took a bite of one.
Kelly’s eyebrows rose. “Rough day?”
I opened my mouth to reply but managed to narrowly hold my tongue. It would have been so easy to tell Kelly everything. But then the entire rest of our conversation would end up focusing on my sister and whether the skeleton that was found was really Jessica.
Since the only reason I had left my house in the first place was to get a distraction, I knew the best course of action was to keep Kelly in the dark.
Like so often happened when I was uncomfortable, I resorted to sarcasm. “It has not been the best day of my life.”
“I’m sorry about that,” Kelly replied.
“This is what cookies were invented for.”
Kelly did not laugh at my joke. She just gave me a courtesy smile while concern weighed heavy on her face.
“Do you want to talk about what’s bothering you?” Kelly asked.
I shook my head.
“Fair enough,” Kelly said. “Well, I’m here to listen if you change your mind.”
Before an awkward silence took hold of the conversation, I decided to turn the spotlight on her.
“What’s new with you?” I asked.
Kelly squinted. “Are you sure you’d rather talk about my life right now?”
“Of course I do,” I replied. “Why wouldn’t I?”
Kelly remained reticent to reveal any details. “All right. I was just checking.”
I bit the corner of my lip. “Why? Is something the matter?”
“Just the opposite, actually. I have a date.”
“Really?” I asked.
Kelly nodded.
“With who?” I asked.
“Timothy Hogan,” she replied.
“And where did you meet him?”
“You’re not going to believe this, but at the crystal shop.”
Clearly, my investigative instincts were not as sharp as usual because that was not the answer I was going to go with. Although, Kelly’s reply didn’t come as a complete surprise.
My friend had not been shy in sharing her affinity for the local crystal shop. It was one of her favorite places in town. She went to the shop so often that I was surprised the owners of the place didn’t offer her a job working there. Given all the time that she spent at the shop, it actually seemed pretty fitting that she met a man there.
“Good for you,” I said. “I have been hoping that a nice man would come into your life.”
“Thank you for that. But meeting Timothy was about more than just hope. Everything started changing for me after I got my aura cleansed. Since that day, my life has gotten progressively better, finally culminating in this romantic blessing from the cosmos,” Kelly said.
Apparently, some aura cleanses were more effective than others. My experience with the crystal shop and the services they offered was quite different. A few months ago, after hearing Kelly heap endless praise on the shop, I finally broke down and agreed to get an aura cleanse of my own. I even opted to add a circle of protection enchantment while I was there.
Unfortunately, I did not receive mind-blowing results from either of those services. As a matter of fact, as I stood in the coffee shop, plowing through cookies, my aura didn’t seem clean, nor did I feel very protected. D
espite my disappointment, I didn’t want to rain on my friend’s parade. Especially when things were going so well for her.
“You deserve all the happiness that comes your way,” I said.
“It’s crazy how the universe works sometimes, isn’t it?” Kelly replied.
She didn’t know the half of it. While Kelly was riding high, the universe had me waiting on pins and needles.
Kelly began gushing about the new man in her life. “We were both browsing in the shop when the same mood crystal caught our eyes. As we both reached for the crystal at the same time, we stopped and our gazes locked. From there, we got to talking. You wouldn’t believe how much we have in common. The conversation came so naturally. To the point where neither of us wanted it to end. So we decided to grab a bite to eat together at the vegetarian sandwich shop on Spring Street. After that, we spent the whole evening getting to know each other before finally sharing one unforgettable kiss goodnight.”
“It sounds magical,” I replied.
“It was. So much so that we’re getting together again tonight,” Kelly said.
“Where is he taking you?”
“There’s this free jazz concert at Watterson Park.”
It was fitting that Kelly mentioned the park. I had been meaning to check it out. It had taken over nine months, but city officials had just recently finished work converting the parcel of land where the old Watterson estate used to stand into a lush, sprawling, multi-use park that was getting rave reviews from the locals.
Between the multitude of greenbelts, trees, and gardens, there was a lot to like. In addition, there was also a manmade pond, a number of playgrounds, and an outdoor concert space. Based on what I had heard, the transformation was so incredible that it was almost impossible to believe that a dilapidated estate and a maze of weeds had once occupied that very space.
That said, as exciting as the new park was, the fact that Kelly finally had a man in her life was something worth gushing over.
“I hope you have a fantastic date,” I said.
A sparkle was in Kelly’s eyes. “I think it will. Timothy is nice, smart, funny, and wonderful. In short, just the kind of man I have been looking for.”
“It’s so nice to see you happy.”
She smiled. “It’s so nice to be happy. Let me tell you, that aura cleanse I got was a real life changer.”
“I wish some of your good aura would rub off on me.”
I immediately regretted uttering that sentence. Up until that point, I had managed to keep my self-pity bottled up. But now that it was out in the open, I worried that Kelly would turn the spotlight back on me.
When I saw the glimmer fade from her eyes, I braced myself for a probing question from her.
“I don’t know what’s going on, but I will do some heavy meditation for you tonight,” Kelly replied.
Phew. Thankfully, Kelly had not forced the issue with me.
I gave her a smile. “It would be great if you did.”
While I was grateful that I had avoided revealing what was truly bothering me, I knew that the topic could only be danced around for so long. If I let the conversation continue, more questions would inevitable be thrown my way.
Because of that, I decided the best course of action was to head for the exit.
“Anyway, I should be heading out. But let me know how your date goes,” I said.
“I will,” Kelly replied. “Take care.”
Chapter Seven
It was surreal to think that one of the best days of Kelly’s life was one of the worst days of mine, but that was just the way things worked sometimes. Conversely, there were days when I was riding high when other people were hitting all-new lows. Although, that was of little consolation right now.
At a time like this, the only thing that could calm me down was getting answers. Unfortunately, they remained elusive.
At the same time, I was terrified of what the lab might discover. All these years that I had prayed for answers, I had always held out hope that Jessica would eventually be found alive. If my instincts were right, it would mean that my sister had been dead for a long time.
I headed home and turned on the TV. I couldn’t silence my thoughts, but maybe I could drown them out. Or at least beat them into submission. After all, watching TV was known for being a mindless activity. Could I find something that would sufficiently distract me?
As I flipped through the channels, I purposefully stayed away from detective shows. What I was searching for was something light that didn’t require any thought. It wasn’t a surprise then when I found myself gravitating toward reality TV.
I finally settled on a cooking show. Nothing like watching delicious desserts being prepared onscreen to distract me from my worries.
A few hours later, I had binge-watched four episodes in a row. While I was glad that I still had some chocolate in the house, I unfortunately still did not have any answers from David.
I kept checking my phone to see if it was on and working correctly, which it was. David just had no updates to share. Forensics tests just took time. Too much time for my patience to be able to handle.
As the hour grew late, I finally received word from David.
“You should go to bed,” David said. “The lab isn’t going to have any results until tomorrow.”
David sounded just as frustrated as I did. Unfortunately, there was nothing that either of us could do about it.
After getting off the phone with David, I tried to get some sleep. That proved more difficult than it seemed. For the better part of an hour, I tossed and turned in bed. No matter what I did, I couldn’t seem to drift off.
Finally, two hours after my head hit my pillow, I crashed out. Given all the nightmares that I had been having about my sister lately, I fully expected one to be waiting for me when I fell asleep. Oddly enough, I didn’t dream about my sister at all. As a matter of fact, when I woke up the next morning, I didn’t remember having a dream of any kind.
Then again, with the nightmare of a day that I’d had, there was nothing I could have dreamt about that would have scared me any more than what I had already been going through.
I got up from bed, gave Snickerdoodle some food, and took him for a walk. Shortly after I arrived back home, David showed up at my door.
It seemed rather telling to me that he decided to show up in person rather than just calling me. If there wasn’t already a bad enough feeling in my gut, the disturbing expression on David’s face was enough to make me tremble.
“David, are you all right?” I asked.
He shook his head. “No.”
“You got the results back from the lab, didn’t you?” I said.
He nodded.
“The skeleton. It belongs to Jessica, doesn’t it?” I asked.
David opened his mouth, but no words came out. He took a deep breath then finally responded. “Unfortunately.”
My jaw dropped.
“I’m so sorry. I had the lab check all of their results twice, but Jessica’s dental records matched the teeth of the skeleton exactly. According to the lab, it’s definitely your sister,” David said.
I couldn’t hold the tears back.
He wrapped his arms around me.
“I’m so sorry,” he said.
I held David as tightly as I could, not wanting to let go. My instincts had warned me that this moment was coming, but I still felt woefully unprepared to deal with the news.
This was heartbreaking. Earth shattering. The kind of thing that made me realize that my life would never be the same again.
All these years, I had been searching for an answer. Now I had finally gotten one. And it couldn’t be more gut wrenching.
While I was at a loss for words, an all-new question emerged in my mind. Now that I knew my sister was dead, how could I pick up the pieces of my life and carry on?
Chapter Eight
When I ran out of tears half an hour later, a realization came to me. The worst part of my day
was far from over. Even though I was still reeling from the news, there was something that I needed to do.
My family needed to know the truth. Unfortunately, I had to be the one to tell them. While David was sweet enough to offer to break the news to my folks, I knew that I needed to do it myself. My mother, stepfather, and grandmother deserved to hear it from me.
That said, it wouldn’t be easy. I had to work myself up to it.
It took me a while, but I finally mustered the courage to head over to Daley Buzz and tell my family the truth. David drove me to the coffee shop, giving me the chance to quietly consider how I was going to reveal that Jessica’s skeleton had been found.
When we arrived at Daley Buzz, I pulled my mother, stepfather, and grandmother aside and gathered them in the back of the shop, away from the customers.
Finally, I broke the news to them. As expected, they were completely devastated. A mixture of shock, disbelief, and tears followed.
I felt so helpless as I watched my family try to make sense of what I had just told them.
I leaned in and gave my fifty-five-year-old jet-black-haired mother, Elizabeth, a hug.
Tears streamed down Elizabeth’s face as she wrestled with her emotions. “I can’t believe it.”
“I know. I can hardly believe it myself,” I said.
My tall, pear-shaped, fifty-seven-year-old stepfather, Luke Norton, looked like a deer caught in the headlights. “What kind of monster would do something like this?”
I shook my head. “I wish I had an answer for you.”
My eighty-one-year-old grandmother, Betsy Daley, was usually the feisty one of the bunch. But that morning, her shell shock got the best of her. She prayed silently to herself.
Elizabeth began to ramble in a stream of consciousness. “This doesn’t make any sense. Who would want to kill Jessica? She was sweet and kind to everyone. She went out of her way to be nice to people. And yet someone…”
My mother couldn’t even finish her thought.
Luke, meanwhile, had no problem vocalizing his emotions. Or his outrage, for that matter. “Whoever did this must be completely depraved. They’d have to be. How do people like that even live with themselves?”
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