Even before the arrest and darker truths about Maria had come to light, people tended to keep their distance from the Descenzas. There was something off about the family, as though they didn’t want to integrate, and were happy just occupying space, taking up land and water, without being an active part of the neighborhood.
Maria, with her witchy ways, was hardly a perfect match for Penny, but for a while, with Penny’s social life dismal as it was, Maria was a godsend. Only now, after much time and heartache, did Grace understand it wasn’t that Penny had befriended Maria—it was Eve who sought out Maria’s dark energy. Apart, the girls were probably harmless, but together, dangerous chemistry took place.
Grace had come to the Descenza house with a faint hope that she might reach Barbara, help her see the flaw in Maria’s alibi, and consider the possibility that Maria might well have been at Rachel Boyd’s with Penny on that terrible night—and that Penny could end up paying the price of this deception with her freedom.
It was easy for Grace to put herself in Barbara’s shoes, imagining what she would do if someone came at her with accusations about her daughter. Of course she’d defend Penny to the end, but later, in the quiet moments after the dust settled, she’d ask questions of herself, and if she didn’t like the answers … well, maybe, just maybe, she’d do something about it.
It was Barbara who answered the door. The green top she wore and matching tight pants called attention to the considerable weight she’d gained since Grace last saw her. Her skin was sallow and wrinkled, eyes drooping. She ran a sun-spotted hand through her short, wiry hair before her gaze hardened. All in all, Barbara looked tired, drained of life. Even though her daughter would be testifying for the prosecution—the girls’ past crimes being relevant to this new case—Grace could not help but feel some empathy toward her.
“Hello, Barbara,” Grace said.
“Grace,” she answered coolly. “What are you doing here?”
“I just need a minute of your time.”
From the kitchen, Grace heard Maria’s familiar voice echo down the hall. “Is that the pizza? I’m starving.”
Grace suppressed all reaction. She would have to check the receipts, but something told her the promised pizza was coming from her restaurant. All that empathy fled on the spot. How dare she! This twisted girl who had, at a minimum, led her daughter astray and quite conceivably, for the thrill of the kill, might have set her up to take the fall for Rachel’s murder—she had no business eating her food.
Grace heard clomping footsteps, and Maria soon appeared in the hallway, dressed like she’d come from a funeral, looking like it had been her own. Her skin was colorless, and her eyes were ringed with so much makeup it was as if two black moons were peering out from behind a pale cloud.
“Hello, Maria,” Grace said.
Maria hovered at the end of the hallway, arms sliding into the same defensive posture her mother had adopted.
“What’s she doing here?” Maria asked. “Is Eve all right? Did something happen to her?”
Grace didn’t bother correcting her. Of course Maria would think of Penny as Eve.
“I don’t know about that,” said Barbara. “I just know you shouldn’t be here, Grace.”
“I only need a minute of your time … alone, if I may,” Grace answered calmly.
Barbara glanced back at Maria. “What you say to me, you can say to her.”
“Very well,” said Grace. “May I come in?”
She peered beyond Barbara into the dark hallway. She could smell the dust and stale, trapped air. Somewhere exotic incense was burning. It was a home without joy, and even if the shades hadn’t been drawn, Grace doubted sunlight could brighten the gloom.
“We can talk here,” Barbara said, placing one hand on the doorframe, as if Grace might try to force her way inside.
“As you wish,” Grace said. “I’ll get right to it then. There’s a possibility that Penny is innocent. She’s working with a new doctor, and her memory is slowly starting to come back. Either she was hiding in Rachel’s house at the time of the murder, or she was present but threatened physically, scared for her life if she interfered in any way.”
Maria came storming down the hall, feet stomping, worry creasing her near-flawless skin.
“So? What’s that got to do with us?” Maria asked.
“I think you may know something,” said Grace.
“Are you saying I did it?” Maria’s death stare said it was possible.