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Dante snorted and Noemi glared at him before turning her ire toward me.
“Why didn’t you tell me the truth? It’s there on the official records. I don’t understand why you lied.”
That was the easiest answer I had to give. “I lied because you were in enough pain and it wasn’t a lie at first. The initial thought was that it was a drunk driving accident. They didn’t test right away because... there wasn’t a need to, or so they thought. It was several days later that the results came back, and I had already told you that the accident was caused by alcohol.
“You were so distraught, Noemi.” My voice broke as I recalled that night in the Calegari kitchen. “I couldn’t bring myself to put you through that a second time. To know that Mom—”
“So, it’s true, then? Mom deliberately... she killed them?”
“That’s what the investigation revealed.”
“And you believed it? How could they possibly know something like that from just tire marks and broken glass?”
Then it turned out she didn’t know everything. “Because there were witnesses.”
“Witnesses to the accident?”
“No. To the argument they had before they left the party. Mom was angry. Dad tried to calm her down. The investigating officer said the argument was left out of the report, but due to her mental state at the time... It wasn’t conclusive, according to the investigator.”
“So, they filed a false report?”
“Not false. They just omitted a few details.”
“Did the investigator tell you what they argued about? People have arguments. It doesn’t make them drive cars into trees.”
“I’m not sure,” I said.
“Don’t lie to me. Was it her? Lydia? She was at the party. Is that who they fought over?” Noemi’s voice rose as she brought up a name I had hoped she’d never hear.
I glared at Dante who shrugged. “I told you. She knows.”
I gave up then. If she knew about Lydia, she knew enough. “Yes. He wouldn’t tell me specifics, but... the witness said Mom accused Dad of having an affair with... a child. She wasn’t,” I insisted. “She was legal.”
“Barely,” Noemi sneered though her eyes teared up. “Part of me thinks it doesn’t matter how old she was. He still cheated on Mom, but the very idea that he... I just can’t believe it.”
“I made sure, Noe. Even though it wouldn’t have mattered to some, she was a legal adult at the time.” I felt like I was going to be sick. “They interviewed her. She said they had just started seeing each other right after her eighteenth birthday. There was nothing between them before that.”
Noemi looked at Dante who frowned and shook his head. Something was going on between them and I realized that we weren’t just talking about the night of our parents’ car accident.
I said their names just to see what Noemi’s reaction would be. “Bailey and Rubinstein.”
Noemi’s tears started to fall faster. Dante put his arm across her shoulders and kissed the top of her head.
“I told you. She knows.”
“How much does she know?” I ground out. I was tired of running around in circles.
His eyes didn’t leave mine. “She knows about your father’s affair and Bailey and Rubinstein’s involvement.”
“I just didn’t know how or why anyone would think that Mom...” Her voice trailed off, shaking with her tears.
“They said the conversation was pretty damning, but not conclusive. Out of respect for who Dad was... they left those details out of the official report. I’m sorry, Noe. I should have told you sooner, but it didn’t seem like there was any reason to.”
“I guess no one thought it would come up again ten years later,” she said resentfully.
Which brought a whole new set of questions. “How did you find out?”
“Someone got into the house and left an envelope on my bed with pictures and copies of the police and coroner’s reports.”
