Diane's eyes widened, tears threatening again. "But I've messed everything up. My job... My?—"
"Don't get ahead of yourself, dear."
28
JUNE
June's voice remained steady, grounding. "Diane, you are still the assistant librarian until a time that the town council dismisses you. And if there is no cause, then you still have your job. And you certainly have your friends."
Diane's face crumpled as tears flowed freely now. They didn’t seem to be the panicked tears from before, but something deeper. Relief mixed with grief and fear, mixed with gratitude. June stood and moved over to envelope her in her arms, feeling the younger woman's body shake with sobs. Sara Lee rushed over from the sofa, and the three women held each other tight, creating a circle of support and understanding in the small, humble living room.
Finally, Diane pulled back slightly, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. She looked at Sheriff Gordon and asked, her voice small, "Do I need to go with you tonight?"
Gordon's expression was kind… the way June knew the outwardly gruff sheriff could be. "I have no charges at this time, so no. But I'll ask you to come into the station tomorrow at nine a.m. sharp to answer more questions. You may certainly have legal representation come with you, if you desire."
"I'll call Ted," June said immediately. "He'll know who should go with you."
Once again, Diane cried, but this time she managed to whisper, "Thank you. Thank you all." She walked them to the door and managed to say goodbye through her tears.
As they stepped out into the cool evening air, June, Sara Lee, and Sheriff Gordon walked together toward their vehicles, each quiet. The streetlights cast long shadows across the quiet street, and somewhere in the distance, a dog barked once, then fell silent.
Sheriff Gordon stopped at June's car and sighed heavily as though the weight of the badge was sometimes hard to carry. "I was against you talking to people at first, but I'm all about getting to the truth. She opened up to you... you made her feel safe."
"That's what I wanted," June said simply.
Sara Lee looked between them, then asked Sheriff Gordon, "Do you believe what she said?"
"Do you?" Gordon fired back, but he was looking at June when he asked it.
"Yes..." June said thoughtfully, choosing her words carefully. "She didn't like Raymond, but then there was a long line of people who felt the same. I can imagine that she did panic when she discovered the syringe and then again when he discovered the bottle."
Gordon nodded slowly, processing. Then he asked, "What made you even think of this?"
June smiled a small, mysterious smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. "There were several little helpers that pointed me to the right conclusion," she said somewhat coyly, knowing Sara Lee would understand how Pippi and Mister Smee had helped. "But I was making some homemade vanilla extract and realized how easy it is not to recognize something once it’s in a small, dark bottle like that. Most of us have at least one vial of flavoring in our kitchens, whether store-bought or homemade. If he somehow got hold of the drug and didn't know what it was, he could have self-poisoned inadvertently." She shrugged as if it were the simplest thing in the world. “Tragic consequences… but then he lived a rather tragic life.”
Sheriff Gordon shook his head in something like wonder. "Well, I'll start with Carl and see what he has to add about how the drug ended up in her possession. See if his story matches up with hers."
"I think that's a fine idea," June said, nodding her approval.
Gordon tipped his hat to both women and headed toward his patrol car. June watched him go, then turned to Sara Lee, who stood beside her grandmother's car, her face troubled in the streetlight's glow.
"Are you all right, sweetheart?" June asked gently.
Sara Lee was quiet for a moment, then said, "I feel... I don't know. Sad, I guess. For Diane. For Raymond, even though he was awful, he had family. Sad for all of it."
"That's because you have a good heart," June said,reaching out to touch her granddaughter's cheek. "Feeling sad means you understand the tragedy in all this. Good people can make terrible choices when they're desperate, and consequences can spiral out of control from one moment of panic."
"Do you think Diane will be okay? Legally, I mean?"
June considered this. "I think Sheriff Gordon will be fair. And I think when the district attorney hears the full story… that she accidentally took the syringe, that she was trying to figure out how to return it, that Raymond took it from her, that he poisoned himself without knowing what he was taking, they'll take all of that into account." She paused. "She may face charges for mishandling a controlled substance. But murder? No. She didn't murder him."
"But she could have warned him," Sara Lee said quietly. "When he took the bottle. She could have said something."
"Yes," June agreed. "She could have. And she'll have to live with that choice for the rest of her life." She looked at her granddaughter seriously. "That's the thing about conscience, sweetheart. Sometimes the law's punishment is nothing compared to what we do to ourselves."
Sara Lee nodded slowly, then moved over to hug her.
"Take us home, my dear. We have some pets to feed and thank!"
