After, she leaned into him. “If that new diver doesn’t find her this week, they’ll fill the hole. They’ll bury her down there. She’ll be trapped. Nobody’ll know what happened or that my dad’s innocent. He’ll go to jail, and she’ll be buried with a lie.”
“I know,” Charlie said. “It’s not right.”
“We could do it,” Julia said.
Charlie didn’t immediately say this was a bad idea. Dangerous and crazy. He was full of surprises tonight.
“I’m smaller than any diver. I could go down there before they fill it. You could stay above and make sure I’m okay. We could save her.”
“When?” Charlie asked.
124 Maple Street
Thursday, July 29
Shit’s tough all around, Dave Harrison had once told his favorite members of the Rat Pack. This was particularly true under his own roof.
Dave’s mom, Jane Harrison, was standing under the small hall chandelier next to Rhea Schroeder. Dave was at the top of the stairs, his view partially obstructed. He could only see his mom’s floral skirt, Rhea’s loose linen. He had the bizarre impulse to chuck an ax at the chandelier. It would fall, pinning them both to the floor like old-school criminals.
“Did you hear about the twins and Lainee Hestia? He got to them, too!” Jane exclaimed. She kept her voice low, like gossiping about the neighbors was a secret best kept from fourteen-year-old boys.
The worst part was, nobody talked about Shelly anymore. Nobody wondered whether she was still alive down there, a frightened and lonely miracle.
“Sam Singh, too,” Rhea said. “Maybe all of Nikita’s children. It just came out.”
“Dominoes. My God, Rhea, you must be going crazy. Jail’s not good enough. He ought to be castrated,” Jane said. She was standing on the left side of the Sharpie line that bisected the hall. Like she didn’t care, a super alpha dog, Rhea stood astride. It cut her right in half.
His parents used to hide the Sharpie line from the neighbors, but since the hole and then Shelly, they’d stopped bothering.
“The detective—what’s his name, Bianchi?” Rhea asked. “He was drunk. Is that bad to say? I don’t want to besmirch his character. He’s definitely trying very hard. Maybe just Parkinson’s? Parkinson’s or whiskey. Let’s leave it at that.”
“He swayed?”
“He had to hold on to the door. And he told me there wasn’t enough evidence.”
“How much more evidence do they need?” Jane asked. “Can you imagine the therapy these children will require? The damage? It’s years. As a preschool teacher, I’ll tell you: they’ll never recover. It’s going to hurt through entire generations. I get sick just thinking about it.”
“I’m learning so much about the justice system,” Rhea said. “You hear it’s corrupt. You read it in the paper. But living it’s a whole different thing.”
Dave took a step down the stairs. Then another. Now both women could see him. He glared at Rhea Schroeder, and it was totally unreal, because even though she was a grown woman, she glared right back.
It felt like a bite. Like having your face clamped down on by a python.
His mom acted like it was normal. Like it was totally cool for this lady to be standing in his hall, visually skewering him. He figured it out right then. His mom was scared of Rhea. And the reason Rhea was glaring like she hated him was because she really did hate him. He was the only Rat Pack member not to come out against Arlo Wilde. He hadn’t toed her line.
Dave looked away. Rhea relaxed, victorious.
“A neighborhood watch is a marvelous idea,” Jane said.
“Oh, I’m so relieved you agree. I hate to seem overboard,” answered Rhea.
“I think you’re calm.”
“Oh, good. I’m glad. We’ll take turns. One house at a time. I’ve spoken with everyone but the Benchleys—they’re leaving for Florida. And the Atlases. She’s too sick. Plus, they don’t have children. I don’t think they really understand any of this. Did you know Fred tried to find Arlo a lawyer? Can you believe that?”
“We’re the last?” Jane interrupted. “You should have come sooner! I’m very good at organizing.”
“I came this morning but you weren’t home. You would have been third.”
“Third’s good. That’s part of the club.” She said this like she was making a joke, but she absolutely wasn’t.