“You know Sullivan makes me uncomfortable,” I say honestly. “Maybe he picked up on that while you were gone.”
I can see her thaw a little in relief. Better to think I scared him away than wonder if there’s something else going on. I seize my chance and stick the energy drink in the cooler.
“Okay?” I ask my best friend. “Can we go swimming now?”
Ashley sighs and throws an arm lightly over my shoulders. She looks at me as though she’s sizing me up. “You’re a good friend,” she says. “I think I’ll keep you.”
I just wonder how long.
CHAPTER 5
WINTER TODAY
Jonathan was late.
Coming?
Juniper texted, hoping she sounded curious instead of passive-aggressive. The truth was, she was on edge. Her conversation with Mandy had kept her up all night. And though she had balked at the prospect of a private meeting only a couple of days ago, now she needed to see Jonathan face-to-face, to hear firsthand about all the supposedly unrelated attacks resurrecting a past he was trying so hard to dismiss. Between fretting over the details of her brother’s harassment and all of her messages to Willa continuing to go unanswered, she was strung tight enough to snap.
Juniper stared at her phone, willing communication, but nothing appeared.
Ten minutes passed. Then fifteen.
“I thought Jonathan was picking you up today?” Cora called from the circ desk.
“He was.” Juniper wandered over, still staring at the phone in her hands and beginning to sweat beneath her thick scarf and zippered-to-the-chin winter coat.
“Running late, I’m sure,” Cora offered with a smile, but Juniper wasn’t so sure.
She pulled up Mandy’s number, but her call went almost instantly to voice mail, and when she tried a few seconds later, it happened again. Turning away from the trio of a young mother and her two littles who had approached the circulation desk, arms laden with bright books, Juniper tried to make her voice sound casual. “Hi, Mandy, it’s Juniper. Jonathan was supposed to pick me up and he’s late. No biggie, but I was wondering if he’s with you…”
An incoming call interrupted her message, and Juniper drew the phone away from her ear to see who it was. She almost declined but accepted at the last moment, trying to muster patience. “Hi, Mom,” she said, ready to tell Reb that it wasn’t a good time, that they could connect later, when she realized there was a thin, desolate sound leaking through the microphone.
“June? Oh my God, June. He… there’s… I…”
“Mom? Mom, what’s going on?”
“He’s… I—”
“Juniper?” Law’s voice was suddenly on the line, solid and unyielding as a brick. “There’s been an accident. Call Everett Stokes at the Jericho Police Station. He’ll fill you in.”
“The police?” she said, feeling her stomach drop. “What happened?” She heard a honk in the background—were they on the road?—then what sounded like arguing, followed by a click, and they were gone.
Juniper felt her knees wobble, the room tilt precariously as the young mother and her kids brushed past, oblivious to the way her world had tipped sideways. What had just happened?
“Everything okay?” Cora came over. When she caught sight of Juniper’s blanched cheeks and wild eyes, she took her by the arm. “Come on,” she said, leading her to the nearest chair.
“Something’s wrong,” Juniper managed.
“Jonathan?”
“I don’t know.” But in a forgotten corner of her heart, his name echoed clear and resonant. Of course it was Jonathan.
Cora took charge. She put a call in to Officer Stokes, and a few minutes later, when Cora pressed a mug of steaming Earl Grey into her hands, Juniper realized time had become soft and pliable as clay. How long had she been sitting in the chair?
“I have to go,” Juniper said, bolting upright and sloshing hot tea onto her fingers. She barely registered the burn.
“I don’t think so,” Cora countered. “The officer is on his way. Until then, there’s nowhere for you to go. Come on, let’s get you into my office so you can have some privacy.”
Juniper didn’t like being bossed, but she let Cora unzip her coat and slide it off her shoulders. She allowed herself to be led into the office, where she sat in the swivel chair, forced herself to sip the tea, and waited. Juniper was bracing herself to hear the news, however awful, but when the officer appeared at the doorway with a somber half smile, the first thing she thought was: I know you. Average height, average build. Brown hair with a glint of gold and eyes to match. The last time they crossed paths he was handing her a written warning for a broken taillight.