“As far as I know.” Her brow lined as if she was digging deep for the memories. “My youngest was sick with a stomach bug, so I was here the whole holiday weekend. I didn’t leave the apartment at all. I heard her moving around up there, so I think she must have been home.”
Maybe Vera’s other top suspect did have an alibi. “Did you hear any voices? I mean, how soundproof are the walls?”
“With the cartoons my kids watch, I never hear anything but that stuff. I only heard the movements I mentioned while they were sleeping.” She nodded toward the door across the hall. “You might ask him. Sam Scott. He’s not home now. He teaches at Motlow College, the Fayetteville Campus just outside town. But with no kids, he’s more likely to hear any conversations. When I heard the moving around, there was no conversation. I can’t tell you what time because the whole weekend ran together in one long nightmare of cleaning up puke.”
Vera nodded her understanding. “Thanks. I appreciate your time.”
The woman who didn’t want to give her name hurried back into her apartment, closed and locked the door.
Vera turned for the exit, but a sound upstairs drew her attention to the landing. The door on the right cracked open, but no one came out. She started to call Erwin’s name, assuming it was her, but her cell in her pocket vibrated. Vera checked the screen.Luna.When Vera looked up once more, the door was closed. Why would Erwin avoid her? The woman generally went out of her way to say hello. Maybe she was not in the mood today.
Vera exited the building and headed toward her SUV. The little blue car Erwin drove wasn’t parked anywhere along the block. So maybe she wasn’t home. Maybe she had a roommate. Vera brushed off the questions and took her sister’s call. “Hey, Luna. Everything okay?”
“You need to come to the library right now, Vee. Right this second. Geneva is here.”
22
Fayetteville–Lincoln County Library
306 Elk Avenue North, 1:30 p.m.
Vera drove faster than she should have, but the library wasn’t far, and she didn’t so much as meet another vehicle. She wheeled into the parking lot and took a slot. Nudging her door closed with her hip, she stalked toward the entrance. If Geneva Fanning had upset Luna, Vera was going to ...
Deep breath. No need for her to make the situation worse by embarrassing Luna and herself.
Another deep breath, and she walked as calmly as possible through the entrance and to the counter. Luna passed whatever she was doing to the other woman behind the counter and jerked her head for Vera to follow her.
They met in the very back beyond the rows and rows of bookshelves near the rear exit.
“I’m parked right next to the back door. We’ll talk out there, okay?”
“Sure.”
Outside they slipped quickly into Luna’s minivan. The minivan was new. Once she hit the end of the second trimester, she’d traded her cute little car in for a more practical vehicle for hauling children around. If Luna had her way, there would be at least three more. From the time she was five years old, she’d insisted she wanted four children.
Once the doors were closed and locked and the engine was running, cooling off the interior, Vera turned to her sister. “I didn’t see Geneva. Was she hiding in the ladies’ room?”
“She left like two seconds before you arrived.” Luna plopped her head back against the seat, her hands rubbing her belly. “I swear she’s making me crazy.”
Vera moistened her lips. “What did she do or say while she was here?”
“She just walked around the library like she was looking for a book, but she didn’t even pick one up. Every minute or so she would stare at me for a bit, then she’d move on. As she left, she stopped one last time in front of the counter and glared at me. Penny—the lady working with me today—asked if she could help her, but Geneva just ignored her and walked right on out.”
“Sadly there’s no law against being a bad-mannered old woman.” Vera reached across the seat and took Luna’s hand. “I wish I could fix this for you, Lu. You shouldn’t have to deal with her crap right now. You should be enjoying your pregnancy and anticipating the future.”
“She just wants to make my life miserable.” Luna closed her eyes.
“Have you spoken to Jerome today?” Vera needed to push for more answers, but damn she hated to make this awful situation any worse. Vera and Luna had exchanged text messages last night. Jerome’s father continued to be stable. He hadn’t mentioned any issues related to Geneva.
“I called him once today, and he called me once.” A smile tugged at her lips. “His father still can’t seem to stay conscious. He keeps drifting back to sleep. The cardiologist says that sometimes patients are so traumatized by what’s happened to them that they don’t want to wake up. They’d rather not face what’s happened. When he’s stronger he’ll come around, the doctor assured Jerome. His vitals are very good. There’s no reason to believe he won’t recover.”
“That’s really good news.” Vera couldn’t imagine how devastating it would have been for Jerome to lose both his parents at nearly thesame time. “Hopefully Jerome and his father will be back home for good soon. The funeral can happen, and maybe things will settle down after that.”
Vera wasn’t holding her breath, but she kept that part to herself.
“Jerome is coming home tonight, as long as nothing changes for the worse. He worries I’ll go into labor, and he’ll miss the baby’s arrival.” Luna stared out the windshield at the trees lining that side of the parking area. “I should be looking forward to him coming home, but I’m not. It’s so hard to have him look at me, knowing ...”
The niggling worry that hadn’t dissipated since she found Jackie at the bottom of Luna’s staircase poked its way into Vera’s head. “Why? Did he say something that made you feel as if he held you responsible?”
