“Thanks.” I took a sip of coffee—strong and black, just like I liked it. “You’ve probably heard by now why Sheriff wanted to talk to me.”
She nodded. “You were friends with Callie.”
“Yeah.”
“I had a feeling there was more to this story than I knew,” she said.
I appreciated that she didn’t press me for details, or ask if I’d been doing something with Callie that I shouldn’t have. Jenny gave me the benefit of the doubt, which was more than I could say for the rest of the whispering gossips in the diner.
“I want to know more about the time you met her.”
“Okay.” She took a sip of coffee. “Like I said, she contacted me after your father died. She was in Seattle for work, so she asked if we could get together.”
“What does she do for a living?”
“I don’t know. She didn’t tell me anything specific about her life now, and I didn’t ask.”
I shook my leg under the table and stared into my coffee. “Why did my dad lie about it?” I asked, then clamped my mouth shut. I hadn’t meant to ask that right now.
“Gibson…” She paused and reached across the table to put her hand over mine. I didn’t pull away. “Your father believed Callie would be in danger if her parents ever found her. And your mother’s death sealed his silence. He didn’t think it was an accident. He told me a hundred times I was never to utter a word about any of this to anyone. I think he was afraid he’d be next.”
I shook my head. This was so fucked up. My father, so afraid of Judge Kendall he’d kept the biggest secret in Bootleg Springs until he died. And my mother’s death was probably tied to Callie. Had the judge really had her killed?
“Did he say why?” I asked. “Why he thought my mom’s accident was connected?”
“He did, but I didn’t realize what he’d been talking about until I found out that the last place your mom had gone was that hotel. You have to understand, he was very distraught when he came to see me. It was hard to put together everything he was saying.”
“What did he say? Why did Mom go out there?”
“I can’t be sure, so don’t take this as gospel. But I think the two of them fought about keeping Callie’s secret. She wanted Callie’s mother to know that Callie was all right. Your dad disagreed—vehemently. But it sounds like Connie went to talk to Mrs. Kendall anyway.”
“Sounds like Mom. She always did what she wanted.” I took a deep breath. “Guess she should have listened to him that time.”
Jenny squeezed my hand. It felt good. “I’m so sorry, honey.”
I didn’t meet Jenny’s eyes. Talking about my mom had always been rough, but talking about her with Jenny was harder. “If Mom told Mrs. Kendall, the judge could have found out and decided to get rid of her so she wouldn’t tell anyone else.”
“It’s possible.”
“Fuck,” I muttered.
She squeezed my hand again. “I couldn’t agree more.”
I didn’t want to talk about my parents anymore. It was such a confusing mess. I pulled my hand away and took out my wallet. Grabbed the photo strip and put it on the table.
Jenny turned it so she could look at them right-side up. “So this is what the fuss was all about.”
I grunted.
“You’re both so young.”
“You’re sure the woman you met is Callie?” It wasn’t that I didn’t trust Jenny. But I had to be sure.
She nodded, her eyes still on the photos. “She looks different now, but some of that is age. She has a baby face here. But I can tell it’s her.”
How was I supposed to ask if she’d had rainbow hair and a scar on her cheek? I didn’t want to talk about what had happened last night.
“Different, though?” I asked. “Different how?”
Jenny shifted in her seat. “Well, she had pink hair, like she’s blond but dyed it. It was very cute. There’s something else about the shape of her face that seems different in these photos, but it could just be her age. Maybe her nose? And she has a scar on her cheek now. I suspect she got it the night she disappeared.”
My chest tightened. Scar on her cheek. The woman last night had a scar.
But I didn’t say anything to Jenny. I wasn’t sure if I was ever going to tell anyone I’d seen her. If Maya was Callie, she hadn’t wanted me