Deadly Notions - By Elizabeth Lynn Casey Page 0,41
why the Johnsons are keeping one of the possible culprits in their home, is that it?”
Melissa nodded. “That about sums it up.”
“Did Chief Dallas arrange a meeting with her for today as well? Or did he just show up on her doorstep in much the way he did mine?”
“He just showed up. And, if her voice on the phone afterward was any indication, she is absolutely terrified.” Melissa pulled her hands into her lap and sighed. “Just like I am—and I imagine everyone else is.”
One by one Tori drummed each of the fingers of her right hand on the table only to repeat the process again and again, her mind replaying every question Chief Dallas had asked her that morning while juxtaposing it with those she imagined he asked of everyone else. “Why do I feel like we’re part of a witch hunt right now?”
A swell of voices, followed by running footsteps, signaled the rapid approach of six of the seven Davis kids. Lowering her voice to a whisper, Melissa leaned forward. “Because we are.”
Tori inhaled Melissa’s words just as Jake Junior ran into the kitchen followed by Julia, Tommy, Kate, Lulu, and Sally. “Mom, can we use the sidewalk chalk on the back patio? I want to show them how to play a game we learned in gym class today.”
Melissa’s face brightened as she drank in each of her children’s faces. “Is it a game everyone can play?”
“Yes.” Jake Junior smiled broadly as Lulu made a beeline in Tori’s direction.
“Miss Sinclair, Miss Sinclair. I didn’t know you were here!”
She motioned the child over to her chair and pulled her in for a hug, the aroma of play dough, shampoo, and cookies that seemed to cling to the little girl’s hair providing a much needed boost after a day that had been entirely too long. “I came by to visit with your mom for a little while.”
The little girl beamed from ear to ear. “I’m glad.”
Jake Junior nodded. “I am, too. Lookin’ after the lot of us has to get a mom tired sometimes.”
Melissa’s mouth quivered. “There’s nothing in the world I’d rather do than look after the six of you.”
A babble emerged from the handheld baby monitor on the kitchen counter. “That’s Molly reminding you to say seven, Mommy,” Sally said.
“I stand corrected. There’s nothing in the world I’d rather do than look after the seven of you.”
A second babble brought a chorus of laughter to the room. “And that’s Molly saying she’s happy you said seven, Mom.” Jake Junior planted a kiss on his mom’s cheek. “So can we? I promise to pick up every last piece of chalk and put them all back in the bucket when we’re done.”
Melissa glanced at the wall clock over the sink. “Okay, but only for about thirty minutes. Then it’s time to come inside and get washed up. We’re having pizza tonight when your dad gets home.”
“Pizza?” shouted Kate.
“With just cheese?” Julia inquired.
“And lots and lots of yummy crust?” Sally piped in.
Tori laughed. “Well, Mom?”
Melissa nodded, her trademark happy smile returning to light her hazel eyes. “Yup, just cheese and lots and lots of yummy crust.”
Two little arms shot into the air. “Yes!”
And with that they were gone, six sets of sneakers smacking against the floor followed by the sound of the door banging shut in their wake. Tori looked back at Melissa, noted the way her friend’s smile was slipping from her face once again. “It’ll be okay, Melissa.”
Their gazes locked. “But what happens if it’s not?”
“Did you kill her, Melissa?”
Her friend’s eyes widened. “Of course not!”
“Then it has to be okay.”
“Does it?”
She contemplated Melissa’s words, let them conjure up memories of her own time as a murder suspect and the stress it had caused in her life. The last thing she wanted was to do it again. Or to watch her friends go through it, either.
Squaring her shoulders, she pushed back in her chair. “It does because we’re going to make it so.”
“We are? How?”
She stood and wandered back over to the window. Glancing down, she watched Jake Junior draw a large square with four sections onto the patio. Then, with painstaking patience, he explained the longstanding game to his siblings. “We’re going to do what Jake Junior is doing.”
Melissa, too, stood and joined Tori at the window. “Draw a square?”
“No. Work together.” She met her friend’s questioning brow with a determined inhale. “To figure out who did kill Ashley Lawson.”