Blood Trail by Nancy Springer Page A

those people making barely a sound. That silence made me feel like I couldn’t get enough air. Or maybe it was the too-sweet smell from an avalanche of flowers up front.
    Around the casket.
    Other than zillions of flowers, and candles burning to keep him company, Aaron was lying there all by himself in the closed casket. There hadn’t been any viewing. No chance to say good-bye, but no need to see Aaron all hacked up, either. I imagined him the way I remembered him, round-faced and shiny-eyed, lying in that glorified polyurethane-and-wood box with gold doodads. It probably had puffy satin lining, too. He would have laughed at it.
    Just inside the door, a man turned to me and shook my hand; it was the bright-eyed little detective who’d busted the truth out of me. “How are you doing these days?”
    â€œLike you said,” I told him. Maybe he’d heard. A couple days ago the cops were letting the Gingriches get some stuff out of their house, and I’d tried to talk with Mrs. Gingrich, but she’d slammed the door in my face. Jamy had gotten the same treatment when she’d tried to ask how Aardy was doing.
    I told the detective, “You called it. Getting worse by the day.”
    â€œYeah, but then it’ll get better again. Hang in.”
    Gray-suited undertaker guys were packing people in, but all the pews were crammed butt to butt now. Aaron would have made some kind of joke about that, too, people cheek to cheek but not slow-dancing.… My eyes fogged up. Damn, where was Aaron now when I needed him? Dumb clown, why did he have to go and get killed? I felt like I was never going to laugh anymore, without Aaron around.
    I could see Mrs. Ledbetter up front—she must have claimed her seat practically at dawn. Mom and Jamy and I didn’t get to sit down. We stood against the back wall, and Coach stood with us, even though most of the guys from the football team had kind of clustered along one side.
    After a while the Gingrich family filed in from someplace behind the altar and sat in their own pew up front. Mrs. Gingrich, Nathan, Mr. Gingrich, and four older people, Aaron’s grandparents. All of them in dark clothes.
    â€œWhere’s Aardy ?” My stupid sister sounded loud even though she was whispering.
    â€œShhh.” Mom whispered much more softly. “Maybe she’s too upset.…”
    I could understand that. I mean, Aardy had found Aaron’s body. Maybe the doctor had put her on sedatives so she’d sleep for a month. What surprised me was to see that Nathan and Aaron’s father had flown in from Minnesota. Right there he was, sitting down beside Nathan, on the other side from Mrs. Gingrich. He’d hardly ever bothered to come see his sons when they were both alive.
    Then the minister came in, wearing black robes and stood behind the pulpit to start the service. The church got dead quiet.
    â€œThe Lord giveth, and the Lord taketh away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.”
    Didn’t make any sense to me. I tuned out, staring at the back of Nathan’s neck. His face when he came in hadn’t showed me a thing except white and tight. I wondered whether he was getting any more sleep than I was. I knew from camping with him that he wasn’t a real sound sleeper.…
    He’d said he was napping when Aaron was killed? Since when did Nathan nap? He motored like a revvedup engine all the time.
    Okay, maybe even Nathan napped once in a while. But … I didn’t know what getting stabbed to death was like, but Aaron … Aaron must have made some noise.…
    No. Damn it, no, this was no damn time to think about it. I tried to listen to the sermon, and I noticed the preacher was sweating. Even from the back of the church I could see his pink face shining. I guess it was a rough service. He said that all things happen in accordance with God’s purpose, which sounded kind of lame. Same when he said Aaron was happy in