The house smelled and looked clean. Austin had really gone above and beyond to ensure all was neat and tidy. There wasn’t even a layer of dust on the furniture, no matter that no one had lived here in nearly a year. Rory picked up the framed photo of her and Austin and their parents. It was taken only weeks before their parents’ deaths and the one photo left of the four of them together.
She moved around the room and studied the many photos her aunt had carefully curated. Lots of framed photos on the walls. Lots of her aunt’s artwork as well. Lulu, actually Tallulah—Tallulah Kindred—had been an amazing artist. Not watercolors or oil paints. Graphite was her chosen medium, sometimes in shades of gray and black. Others were drawn using colored pencils. Somewhere in the house were stacks of drawing pads filled with her work. Rory vividly remembered sitting with her on First Mondays on the downtown square and in the park on Art Sunday each fall while she drew portraits of anyone interested. Her ability had fascinated Rory.
Rory moved into the kitchen. She could really use a glass of water. She felt as if she’d walked miles and miles through the desert. Prison was like the desert in many ways. There was nothing familiar to someone who had never been there before…nothing to help you find your way or to survive. There was all manner of danger from things you didn’t see coming or understand. It was crowded and at the same time desolate. Structured and at the same time chaotic. And sad, with no hope in sight. The cries and moaning at night had been the worst.
Rory shook off the memories. She was home now…for what it was worth.
Focus, Rory. Be thankful for whatever time you have.
Austin had ensured the kitchen was ready as well. She checked the fridge and a few of the cabinets, then smiled. Milk, butter and cheese—even yogurt, and her brother hated yogurt, but he knew Rory liked it. Canned and dry goods. Her most beloved cereal. She and Lulu had always eaten Lucky Charms but rarely at breakfast—it was their late-night snack. He’d even stocked up on her favorite soft drinks and chips.
She walked to the back door and stared out the window. The lawn was freshly mown. Lulu’s flowers were blooming everywhere. Rory would be picking a bouquet for the table. The timeworn swing set still stood under that big old tree. Its frame rusty, the seats tattered. Rory’s chest hurt with the memories of playing in this yard. Chasing her brother. Laughing. Even after losing their parents, the two of them had somehow found a way to be happy. To cling to Lulu as their buoy. No matter how tough times were financially more often than not, she and Austin were lucky they had someone who loved them so much.
Before moving away from the door, she noticed the new dead bolt. She wondered if there had been a break-in. She would have to remember to ask Austin about the addition.
Then she wandered to the other end of the little house and the tiny bedrooms. Lulu’s was the largest and every bit as vibrant as she was. Rory’s was at the end of the hall. Since Austin was so little when they moved here, he’d had the one nearest Lulu. Rory stalled at his door. His things, furniture and all, were gone now. Instead, there was a desk with a laptop and a bookcase loaded with books.
“I thought you needed an office more than you needed a third bedroom.”
She glanced over her shoulder at her brother. She hadn’t heard him come in. “Thank you, but I wish you hadn’t gone to so much trouble.”
“It was no trouble, really.” He smiled. “The paint on the door is taken care of.” He pulled his cell from his pocket and checked the time. “Jamie Colby should be calling you in about ten minutes.”
Rory frowned. “Is the house phone still on?” Lulu had hated cell phones and any other device that connected a person to any sort of big network. Along with her wild child persona had come just a touch of paranoia. She had kept her old-fashioned landline forever. She had outright refused to have cable TV installed. Only the antenna and a single old-fashioned radio were allowed to deliver any sort of waves into her home, she’d insisted. No internet either.
“It is,” Austin told her, “but there’s a new cell phone for you in your room, and the internet is up and running.”
This was amazing. “Oh my God, you really did far too much.”
“The police never returned your laptop, and your phone was stolen,” he argued. “It was the least I could do.”
Rory went into the bedroom she had used until she moved in with Pete. Being with him was the happiest time of her life. She stood at the dresser her aunt had painted a turquoise just for her when Rory was fifteen. A framed photo of Rory and her brand-new husband on their wedding day had been placed there. Her heart swelled with emotion. How on earth had Austin gotten that photograph?
“When I picked up your stuff from the storage unit where Pete’s folks had put it,” Austin explained, “this was the only photo of the two of you they’d left. I think maybe it was an oversight since all the rest were gone. Anyway, I thought you might like having it framed and placed where you could see it.”
She stared at her little brother then. His hair was not as dark as hers, his eyes a more common shade of blue. Even his complexion was a more medium color, not so pale like hers. And yet he’d always been like her twin in every other way. Stickingto her like glue as a little kid. Defending her adamantly as a teenager. And now, taking care of her when she had no one else.
She loved him to pieces.
She hugged him hard, then drew back so they could breathe. Emotion had crowded so tightly into her throat she couldn’t speak for a moment. “Thank you. I really appreciate everything.”
She picked up the frame and studied the photo. Pete’s smile tugged at her senses. She missed him so much. How had their seemingly perfect life gone so very wrong on their wedding night? They had been so happy together. More bewildering, who would have wanted to hurt them? Pete had been the nicest person anyone would ever hope to meet. He had never harmed anyone. And yet he was dead…murdered.
She forced the haunting thoughts away and focused on the happy moments of their wedding. The dress she had picked out had been the one of her dreams. A beautiful princess ball gown style. Of course it was far too expensive—way, way out of her price range. It didn’t seem reasonable to pay such a price for a dress she would only wear once. But Lulu had insisted it wasn’t a problem. A few weeks later, her aunt had called her to this little house to show off the dress. It was the most beautiful thing Rory had ever seen. But what made it truly perfect was that Lulu had made the dress exactly like the one Rory couldn’t afford.
She set the photo back on the dresser. Pushed a smile into place for her brother. “You are the very best brother any sister could ever want.”
Austin pointed to the phone lying next to the photo. “It’s fully charged and ready to go.” He gestured to the closet on the other side of the little room. “I hung up all your clothes—at least the ones they had put in boxes and left at the storage unit. If there were other things…” He shrugged. “I brought everything here that was in that unit. If anything is missing, I can ask them—”
“No.” She got it. If there was anything else, Pete’s parents would have likely thrown it away or burned it. Besides, she wasn’t allowed to go near them or their home or the one she and Pete had shared. “I’m certain what you brought home is fine.”
“If you’re sure,” he allowed.
“I’m sure.”
Rory closed her eyes for a long moment and blocked the images and sounds that tried to invade her head. She had worked hard to keep those memories at bay. Once the trial was over, what was the point of attempting to remember the details of that awful night or allowing the good memories from before that to torture her? Pete was gone. She had been charged with his murder and sentenced to decades in prison.
She was only standing here now because someone had made a mistake in the handling of evidence, and her lawyer had finally figured it out and managed to win a motion for retrial.
