AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I don’t know who. I just started getting notes in the mailbox. I always bring the mail in when I get home from school and… someone must have known I’d get it.”
I glance at Rory. He nudges his chin in my direction.Go on…
“What did they say?”
Liliana takes a deep breath. “They told me that there was a way for me to stop construction on the house.”
“Why would you want to do that?” Donna says through an incredulous laugh.
The girl looks at her mother, eyes glassy with shame. “I hate it here.”
At least she’s honest.
“W-what?” Donna asks.
“I…” Liliana gathers up her strength and says firmly, “Ihateit here. I never wanted to leave Chicago. And you and dad never even asked. So I left behind all my friends for this boring town and this boring life and I–I–I hate it!”
Principal Fleming clears her throat. “I’m afraid, Mrs. Frederickson, that isn’t really much of a secret. Liliana is a bit of a loner.”
Donna’s face pales. Her perfectly manicured exterior seems to wilt. The glimmering necklace, the silk blouse, the perfectly styled hair. None of it matters when her daughter’s been in so much secretive pain. Her jaw drops. “What? You said you made friends. You said?—”
“I kept getting the notes,” Liliana interrupts with vigor. “And they told me what to do. They promised if I did it, then there was no way that my parents could tear down the house, which would mean they’d move somewhere else since they couldn’t build their stupid compound.”
My heart aches for her, for the lie that convinced her to commit such a strange crime. Sure, construction has been held up. But it was only a matter of time before things worked themselves out. “Why wouldn’t they be able to tear down the house?”
Liliana sits up a little straighter. “Because it was a crime scene. Right?” She looks at Rory for confirmation.
“I… don’t know about that, Liliana,” Rory says in a tender voice that nearly breaks my heart.
The girl’s lips tighten into a tight circle. Poor thing.
No wonder Liliana was so eager to point out the good in the house during my tour. She had her own vested interest in getting away from it. I’m quick to defend Horace almost always, but this is one time I respect someone’s loathe for our little town. She’s just a kid. It wasn’t fair to yank her away from everything she knew like that.
“So this person asked you to steal the bones?” Rory prompts her with another question.
“Yes…” Liliana says, twiddling her fingers in her lap. “I was supposed to steal the whole thing but my backpack wasn’t big enough. Which was stupid of me in hindsight. That delayed the plan a bit. But then I got a note that let me know the plan was on and not to worry about the missing bones. So I went out early in the morning, saw the hole had been buried, and assembled the skeleton.”
I smile with my eyes. “Mr. Chrisley would be very proud of you for your accuracy, Liliana.”
“Chaplin,” Rory grabs my attention, then clicks his tongue and slides his hand in a quick motion across his throat.Cut it out.
“Sorry,” I say.
Liliana’s smiling though, and I’m grateful for that.
“Why didn’t you say something, Liliana?” Donna asks. “Why didn’t you?”
“You made it clear you didn’t care before. Why would you care now?”
Donna looks away from her daughter, forehead pinched in pain. I feel sorry for her too.
“Do you still have the notes?” Rory asks.
“One.” Liliana reaches into the pocket of her jeans. “Had a feeling this might be important.”
She holds out the folded piece of paper. Rory picks it up and unfolds it. It looks like the note was written on one of those receipts you tear off a pad. It’s minute, but I notice Rory zero in on the paper. What has he noticed?
“Liliana,” Donna says, eyes threatening to spill with tears. “I had no idea you…”
