Page 229 of Taken Away

Then she shook her head.

“No, Sheriff.”

Burke waited.

“To understand Harold,” she said, “you have to meet Anne first.”

Patsy’s eyes remained on the photograph.

“To tell you about Anne,” she whispered, "I have to tell you about two sisters who loved each other more than anyone could imagine."

Outside, the porch swing creaked in the wind.

Inside, Patsy Jordan began.

FORTY-SEVEN

Blackwood Ridge

Friday Evening

Aubrey and Bennett sat on opposite ends of the couch, each with a glass of wine.

A phone buzzed across the coffee table.

Aubrey glanced down.

She groaned.

"Oh, no."

Bennett looked over the rim of his glass.

"Your mother?"

She nodded.

"I'm really not in the mood for more of Anne's drama."

The phone buzzed again.

Aubrey sighed and tapped Speaker.

"What?"

Anne didn't miss a beat.

"Well, hello to you too."

"What do you need, Anne?"

"I made dinner."

Silence.

"I beg your pardon?"

"Dinner," Anne repeated. "Chicken. Cornbread. Green beans. Peach cobbler."