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“Look!” Claudia hissed, poking Scott.
They were lounging poolside. Scott’s baseball cap was resting on his face, blocking out the sun while he snoozed. Claudia, meanwhile, was sitting with her unopened book in her lap. She was more interested in people watching than in reading.
When Scott didn’t respond, she poked him again.
He snorted and sat up.
“Did I wake you?” she asked innocently.
“Uh huh.”
“You should put some sunscreen on anyway,” she said, handing him the bottle. “As I was saying, look over there,” she said with a nod. “That’s Ashton pacing back and forth behind the popcorn maker.”
“When do you suppose they’re going to make more popcorn?” Scott wondered. “The stuff they served the other day was so good - very buttery, and exactly the right amount of salt. Making perfect popcorn is a science, you know.”
“Yes, okay. Anyway, look at Ashton!”
“What about him?”
“He’s pacing,” Claudia said, in case Scott had missed it. “He seems agitated.”
“Well his brother did recently turn up murdered,” Scott pointed out.
“Yeah. And he doesn’t seem particularly sad about it, does he? No tears, no visible grief. Only pacing. Ashton and Chad weren’t close, you know. I’ve been talking to people. I’ve found things out.”
“Not all siblings are close,” Scott reminded her. “You and your sister aren’t close.”
“That’s different. My sister is, well...you know how she is.”
“How is she feeling these days?”
“Huh?”
“Your sister. She’s pregnant. How is she feeling?”
“I have no idea. We don’t talk.”
Scott raised an eyebrow. “I thought you mail handwritten letters every week.”
“Yes, letters to her children. Not letters to her. It isn’t my fault,” Claudia insisted. “I’ve tried tirelessly to have a better relationship with my sister. She’s never receptive, not even a little. I can’t be expected to keep trying forever when there’s no reciprocation whatsoever.”
“No, I suppose not.” Scott took a deep breath and then reluctantly made a suggestion. “Pride is a dangerous thing. It can cloud a person’s judgment. Sometimes you can’t see the forest for the trees, you know what I mean? I think maybe sometimes one has to be the bigger person.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, as you were talking just now, I started thinking about Emily. You’ve often said she’s like a sister to you. You two became best friends pretty much the day you moved into the house down the road from her place,” Scott reminded her. “You two are like peanut butter and jelly.”
“Sticky and unhealthy?”
He rolled his eyes. “You know what I mean. I know you two had a big, ugly argument. I get that you’ve fallen out. But do you think maybe you should try to put that behind you and move forward?”
“No.”
“It would be a real shame to throw away such a close friendship over one argument.”
“Scott, Emily said some truly awful things to me,” Claudia said somberly. She felt her blood pressure rise as she remembered the cruel - and perhaps not entirely inaccurate - accusations Emily had made.
“Did you also say awful things to her?” Scott asked knowingly.
“Not as horrible,” Claudia replied, averting her eyes. Then she frowned. “Okay, maybe kind of horrible. I told her she has a history of dating weirdos. And I may have implied that Kyle could also be a weirdo...maybe even a killer.”
“Do you really think Kyle killed his cousin?”
“Probably not. But I can’t say for sure. And what she said to me was worse.”
“What did she say?”
Claudia hesitated. “I don’t want to get into it,” she finally replied. “At least what I said to Emily came from a place of concern. I could have been more tactful, I’m sure...but I said what I did because I care about Emily’s well-being. What she said to me was downright mean-spirited.”
Scott mulled it over. “Was it unforgivable?” he finally asked. “Because if not, then I think -”
“Look!” Claudia interrupted, her eyes glued to Ashton.
He had finally stopped pacing. But in a display of pent up rage, he suddenly wound up and punched the wall nearest to him. He immediately grimaced and began to favor his hand. It was difficult to be certain given how far away he was, but Claudia was pretty sure he had tears streaming down his cheeks.
“Poor guy,” Scott said. “He seems like he’s in a bad place right now.”
“I think it’s guilt,” Claudia told him. “I think he killed his own brother and now his guilty conscience is catching up with him.”
“Why would he kill Chad?”
“Chad owed him money.”
“But I got the impression Ashton is very well off due to that cryptocurrency stuff he’s into. Would he really murder his brother over an unpaid loan? It isn’t as though Ashton is hurting for money,” Scott pointed out.
“It probably wasn’t about the money. It was about the way Chad treated Ashton,” Claudia explained. “After a lifetime of being mistreated and taken advantage of by his own brother, Ashton finally snapped. The loan was merely the straw that broke the camel’s back.”
“How would Ashton have even managed to kill Chad?” Scott asked. “Look at him. He injured himself simply by rage-punching a wall. He’s not a fighter. He’s not even coordinated. I’m pretty sure I’ve seen him trip over his own feet and nearly faceplant three separate times now.”
“Remember our conversation about Lucy? She’s tiny and probably not very strong. We decided she would have been able to overpower Chad if he was blackout drunk. Couldn’t the same explanation apply to Ashton?”
“I suppose,” Scott said doubtfully. “But I still don’t think Ashton is the killer. Now Lucy, on the other hand...she had motive and we know she was near the steakhouse when the fight was taking place.”
“I’m telling you, it wasn’t Lucy. Ashton is the most likely suspect.”
“I guess we’ll have to agree to disagree,” Scott said. “Now back to what we were talking about...you and Emily are two of my favorite people. I’m sure you two can work through whatever it is you’re so angry about. I think you should be the bigger person and extend an olive branch, Claudia.”
“I guess we’ll have to agree to disagree,” Claudia shot back.
She understood what Scott was trying to do, but she wasn’t having it. She was still far too upset over what had transpired to even consider reconciling with her best friend. Part of her felt like it was best to walk away from the friendship entirely, for good. Some people just weren’t worth having in one’s life.
