She went inside the house and into the kitchen, rummaging through the junk drawer for the garage door remote. As she headed back outside, she looked up at the sliver of a moon, hanging low in the darkening sky. Maybe there would be no moon by Halloween, which was only a few days away. She shivered instinctively, her mind on all the masks people wore.
“Jamie.”
Jamie gasped, nearly dropping the remote. She glanced back to see Emma standing on the back porch, closing the door behind her. Duchess began barking and scratching at the door. “Duchess, stop,” Emma snapped, which caused Duchess to switch to a whine, but she quit scratching.
“You scared me,” said Jamie as Emma came down the steps to join her outside the garage.
“What are you doing?” Emma asked.
“I was going to check on Mom’s car. See how it’s running.”
“It’s dark out.”
“I know, but I didn’t feel like waiting till tomorrow. I’ve barely looked inside the garage.”
“I haven’t seen it in a while,” Emma said, making Jamie wonder if she meant the garage or the car.
She pressed the button and the garage door began humming upward, and the light attached to the roof automatically turned on. The Subaru’s green hatchback was in front of Jamie and she tested it to see if it was locked. It opened easily on hydraulics to show the inside of the back cargo space, its carpet immaculately clean.
“Mom took care of her car,” Jamie observed.
Emma didn’t answer. Jamie looked around and saw that Emma was focused on some shelving cluttered with cans of weed killer, a spade, a rake, and other gardening items, all held up by concrete blocks.
Jamie recalled the light that had danced across the yard, ending at the garage at about the same spot as that shelving. She stared at the blocks. They were a daisy pattern. Just like Cooper had told her he’d seen in the security tape of Metcalf’s murder.
“I stayed with the car,” said Emma.
“What?” Jamie asked, her gaze riveted on the blocks, the hairs on her arms lifting in premonition.
“I stayed with the car while she did it.”
Jamie slowly turned to Emma, who gave a full-body shudder. “She?” Jamie asked.
“She had to do it for justice.”
Jamie’s heart started beating in her ears. “You were in the car while our mother . . . murdered Dr. Metcalf . . . ?”
“Alain. She hit him with that one.” Emma pointed to one of the concrete blocks. Jamie leaned forward, then took a step closer, bending to look at it closely. There were tiny traces of rust-colored flecks on the daisy pattern.
“Our mother killed Dr. Metcalf?” Jamie asked again faintly.
Emma patted Jamie on the shoulder. “Mom knew. That’s why she called you home.”
