CHAPTER 52 #2
“When we talked last time,” Sidney said, “when you and I played chess at your house, you told me that you knew a lot about Grace’s friends.”
“Yeah,” Marshall said, staring at the chessboard.
“That you listened a lot, and that people underestimated your awareness.”
“I remember.”
Sidney hesitated just a moment. “What can you tell me about Henry Anderson?”
The mention of Grace’s high school boyfriend caused Marshall to look up from the chess pieces. He made eye contact just briefly before returning his gaze to the board.
“What do you want to know?”
Sidney paused again. “I want to know how the same thing could happen to two different people who loved your sister.”
A long stretch of silence followed, while Marshall scrutinized the chessboard, before he spoke.
“You know, it’s funny. I was thinking about the last time we played chess, too,” he finally said, looking up from the board. “You told me that everyone involved in my accident likely had regrets about it. That Ellie, especially, must carry remorse for that night. You remember telling me that?”
“I do,” Sidney said. “Are you still angry at Ellie because of the accident?”
Marshall shook his head. “I was never mad at Ellie.”
“No?”
“No,” Marshall said. “She wasn’t driving.”
Sidney sat back. She sensed something happening between them, stayed silent.
“Grace insisted on driving,” he said. “Ellie offered, but Grace got behind the wheel, anyway. Ellie knew the consequences for Grace. Her best friend drunk and in a bad car accident. Neither of them was injured, so before the police arrived, they switched places and Ellie climbed behind the wheel. The other driver, the U-Haul guy, had been drinking. The blame fell on him, which was perfect for Ellie and Grace. It took them both off the hook. For me”—Marshall looked back down at the board—“it didn’t really matter. ”
Another moment of silence fell between them.
“What does that have to do with Henry Anderson?” Sidney asked.
“I was mad at Grace for a long time. She got away with it, and I was stuck the way I am. Bad back then, worse today. Worse still, in the future. But my anger at Grace didn’t last. The two of us? We have a connection that no one else understands.”
“Because you saved her? When you donated your bone marrow?”
“Yeah, that’s part of it. But lots of people donate marrow. After the accident, I realized that I needed her to help me when my body fails. Grace knew it, too. I couldn’t stay angry with her for long. And I was relieved when she came home.”
“Still, Marshall, how does Henry Anderson play into all of this?”
“Now that Grace is back, I refuse to lose her again. I’ve kept their secret long enough.”
“Ellie and Grace’s secret? About the accident?”
“And all the other secrets that group has hidden and buried.”
Sidney glanced toward the kitchen, then back to Marshall. “What other secrets?”
Marshall cocked his head as he analyzed the board in front of him and contemplated his next move.
“Marshall, what other secrets?”
“You figured out that Daniel and Ellie were the only friends who stayed in contact with Grace. You have to know by now that they are both in love with her. It must be obvious to you.”
Sidney blinked a few times. Leaned forward slightly. “In love with Grace?”
“It’s sad. Even today, all these years later.” Marshall moved his rook.
“You mean they love Grace. They’re not in love with Grace.”
“No,” Marshall said, finally looking into Sidney’s eyes. “I said it right the first time.”
Sidney waited without speaking as Marshall leaned over, opened the desk drawer, and pulled out a cloth bag. It contained Grace’s love lock, which Marshall held up.
“You know she kept this the whole time my sister was gone?”
“Who?”
“Ellie. She kept it hidden away after Grace went to prison. It was important that no one found it after Sugar Beach. She probably pretended it belonged to her, and tried to ignore what it really represented. I was surprised she actually handed it over when Grace was allowed a few personal items in jail. They both hate this love lock. Daniel and Ellie. They each wanted their own name under Grace’s. ”
He dropped it back into the long cloth bag and handed it to Sidney, who slipped the large, antique love lock into her hand with a strange feeling of foreboding in her gut.
“Ellie or Daniel hated the names on that lock.”
Sidney looked down at the lock. It was as big as her palm. Heavy and old, a two-pronged key extended from the locking mechanism at the bottom. Etched onto the surface were two names: Grace & Julian.
It was just as Sidney remembered from the first time Grace showed her the lock at the Bordelais Correctional Facility.
“They hate names?” Sidney said. “Grace and Julian?”
“Julian and Henry,” Marshall said, analyzing the chessboard again.
“Henry’s name is not on this lock, Marshall.”
“Not anymore. It used to be. Underneath.”
Sidney looked more closely at the lock and noticed the scuffs in the surface where Julian’s name was located. Sidney imagined Henry’s name scrawled there originally, scratched over and erased some years later to produce a clean slate for Julian’s title. The weight in her stomach grew heavier.
“That lock has been a dangerous thing over the years,” Marshall said.
“It’s caused a lot of pain. But I’m done keeping secrets.
” He shook his head. “My loyalty is waning. I know everyone underestimates me. Assumes I’m unaware of the things that go on around me.
But I’m not going to let the same thing happen again. I warned Grace that I wouldn’t.”
“Warned Grace about what?” Sidney asked.
“You’ve obviously looked into Henry Anderson’s case. I know what you must be thinking. Grace will never tell you the truth. She’s too loyal. I don’t want my sister tried again for a crime she didn’t commit.”
Marshall tapped the chessboard with his finger.
“Your move,” he said. “Make it a good one.”
Sidney looked around the den, and then glanced toward the kitchen one last time.
She heard the coffeepot gurgling and Grace clinking the mugs as she pulled them from the cabinet.
Sidney slipped the love lock back into the mesh satchel.
As she did, she felt its smooth, rounded edge.
Her mind flashed to the side-by-side photos of Julian and Henry’s skull fractures that Livia Cutty had shown her the day before.
The vein in Sidney’s neck pulsed more rapidly.
Her breathing became shallow and inefficient.
She mindlessly moved chess pieces for another sixteen minutes until Marshall announced checkmate.