* * *
Vi closed the door gently behind her and gave Josh a heavy look. “Mere is not okay.”
“Jesus, no kidding. Would you be?”
Vi shuddered. “Definitely not.” She thought about Miguel’s body lying in the sun outside. “Should we… go look?” she asked hesitantly.
Josh grimaced. “We can’t tell the police what really happened, you know. We’ll have to say we found him like that. We should go look so that we can… describe it.”
Vi’s stomach turned, and she hoped she wouldn’t be sick. “Maybe… you could just go?”
Josh’s jaw tightened perceptibly, but he nodded, giving Vi’s arm a reassuring squeeze. “Yeah,” he said quietly. His feet seemed like they were full of lead as he reluctantly crossed the living room toward the bank of picture windows at the back. From there he had a panoramic view of the entire yard. Then, in astonishment, he said, “There’s nothing back there.”
“What?” Vi crossed the room in half the time and stood next to him, her eyes scanning the yard. The pool deck was absolutely spotless, bright white and clean next to the pool, the water glinting cheerfully in the morning light. “Mere said his body was right there,” she said, pointing to an empty place on the concrete. “There’s nothing. No blood. Nothing.”
A crinkle appeared between Vi’s eyebrows as she considered the possibilities. She had known Meredith since seventh grade, and Vi had never seen her friend so distraught or traumatized. Meredith couldn’t have made it up. So what had happened to the body?
“We should call Eleanor,” Vi said decisively. She spun around on her heel and went down the hall toward the bedroom where Josh had left his cell phone. On her way down the hall, she passed the open door to the room that Miguel and Meredith had shared. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a still, dark form tucked under the sheets in the bed.
Instinctively, Vi stopped to look, a small gasp finding its way out of her open mouth. Miguel lay on the bed with his eyes closed, as if he were sleeping. His arms were laid neatly at his sides over the sheet.
“What the hell?” Josh exclaimed from over her shoulder.
Vi stared hard, looking to see if Miguel’s chest moved. It was perfectly still. After a moment, she asked, “What do we do?”
“Leave him there, Vi. Don’t touch anything. Go get my phone, okay?” Josh took her by the shoulders and pointed her back down the hallway, and then he gently closed the door to the bedroom.
Vi returned a moment later with Josh’s phone in hand; it was already ringing on the other end. Eleanor’s voice came on the line, and Vi quickly explained the situation.
“I need to see his body first, do you understand?” Eleanor’s steely voice was all business. “We’ll call the authorities once I get there. For now, just stay put, and keep an eye on Meredith.”
They were all sitting on the front porch when Eleanor’s weathered sedan pulled up to the curb half an hour later. Vi thought that she must have broken every traffic law on the books in order to get there that fast. Eleanor came up the front path and stopped in front of them, gazing down at Meredith with a concerned frown. She rested a hand on Meredith’s shoulder, giving it a long squeeze.
Josh stood and showed Eleanor into the house while Vi stayed outside with Meredith. She didn’t want to see the body again, and Meredith shouldn’t be alone. Vi’s heart ached for what her friend had gone through. Meredith had such a happy, bright outlook on the world. Genuinely positive people like Meredith were rare, and Vi felt fiercely protective of her. Vi was already jaded and cynical. For Vi to become more jaded and cynical would be no great loss to the world, but Meredith… It would cut Vi to the core if Meredith lost her sunshine.
Eleanor and Josh were inside for several minutes before they returned to the porch, beckoning for Vi and Meredith to come inside to talk.
Vi took Meredith by the arm, murmuring in a low voice, “Come on, Mere. Let’s go inside.”
Meredith wrenched her arm out of Vi’s grasp, shouting, “You don’t have to treat me like an invalid, Vi! I’m fine. I’m not the one who’s dead!”
“Whoa, chill,” Vi exclaimed, taking a step back.
Tears sprang into Meredith’s eyes. “I’m sorry,” she said, closing her eyes. She took a deep breath and headed into the house.
Vi followed close behind, and no one said anything until they were all settled on the long, curved sectional sofa in the great room. Meredith’s eyes scanned the backyard in disbelief. While they were waiting on the porch for Eleanor, Vi had explained that Miguel’s body had been moved, but it was evident that Meredith hadn’t really pictured it until she saw the pristine yard for herself.
“I’ve examined Miguel’s body,” Eleanor said after a moment. “His Second Heart is gone, though it appears that whoever did it cleaned up very thoroughly.”
“What do you mean?” Vi asked through narrowed eyes.
“Well, as you saw outside, there is no blood. Furthermore, there is no incision.”
“That’s impossible,” Meredith cut in. “I saw the knife. I saw…” She couldn’t bring herself to finish the sentence, fixing her eyes on the pool decking outside once again.
“I believe,” Eleanor continued carefully, “that medical examiners will conclude that he died of natural causes.”
Meredith’s face contorted with rage as she sprang up from the couch. “That’s bullshit!” she yelled furiously. She cast around the room frantically for something to throw, something to smash. “Are you saying that he was murdered and no one will even know?” Her voice escalated into wild shrieks as she grabbed a table lamp and ripped the cord from the wall, throwing it as hard as she could at the flagstone fireplace. The ceramic base shattered and sprayed sharp fragments against the wall. Meredith wheeled around and glared at Eleanor. “Is that what will happen to me? Will I be murdered in cold blood, too? And then no one will know?”
Eleanor shifted in her seat, uncomfortable with Meredith’s display of raw emotion. “Meredith, you need to calm down.”
“Calm down?” Meredith laughed mirthlessly. “Why should I calm down when my boyfriend is murdered and the only person we can trust is keeping things from us?” At Eleanor’s confused look, Meredith continued, “Oh come off it, Eleanor. Vi and I know that you aren’t telling us everything! You’re not as clever as you think! Right, Vi?” She turned and looked at Vi expectantly.
Shit. Vi waited to see if Meredith would continue without a response from her, or if she would have to say something. The seconds stretched on. “Um,” Vi stammered, buying time while she formulated a diplomatic reply. “I, uh… Well, it does seem like maybe you haven’t shared the entire truth.”
“Oh girls,” Eleanor said sadly. “Anything I haven’t told you is for your own protection.”
“Ha! Yeah, Eleanor, we’re real protected, all right.” Meredith sneered and her words dripped with sarcasm.
Josh stood up and quietly left the room while Meredith continued ranting. A few minutes later he returned, resuming his place next to Vi. He leaned over and whispered, “Her parents are on their way.”
Vi felt immense relief knowing that the Carpenters were coming, and she squeezed Josh’s hand gratefully. Eleanor was weathering Hurricane Meredith with as much stoicism as could be expected, impressing Vi with the extent of her patience.
After a while, Meredith ran out of energy and slumped down onto the couch, her body wracked with sobs. Vi no longer felt envious at Meredith’s newfound gifts; her best friend was obviously terrified for her life. The gift seemed more like a curse at this point.
Finally the doorbell rang, and Rob and Amelia rushed inside to comfort their daughter. Josh must have filled them in over the phone. Meredith, physically exhausted and her emotions spent, collapsed gratefully into her mother’s arms. Amelia’s eyes were wide and red as she struggled to keep her own tears at bay, wrapping her arms tightly around Meredith’s shoulders. Rob rubbed Meredith’s back gently, scowling at the shattered lamp in
the fireplace, intense anger burning white-hot on his features.
Vi would never want to be on the receiving end of that glare.
Now that the Carpenters were there to stay with Meredith, Eleanor beckoned Vi and Josh to the kitchen with a tilt of her head. Vi felt relieved to get out of the oppressive atmosphere in the living room, though that relief was quickly replaced by guilt. Meredith needed her support; Vi shouldn’t be so anxious to escape.
Once they were in the kitchen, Josh began talking immediately. “My parents are going to kill me! They weren’t even supposed to know that we were here, and now there’s a dead guy in the guest room and a crazy girl smashing the furniture!”
Vi gave him a horrified look.
Josh held up his hands defensively, saying, “Hey, I know we need to be sensitive to what Meredith just went through, and that’s why I didn’t say anything out there. But you don’t know my parents. This is bad. My dad is a judge! He can’t have a dead guy at his house!”
Eleanor’s gruff voice commanded both of their attention. “We will deal with your parents when they return. Right now, Josh, you need to call the police. Tell them you and Vi just woke up and found Miguel like that.”
“The police are going to ask about the smashed lamp,” Vi said quietly.
“Leave that to me,” Eleanor said. “As far as the police are concerned, no one else was ever here. Do you both understand?”
Vi and Josh nodded, both secretly glad that Eleanor was there to tell them what to do.