“You weren’t old enough to know how deep it shook people,” Honey goes on, and I see her shudder. “Finding those sweet girls out there. Like that.”
“But that little boy . . .” I say. And Honey nods.
“But that little boy,” she repeats.
“How could she live with it?” I ask. “Knowing she killed a child?”
And when Honey doesn’t answer, I realize that’s a stupid question.
Because, obviously, she couldn’t.
Honey looks down at the photo again. Then she hands it to me, and I stare down at those haunted eyes.
“She tried to do the right thing, Grey. After.” Honey pauses to look at me. “She went back and buried him. Did you know that?”
I shake my head. “Where?”
“Back at Keller’s Island. There’s a big old two-trunked cypress tree that grows off to the edge of the clearing. She put him there. At the base of it.”
“You should’ve told me,” I say, and suddenly I’m so angry at her. Honey sighs. Her sadness fills up the whole kitchen.
“You’re right, Sugar Bee.” She reaches for my hand, but I pull it back. I’m not ready to forgive her for keeping all this from me. Not yet.
“Did she kill Dempsey Fontenot, too?” I’m making wild leaps with nothing to back them up. But we’re short on time, and I’m getting desperate.
The radio station signs off for the night, and the harsh buzz of static sets my teeth on edge. “No, Grey.” Honey sighs. “Your mother didn’t kill Dempsey Fontenot.”
“Are you sure?” I ask, and I feel relief wash over me like floodwater. At least I won’t have to break that news to Zale.
“I am,” she tells me. “That’s a thing I can say for certain.” Honey gets up and turns off the radio. No more static. But the tinkling of wind chimes moves in to fill the silence.
“Who did, then?” Honey doesn’t answer me. “Somebody here did. Didn’t they?”
“It was a long time ago,” Honey starts. And I am so sick of hearing that. I push myself to my feet.
“I’m not eight years old any more. You need to stop protecting me.”
“Grey, please. It’s late and –”
“I need you to tell me what happened!” I’ve never raised my voice to Honey. Not ever in my whole life. Until now. “Please!” This desperate need to know is threatening to consume me. If I can’t know what happened to Elora – if I can’t put that mystery to rest for myself – then at least let me put an end to Zale’s years of wondering.
“Grey –”
Sweet-N-Low is sitting up on his pillow now, looking back and forth between me and Honey. He’s almost deaf, but even he can hear this. I’m not giving up, though. Not this time.
“You said he was innocent. You told me you never believed he killed Ember and Orli. Now tell me the rest of the truth! Who killed Dempsey Fontenot?”
“I don’t know!” Honey’s standing at the sink with her back to me. Her hands grip the edges of the counter like she’s afraid to let go. “I don’t know, Grey. I never wanted to know. And that’s the truth. I used to be afraid that I’d hear from him. From Dempsey.” She pauses. “That he’d reach out to me. Tell me who it was. And I didn’t want that knowledge.”
“He never did, though.”
Honey shakes her head, and I hear her take a deep breath before she goes on. “What happened to those two little girls – then to that poor boy – and to Dempsey Fontenot, too – it’s like a stain. On all of us. And this town will never be able to wash it off.” Her shoulders droop, and she turns back to face me. It hits me how old she looks. Did that happen this summer? When I wasn’t paying attention?
“Well, who killed Ember and Orli, then?” I ask. “Can you at least tell me that?”
Honey sighs. “I don’t know the answer to that. I wish I did. There are a lot of unanswered questions. But most of us have learned to live with the holes.”
“That’s such bullshit,” I say, and Honey pulls her robe a little tighter around her shoulders. Like she’s cold.
“None of that has anything to do with you, Grey. I never wanted you to find out about any of it. Ever. That’s why I didn’t put up a fight when your daddy wanted to take you up to Little Rock. I figured the less time you spent here, the better. I wanted you away from all this.” She puts her hand over her heart, like she’s trying to stop it from bleeding. “I wanted to keep you safe.”