Heart of the Storm

by Nicole Stiling

  “Yeah, he doesn’t, exactly. Sienna’s the one who filed.”

  “What did he do?” Celeste leaned in

  “Nothing, as far as I know. Nothing specific anyway. Just fell out of love, I guess?” Juliet was getting more and more uncomfortable by the second. It felt strange to discuss Will and Sienna’s marriage, when she’d become more than just an onlooker. She didn’t want to violate Sienna’s trust, even with her best friend. “Would you mind if I invited her over here tonight?” She was more surprised that those words had just fallen out of her mouth than Celeste seemed to be.

  Celeste shrugged. “Sure. Wouldn’t that be weird, though? Do you guys even talk much?”

  “We’ve started to talk more lately. I’ve seen her at work a few times, and we had dinner the other night. So, yeah, we’re pretty friendly.” Juliet smiled tightly and plucked her phone from its charger.

  Celeste eyed her. “Why are you acting funny?”

  Juliet laughed, but it was clearly forced. “I’m not. What are you even talking about?”

  The sound of Juliet’s door opening interrupted them. Thank God. Brooke Cross, Celeste’s long-time girlfriend, walked in holding a six-pack and a bag of Cool Ranch Doritos.

  “Ooh, nachos,” Brooke said, beelining for the counter with the snacks laid out on it. Hello was passé. “What do you think of this color?” She flipped the ends of her freshly colored indigo hair. She didn’t bother to look up from the cheese bowl.

  “I like it.” Juliet pulled up the last text between her and Sienna.

  Having a couple of friends over to watch the Red Sox. You like baseball, don’t you? But even if you don’t, we have snacks and beer. :) You want to come over?

  Juliet put her phone down on the table and cracked open one of the beers Brooke had brought over. She did a cursory look around her house to make sure it wasn’t too messy. She didn’t think Sienna had ever been inside before. She’d picked up Declan a time or two, but he usually ran out to her car.

  The small ranch house was perfect for just her and Declan. Two bedrooms, one and a half bathrooms, and a postage stamp yard for the backyard barbecues they always planned on having but never did. Juliet kept it clean, but she wasn’t the best at decluttering. She shoved a pile of junk mail into the trash. If she hadn’t needed it yet, she wasn’t going to.

  Her phone vibrated.

  Sure, that sounds like fun. Can I bring anything?

  Juliet’s heart skipped a beat. She needed to have a long, serious talk with herself about this whole Sienna thing. But later.

  No, just you.

  Did that sound a little too much like she was planning a secret rendezvous? Juliet quickly added a thumbs up emoji to the text, hit send, and then rolled her eyes. Sienna responded with a smiley face.

  “Game’s on!” Celeste yelled from the living room. She and Brooke had commandeered the couch, leaving only the loveseat and the floor available.

  Juliet considered bringing out a kitchen chair, so Sienna wouldn’t feel obligated to sit basically on top of her on the loveseat, but a cold, hard, wooden chair didn’t seem like a better alternative. Besides, Juliet was pretty sure all of these strange feelings toward Sienna were one-sided, and on top of that, a side effect of not being intimate with anyone for a while. The last time she’d been with anyone was at least six months ago, when she and Kellie had gone out drinking after a particularly hard death had sent them screeching into each other’s arms, and not for the first time.

  Fifteen minutes later, a small knock on Juliet’s front door barely managed to break through the sounds of Celeste and Brooke screaming at the pitcher. Juliet patted down the front of her jeans, more out of habit than anything else, and opened the door.

  Sienna stood there, one hand shoved into the pocket of her light windbreaker, the other holding a to-go bag full of chicken wings.

  “I know you said not to bring anything, but I couldn’t help myself. I hope you like barbecue and sweet and sour?” Sienna said, holding the bag out for Juliet to take.

  “Oh, this is awesome, thank you.”

  Brooke sidled up next to Juliet, sniffing the air like a dog. “What is that? It smells delicious.”

  “Sienna brought chicken wings for the game. Sienna, this is Brooke.”

  Brooke said a quick hi, thanked her, and took the wings back to the living room where she and Celeste dove right in.

  “Hey, Sienna,” Celeste called through a mouthful of chicken.

  “Hi, Celeste, nice to see you again.” Sienna shrugged her jacket off. Juliet took it from her and laid it over one of the kitchen chairs.

  “Brooke is Celeste’s girlfriend. They’ve been together for fifteen years now. She’s a food aficionado.” Juliet laughed. “It’s her thing.”

  “It’s a good ‘thing’ to have.” Sienna smiled. “Thank you for the invite. Declan is home playing video games and Will was out in the pool house working, I think.”

  “I’m glad you came. Do you like baseball?” Juliet asked, leading Sienna into the living room.

  “I do. I don’t get to watch it as much as I’d like, but as soon as they make the playoffs, I’m a die-hard fan. Same with football and basketball. Hockey is too confusing.”

  Juliet nodded toward the Boston Bruins snow globe Declan had bought her for Christmas a few years back. “That’s okay, three out of four is pretty good.”

  Sienna sat on the side of the loveseat closest to the TV. She didn’t look uncomfortable, but Juliet was concerned that she would be. Knowing full well she was probably projecting, she plunked down beside her and made sure their legs didn’t touch.

  “Smith is so hot right now.” Sienna grabbed a handful of chips from the coffee table. Juliet raised her eyebrow and Sienna gave her a mischievous wink in response.

  “Yeah, but he always fizzles out when it counts,” Brooke said.

  “That is not true,” Celeste fired back, gearing up for one of her favorite pastimes: sports arguments.

  Juliet sat back against the leather cushion of the loveseat and smiled softly. She was glad her friends were so quick to include Sienna in their nonsensical debates, and Sienna seemed to be enjoying herself. The comfortable atmosphere allowed Juliet to think about something other than the Kowalskis for a minute, and it was a welcome distraction.

  Chapter Ten

  By the time Sienna unlocked her front door, she was completely exhausted. She’d had more fun with Juliet and her friends than she’d had in a very long time. During the baseball game, Brooke broke out a deck of cards and they played a few raucous games of poker while the Red Sox inched closer to winning the pennant. It was a good night.

  “Is this part of the new you, staying out until all hours of the night?”

  Sienna jumped at the intrusion and slammed back to reality. Will was sitting in the dark on the couch in the living room.

  “You scared the hell out of me.”

  “Sorry,” he said, though he didn’t sound sorry at all. “I came in to get some half-and-half and noticed you weren’t home. Figured I’d watch something on the good TV instead of the small one in the pool house.”

  “First of all, it’s not even midnight, so I would hardly call this ‘staying out until all hours of the night.’ Second, what difference does it make if I did stay out late?” Sienna asked, feeling her cheeks flush with annoyance.

  Will stood. “I didn’t say it made a difference. It’s just not like you, that’s all. I wasn’t trying to pry into your personal life or anything.” His voice dripped with sarcasm.

  “Okay, well, I’m very tired. So, if you don’t mind, I’m going to head upstairs,” Sienna said, slipping her shoes off before walking toward the staircase.

  “Sienna, wait. Brad called me today. Said he got a call from someone named Lance Cornwell. You know him?” Will asked, leaning on the doorframe to the kitchen.

  “I do.”

  “Brad’s been my personal attorney, and friend, for a long time, so hearing it from him was pretty embar
rassing, to be completely honest,” Will said.

  “Not sure what you ‘heard’ from him that I hadn’t already told you. You knew I’d be filing sooner than later.” Sienna really didn’t have it in her to get into it with Will again, but walking away would just leave everything open-ended. She didn’t want that either.

  “Did I though? Last I knew, you said you’d met with an attorney. That was it.”

  “What did you think I was meeting him about? He was going to draw up a separation agreement. Since there is no ‘legal separation’ in Massachusetts, it’s basically a way for us to negotiate an agreement before moving forward.” She cricked her neck back and forth. Did she really have to spell things out so clearly?

  “Forward with what?”

  Apparently, she did. “Divorce, Will.”

  “So, you’re really not going to give me another chance? This is it?”

  Sienna could see the sheen covering his eyes. In the beginning, she’d waffled, but the more time that passed, the surer she became. There was no point in trying to revive a marriage that had long been dead.

  “I’m sorry. I really am. Being a divorcee was never my goal, I can assure you. But we will never be happy together, not truly. And life is too short, Will. I want to be happy. I want you to be happy. This isn’t happiness. This is just…existing in the same space.”

  Will shook his head slowly. His demeanor turned stoic. “Wow. Okay. I’ll call Brad in the morning and we’ll get the ball rolling. I’d like it to be all over with sooner rather than later, as you said.”

  “Okay.” Sienna thought about going to hug him, given how sad he looked, but she decided not to in the event that it would muddy the waters she was trying so desperately to clear up.

  He went back out to the pool house, the door slamming behind him as he left. Sienna felt warm tears spring to her eyes, and she threw her shoes down on her bedroom floor with force. It was such a fine line, trying to take care of herself and not hurt Will or Declan, who she loved like he was her own son. She’d told herself over and over that it wouldn’t be fair to any of them to stay in a marriage she wasn’t happy in, and that it would be best to dissolve it before any more time passed.

  Sienna grabbed an old T-shirt from her dresser and left the rest of her clothes in a pile on the floor. She covered her entire body, including her head, with her comforter and tried to remember why she’d felt like she was skating on a cloud when she first got home. It was all just a blur.

  * * *

  Gretchen Kowalski was sitting up in her hospital bed. For the first time since the accident, she seemed like she was genuinely recovering. Sienna had been surprised to get an early morning phone call requesting her presence.

  “Good morning,” she said, placing her bag on one of the vinyl upholstered chairs. “You wanted to see me?”

  Gretchen nodded. “I’d like to go home now. I have a lot of things to go through and a lot of tasks to learn. You know, things Rich used to do. He liked to pay the bills. Felt it was cathartic. I don’t even know the password to the bank account.”

  Sienna could see that she was starting to get overwhelmed. Gretchen’s eyes glazed over, and she took a deep breath.

  Sienna touched her hand. “We can figure all of that out once you regain your strength. I’ll call all of your creditors and make sure they know what’s going on. You’re not alone in this, and that’s exactly the kind of thing I’m here for.”

  “Thank you.” Gretchen covered Sienna’s hand with her own and patted it a few times. “I have to think about…” She swallowed and closed her eyes. “Funeral arrangements, too.”

  “I know. I can help you with that too, if you want.”

  The door to Gretchen’s hospital room opened. A middle-aged woman with straight black hair and a scowl entered abruptly.

  “Who’s this?” the woman asked Gretchen while still looking at Sienna.

  “This is Sienna, from the victim helper group,” Gretchen said.

  Sienna stood and extended her hand. “Sienna Bennett. I’m a victim advocate and I’ve been working with Mrs. Kowalski. And you are?”

  The woman looked down at Sienna’s hand before shaking it with a limp fish grasp. “Monique Breen. Her daughter.”

  “Oh, it’s nice to meet you, Monique. I’m very sorry about your father,” Sienna said.

  “Stepfather, but thanks.”

  Sienna would have to go through her notes again. She didn’t remember Gretchen’s daughter being listed as the deceased’s stepdaughter, but she may have just forgotten. Either way, he’d been a part of her life for a very long time. Gretchen and Richard had been married for twenty plus years, so Monique had to have been just a child when Richard had come into the picture.

  “How much is this costing you?” Monique directed her attention back to Gretchen.

  “I don’t know, I didn’t actually ask that question.” Gretchen looked at Sienna with the question in her eyes.

  “Nothing,” Sienna confirmed. “Advocacy is a service provided by the state.”

  Monique scoffed. “Paid for with tax dollars, you mean. Nothing is free in this state. I don’t even have kids, but my money still goes to schools and silly programs every week.”

  Well, isn’t she pleasant. Sienna didn’t want to get into a discussion about the necessities of community support with a woman who clearly wasn’t interested in the logic behind it.

  “There is no out-of-pocket cost to your mother.” Sienna sat back down in the chair next to Gretchen’s bed.

  “Good. So, what is it that you do?” Monique asked, sitting on the edge of Gretchen’s bed.

  “She’s helping me with some things,” Gretchen said. “There’s a lot to be done now that Rich isn’t around anymore.”

  “We’re going to go over the options your mom has once she’s feeling up to it. There are some support groups in the area, we’ll go over her bills and finances together, we’ll talk about her role in the investigation—”

  “I can help her with all that. I don’t think a stranger coming in and taking over her finances is a good idea. There are crooks everywhere you turn.” Monique paused. “No offense.”

  Sienna swallowed, reminding herself that she needed to be professional and that lashing out at this woman wouldn’t do anyone any good.

  “I won’t be taking over her finances. My role isn’t to make any decisions. It’s simply to work with your mom on the options that she has and to help her figure out what works for her. It’s about helping her be independent.”

  “I don’t think it’s necessary.”

  “Monique, please. I requested her.” Gretchen was singing a different tune than she had a few days ago, just as Sienna had thought she would once she’d had a chance to process what had happened. Sienna was pleased that Gretchen had seemingly changed her mind about her effectiveness. “I want her here.”

  “Mom, I can do your bills and take you to a support group if you want to go. We don’t need anyone intruding into our personal business. No offense.”

  Fuck off. “None taken, but again, this isn’t about intruding into your mom’s life.”

  “Sienna, why don’t you come back in a little bit? Is that possible?” Gretchen asked. She looked so forlorn that Sienna wanted to slap the bangs off Monique’s forehead.

  “Yes, I can do that,” Sienna said. She gathered up her things and looked at the clock. “Will an hour be enough time?”

  “That will be fine, thanks,” Gretchen said.

  Sienna nodded at Monique, who was sporting a smug look of victory.

  Rather than hang around the hospital for the next hour, Sienna decided a visit to the police station might be in order. She didn’t like Monique Breen one bit.

  Chapter Eleven

  Juliet stuffed the last bite of the gas station hot dog she’d bought into her mouth as Sienna walked through the front door of the station. For a horrifying second, she thought she might choke, but she was able to swallow it down with minimal effort. She too
k a long sip of the Great Guzzle she’d bought along with it, because who didn’t need a gallon of soda to help them through the day? Then she sorted through the papers on her desk to make herself look busy as Sienna made her way over to her office.

  “Hey,” Juliet said, acting surprised to see her. “What are you doing here?”

  “Hey. I have to be back at the hospital in an hour, but I wanted to check in with you first. What do you know about Monique Breen?” Sienna asked. She dropped her bag onto one of Juliet’s chairs and leaned against the wall.

  “Kowalski’s daughter? Not much, why do you ask?”

  “I don’t know. She’s visiting with Gretchen now. She’s actually his stepdaughter, as she made it a point to tell me. She’s just really cold about the whole thing. It could just be her way of grieving, I’ve seen it before, but something just feels off about her.” Sienna shrugged.

  Juliet pulled up the interview records on her laptop. “Quinlan interviewed her the day it all happened. She confirmed she’d gone to the library to bring Richard a blueberry muffin and a coffee. She told us she did that every once in a while, so it was nothing out of the ordinary. Gretchen couldn’t confirm or deny how often it happened, but she did say that Richard had mentioned Monique stopping by a time or two. And Tara Wolfe, his assistant, also said she’d seen Monique around the library before. She doesn’t have any sort of record, so we haven’t put much stock in her as a suspect.” Juliet scanned the records on the screen. “She drives a silver Corolla, so I don’t think that could be confused with a red truck, ever.”

  Sienna pursed her lips. “Okay. Just a feeling, but I’ve been wrong before. She may not be a psychopath, but she’s definitely a bitch.”

  Juliet smirked. “That I can see. I don’t know her well, but she’s never been the friendliest person.”

  Sienna toyed with a pencil and then looked up sharply. “Where’s the coffee cup?” Sienna asked.

  “What coffee cup?”