Selena stared across the yard.The old maple near the fence threw moving shade across the grass.As a child, she had tried to climb that tree and scraped both knees before getting two branches high.Diane had laughed at her, then fetched bandages and told her not to cry so loudly or their mother would panic.
“I’m not sure,” Selena said.“But I hope it’s soon.I need to spend more time with my family.”
Connor looked over.“Getting tired of the big city?”
“No.”Selena set her glass on the table.“It’s just that Harlan’s starting to feel a bit like home again, if you discount the murders.”
Arnold raised both hands.“That goes on the tourism brochure.”
Robert chuckled.“Visit Elmsview.Stay for the barbecue.Leave before the homicide.”
Connor shook his head.“You people are terrible.”
“You’re one of us,” Arnold said.
“That’s why I know.”
The laughter came easily enough, but Selena felt the edge beneath it.A county could laugh the day after catching a killer because it needed to.By morning, people would be retelling the story.Renee Beaumont would become a name spoken at counters, church steps, bar stools, and kitchen tables.Warren and Victor would be mourned in uneven ways.Bradley Atkins would live, though not necessarily in the same marriage.
Cases ended.
Damage took longer.Selena had seen that in Connor.It would be a long time before he could get through what happened to his friends.But she knew he had good people around him.And that had to count for something.
Selena checked her watch.“I’d better head off.I have to catch this flight in Knoxville.”
Robert’s smile dimmed, though he tried to cover it by turning toward the barbecue.“Already?”
“It’s a long drive, Dad.”
“I know,” he said with a disappointed look.
Selena stood.“Thank you for today.”
“Don’t thank me for feeding my own daughter.”
“I’m thanking you anyway.”Selena pointed at Arnold and Connor.“Make sure these two help clean up.”
Robert came around the table and pulled her into a hug.For a moment, Selena let herself rest there, cheek against his shoulder, one hand pressed to his back.He smelled of charcoal smoke, soap, and the same aftershave he had worn when she was young.
“I’m glad you came around,” he said quietly.
“So am I.”
When he let go, his eyes moved toward the side gate.
“Too bad,” he said.“I thought Diane might have turned up.”
Selena picked up her jacket from the chair.“It doesn’t matter.”
Robert gave her the kind of look that said he knew a lie when it stood in his yard.
“She’ll come around, too,” he said.
“Maybe.”
“She’s stubborn.”
“So am I.”
