life, was about to be put on the map as the hometown of a gruesome and frightening family murder.
Emily paid and drove over to the school. She told Sheriff Kiplinger that she’d talk to the principal at Cherrystone High about Nick Martin. The Spokane media was already swarming, and reporters from Seattle were also making inquiries about hotel rooms. A triple homicide was big, fat, unbelievable news. It was after lunchtime, and the usually tidy streets of Cherrystone were oddly quiet, given the coming of the second storm in a week—the media storm.
Emily sipped her mocha and nearly gagged. It was sickeningly, almost throat burning, sweet. If she hadn’t considered the combination of sugar and caffeine as a necessary elixir given her past few days, she’d have tossed the paper cup out the window. Damn the city’s littering ordinance.
Her cell rang. It was David.
“Emily, we have to talk,” he said, without so much as a hello.
“David,” she answered, her voice slightly brittle, “we don’t have anything to talk about. At least not now.”
“Yeah, we do. We need to talk about Jenna. I don’t want her growing up in some Podunk town.”
Her brow narrowed and she rolled her eyes. “Thanks. I grew up here, David.”
“No offense, but I’m sure you’ll agree that Jenna deserves more opportunity.”
“She’ll get that opportunity when she goes to college. I did. We all did.” Given the circumstances of the last few hours, she couldn’t bring up her old argument that Cherrystone was a safe haven. Seattle had a rave culture. Cherrystone was still 4-H. Certainly there were drugs in the town that David derided as “no more than a pockmark on the map,” but Emily knew more kids were concerned about showing how high their sunflowers grew than how high they got. Seattle teens got beaten and murdered and abused everyday of the week.
And now Cherrystone had a murder times three. The idea pounded at her cranium. Was it lack of sleep or the realization that some kid had slaughtered his family for no apparent reason?
“Really, David, I can’t talk about this right now.”
“Someone’s dog loose? Cow get out of a pasture?” David could be cutting and never missed the chance to remind Emily that she was slumming in Cherrystone.
Her head pounded. “I’d answer that, and since you’ll probably relay everything back to Dani, I’d better use small words so she’ll understand.” The second they spewed from her lips, Emily wished she hadn’t been so harsh and could pluck them from the air before David heard them. If she hadn’t been under so much pressure because of the storm and now the Martin murders, she’d have held it together.
“Now, I remember why I couldn’t stand being around you.”
His words cut to the bone. She knew they’d been deserved, but she hated the idea of their entire life together being cast in an odious light. They did, after all, have a few good years earlier in their marriage. Maybe even more good years than bad. And they did have Jenna.
“Sorry,” she said. “I do have to go. David, I’ll call you. But for now, please understand that Jenna is going to see you this summer—for the two weeks we’ve agreed upon in the parenting plan. Nothing more.”
“Dani and I think she’s old enough to change her mind—”
Dani was David’s girlfriend and Emily couldn’t stand it that she was closer in age to Jenna than she was to David. They’d met once, not long after the divorce was final. Dani had seemed nice enough. She wasn’t particularly beautiful. She wasn’t even blond. And her chest? Just average for a second wife, or at least what most men tend to go for when they trade up. Emily hated the age disparity. It just seemed wrong, ugly, and predictable. David was a lot of things in their marriage, many of them annoying, but he’d never been predictable.
“I didn’t call you to argue,” he said, his voice icy. “I wanted to tell you that I’ve been talking with
Emily paid and drove over to the school. She told Sheriff Kiplinger that she’d talk to the principal at Cherrystone High about Nick Martin. The Spokane media was already swarming, and reporters from Seattle were also making inquiries about hotel rooms. A triple homicide was big, fat, unbelievable news. It was after lunchtime, and the usually tidy streets of Cherrystone were oddly quiet, given the coming of the second storm in a week—the media storm.
Emily sipped her mocha and nearly gagged. It was sickeningly, almost throat burning, sweet. If she hadn’t considered the combination of sugar and caffeine as a necessary elixir given her past few days, she’d have tossed the paper cup out the window. Damn the city’s littering ordinance.
Her cell rang. It was David.
“Emily, we have to talk,” he said, without so much as a hello.
“David,” she answered, her voice slightly brittle, “we don’t have anything to talk about. At least not now.”
“Yeah, we do. We need to talk about Jenna. I don’t want her growing up in some Podunk town.”
Her brow narrowed and she rolled her eyes. “Thanks. I grew up here, David.”
“No offense, but I’m sure you’ll agree that Jenna deserves more opportunity.”
“She’ll get that opportunity when she goes to college. I did. We all did.” Given the circumstances of the last few hours, she couldn’t bring up her old argument that Cherrystone was a safe haven. Seattle had a rave culture. Cherrystone was still 4-H. Certainly there were drugs in the town that David derided as “no more than a pockmark on the map,” but Emily knew more kids were concerned about showing how high their sunflowers grew than how high they got. Seattle teens got beaten and murdered and abused everyday of the week.
And now Cherrystone had a murder times three. The idea pounded at her cranium. Was it lack of sleep or the realization that some kid had slaughtered his family for no apparent reason?
“Really, David, I can’t talk about this right now.”
“Someone’s dog loose? Cow get out of a pasture?” David could be cutting and never missed the chance to remind Emily that she was slumming in Cherrystone.
Her head pounded. “I’d answer that, and since you’ll probably relay everything back to Dani, I’d better use small words so she’ll understand.” The second they spewed from her lips, Emily wished she hadn’t been so harsh and could pluck them from the air before David heard them. If she hadn’t been under so much pressure because of the storm and now the Martin murders, she’d have held it together.
“Now, I remember why I couldn’t stand being around you.”
His words cut to the bone. She knew they’d been deserved, but she hated the idea of their entire life together being cast in an odious light. They did, after all, have a few good years earlier in their marriage. Maybe even more good years than bad. And they did have Jenna.
“Sorry,” she said. “I do have to go. David, I’ll call you. But for now, please understand that Jenna is going to see you this summer—for the two weeks we’ve agreed upon in the parenting plan. Nothing more.”
“Dani and I think she’s old enough to change her mind—”
Dani was David’s girlfriend and Emily couldn’t stand it that she was closer in age to Jenna than she was to David. They’d met once, not long after the divorce was final. Dani had seemed nice enough. She wasn’t particularly beautiful. She wasn’t even blond. And her chest? Just average for a second wife, or at least what most men tend to go for when they trade up. Emily hated the age disparity. It just seemed wrong, ugly, and predictable. David was a lot of things in their marriage, many of them annoying, but he’d never been predictable.
“I didn’t call you to argue,” he said, his voice icy. “I wanted to tell you that I’ve been talking with
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