“That doesn’t excuse it,” Marin whispered. “What if they’d needed my help?”
“But they didn’t, and you’re only human. I’m so sorry that tonight brought up bad memories for you.”
Marin buried her face against Charlotte’s shoulder and sobbed. The sound shook something loose in her, and Charlotte cried, too, as she held on to Marin beneath the hot spray. Gradually, the steamy shower chased away the last of the lake’s icy grip, and Charlotte felt warm for the first time all evening. Once they’d cried themselves out, they went to bed.
The next morning, Marin called to check on Audrey and Michelle, then relayed that Michelle was taking it easy because of her concussion. They weren’t up for visitors, but they were okay. It was a relief. Sitting here in the light of day, Charlotte could hardly believe that had really happened, that it hadn’t been a bad dream.
Watching that car disappear into the lake ...
Marin was quiet and subdued, still upset with herself for not doing more to help, but Charlotte knew they would get through it. They’d already survived worse, and this time they had each other. They both called out from work and spent the day snuggled on the couch, watching silly television shows in the hope that it would cheer them up, and it worked ... mostly.
Last night’s trauma wouldn’t heal in a day, but as Marin was always reminding her, they had time. That night, Charlotte decided to stay over again, sensing Marin still needed company. Truthfully, Charlotte did too. Already, it felt so natural to stay at Marin’s house, probably because they’d been such close friends before making the transition to lovers.
On Friday morning, Charlotte reluctantly admitted that it was time to return to the real world. She had showings today she couldn’t miss. As she was getting her things together, her next-door neighbor texted to say that a sheriff’s deputy was at Charlotte’s house.
Charlotte sighed. Right. She was supposed to go in and sign her official statement about the accident. She and Marin both needed to do that, although she hadn’t actually expected them to send someone to her door about it. Sure enough, her phone began to ring, and the caller ID read “Northshire County Sheriff’s Department.”
She answered the call. “Hello?”
“Good morning,” a male voice said. “I’m Deputy Ainsbury with the Northshire County Sheriff’s Department. Is this Charlotte Danton?”
“Yes, it is.”
“Ms. Danton, are you available to come down to the sheriff’s department this morning?”
“Could it wait until this afternoon? I was just on my way to work. You need me to sign my statement about the crash at Shady Lake, right?”
“Actually, this morning would be better. Some new information has come up that we’d like to talk to you about.”
“Um, okay.” Unease prickled between her shoulder blades, although she wasn’t quite sure why.
“Do you need the address?” he asked.
“I can google it.”
“Yes, ma’am, you can. Just ask for me—Deputy Ainsbury—at the desk when you arrive.”
She ended the call and filled Marin in, wondering belatedly why the deputy hadn’t called her, too, if this was about the accident. Something felt vaguely off, or maybe she was still out of sorts from her dip in the lake. They took Charlotte’s SUV. The Outback would need a thorough detailing to get all the mud out before they used it again.
At the sheriff’s department, Charlotte asked for Deputy Ainsbury. A young white man in a neatly pressed uniform came out to greet her and Marin. He invited them to follow him to a small conference room.
“What’s this about?” Charlotte asked again once they were seated, because she was definitely getting a weird vibe now.
“When we retrieved Ms. Thompson’s BMW from the lake yesterday, we found another vehicle in the water, a Saab 90 that appears to have been submerged for some time. It’s registered to Terri Danton.”
Charlotte’s vision flashed black, and she might have fallen out of her chair if not for Marin’s hand on her shoulder, steadying her. The Saab. Her mom’s Saab. It was in the lake. What ...?
“I’m very sorry to tell you this, ma’am, but there were human remains found inside the vehicle.”
Charlotte felt as if she’d gone underwater, as if she were submerged in that ice-cold lake. She was so cold, and she couldn’t breathe ...
Human remains.
“We understand that your mom went missing about thirty years ago. We’ll need to run a DNA test or compare dental records to be sure, but there was a purse found in the vehicle as well. The driver’s license and credit cards inside all belong to Terri Danton, so it does appear to be your mother’s remains. Again, I’m very sorry to be the bearer of such bad news.”
“Oh, Charlotte ...” Marin murmured, sounding anguished.
“I don’t understand.” Charlotte’s face felt numb, and she was so cold.
