“I was new to this town once too, so I told Bren to come to my house behind the bookshop if she ever needed a friend. She didn’t respond, but I could tell by the way she looked at me that the offer meant something to her.”
Celeste’s tears started again. “Did she come to you tonight? What happened? Were you home?”
Nora’s cheeks flamed with guilt. “I don’t know. I stayed at the festival for a while after we talked. Then I checked on Miracle Books on my way home.” Every word was filled with remorse. “Later, when I saw Bren again near my house, I sat with her. It was very quiet. It was just us and the moon.”
Celeste hid her face behind a wad of tissues and sobbed. June rubbed her back and murmured gently to her. After a time, Celeste grew calmer and June coaxed her into drinking a little water.
“There’s something else you need to hear,” June said. “Bren wasn’t alone on that park bench. She was with a man. We all saw her talking to him.
Nora heard a crackle as Celeste squeezed the plastic water bottle in her hands. “What did he look like?”
“We never saw his face,” said Nora. “Does Bren know anyone in Miracle Springs? Did she make a new friend recently?”
Celeste threw up her hands. “I don’t know. She stopped talking to me about lots of things since we came here. She didn’t want to move, but we had no choice.”
Wiggins tapped her arm, reminding Nora about the tattoos on the man’s arm.
Nora described them as best she could. “Some kind of symbols. Here.” She touched Celeste’s forearm. “Do you know anyone with tattoos like that?”
Her reply was barely audible. “Too many secrets.”
Celeste was fading again. Sinking into the numbness. She was traumatized, and she was shutting down as a means of self-preservation. It would be cruel to keep her in this room for another second.
“She can’t do this anymore,” Nora said. “She needs to lie down.”
Seeing that Celeste’s face had resumed its ashen pallor, Wiggins stepped out into the hall to call for assistance. When she returned, she thanked Nora and June.
“The social worker’s here now, so you can go,” she added.
The two friends walked back to Nora’s house, too despondent to speak.
“You shouldn’t be driving at this hour,” Nora said. “Stay the night. I can sleep on the sofa.”
June gave a humorless laugh. “Honey, I’m an insomniac. If I wasn’t with you, I’d be reading, knitting, or leading a cat parade. Speak of the devil, here comes Tom. He thinks I started without him.”
She was right. A large, orange tabby was trotting across the parking lot. Other cats followed at a distance.
“Are you going to walk home?” Nora asked.
“Just a walk around the block. I need my car to visit Tyson tomorrow.” Her eyes softened. “Look, I know you’re worried about me because of the similarities between Celeste’s girl and my boy. But Tyson is getting the help he needs. I thank God for that every day. And I’m worried about you. You need to sleep late tomorrow, so you can recover a bit. I’ll tell Sheldon to open the store. Don’t you dare show up before noon, or you’ll get an earful from me at book club tomorrow night.”
Nora smiled. “I’ll try to sleep.”
“Do you have chamomile tea? Melatonin? Anything to help?”
There was a bottle of wine in the pantry, but Nora tried not to think about that.
The two women embraced, and Nora climbed up to her deck to watch June cross the parking lot with her tomcat escort. Once they were out of sight, Nora turned toward the hill. For a moment, she saw the dark shape of Bren’s body again.
She remembered Celeste’s pained questions.
Did she come to you tonight? What happened? Were you home?
The guilt Nora had felt when she’d heard those questions came flooding back. Yes, Bren had probably come looking for her. And no, she hadn’t been home.
If I hadn’t walked to the store first, could I have gotten back in time to help Bren? Nora wondered, her gaze falling on her welcome mat. If I hadn’t gone to look for devils, could I have saved her life?
Weary in body and spirit, Nora let herself into her house, dropped her keys on the kitchen counter, and fell into bed. She kicked off her shoes and waited for sleep to deliver her to a sweet state of oblivion, but it refused to obey.
Part of the problem was that her phone was still in her pocket, and it was digging into her side. Taking it out, she stared at the image of the book page until the symbols blurred. Finally, she closed her eyes.