Rob stared at the same blue sky, noticing how one of the clouds looked exactly like a bird in flight. He felt a strong pullnotto talk about the young woman who had been, in the biological sense only, his daughter. She’d grown up seeing him as a beloved uncle. Until near the end of her life, that’s what she’d believed.
And then the truth had come out.
But he didn’t want to dwell on that. It made his stomach churn. Made him feel as though the contents of his room service breakfast might come up.
“Did you bring me here for any special reason? I mean, it’s beautiful and all. Historic. But I have to admit, I never would have guessed—”
Jasper interrupted. “I know it seems strange, in light of what’s happened, but this is a place of peace for me, not sadness. I like to think Lacy is here, her spirit anyway. It’s where she wanted to be. She told me as much.”
Rob nodded. There was no way he could make things any better—his brother and sister-in-law had wanted her close, and that meant there was never a moment when they considered a Chicago burial. He’d suggested it, even if it was a weak, soft-spoken push. He wished he’d been firmer, especially now that he knew for sure how important Chicago had been to her.
“It’s interesting, don’t you think?”
Rob smiled and nodded. “Why does it give you peace?”
And Jasper drew into himself. He was quiet for a long time, long enough for more clouds to gather on the horizon, at last blocking out the sun and reneging on its promise. In the wake of Jasper’s silence, the day grew gray. The temperature dropped.
But he hadn’t forgotten Rob’s question. “It gives me peace because I like to think of loved ones here, not so much their bodies, because to be honest I don’t actually know anyone who’s buried here. But their spirits, which I don’t think have to be hampered by the physical limitations we have in life. It makes me happy to think they’re at peace, that they’re resting. And the people whoarehere? It’s wonderful that they had loved ones who cared so much they wanted to build something to memorialize them.”
Jasper fell silent again. When he spoke once more, there were tears in his eyes. “I lost my mom and sister when I was a little kid.”
Rob took Jasper’s hand and squeezed it. He started to pull away, but Rob held fast.
“I don’t like to talk about it, for many reasons. People think it’s because it’s too painful to bring up. But that’s not it. That’s not what it ever was. I was too young. I don’t even remember my mom or the little sister I had, or the one on the way.” Jasper eyed Rob. “Mom was pregnant when she was murdered.”
Rob tensed at the mention of murder. Jasper had all these layers he could have never begun to guess at.
“Murdered? What happened?”
Jasper shook his head. “I’ve seen the papers from the time, and the bare bones of what happened is this.” Jasper began to tell the tale.
Rob watched Jasper’s face as he unemotionally laid out the story of how his mother, baby sister, and his mother’s unborn child were all brutally murdered one quiet summer day in a used-furniture store in the small Illinois town where Jasper grew up. Save for the ever-changing shadows on Jasper’s face, he revealed little, although his gaze took on a faraway aspect. That part wasn’t surprising. The murders seemed as horrendous as those of the Clutter family in Truman Capote’sIn Cold Blood.
When Jasper finished, Rob asked him, “And did they catch who did it?”
“No. The owner of the store was killed at the same time. It was a quiet day. Hot. And you have to understand how small Haddonfield’s downtown was. No one saw or heard a thing.” Jasper laughed, but it was mirthless. “Such a huge, tragic thing—four lives, really, brutally snuffed out and not a witness to be found. People in town believe that someone, probably right in town, knows who the killer or killers were, but they won’t come forward. Maybe it was a family member, someone they loved. Maybe they disappeared after they did what they did, and if someone knows, they just don’t see the point in coming forward.” Jasper shrugged. “Who knows? And I can’t guess. There’s, of course, a lot of wild speculation, which I don’t even feel like going into, even though I know it might excite your Michael Blake alter ego, with your dips into dark suspense.”
Rob shook his head, a little appalled. “No. It’s not like that, Jasper. Not at all.”
Jasper nodded. “What I remember most about that day is the neighbors.”
“The neighbors? Why?”
“I remember being with Louise. She lived next door, and she and I were great friends.” Jasper gave a little snort of laughter. “She might have been myonlyfriend. Most of the other boys didn’t want to be associated with the ‘sensitive’ boy who liked to read and, if the truth came out, played with Barbies.”
Jasper sighed. “After what happened, Louise sort of stepped in and raised me. You couldn’t find a kinder soul. But when I was a little boy, even before what happened, I was more likely to be found in her kitchen than out on a baseball field or something.” Jasper tugged at a dandelion at his feet and brought it up to his face, where it cast a bit of yellow on his features. He held it as he continued. “The fact that I was the neighborhood sissy never mattered to Louise. She was always happy to see me. We gossiped. We watched old movies together. She taught me how to bake.
“It wasn’t so odd that I was with her that day. I could have gone out with my mom and little sister. I don’t remember it, but my dad says my mom even came next door that morning to take me with her to the furniture store.” Jasper stopped suddenly, his mouth hanging open.
“What?”
“I just remembered why they were there. The old man who owned the store also owned a bunch of houses around town. From what I’ve heard, they were pretty rundown places, so he was kind of a slumlord. But he must have had a good one on offer because I think what she was doing at the store that day was she wanted to talk to him about a house. A home for us all. What with the new baby coming, the little two-bedroom we were in wouldn’t have been enough. Hell, it probably wasn’t enough even when it was just us.
“Anyway, I think she did go over to Louise’s to grab me and take me with her. And Louise and I must have been playing Yahtzee or something. Maybe watchingMadame Xon some afternoon matinee show. I don’t remember.”
Jasper closed his eyes. “God, if I had gone with her….” He let the chilling thought hang in the quiet air. Over on Peterson Avenue, outside the cemetery, a noisy motorcycle raced by.
“She was kind of a guardian angel, Louise was,” Rob said.
