“My mother? She was just a child. How is that even—”
“Possible?” Hugh answered. “The four of us talked it over many times after it happened. We think Norman pulled a gun on Roxy, and she charged at him. The gun went off, killing him. Their arguing probably woke your mother. She came into the room at some point—we don’t know whether it was before or after. When Roxy realized what she’d done, we think she dropped the gun. Your mother picked it up, and when she saw her father dead on the ground, she aimed the gun at Roxy.”
“Unfortunately, she had very good aim,” Helen added. “The single shot killed Roxy immediately.”
“And my mother?” Addison asked. “Where was she?”
“All curled up in the corner of the room, crying.”
“So you see,” Helen said, “it was an accident. Your mother probably didn’t mean to shoot her. She got scared. Her father was her whole world. She was only trying to protect him. She didn’t know Roxy had only been trying to defend herself.”
“But why not tell the police? What would they possibly do to a child?”
“That’s just it,” Marjorie said. “We didn’t know what they’d do. And we weren’t about to risk it. Our primary concern was to protect your mother. We couldn’t imagine all the questions the police would have asked her, or how many times they would have grilled her, making her relive the events over and over again. I couldn’t put her through that.”
“So what did you do?” Addison asked.
Marjorie spoke up. “I had her stay with Helen while I dealt with the police. When all the fuss died down and we’d destroyed the evidence, I left Grayson Manor knowing I would never return. The four of us made a deal to never mention what happened again.”
“Did my mother ever tell you what actually happened?”
“She didn’t,” Marjorie said. “In fact, I did everything I could to help her forget it, but I know she never did.”
Luke leaned forward. “We know Addison’s grandfather was buried in the woods. What we don’t know is—what did you do with Roxanne Rafferty?”