As I turned down the old farm road, I sighed with relief. My eyes were watery from exhaustion, the heat blasting through the vents of my car threatening to lull me to sleep…
I groaned when I pulled in, staring at the shiny Gold Toyota. Parking next to it, I glanced wearily over at Adrianna. She was leaned back in the driver’s chair, arms crossed tightly over her chest. I wonder how long she’s been waiting.
As I gathered up my bag off the passenger’s seat, she was already out of her car. I stepped out of the driver’s side, meeting her nose to nose.
“My daughter got caught skipping school today. Would you believe that?” Adrianna wheezed.
“It’s not like we never did it,” I said, nonchalantly.
“True. But here’s the thing: she said that she was exploring the old Cornwall trailer. And guess who helped her get in?” Adrianna’s jaw jumped in her cheek. She was furious.
I took a deep breath, leaning against the hood of my car. It was still warm, keeping my bottom side toasty in the chilly autumn air.
“Look. I saw her out there again, only this time she wasn’t with that little girl Cally. She was with a boy. Some thug named Pierre. They were already trying to break in when I found them. I didn’t do any helping…”
Adrianna scoffed at me. “And you didn’t think to call me? I mean, you see two teenagers skipping school, vandalizing property, and you don’t stop to think you should call their parents?”
“Well, the thought crossed my mind. But we’re not friends anymore, Adrianna. I didn’t even know she was your daughter till the other day … and that boy she was with, he seemed like a real asshole. I thought it was better for me to go inside with her than him. She was determined to look around,” I said.
It wasn’t quite the truth, but it also wasn’t a lie. I had been concerned for the girl, but at the same time, I’d wanted to check out the old Cornwall trailer myself.
Adrianna’s face softened. “I’m sorry … it’s just … she’s a wild one, that girl.”
I couldn’t help it; I chuckled. “They say it comes back around, don’t they? We weren’t all sunshine and rainbows ourselves.”
Something in Adrianna’s face changed … a loosening up of that hard, tough-girl façade. She smiled, softly. “Well, we weren’t all that bad either, were we? We turned out okay.”
Did we? I wondered. I guess only time will tell.
“Want to come in for a minute?” I asked.
Adrianna stared up at the old farmhouse. How long has it been since she stepped inside? I wondered. At least thirty years…
“Nah. I’d better get going… It’s almost eight…”
“Come on. Just for a minute. Let’s chat,” I urged her. The truth was, I wanted to sit down and talk to Adrianna about as much as I wanted to talk to my aunt Lane earlier. But I had ulterior motives now … I wanted to ask her about her witness statement. The one that claimed Chrissy had forced Jenny into her truck that day…
“All right. Just a few minutes though,” Adrianna relented.
We were thick as thieves, as my mother once called us. At one point in our lives, I knew everything about Adrianna Montgomery—her favorite color and her favorite band, what she wanted to be when she grew up … and she knew everything about me too. We were close, deep-in-the-bones close, and then Jenny happened.
After the murder, Adrianna’s parents would no longer let her hang out with me. But they couldn’t stop her from talking to me at school … she made that choice all on her own.
Staring across the table at my old best friend, I realized she was a stranger. I knew nothing about her life now. And all she knew of mine was what was in the news.
“How’s your husband … what’s his name?” I asked. I’d made coffee for us, but no matter how much I drank, I couldn’t get the fragrant tea flavor from Lane’s out of my mouth.
“Amanda’s father’s name is Chuck. But we’re not together anymore,” she said, briskly.
“Ah. Sorry to hear that.”
“Well, I’m not sorry. The man is a turd. He comes in and out of her life. Frankly, I think that’s one of her biggest problems. She’s angry at him, so she takes it out on me,” Adrianna explained.
I could understand that. As a child, it was easier to get upset with Mom than Dad. I expected more of her, so when I was upset about something, I wanted her to fix it. I needed her to. Then after she left … I turned all my anger inwards, forming a neat little cocoon around my heart.
“What about you? Never married?” Adrianna slurped her coffee.
I hated this question, but I’d heard it a hundred times. “No. Never married.”
The truth was, I hadn’t met anyone whom I could even remotely imagine spending the rest of my life with, or, worse, having children with. I’d dated a couple guys in college, but those were mostly fun flings that didn’t last more than a couple months. I always thought there would be time for more … but now, I was back here, in the revolving door of Austin. And I didn’t see any romantic prospects in my future here.
“And how’s the interview with Chrissy going?” Adrianna frowned at me over her coffee mug.
“You know I can’t talk about that. I’m still trying to put the pieces together,” I said.
Adrianna quirked one eyebrow at me, just like Amanda had only hours earlier. The mother and daughter were more alike than they realized.
“Do you really believe she’s innocent?” Adrianna asked.
I had half a mind to tell my old friend the truth: yes, I did. But, considering that she was a journalist, it didn’t seem safe to discuss it yet.
“I’m not sure of anything,” I said, which was pretty close to the truth. “I did come across something interesting though … I had
