“Except for the casseroles.” Courtney cut the ignition and grabbedher phone. “Come on. We can’t let them see that carpet.”
“Oops, right.” Julia got her purse, and they hustled out of the car and hurried to the porch steps to meet the women.
Both women rose, setting the casseroles aside, and Courtney and Julia hustled up the steps. They met on the porch, when Mona and Susan gathered Courtney into a motherly hug. Mona was Indian American, with amber-framed glasses that coordinated with a tan cotton sweater, loose jeans, and suede Birks, while Susan was white with a styled coif and dressed more conventionally, in a navy sweater set with black pants and black Hokas.
“We’re so sorry,” Mona and Susan said in unison.
“Thank you.” Courtney let them go, her eyes filmed. “I’m so sorry for you, too. I know how much you loved her.”
Mona’s hooded eyes glistened behind her glasses. “She was everything you could ever want in a friend.”
“I thank God for her, I truly do.” Susan turned her palms heavenward. “She helped me through so much in my life. My husband’s death, my breast cancer. She was there for me, every step of the way.” Susan touched Courtney’s cheek. “You were everything to her, too. She talked about you nonstop. But you know that already.”
Courtney nodded, sniffling. “I do, she was the best.”
Susan shook her head. “I can’t believe we lost her, this way. We have to find who killed her. Did you see the state police finally showed up? What took them so dang long? The first twenty-four hours are the most important.”
Mona turned to Courtney and Julia. “She watches all the crime shows.Dateline, all that.”
Susan nodded, frowning. “EvenIcould get away by now. Not tomention a killer is on the loose. Everybody’s afraid. I was on the phone all night with my prayer group. We’re going to say a special Mass for Kay.”
Mona put an arm around Courtney. “Let’s not yammer out here. I brought my tuna fish casserole and Susan made pasta salad. Let’s go inside.” Mona turned to go, but Courtney stopped her.
“We don’t need to go through the living—”
“That’s okay,” Susan interrupted, her tone gentle. “We saw the rug through the window. We didn’t go in. We didn’t want to contaminate the scene.”
Mona shook her head. “We don’t mind seeing. We owe that to Kay.”
Later, the four women made a heartbroken huddle in the living room, standing a respectful distance from the bloodstain. Susan made the Sign of the Cross, and Mona dabbed her nose with a Kleenex from her sleeve. Courtney hung her head, and Julia kicked herself for not putting the room back in order last night. The furniture was still upended, and the air smelled faintly of blood.
Susan cleared her throat, her mouth draped by soft cheeks. “When you get to be our age, you’ve seen so much, you can handle anything. You get stronger when you get older, not weaker. Life makes you strong.”
Mona bunched up her Kleenex. “But this is a test.”
Courtney turned to them with brimming eyes. “My grandmother loved both of you. Thank you for being such good friends to her.”
Susan dabbed her nose again. “It was our pleasure.Shewas our pleasure.”
“That’s the truth.” Mona sniffled. “You know, we used to talk aboutgetting older, even dying. She was brave enough to look it in the eye, she really was. She named our book club the Right-Side-of-the-Daisies Book Club.”
Courtney smiled sadly. “That sounds like her. She planned her whole funeral. She picked out the readings, the music, even the restaurant for the repast. She told me she didn’t want me to have to plan another funeral, after my parents.”
Mona nodded. “She told us that. She wanted to be cremated because it was better for the environment. She wanted her ashes scattered over her garden.”
Susan sighed. “Ladies, let’s eat. We need to keep up our energy. Food helps, take it from me.”
Courtney nodded. “Julia and I didn’t have breakfast. We could really use a tuna casserole with pasta salad.”
All through breakfast, Julia was preoccupied. She felt moved by being with Mona and Susan, seeing them so bereft and hearing them talking about Kay with such love. Julia’s gaze kept straying to the window overlooking the backyard, and she felt drawn to see Kay’s garden again, even after last night. So when the meal was over, and they picked up the dishes, Julia exchanged a meaningful glance with Courtney, excused herself, and went out back.
Julia stepped outside, closing the screen door behind her. The air felt fresh and cool, and she breathed it in. She could see the lay of the land now that it was daytime, and the area directly behind the house had been mowed, but beyond it was the pasture, overgrown with rippling grass.
She walked left to the garden, now simply a large rectangle of hard earth, yet to be planted. Little silver signs with embossed lettering thatreadSHASTA,GERBER, andGOLDENwere posted here and there. The sight touched her, and her heart ached at the thought of Kay lovingly cultivating the earth, anticipating a Spring she would never live to see.
Suddenly Julia spotted police cruisers racing across the overgrown pasture. Birds and insects flew squawking from the scrub, flapping their wings in panic.
Julia felt a bolt of excitement. Something big was happening. The cops could have found Kay’s killer.
