She straightened. “Yeah. Uh, thanks.” Her hand trembled as she handed over the handkerchief.
“Keep it. Thanks to my grandfather, I’ve got three dozen of those at home.” His smile faltered. “If you can, once you feel better, we need to ask you some questions. Just a formality.”
“Like what?” Her mom was dead and they wanted to grill her? Did they think she had something to do with this? The idea made her stomach cramp again.
“Just where you were. When you last saw your mom. Things like that.”
“If you think I had anything to do with this,” she waved a hand, “then you’re crazy. I love my mom. Loved her. We spent every day together running this place.”
He cocked his head to the side. “And did you resent that? Having to work here instead of hanging out with friends and partying?”
“I’m not the partying type.” She crossed her arms. If he wanted information, he’d have to dig for it. Find out that when she wasn’t working with her mom, she was cramming for nursing tests and taking classes.
“So why’d you call emergency services? Did you regret lashing out at your mom, or were you trying to throw us off?”
“No, I had a vision… I mean a bad drea—thought. And when I couldn’t get a hold of my mom, I called the Sheriff.” She pressed her arms tighter against her stomach. Was she going to be sick again? “It was a feeling something was wrong. I mean, I called her cell, the store,” her breath hitched, “and she didn’t respond. I couldn’t just sit in traffic and do nothing.”
“Anyone that can back up your claim? Cause it sounds far-fetched to me.”
“Go to hell.” She stormed away, but he grasped her elbow, stopping her.
His footsteps echoed behind her. “Stop.” He dashed in front of her, blocking her path. “I’m new to this, but we have to check out everyone who could be a suspect and that includes family members with weird vibes who called the cops.”
“I understand.” She did, but she didn’t like it.
“I didn’t mean to upset you.”
“It’s okay.” She rubbed her arms, and he dashed back to pick up the blanket she dropped and placed it around her shoulders. “Thanks.”
He nodded. “Do you have anyone you can call? I mean, so you’re not alone?”
Her aunts. How was she going to explain it to them over the phone without breaking down? “Yeah. Let me call my aunts.” She dug out her cell from her pocket and, with blurry vision and shaking hands, dialed Aunt Jessica’s number. The line rang and rang, finally going to voicemail. “Hey, um, Aunt Jess? It’s Lily. M-mom had an… there’s been an accident. Please call me as soon as you get this. No matter what time, okay?” She ended the call, then called Aunt Martha, leaving a message with her as well.
“Can’t get ahold of them?” His brow pinched in and the way he looked at her with pity. She loathed that expression especially that it was targeted at her, but right then, she didn’t have it in her to fight with the guy. He was helping her, yet every fiber of her being tensed so tight, she felt as if she might explode.
“Not yet. They’re,” her throat tightened, “out of town. But I’m sure as soon as they call back, they’ll be on the first plane here.”
“Listen, do you have a friend you can stay with? I don’t think you should be alone right now.” He nodded to a businessman that waved as he passed. “When you’re feeling better, maybe tomorrow or the next day, come down to the station or call us and we’ll come to you. All right?”
“Sure.” She couldn’t stay at the store. Not now. The scent of the blood mingled with the ice cream made a bitter taste bubble up in her throat. Not trusting her voice, she sent Amanda a text message.
An hour later, Amanda pulled up in her new corvette, a trade-up from her station wagon, and rolled down the passenger window. “I’m so sorry, honey. Get in.”
Lily climbed in and flopped against the seat. Her entire body weighed a ton. Tears kept drenching her cheeks, and she couldn’t stop the stream. The police finished their collecting their evidence, and everyone whispering and giving her sorrowful glances made her want to run. Race so hard that she fought time and rewrite what happened. If only she’d stayed. If only she’d just told her mom that the freezer would keep.
This was all her fault.
She’d had the dream and ignored it. What would it have cost her to have just stayed another hour or two?
“Hey, do you want me to pull over?” Amanda asked at a red light. “You look like you might hurl or something.”
“Already done that once today.”
Her friend frowned. “When was the last time you ate?”
“Does coffee with some weird herb count?” She tried to make her voice light, but it came out scratchy. Truly, she just wanted to curl into a ball and sleep until this was all over. Pretend for a little while longer that her mom was okay and everything was fine.
“Uh, no. You need to eat, Lil.”
“I don’t think I can stomach anything.” Not now, not ever.
Chapter Seven
Lily stayed in Amanda’s loft, not leaving the sanctuary of the guest bedroom except when Amanda dragged her out and demanded she eat something. Then it was a bite here and there. Days of crying, watching TV and sleeping. Memories of her mom popped up at odd times. Like when she flipped through a magazine, not really looking at the pictures, and saw a woman with a little girl running through the park with a kite. The image reminded her of when she and her mom had taken a day off one spring morning to fly a kite. Lily had run and run until her legs hurt. She and her mom had had the best time that day. Bawling, Lily covered her face with her hands. What was she going to do now?
Despite Lily’s protests, Amanda took Lily to a restaurant downtown. It was way out of Lily’s price range, but not Amanda’s. The restaurant didn’t have the price of the food on the menu.
“I’m just going to have water.” Lily set her menu aside.
“No, you will not,” Amanda snapped. “You will at least have their famous chicken soup, or I’ll disown you as a friend. Now, you want that with a coke or water?”
“Ginger ale.” Her mom would tell her to enjoy herself. But she was dead. Someone had murdered her, and Lily’s throat choked up. Lily knew it in her gut like she knew she had ten toes. Like she knew that the dream was a warning. Someone killed my mom.
She’d never see her again. Talk with her, and tell her bad jokes. If her mom were alive, Lily would bring back leftovers from this place and tell her mom about all the women wearing fur coats and jewelry. She’d bring her back a fancy dessert too. Tears welled in her eyes.
Amanda frowned, sympathy reflecting in her dark eyes. “It’ll be okay. One meal at a time. Then one day. I still remember when my grandparents died, the pain gets numb eventually.”
“I think I’m going to throw up.”
“Hey, no getting sick here, okay?” Amanda whispered harshly. “They just let me back in after catching the tablecloth on fire when I was nine.”
“Wait… what?” She’d never heard this story before.
Amanda winced. “Yeah, well I didn’t know the lanterns on the table were real. I thought it was just a flickering lightbulb. So I turned it over, it burned me. I screamed and threw the thing down on the table. It caught the table cloth on fire and everyone around us freaked out. Some were running for the exit and leaving their furs.”
Something was missing from this story. “Why? It would’ve been easy to contain, right?” Surely this place had fire extinguishers handy.
“If it had been a table like this, sure.” She grimaced. “But it was our family reunion and we had several tables pushed together.”
Amanda’s family was huge while her own family was shrinking. Tears threatened again and she dabbed at her eyes with her napkin.
“Okay, change of topic. Want to go to a hockey game on Saturday?”
“Not really.” She pictured her friend as a young kid watching several table cloths go up in a blaze. “You cou
ld’ve set the entire place on fire. I’m surprised they only waited this long to let you in. I’d have refused to grant you access - ever.”
“May I take your order?” a waiter asked.
“Nothing for me.” Lily handed him the menu.
“Do I need to threaten to make you eat Jell-O?” Amanda narrowed her eyes.
Her friend’s Jell-O was like trying to eat cement. “On second thought, just a cup of soup and a ginger ale. Thanks.”
“I’ll take a Greek salad and diet soda, please.” Amanda leaned her elbows on the table. “Once you have the soup, you’ll want a tub of it. I don’t know what they put in it, but it’s divine.”
Lily took a sip of her water, testing her stomach. “So why didn’t you order it?”
“Because it would take me too long with my trainer to work off that many calories.” She gave a short laugh, then reached across the table and squeezed Lily’s hand. “You can stay with me as long as you like.”
“Thanks.” Lily rubbed her arms. “I wish I had closure. Ya know? Like whoever did this is caught.”
“Do the cops have any leads?” She leaned back. “Sorry, I shouldn’t be dragging this back up.”
The grief was there no matter what Lily did or thought. It was a permanent stabbing in her heart. “No, it’s okay.” She took a shuddering breath. No, it will never be okay. Her mom wouldn’t heal, or have a surgery and be all better. She was dead. “I mean, no, they don’t know anything. A Deputy Garza is supposed to contact me to give my accounts of what happened before I left. I just wish I’d—” What could she say? That she wished this had never happened? That she’d paid attention to her dream and superglued herself to her mom? None of that would bring back the fact that someone had killed her mom, and that Lily had been on the other side of town. That her mom had died alone - and for what? Two hundred dollars in the register and a dollar bill with a small pink zigzag someone had written in the upper left corner with a permanent marker?
“Why are the police calling you? You weren’t there, were you?” Her friend’s brow knitted.
“No.” She swallowed another sip of water, forcing the knots shifting in her gut to stop. “Just keeping me informed if they have a lead on a suspect I guess.”
“Everyone loved your mom. I can’t believe someone would kill her.”
Lily thanked the waiter as he brought out their food and drinks. “Mr. Griffin for one; he’s never happy about anything.”
“What about that rude lady you’re always telling me about?” Her friend stabbed a piece of lettuce and popped it into her mouth. “She’s always in your mom’s business and stuff.”
“Camie Barnes.” As much as she’d love to see that woman in a bright orange jumpsuit, she’d rather have her mom alive. “She’s just obnoxious and a busybody.”
Tentatively, Lily took a spoonful of the soup. The cream chicken texture soothed her throat. Still, she couldn’t really taste it, but under Amanda’s glare, she finished it. "Thank you. I needed that." Lily leaned back against the chair, the soup warming her. Still, she felt numb, like none of this was real. What would her aunts say? They were the only family she had now. She glanced at her cell. No new messages. Pursing her lips, she tapped out a text and sent it to both of them.
"Ready to go?" Amanda asked.
She nodded.
On the way to Amanda's loft, Lily stared out the window as the city shifted to suburbs and streets with oak, maple, and pine trees. Mozart's Magic Flute was twirling through the car's speakers. Her friend didn't press her to talk, and she appreciated it. The soup was making her feel sleepy and she felt drained, like someone had drugged her.
They parked and entered the loft. The scent of oranges and cleaner filled the air.
"Do you need anything? I can ask my doctor to send a script of valium to help you sleep."
"No thanks." She really wanted to give her mom one last hug. Had she before she left the shop? Had she even said goodbye? "I'll just crash for a bit."
"Okay. Let me know if you need anything."
She nodded, swallowing past the rawness in her throat. After trudging upstairs, she climbed onto the bed, tucking the extra pillow to her chest and holding onto it like it would keep her soul from spinning away into outer space. She let the tears flow then. Big drops hit the blanket until she finally fell asleep.
Chapter Eight
The scent of coffee tickled Lily's nose, and she rolled over. The silk sheets twisted with her movements. Wait. She didn't have expensive bedding. Blinking, she fought the fog clouding her mind. Amanda's. Mom!
Fresh tears clouded her vision and she squeezed her eyes shut, pushing down the blackness until it settled like a boulder pressing onto her chest. She tossed the cover aside and went into the guest bathroom. She let the shower’s water pour over her, lessening the tension building between her shoulder blades. Tears flowed freely. She’d never be able to hug her mom again or debate which flavor ice cream was the best. Or gorge on chocolate at the latest Sci-Fi movie with her mom. She was alone. Forever. How could she ever move forward again?
An hour later, she pushed down her sadness and dressed in clothes Amanda had laid out on the bed for her and padded downstairs. Inhaling, she smelled pancakes and bacon cooking.
“Morning.” Amanda flipped over a pancake. “Hungry?”
“Not really. I’ll just have some juice or a coffee.”
Her friend waved her spatula. “You will eat or I’ll strap you to a chair until you do.”
Lily slid onto the bar stool and leaned her elbows on the counter. ”Fine, but no bacon. You burn it anyway.”
“Bacon is supposed to be crispy. Not the flimsy pieces you like.” She turned back to the sizzling pan and lifted a pancake, adding it to a cooling stack. Then she handed Lily a glass of orange juice, a mug of steaming coffee, and a bottle of syrup. “How many do you want of each?”
“One of each.” She wasn’t sure she could even eat that much.
Amanda filled her order and pushed the full plate toward her. “Eat. Don’t make me say it again.”
“Yes, ma’am.” She drizzled the maple over the food and took a tentative bite, unsure of how her stomach would react. Despite her stomach rumbling and the smell of the food, Lily barely tasted it. But with her friend checking her plate every few seconds, she forced the bites down.
“Have you heard from your aunts?” Amanda heaped another stack of pancakes on her own plate.
A sinking sensation hit Lily’s gut, like the ground was pulling away fast. She swallowed down her bite of food. “No. I need to borrow a charger for my cell.”
“I’ve got a drawer of them under the cabinet.” She pointed with her fork.
“Thanks. And for the food too.”
“Any time.” Amanda stood and stretched. “But you can thank me by helping to clean the kitchen.”
Lily laughed and the release of the tension swelling up inside her eased some. After they ate, they washed the dishes and Lily wiped off the counter. “What do you have planned today?” The idea of being alone with her thoughts bombarding her terrified her. She didn’t want to think any more. Or cry. She just wanted her mom back.
“Sorry, I’ve got classes until this afternoon.” Worry etched Amanda’s face. “But I can skip.”
“No.” She shook her head. “I’ll be fine. Really, I need to do some studying anyway.” Like she’d be able to concentrate on anything. Maybe binge watching TV with a bucket of buttered popcorn would make the day pass by faster.
Lily plugged in her phone and finished her coffee while she waited for the screen to light up so she could check her messages. When the phone buzzed, Lily scrambled from behind the bar to answer it.
"Hello?"
"Miss Thomas," a male voice said. "This is Deputy Garza. We met at the crime scene."
Her gut sank, and she glanced up to Amanda who gave her a sympathetic look. She cleared her throat. "Y-yes? How can I help you?"
"Sorry, we need you to come down to the
station for some questions. Where are you? I'll send someone to pick you up."
"I'm at a friend's house." She gave him the address, turning down her friend's offer to drive her. Amanda had already done a lot for her and Amanda was busy today and couldn't play chauffeur.
An hour and a half later, Lily sat in a freezing room with a table and two chairs between her and the door. The overhead fluorescent light hummed, filling the silence.
The knot tightened in her stomach. She just wanted this over with. And she had the funeral arrangements to take care of. Her throat stung.
The door opened. Garza and an elderly Deputy entered. The latter laid a folder on the table in front of her. "Thank you for coming, Ms. Thomas. I'm Deputy Wells." His ebony skin was smooth and wrinkle free.
"I know this must be difficult for you," Garza said. "But in your own words, what happened the morning until you left the ice cream shop?"
Brushing a shaky hand through her hair, she said, "Our freezer has been running cold. Mom asked me to go to Joe's and pick up a new thermostat for it."
"And did you two argue about it?" The elderly gentleman took out a pen from his pocket and clicked it on.
"No, nothing like that." She crossed her arms as her mind drifted back. Her head had been pounding and she hadn't wanted to leave her mom the day before. Then, she’d thought her premonition was a flunky dream. Should she tell the deputies about the vision? Garza gave her a small smile while the elder man scribbled over a piece of paper.
"We checked your mom's bank account. Seems like the store was paid off years ago, yet you took minimum wages... why is that? Did she hoard money and you resented her and knew you would inherit the business if she died?"
"What?" Her head spun. Money, inheritance, the shop was paid for? Last she knew, it had been on lease for another thirty or so years. "I mean, no. I didn't know about the shop or money. Growing up, I got used to not having a lot. My salary was enough to pay my bills and, since I'm going to college, I live at home until I get another job and can afford to be on my own." She had seen what her Mom went through to raise her at sixteen, and the sacrifices she'd made. The ice cream shop was her chance to be her own boss and be with Lily instead of being so tired she couldn't make breakfast on her day off.
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