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NOLA KNOX
Wednesday, June 17, 2020
Nola stared down at Maggie sitting on the edge of Eve’s bed. Maggie looked as if she might pass out. “I was there, Maggie.” Nola, certain that Maggie wasn’t going to make a run for it, moved toward the bookshelf. “I was down at the caves the night you killed my sister.”
Maggie shook her head from side to side, arms wrapped protectively around her belly. “No, you’re crazy. Why would I kill Eve? She was my best friend, I loved her.”
“Shhh.” Nola pressed a finger to her lips. “It’s my turn to talk. I know you loved Eve, but you loved someone more. Cam Harper. He liked young girls, didn’t he? And you fell for it.”
Again Maggie shook her head but didn’t speak.
Nola reached for a book on Eve’s shelf. Nola opened its pages to reveal a bird folded from red paper. “The cosmos has a way of vomiting up pieces of the past, Maggie,” Nola said.
“That’s not mine,” Maggie whispered. “I don’t know where it came from.”
“Come on,” Nola scoffed. “The book has your name in it, the note is addressed to you. Do you want me to read it out loud to you?”
Maggie closed her eyes tightly as if willing Nola, the book, the bird to disappear. “No, I remember what it says. I was just a child. I was fifteen. The man was a predator.”
“But you killed your best friend to protect him,” Nola said. “Not so innocent were you?”
“Stop it, Nola.” Maggie got to her feet. “No one is going to believe you.”
“You’re going to want to hear me out,” Nola said, pushing Maggie back onto the bed.
“Don’t you touch me,” Maggie snapped but Nola could smell the fear rolling off her. A bitter, desperate scent. Not altogether unpleasant, Nola thought. She’d smelled it before.
Nola slowly unfolded the origami bird. “He called you Bird, didn’t he? Because you were like a little bird flitting around all over the place, always moving, always chattering. It was his pet name for you.”
“You left that bird on my windshield, didn’t you? Did you start the fire? Put that crap online about me?”
Nola’s eyes narrowed and then she shrugged. “Sure, why not?”
“I’m going to leave now,” Maggie said, her voice trembling.
“Just a little bit longer, Maggie,” Nola said. “You can spare five minutes for your best friend’s sister, can’t you? I saw Eve running off toward the caves that day and you chasing after her. She found out about you and Cam Harper. She was going to tell. She was going to tell your dad and Cam Harper was going to be arrested and taken away from you and you couldn’t stand the thought of that.”
Nola’s eyes sparkled. She was enjoying this.
“You followed her to the caves and you attacked her to shut her up. You killed her and for what? A middle-aged pedophile who probably had done the same thing to dozens of other girls. You thought you were so special,” Nola said with disdain.
“You are crazy,” Maggie spat.
“I still have three minutes,” Nola said holding up her fingers. Her voice changed again and Eve’s earnest words fell from her lips, “Please, Maggie, we can work this out together.” Then another shift in tone. “I don’t want to work it out! I’m pregnant. If you tell, it will scare him away. I need time to figure out how to tell him. You ruined it. You ruined everything. I hate you, Eve, I hate you!” Nola ended her soliloquy with a childish stamp of the foot.
“You need help,” Maggie whispered.
“Actually, I think it’s you who needs the help,” Nola said, matching Maggie’s soft tone. “You of all people should know what happens to pregnant women in prison. You’d have to give birth in leg irons. And how long do they let the baby stay with a convicted murderer? Your baby would be taken away. And what do you think your husband will do once he finds out that the mother of his child is a monster? Do you really think he’d want the baby? Off to foster care she’d go.”
“Enough,” Maggie said, once again getting to her feet. “I’m leaving now. I suggest you get some professional help.”
Nola slid the paper cardinal back between the pages of the book and stepped aside to let Maggie pass. Maggie didn’t move. “I think I’ll ask Chief Digby to put another detective on Eve’s case.” Nola tapped her chin thoughtfully. “He wouldn’t approve of you showing up in my house without a warrant. He might think you were trying to manipulate the investigation or something. Another detective will make sure that the evidence in Eve’s case gets sent off safe and sound. And we’ll just see what they find. Oh, and maybe Chief Digby would be interested in seeing the bird. Who knows, maybe it has some kind of evidentiary value.
“And what do you think they are going to find once they send the evidence to the lab for retesting?” Nola asked. “Maybe nothing. But maybe they’ll find that tiny speck of DNA from when you knocked Eve to the ground. Maybe not. Maybe a small drop of your blood didn’t get on Eve’s clothing when she was fighting back.” Nola shrugged. “Who knows? Maybe the new advancements in forensic testing won’t detect the touch of DNA you left behind. But I guess that’s a chance you are willing to take. Good luck, Maggie.” Nola reached out to touch Maggie’s belly and Maggie swatted her hand away. Nola just laughed. “Good luck to you and your baby. Maybe you’ll actually be able to hold this baby in your arms.”
“You’re bluffing,” Maggie said but her voice was unsure, shaky.
“You can go now, Maggie,” Nola said haughtily. “If you don’t want to talk about this like adults, I think I have a few phone calls to make.”
Maggie brushed past Nola and out of the room. Nola smoothed the quilt on Eve’s bed from where Maggie had rumpled it. She heard Maggie’s feet slapping against the steps as she rushed down the stairs. A rapid-fire staccato. Nola was surprised at how fast Maggie could move given her condition. Then there was silence. No slamming of the door, no roar of an engine being turned. Just the whir of the overhead fan. Nola sat on the edge of Eve’s bed and waited. Maggie would be back.
