Chapter 24

Sunday wasn’t so great. A few minutes before one p.m. Mom and I arrived at the packed Lutheran Church on Poplar Street. As we pulled into one of the last spots in the parking lot, I spotted Ember with her parents ahead of us and waved.

Inside the church all the pews were full. We joined Ember and her family as they stood at the back, out of the way. At the front of the church was a closed coffin, draped in blankets of white roses. I shivered despite the warmth of the packed church. I remembered being at Mr. Wright’s funeral a few months before, and I hugged my arms around my waist, wondering what was happening to tiny, peaceful Rushton. I scanned through the crowd, looking for Bellamy, and spotted him toward the middle of the church. The chief was seated in the same pew, just a few people away from him. I wondered if it was a coincidence.

Mom put her arm around me and pulled me close as the music started, signaling the beginning of the service. Reverend Colburn opened his Bible as I remembered April at Ember’s sleepover, proclaiming herself a Lutheran. I pulled a tissue out of my purse and mopped my eyes. It seemed like all I did recently was cry.

The service was long. April would have loved it as a beautiful slide show of pictures focused on her life, but of course April wasn’t there to enjoy being the center of attention. The church choir sang a bunch of songs. April’s parents sat at the front, sobbing and holding each other.

At long last the funeral ended, and the pallbearers bore the casket down the wide center aisle of the church. Mr. and Mrs. Legowski followed the casket, tears streaming down their faces. Mrs. Legowski looked as if she could barely walk as she leaned on her husband’s shoulder. She looked up as she passed us and suddenly her eyes opened wide. Pushing away from her husband, she stepped over and stopped in front of Mom and me.

“How dare you show your faces here?” she demanded. The church full of mourners, who had been murmuring and standing, fell silent.

“What is it, Ellen?” Mom spoke gently to her.

“This is your fault. Your fault and your daughter’s fault.” Mrs. Legowski’s swollen eyes blazed with anger and spots appeared on her pale cheeks.

Mom looked as stunned as I was. My mouth fell open.

“What do you mean?” I asked after a pause, my voice quavering.

“She was in your car. Obviously, someone did this to send a message to your mother. One of those low-lifes she’s always defending. It should have been you, not April!”

I flinched back, and Mom pulled me close to her side.

Mr. Legowski tugged at his wife’s arm. “Come away, dear. Come away.”

“No,” Mrs. Legowski hissed. “I won’t come away, dear. You saw April that afternoon. You saw her. And then she was found in your car. You saw something, you know something!” Her voice rose and she reached out toward me.

Mom released my arm and stepped in front of me as if to shield me from Mrs. Legowski. “We are so sorry. I hope you know we had nothing to do with this. We’re leaving. We’re sorry we’ve upset you by being here.”

She took my arm again, steering me away from the crowd gathered around us and past the casket outside the front door as fast as possible. As we speed-walked toward the parking lot, the chief came hustling up behind us.

“Hold on, ladies,” he grunted. “Let me escort you to your vehicle.”

“What the hell was that all about?” Mom demanded, as we made our way to our car. “Do you think there’s something to what Ellen said? Did you turn up something on one of my clients and not tell me? I need to know what’s going on. After everything that happened with the cat at our house and my car and then April, you ought to tell us if we’re in danger.”

We reached our car as her outburst ended.

He held up a hand. “Hold on, Nora. You know I’d tell you if something like that came up in the investigation. My first priority is to keep everyone safe, which includes you and Lauren. But I did see the high school principal talking to Ellen before the service. I can tell you he’s plenty agitated and offended because Lauren said April was at his house. Claims Lauren’s lying about it.”

“Why would I lie?” I was furious at myself and Bellamy.

“He claims you’re upset because you were in detention the other day. He said you and Ember caused some kind of ruckus.”

Before I could respond, Mom did. “Lauren wouldn’t lie, especially about something as important as this.”

He held up his hand again. It seemed to be his power move, because she stopped talking.

“I don’t think Lauren’s lying, for what it’s worth. There’s something I don’t like about Bellamy, but I have to tell you he invited me to search his premises without a warrant, and I did. I didn’t turn up anything related to April at all. Looks like the house of a neat-freak bachelor. That’s not a crime. It’s also not a crime that his smarmy attitude doesn’t sit right with me.”

“So what are we supposed to do?” Mom asked, clicking the locks open on the car.

“Go home. Keep your doors locked. See about a security system. Stay away from the Legowskis until they’ve settled down. Give me time to do my job.” He took his mirrored sunglasses out of his uniform pocket and put them on.

For the first time, I realized how old he was. The deep lines in his face made it seem like he’d aged ten years since April’s death.

“Okay,” Mom said. “I’m trusting you to let us know what we need to know. I hope you figure this out soon.”

We got in the car and Mom pulled out of the parking lot. In my sideview mirror I saw Bellamy. He seemed to be staring after us. I bit my lip and turned on the radio.

****

At least the Sunday night dinner with Gordon was great. After we all talked about the funeral and the weird confrontation with Mrs. Legowski, the conversation lightened up. He and Mom joked back and forth, trading silly stories about their pasts. It turned out Gordon had gone to Michigan State for undergrad like my mom, but because of the forty thousand other students, their paths had never crossed.

“Well, I studied accounting and received my degree. But maybe you can tell I’m not exactly CPA material.” Gordon smiled and ate a big bite of the yummy vegetarian lasagna we’d whipped up. “But I do like numbers and I like people. Running my own business seemed like the way to go.”

“Where were you before you came to Rushton?” Mom inquired.

“We—my wife and I—had a nice little café and bookstore all the way across the state, in Port Huron. But after she passed away, I needed a change of scene.” He didn’t seem uncomfortable talking about his deceased wife. He also sounded like he’d always been a good businessman, despite his laid-back “dude” persona, which was a plus. The last thing my mom needed was to support some deadbeat. I’d heard about guys like that.

After dinner I excused myself to go to my room. I claimed I needed to do some homework, but I wanted to give them some time alone. I also wanted to call Jamie at the SOB.

But he couldn’t talk. “I’ve had non-stop customers all night. The floors are a mess, the bathrooms are a mess. I’m sorry, but I have to get this place cleaned up and get home to Ethan.”

“It’s okay.” I tried not to sound weepy or sad, although I’d been both off and on all afternoon. I didn’t want to be that girlfriend, the clingy, needy one. I was trying hard to remember what Mom had said about Jamie’s life, and I was trying hard to understand that if I wanted to be part of his life, I had to give him all the time and space he needed to take care of himself and Ethan.

I sprawled across my bed later, trying to fall asleep. Duke softly snored on the floor beside my bed. Outside, the wind picked up and rattled my window panes behind the blinds. I was scared. Scared to go to sleep, because I might dream. Scared to go to school, because I was supposed to meet with Bellamy tomorrow afternoon for our “interview.” Scared to say anything more to the chief or Mom about my suspicions in case they didn’t believe me.

“Come here, Duke,” I finally whispered, patting the foot of my bed. He woke up instantly and didn’t have to be asked twice. With his warm body pressed against my cold feet, I finally fell asleep.