Chapter 40
Thomas
Chapter Forty
I cut the engine in front of Braxton’s house, and the four of us got out of the car. It was already four in the afternoon, but Connor only woke up two hours ago. I crossed the front lawn, passing Braxton’s red dirt bike and a bicycle. It took a minute to hear the approaching footsteps on the other side of the door after I rang the bell.
“Don’t forget, don’t let your emotions affect your judgment,” I muttered to Kinsley right before the door flung open. A woman with straight, dark hair and similar features to Braxton’s stood on the other side of the doorway.
“Oh, you must be Thomas,” she said after a moment of studying me, and she gave me a small smile before readjusting the bottom of her white blazer. “So, I assume you are Kinsley.” She narrowed her eyes, waiting for Kinsley to confirm. When Kinsley nodded, Braxton’s mother glared behind us. “Kevin, it’s good to see you.”
“Likewise, Mrs. Lee.”
“And that makes you Connor.” She turned to my brother.
A smile formed on Connor’s lips as he lifted a hand in greeting.
“You look so much like your mother.” She smiled and Connor’s eyes rounded. It was true, they shared a lot of similarities, but I don’t think my brother ever heard someone point that out to him. As happiness took over his surprised features, my stomach twisted. Maybe I should have pointed that out to him. Maybe the rules that our father made up had rooted into my head so deep that I couldn’t see how much Connor craved to hear about Lizzie.
“My name is Doctor Ava Lee, but call me Ava, please.” She gave Kevin a look, who snickered behind me. “I’m Braxton’s mother, as you might have guessed.” She shook our hands one by one. “And I’ve heard a lot about all of you. Come in.” She motioned inside, fighting down a yawn. “Sorry, I am still a bit tired.”
Kinsley froze beside me. “We could come back later,” she suggested, but Ava shook her head.
“I will have plenty of time to relax after our talk.” She smiled, directing us into the living room. “Braxton said you are here to ask about your mother.”
I nodded.
“All right. Take a seat. I will just get my son and—” The doorbell rang again.
“I will go get Braxton,” I offered, and without waiting for the answer, I hurried up the stairs.
The hallway on the second floor looked exactly the same as the two times I had been here before. White walls, decorated in a way that made you feel like you were in a beach house. Actually, the whole house was like that. I reached Braxton’s door and knocked, before pushing it open.
“I need your help.” Braxton had his back to me, and he had a headset on.
“He can’t hear you,” the ginger-haired girl, Samantha, said from where she was sitting on a chair reading a magazine. I grabbed the headset off Braxton’s head, and he shrieked, turning around and freezing when he saw me.
“I need your help,” I repeated, handing him the old video camera, and he lifted a brow at me.
“Well-well.” He took it away from me. “That’s four words I never expected to hear from you.” He snapped his fingers.
That made the two of us.
“Can you clear up the picture or not?” I asked, and he made a face, turning back toward his monitors.
“Is that even a question?”
Samantha walked to the door. “I will leave you two to it.” She closed the door behind her, and we both leaned closer to the screen.
Braxton opened the video and stopped it at the moment the guy seemed to turn toward the camera, but he was too far away and the picture was too blurry. Then suddenly, with a few clicks on the keyboard, the picture started to sharpen.
“Shit.”
“Cool, right?” Braxton grinned, and even I had to admit that it was.
“It’s the same guy,” I muttered when the white theater mask became fully visible.
Braxton furrowed his brows, turning his head from me back toward the screen.
“You mean the one you saw in the forest or?—”
“Yes,” I replied, pressing my lips into a hard line while observing the picture.
In that moment, there was only one question in my head: Who the fuck are you?
When Braxton and I finally made our way downstairs, the others already took their seats around the living room. My eyes found Kinsley sitting on the sofa next to Connor, but she was too busy studying the room to notice me. I went to sit down on the same couch as them, and Braxton dropped himself into the empty armchair next to us.
“We bought lemon cookies.” Aaliyah walked into the room with a big grin on her face. “Cora made them.” She placed down a tray on the coffee table.
“Don’t mind if I do.” Braxton grabbed one.
Cora hurried into the living room and gave us a nervous smile as she sat down next to Aaliyah on the other couch.
“I don’t know if it’s any good?—”
“It’s delicious,” Kevin interrupted with a sorrowful smile, stuffing the whole thing into his mouth, and I sneered as the crumbs fell onto the floor.
“Thanks,” Cora replied, tucking a loose hair behind her ear.
“What’s going on with him?” Braxton asked, and Kevin mumbled something with his mouth still full.
“His parrot died,” Connor explained, letting Kevin rest his head on his shoulder.
“What? Bob Marley?” Aaliyah shrieked, leaning forward.
“The ostrich?” Braxton’s brows shot up. “That’s…rough, buddy,” he added, brushing through his black hair, and from the corner of my eye, I saw my brother’s gaze glisten.
“Was that a Zuko quote?” I heard him mumble, while Kevin opened his mouth to argue with Braxton.
“Do you have a second?” Samantha stopped in front of us and looked down at Kinsley.
She nodded, surprise filling her eyes, but before she could stand up, Ava strode into the room.
“So.” She sat down. “What would you like to ask?” We all exchanged a look, and Samantha backed away to sit. Kinsley stared at her for a moment, her eyes narrowing before she turned away.
“We hoped you could tell us about the night you last saw our mother.” I played with my watch, glancing at my brother. Connor was nodding along to what I said, his full attention on Ava. Braxton’s mother pursed her lips, leaning back in the chair and crossing her legs over each other.
“Yes, I had a feeling it was about that,” she said. “It was a long time ago, so I can’t promise I will remember every detail,” she stated.
I leaned forward. I didn’t realize how nervous I felt until Kinsley’s knee touched against mine, making me ease up.
“I— Was there anything strange about Mom when she came over?” Connor asked.
Ava stayed silent for a moment, gathering her thoughts while her eyes became glassy, dimming into the nothingness.
“Lizzie came over around eight p.m.” She tilted her head as she thought back. “I remember because I had a Pilates class beforehand, and it ended at seven. We were together a lot when we both spent our holidays here, but on that night, I was surprised to see her.” She pursed her lips again. “Earlier that day I had invited her over, but she said she didn’t have time, so we agreed to rearrange for another day,” she explained. “It doesn’t really matter, as she came anyway. I actually had a reason to invite her over, as I wanted to talk to her about the Fourth of July party. You guys remember it, don’t you?” Her eyes turned from Braxton to me then over to Connor and Kevin. “You were all there.”
My brother nodded. “Kinsley and I found a picture of it the other day.” I lifted a surprised brow.
“Well, there was a boy at that party, I sadly don’t know who he was. I don’t really go into town. I prefer the lakeside when I’m here, so I’m not familiar with the people either. But this kid bullied the younger kids there. He pushed Braxton to the ground while you were all playing tag.” She took a deep breath, massaging her hands. It seemed the memory still made her upset. “Your mom said she would talk to the boy’s mother, and I wanted to ask her how it went.”
“And?” Kinsley leaned forward, resting her arms on her knees.
“I actually never found out,” Ava replied. “She came over, upset. She said she needed a friend’s opinion on something. I made us cocktails, but then—” Her eyes narrowed, turning toward a mirror hanging above a white commode.
She stood up and walked over to it, her fingers brushing the red flowers placed there.
“She noticed the flowers here under the mirror. The next thing I knew, she was out the door before she could even tell me what had been bothering her.” She slowly turned back toward us.
“That’s it?” Kevin asked, furrowing his brows, and I, too, felt unsatisfied.
“She said she forgot to buy fresh flowers.” Ava smoothed over the surface of the commode. “That’s it.”
I sighed and dropped my forehead into my palms when something clicked in me. The flowers again. I could still see the purple flowers on the kitchen counter in front of my eyes the day after her disappearance. Still, everything pointed to the fact that she didn’t even buy them.
“That doesn’t make sense,” I muttered under my breath.
“No, it doesn’t,” Kinsley agreed. “We read your interview. From Wilbur James. You said Lizzie didn’t act out of the ordinary when she came over. Why lie?”
I lifted my head. She was right.
“I—” Ava pursed her lips. “Wilbur James?”
“He had that nasty paper. Always gossiping.” Kevin helped.
“I see. Well, in this case, it’s true. I did say that she didn’t act out of the ordinary, but only because I didn’t know she would not turn up. There were already guesses about what had happened, and I didn’t want to give the town more reason to gossip by saying that she acted strange.”
“But if you would have told the truth, it might have been helpful. Maybe she would have come home,” Connor argued.
Ava turned her gaze at him, pursing her lips again. “She might have, and I’m sorry for that but?—”
"Why not talk with the chief again, when she was still missing?" I asked.
“I did, actually. A few months later, when I was out of town, the chief called me, and we talked again. I told him everything I told you now.”
“So, he really continued the investigation,” Kinsley muttered.
“And what about the suggestion of Wilbur? That their mother might have had a lover…” Samantha chimed in, and I tensed. “You said something like, neither of you won the lottery with your husbands.”
“I did?” Ava asked, her brows knotting. “I can imagine saying that about my husband, but Lizzie and Josh…they were different.”
“I don’t think we should believe anything that guy wrote,” Aaliyah replied. “I think he got fired for always making up stuff.”
“He did.” Cora nodded.
I had already forgotten about that part of the interview. I couldn’t take it seriously. If I knew one thing, it was that my parents loved each other. Hell, I think the only person Joshua ever loved was my mother.
“I don’t think Lizzie would have left her family. I never did, but after those witnesses, and then Joshua stepping away, there was not much to do. Everything faded into the past.”
The room turned silent, as if every one of us was holding our breath.
Kinsley cleared her throat. “You mentioned Lizzie went to buy flowers; do we know if she arrived at her destination?”
“Her car was parked in front of our house,” I replied. “She had to come home.”
“Right.” Kinsley nodded.
“And most shops in town close around seven or eight p.m., so even if she went, it was most likely already closed,” Aaliyah added.
Right. She might have gotten those flowers I saw from somewhere else.
“Thank you for your time, Ava.” I stood up, breaking the moment, and the others followed my example.
“Anytime.” She gave us a sad smile, escorting us out. “I’m sorry I couldn’t help more. Wouldn’t you guys want to stay for dinner? I think we are going to order from Julio’s.”
Braxton’s excited “Yes” echoed through the house, but I shook my head. “We have a lot to do.” I turned my head to Kinsley for her agreement, but she wasn’t there.
Where I found her was behind Ava’s back, where she studied something on one of the drawers, before pushing her hand into her pocket. I furrowed my brows but turned back to Ava, who was talking to Connor now.
“Thank you anyway,” I interrupted, and she nodded with a smile.
“I’m sorry, Mrs. Lee—Ava, but can I ask you if you had any other visitors today besides us?” Kinsley asked, stopping next to me.
What was she doing?
“Dear god, no.” Ava laughed. “I haven’t even had the energy to unpack yet.” Kinsley wrinkled her nose, something flashing in her brown eyes.
We were halfway to the car when someone called after her.
“Sorry.” Samantha stopped in front of her, and Kinsley furrowed her brows. “I was just talking with Cora and Aaliyah.” She glanced back toward the house where, besides the four of us, everyone else stayed for dinner. “Would you like to come to a sleepover later tonight?” she asked, and Kinsley parted her lips, turning her head around to me.
I had no idea how to react, as it was her decision to make, so I just shrugged.
She turned back. “Um, Okay.”
Samantha smiled. “I will send the address in Braxton’s stupid group chat.”
“Thank you,” Kinsley replied, and the girl hurried back into the house. The two of us looked after her.
As soon as we were sat back in the car, I turned to Kinsley, and she reached into her pocket and pulled out something tiny. She held it up between her fingers, rotating it around, and my eyes widened. It was a ring. A gold ring with a green crystal in the middle of it—an emerald, to be exact—and I recognized it immediately as my mother’s.