“I’m sorry again if I scared you,” I said, accepting the mug of tea Candace was handing to me. “It probably was a hiker. I mean, she waved when I called out to her, or him … whoever.”
She sat in the chair across from me on the sofa and curled her legs underneath her. “No, I’m sure you’re right.” I looked Candace over. Her hair was brushed today and she didn’t look like she had been crying, but the bags under her eyes hinted that she wasn’t sleeping.
“But you should probably mention it to Amos.”
She nodded and pulled a pillow on her lap. “He and Sheriff Bigly are coming over later. I will.”
I nodded and looked around. “Where is everybody?”
“Joey and Antonia took his grandmother to the doctor,” Candace said, taking a quick glance at her phone. “She was having a rough morning.”
“Oh.” I wanted to say So they left you here alone? But I restrained myself. It felt pretty judgey.
“Joey wanted to stay, but Antonia…” She shook her head. “I told him I was fine.”
“Are you really though?” I asked, blowing on my tea. “Now that we know for sure…”
“That Lyssa’s death was suspicious?” She took a deep breath. “I don’t know. Amos said they need more information about her—and I want to help—but I don’t know what more I can tell them. I mean, it’s been years since we were really close. And even back in college, we weren’t ever really … confidants. You know what I mean?”
I frowned. “Not exactly.”
“Well, Lyssa was always lots of fun and over-the-top. That’s why I was so drawn to her. I was kind of shy,” she said with a small shrug. “But I can’t help but think she used all that … personality as a way to keep people at a distance.”
“Why?”
“From what I could piece together, her childhood was pretty rough.” Candace shook her head and looked out the window. “She didn’t get along with her adoptive parents. The only time she ever really told me about it was when I got back to the dorm one night and found her superdrunk.” She picked at a loose thread on the pillow in her lap. “She had just contacted her birth mother for the first time.”
I waited.
“Her mother wanted nothing to do with her. Hung up as soon as she knew who it was.”
I let go of the breath I didn’t know I was holding. “Wow. That’s rough.”
“Yeah, but then the next morning, she was back to her usual self. When I brought it up, she pretended like she didn’t know what I was talking about, and we were off to the next party.”
It was hard to reconcile the version of Lyssa I had created in my head with this new information. Maybe she wasn’t as free and confident as I had thought.
“I just wish I could have been a better friend to her, you know?” A tear slipped down Candace’s cheek. She quickly brushed it away.
I nodded. “What about her boyfriend? Justin? Has anyone been able to track him down?”
“Still haven’t heard from him. The police haven’t located him. I can’t even find any pictures of him online.”
I frowned. “Really?”
“Yeah, it’s weird.” Candace grabbed her phone again. “Lyssa was always pretty big on social media, but now it’s like she’s been scrubbed clean.”
I came over and sat beside her. We spent a few minutes trolling the usual sites, but Lyssa was nowhere to be found, except for a few old pictures from Candace’s pages.
“That is weird.”
“And that’s not all,” Candace said. “I’ve been going over that night again and again, and…”
“And?”
“Well, Lyssa had this bag. Like a purse. But it was kind of big.” Candace sized out the shape with her hands. “She wouldn’t let it out of her sight. She insisted she take it to the Dawg. I didn’t think anything of it at first. But now … it seemed out of place.”
“You told Amos about all this, right?”
“I told him, but…” She sighed. “I feel terrible saying it, but I’m worried about whether he’s up to this job.”
I nodded.
“I hope this Sheriff Bigly is more like…”
“Grady?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.
She shot me an awkward smile.
“You can say his name, you know.”
“I know. I just didn’t want to be…” I could see the struggle to find the right words play across her face. “I hope this doesn’t sound wrong, but I’m just so happy that I found Joey. It’s like finding … home. I want that for you too. Whoever it’s with.” Her eyes darted up to mine. “Does that sound bad?”
“No, not at all. Thank you,” I said, giving her hand a pat. “I kind hope for the same thing.”
We sat in silence for a moment.
“You never know,” Candace said in a slightly lighter tone. “Maybe this vacation of Grady’s will be good for him.”
I looked at her, eyebrow raised. “You think?”
“Oh yeah,” she said with just a bit of a smile. “He needs to relax.” Her smile broadened. “Like we get it, dude. You’re sheriff.” She rolled her eyes. “Of the fun police.”
I burst out laughing. I couldn’t help it. I was surprised to hear Candace joke that way. Not just because of the circumstances, but because she was normally so … nice.
“You know,” I said suddenly. “I’m really happy you’ve found your home in Joey. That’s amazing.”
“Thanks,” she said, before taking a shaky breath. “But you and Freddie are the amazing ones. I just wanted to say … I know how much is involved in this wedding. If for whatever reason, you guys—”
“The wedding’s going to be great, Candace,” I said.
“But I want you to know if you want out—”
“Out?” I near shouted. “Never. And don’t you worry. We’re not going to let you down.”