“I don’t know about this,” Jordan said. Colby, Milo and Jordan were about a block away from the house.
In Colby’s pocket was the bracelet.
The only thing left from their haul.
Colby was going to give it back.
“Why don’t we just mail it?” Milo said.
“We’re not going to tell them we did it,” Colby explained again. “We’ll say it was our friend, who felt bad—which we do—and wanted to give back the bracelet.”
“We could say it was Gigi,” Jordan offered.
“No!” Milo and Colby both barked.
There was the house.
And this time, there were people home.
Splashing and happy kid screams came from the backyard. Colby remembered seeing the pool, but it had been covered when they were there before. There were two kids in the family, according to Gigi’s information. Colby wondered which one the bracelet belonged to.
“I’ll do it by myself,” she said, striding up the front steps.
So Jordan and Milo hung back at the bottom of the steps, practically cowering.
Colby rang the doorbell.
Long, torturous minutes passed.
A woman wearing a uniform opened the door.
“May I help you?”
Colby glanced at Jordan and Milo, who nodded. But Colby didn’t want to give it to the housekeeper.
“Can I speak to the lady of the house?” she asked. The words sounded strange. Archaic.
“And you are?”
“I, uh…” All of a sudden Colby wasn’t sure about this at all. When she and Shauna were talking about amends, Colby had thought giving the bracelet back was a great idea, but now it seemed stupid and dangerous. Still… she wanted to do it. “I have something of hers that I’d like to return.”
The woman frowned at her. “Wait here.”
She closed the door.
Colby spun around, one hand on Luna in the sling, the other held out, imploring her friends for help.
Jordan and Milo shook their heads and stood a little closer together.
“Thanks.” Colby turned her back to them. “Thanks a lot.”
Luna reached up and patted Colby’s chest. “Thanks, Luna. Good to know someone cares.”
The door opened again, and a slender woman stood in front of her, wearing a cotton dress over a swimsuit, damp hair pulled back into a sleek ponytail.
“What can I do for you?”
“This is yours.” Colby held out the bracelet. “Right?”
The woman went pale. She took the bracelet, staring at it in the palm of her hand for a moment and then suddenly sliding to the floor and sitting in a folded heap of dress and legs.
“Where did you get this?” she whispered.
Colby hadn’t expected this reaction. Surprise or anger, even relief. But not this. And Colby wasn’t even sure what it was.
“Where did you get this?” the woman asked, looking up. There were tears in her eyes. In that moment, she seemed to collect herself. Almost as if an unseen hand was lifting her up and putting her back together. It was like watching a puzzle picture take shape. She asked again, much more sharply. “Where did you get this? Answer me.”
“A friend gave it to me to give to you,” Colby said.
“A friend?” The woman shook her head. “This same ‘friend’ who robbed us? Is that right?”
“I don’t know.” Colby backed down the stairs. “But she said to give it back to you.”
“This bracelet belongs—belonged—to my daughter.” The tears started again. “She was three when she got cancer. We buried her eleven days after her fourth birthday. She never took it off. I took it off. Of her dead body. Do you understand? I took this bracelet off my child’s dead body.”
The housekeeper appeared beside the woman. “Come, Mrs. Ellis. Come now.”
“Off her dead body,” the woman repeated. Her shoulders slacked, and a tiny smile formed on her lips. “But I—”
“I’m sorry,” Colby said. She held Luna tightly. Her own tears threatened to spill. “I’m so sorry.”
“Let’s go,” Milo called.
“Come on!” Jordan said.
They were clearly anxious about what was going on. About what Colby might say next. What she might admit to.
Colby wasn’t thinking about the robbery though.
She was thinking about the woman’s child.
She was thinking about her own baby.
She was thinking about her own mother.
She was thinking about everything that had ever gone wrong.
She was thinking about Gigi.
About how the thing that had held the least value for Gigi was so valuable to this woman. How taking something had caused so much pain. How awful it was that Colby had made it worse. How they’d all made it worse.
Colby wanted to tell Gigi how good it was that she’d given the bracelet back. How holding on to the bracelet had made such a big difference. How she’d done a small, shining good thing amid all the gloom.
“Let’s close the door now.” The housekeeper started to pushed the door shut, but the woman stopped her.
“Thank you,” she said. “For bringing it back.”
And then she slammed the door in Colby’s face, the noise of it ringing in her ears.