The Secrets of Lake Road (30 page)

But she couldn’t discard the fact that her version also made a lot of sense. There was a full moon that night. The floating pier would have been visible to anyone looking out at the water. And if anyone were on the pier under a moon that bright, they would have been recognizable.

Many times Dee Dee had peeked out the curtains and caught teenagers messing around on that very same pier. It was as though a spotlight had been turned on and the teenagers were caught in the act of being teens. She had done it herself when she was younger.

So it was possible Patricia was telling the truth. Besides, she had never known Patricia to lie. As a child, she had been honest. She wouldn’t even lie about the number of cookies she had eaten when asked. Where most kids would confess to eating two or three, Patricia would look Dee Dee in the eye and say, “I had fourteen.”

And then there’s the fact that Billy’s body was found near the pier, the exact spot Patricia had seen Jo with him.
Kevin had been there too,
the voice inside her head whispered, but she silenced it by pushing it away. She didn’t want to believe anyone was to blame for what had happened to Billy other than Jo.

Billy and Kevin had been best friends every summer since they were boys. And later they had both become victims, targets of a manipulative teenage girl who flaunted her sexuality, tossing it around as though she were free for the taking, teasing them until neither boy could think straight.

Jo was beautiful, sexy, and careless with what she had been blessed with. She knew how to use her body and good looks to her advantage. She didn’t care who she hurt as long as she got what she wanted. She was out of control. Dee Dee had wanted to shake her, to warn her to be careful with how she used the weapons she had been given. But she didn’t dare touch her because of Billy. He was smitten with her. And Dee Dee didn’t have the heart to say a bad thing about her for fear of hurting him. So she bit her tongue, hoping he’d outgrow what had started as puppy love, and praying he would lose interest, or Jo would.

Neither had happened, and there wasn’t a day that went by that Dee Dee didn’t curse herself for not opening her mouth and exposing Jo for what she really was, a selfish tramp. Although in the end, she wasn’t sure it would’ve mattered.

*   *   *

Patricia walked into the kitchen, dragging her feet. Her blond hair fell in tangles around her face. She looked like a child in the waning light, standing in an oversize T-shirt and underwear. If it wasn’t for the healthy bumps underneath the shirt or her wide hips, she could’ve passed for her ten-year-old self.

“How long have I been sleeping?” she asked.

“A few hours.” Dee Dee dropped the empty beer can in the trash. She had smoked half a pack of cigarettes. She fingered the lighter, contemplating firing up another one.

Patricia shuffled to the table and sat down. She pushed her messy bed hair behind her ears. “Thank you,” she said. “For letting me stay here and for giving me your bed. I haven’t been able to sleep at the
Sparrow
. All Sara’s stuff is there and … I just don’t know what I’m supposed to do now.”

Dee Dee poured a glass of lake water and handed it to her. “There hasn’t been any news.” She was certain she would’ve heard news about Sara had there been any.

Patricia nodded. She sat quietly for a long time. The clock on the fireplace mantel ticked off the seconds one by one. A couple of ducks honked on the lake. The squirrels rustled in the trees behind the cabin.

“Listen,” Dee Dee said, and sat across from her. “I want to talk with Sheriff Borg about what you told me about Billy. I know now might not be the best time to bring this up, but I think it’s important. Sara’s drowning was an accident. You’re not to blame for an accident. But Billy’s drowning might not have been. We owe it to him to find out the truth.”

Patricia didn’t say anything right away. Her face was drawn. She stared at nothing. Dee Dee worried her hands in her lap, waiting, wondering if Patricia would hold up in an interrogation by Sheriff Borg even if she could convince her to talk with him.

She cleared her throat, scratchy from the dozen cigarettes she had smoked throughout the day. “What do you think?” she asked. “Do you think you’re up to talking to the sheriff?”

Patricia nodded. Someone knocked at the door.

Dee Dee turned. “Who could that be?”

Patricia’s hand shot out and grabbed Dee Dee’s wrist. “Sara,” she whispered.

She patted Patricia’s hand. “It’s going to be okay.” She went to the screen door and pushed it open to find Jo standing on her front porch.

CHAPTER FORTY-TWO

“Well, well, well,” Dee Dee said. “Look what the cat dragged in.”

“We need to talk,” Jo said.

“You bet we do.” Dee Dee stood aside to let her in. The door bang closed behind them.

Jo was somewhat surprised to find Patricia in Dee Dee’s kitchen. “I’m sorry to barge in,” she said to her. Patricia gave her a weak smile. Jo turned toward Dee Dee. “Is there somewhere we can talk in private?”

Dee Dee leaned against the countertop and crossed her arms, taking her usual defensive position. “Oh no, I think Patricia should be here for this.”

Jo hesitated. “Fine,” she said. “This really can’t wait.”

“No, it can’t.” Dee Dee pulled a chair from the kitchen table. “Sit,” she said.

Jo did what she was told and sat, leaning forward and resting her forearms on the table. Her leg bounced up and down. By the look on Dee Dee’s face, she thought perhaps Johnny had already been here. She had wanted to be the first to break the news to her about Billy being Johnny’s father. On some crazy level, she supposed she had hoped Dee Dee would help her make the situation easier for Johnny. But seeing Dee Dee’s stiff jaw and the anger in her eyes, she knew she had made a mistake. Dee Dee wouldn’t behave rationally about anything.

“So,” Dee Dee said, “Patricia told me some very interesting news today.”

“Patricia?” she asked, confused. How would Patricia know about Johnny? “What news?”

“She has proof you’re a lying bitch.”

Patricia flinched.

Jo rested her head in her hands. “Can’t we have a civil conversation?”

“Patricia saw you on the pier with Billy the night he drowned.” Dee Dee pushed off the counter, taking on a fighter’s stance.

“I don’t understand,” Jo said. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I came here to talk about Johnny.”

“Forget Johnny. Patricia was here at the cabin that night. I was babysitting her. And you know we have a clear view of the floating pier from here.” She pointed her index finger in Jo’s face. “She saw you with Billy. He wasn’t alone on the beach like Kevin said. Kevin’s been covering up for you this entire time.”

Jo glanced at Patricia cowering in the chair, clutching Sara’s dolly. She looked like a scared child. “What did you tell her?” Jo asked her. Her tone was harsher than she had intended. But what could she have seen? She
had
been a child when it had happened.

“I…,” Patricia began, but Dee Dee cut her off.

“Leave her alone,” Dee Dee said. “She’s been through enough.”

Jo ignored Dee Dee and reached across the table toward Patricia. In a more soothing tone she asked, “What do you think you saw?”

“Hey.” Dee Dee poked Jo in the shoulder. “You talk to me.”

“Whoa.” Jo raised her hands. “Back off.”

Patricia still didn’t say anything.

“What did you do to my brother? What are you hiding?” Dee Dee asked.

Jo pushed back in the chair and stood. Her legs wobbled and her arms shook. “I don’t have to listen to this.” She took a tentative step, but before she could get any farther, Dee Dee moved in front of her, pushing her, getting up in her face.

“What did you do to him?”

“Nothing,” Jo said, and tried to step around her, but Dee Dee’s body was big and strong, like Billy’s. Yes, just like Billy’s, and she was certain this was how Kevin had felt when Billy had thrust his chest at him, intimidating him with his physical strength. “Get away from me,” she said in a voice much too weak to have any impact.

“Did you kill him?” Dee Dee grabbed Jo’s shoulders.

“No,” Jo said, panicking. “No.”

“You’re lying.” Dee Dee wrapped her hands around Jo’s neck. “Tell me the truth or I swear, I’ll kill you myself.”

She clawed at Dee Dee’s fingers, gasping for air. Black spots marred her vision. Her head felt light. Patricia sat there, staring at them as though she was in shock, never having seen this side of Dee Dee before. Jo reached for her. “Pattie,” she croaked. When it was clear Patricia wouldn’t be of any help, Jo returned to scratching at Dee Dee’s hands, trying to pry them open. “Let go,” she managed to say.

Dee Dee loosened her grip ever so slightly. Her cold dead eyes glared at her. “Not until you tell me what happened.”

“Okay,” she said, and coughed.

Dee Dee dropped her hands and stepped back. Jo bent over, gasping, trying to catch her breath.

“I’m waiting,” Dee Dee said.

When the air moved through her lungs and she could talk, she blurted, “It was an accident.”

Dee Dee blinked several times. “You’re going to tell Sheriff Borg my brother didn’t just slip and fall. You’re going to explain exactly what happened to him. And you’re going to pay for what you’ve done.”

“No,” Jo said, shaking her head. Her body trembled. She needed Kevin here to explain how it had happened, how it was nothing but a terrible horrible accident. Where was he? She had looked for him everywhere: the Pavilion, the bar, Eddie’s. It wasn’t like him to disappear. Vanishing was her talent. Not his.

“If you won’t talk, then I will. With everything Patricia told me, you won’t stand a chance, not against the two of us,” Dee Dee said.

Jo shook her head. “I don’t think you want to do that.”

“Oh, you see, that’s where you’re wrong. I’ve been waiting a long time for this day to come.” She pushed Jo’s chest, sending her backward until she had her pressed against the edge of the countertop. Dee Dee placed both hands on either side of her. She smelled of body odor and adrenalin.

Jo was no match for Dee Dee’s strength. “You’re not going to hurt me,” she said, pleading to the kinder, softer side of Dee Dee’s temperament. It was there, buried beneath her tough exterior, but she knew it was there. Dee Dee hadn’t always been a brute. The little kids had adored her in the past, and parents at the lake used to fight over her for babysitting. Once upon a time Dee Dee had laughed and joked. She hadn’t always been the bitter woman she had turned into. Jo needed to use this to her advantage to save herself. And she had one weapon to do it. Maybe it was the real reason for keeping the secret about her son, Billy’s son. “You really don’t want Johnny to lose his mother, too, do you?”

At first Dee Dee’s brow furrowed, and then her eyes widened. “What are you saying?”

“I’m saying Johnny is Billy’s son.”

Dee Dee pulled back. Her face softened. The corners of her mouth turned up. She nodded. “I always wondered.” In the next instant, she brought her arm back and slapped Jo hard across the face.

Jo grunted. The table and chairs went out of focus. Her ear was ringing. She covered her stinging cheek where the skin burned hot.

“That was for not telling me I had a nephew,” Dee Dee said. “And that Chris had a cousin.”

Jo’s mouth hung open, shocked at the forcefulness of the hit. She tried shaking it off by standing up a little straighter.

“Does Johnny know?” Dee Dee asked.

She dropped her hand from her cheek, opened and closed her mouth, testing her jaw before she spoke. “He found out today.”

“How?”

“It doesn’t matter, does it?”

“Where is he now?” Dee Dee asked.

“I don’t know. He needed some space, but if I had to guess, he’s with Chris.”

Dee Dee slapped her again, sending her to the floor. The pain radiated across her cheek and temple. Spots floated in front of her eyes. She thought she might black out.

“That was for Johnny,” Dee Dee said.

“Please stop,” Patricia said, and reached for Dee Dee.

“Yes,” Jo managed to say. “Please stop.” She didn’t think she could take another blow, although she was sure she had another one coming. She inched her away across the floor and put her back against the bottom cabinet for support. If she stood up, she might pass out.

“It wasn’t Jo’s fault,” Patricia said, her eyes steady on Dee Dee. “I saw her dive off the pier.”

“Yeah, after she pushed my brother into the lake,” Dee Dee said.

“Yes,” Patricia said. “That’s true.” She put her hand on Dee Dee’s shoulder. “But Billy climbed onto the pier after she left. He was with Kevin. I thought they were messing around, playing rough like boys do. It was Kevin who pushed Billy into the water.”

CHAPTER FORTY-THREE

Caroline stayed tucked in the arms of the willow tree, the swooping branches draped around her, protecting her from the outside world. She wasn’t sure how long she stayed hidden under Willow, but long enough for her butt to ache and her legs to fall asleep. She stretched them out, careful to hold onto the branch above her, and she shook her feet until they tingled. Once the sensation traveled to her thighs and she could feel her legs again, she climbed down to the ground. She brushed the dirt from her hands onto her shorts and tightened her ponytail, which was sticking out from underneath her baseball cap.

Outside the ring of drooping branches, she heard the sound of footsteps. The door to the screened-in porch creaked open and slammed closed. Her father’s deep voice came from inside calling, “Hello? Is anyone home?” She wondered if he had heard their family secret was out and she was to blame. She bet he would be mad with her like everyone else was. She wasn’t ready to face him or anyone in her stupid lying family.

She darted from her protective cocoon and ran up the dirt road toward the ballpark. She wasn’t even halfway there, not really sure where she was going, but she was breathing hard and wishing she had grabbed her bike. She slowed her pace when her lungs burned, only stopping when she reached the
Meadowlark,
Megan’s cabin, and found herself knocking on the door.