“Here. I built a house on my family’s old property.”
“How’s Luke?” Thea asked.
“He’s well,” I said. “He’s a doctor. Lives in LA.”
“He was supersmart,” Thea said. “I’m not surprised. Tell him I say hello.” She turned back to Carlie. “I’d love to get your number so we can catch up over drinks.”
“Sure.” She waited for Thea to pull out her phone, then rattled off her number.
“I’ll let you two get back to your dinner,” Thea said. “My mother’s expecting me home.”
“It was nice to see you,” Carlie said.
“You too.”
“I’ll call you tomorrow.” Thea gave us a nod before scuttling away.
Carlie’s gaze followed her until she disappeared through the double doors into the dining room. She turned back to me. Leaning closer, she spoke quietly. “Is it just me or did she seem like she was hiding something?”
“It’s not just you.” I kept my voice low also, worried about eavesdroppers. “Do you remember much about her?”
“I remember her as being small and annoyingly perky. My sister didn’t like her. I remember that too. She was always talking about how Thea would copy what she did, like everything was a competition. When Beth was voted head cheerleader by the squad, Thea had a fit. One time Thea made a move on Luke. Do you think she could have killed Beth?”
“Jealousy as a motive?” I asked. “That’s pretty thin.”
“You don’t know teenage girls.”
“I got the feeling that the whole thing had a very negative effect on her life. She looks like someone who’s had a checkered past.”
“I thought the same thing. The question is—did she go to her grandparents’ because she was sad or because she had something to do with the murder and wanted to get out of town?”
“Possibly. But don’t you think she’s too small to have been able to tackle Beth to the ground and stab her?”
“Probably. The cops thought without question the killer was a man.” Carlie closed her eyes for a second as a wave of pain pinched her features.
“Hey, are you okay?” I asked.
“I hate thinking about her last moments.” Her eyes filled. “I try never to think of them. It’s such a disservice to the dead when we think only of how they went out as opposed to how they lived.”
I should not have been talking about the case as if we were merely detached, as if it were a murder mystery in some movie. This was real. Both our families had been torn apart because of it. All these years later the repercussions from Beth’s death were still reverberating through those of us who were involved. I reached across the table to stroke her cheek. “What can I do?”
“You’re already doing it by not insisting that I get over it. My husband did that all the time. I think he thought he was giving me tough love by shaming me—telling me that all my sister would want was for me to move on and stop dwelling on the past.”
“You don’t have to pretend to be anything but yourself with me. I was there with you when it happened. I’m going to be here when you finally learn the truth.”
“Everywhere I go in this town, the ghosts of the past appear, yet I still don’t know the truth.” She reached across the table for my hands. “Thanks for being here. Now and then.”
If I had anything to say about it, I’d be here for all the rest of the days of her life.
13
Carlie
The next afternoon, I sat in a corner booth with Thea at Misty’s Bar. I ordered an overpriced white wine. Thea asked for the house vodka with soda. Neither of us said anything after the server walked away. Feeling awkward, I asked after her mother.
“She’s the same. Still lives in the house I grew up in.”
“The one by the church?”
“That’s right. How’s your mother?”
“My mother’s moving to the retirement community south of town,” I said. “She’s taken up golfing with her new boyfriend.”
“That’s nice.” Thea’s thinly plucked eyebrows drew together. “My mom’s had boyfriends over the years. Quite a few, actually. None ever last. She knows how to pick a loser. Like mother, like daughter.”
“I didn’t pick too well the first time either,” I said, hoping to make her feel better.
“I’m surprised. You and Beth were always perfect at everything.”
“We may have seemed that way, but my mother would tell you differently.”
“You and Cole together now?” Thea asked.
“We’ve only recently reconnected.”
“You seemed pretty chummy last night.”
“We were in love when we were kids. Old habits die hard, I guess.” I purposely underplayed my relationship with Cole. It was none of her business, and I didn’t feel the need to explain my deep feelings about Cole to a stranger.
“That’s cool. Good for you.”
The server brought our drinks. We both sipped greedily. This might go down as one of the most awkward afternoons of my life.
“How long are you in town?” I asked. She might have already told me, but I couldn’t remember.
“I’m not sure.”
“Was there another reason for your visit, or was it just to see your mom?” I took another sip from my wine. Crisp like a green apple. The wine was good but not enough for the price. My ex-husband had always commented on my cheapness. If I hadn’t been, how would he have had enough to pay off his prostitute?
But the bitterness didn’t surface as it used to. Nor did the pain. I almost chuckled to myself. I didn’t care anymore. Cole Paisley was back in my life. My heart fluttered. For heaven’s sake, I was acting like a teenager. I needed to focus on Thea and not how anxious I was to get out of here and drive out to his house. Our dinner with Joseph had been postponed by my mother. She’d come up with a sudden headache after lunch and said we’d have to do it another time. I wasn’t sure if she was making up the headache as an excuse. Regardless, I didn’t push the issue. Mom
