Chapter Seventy-Three Marni
Chapter Seventy-Three
Marni
Two days later we stood in the circular part of the driveway of what was now Jeremy and Hanna’s property and watched the last
of the police vehicles and forensic team pull around from the side and back of the property and finally leave. The threat
of an early November snowstorm had people finishing their jobs and rushing home.
The detective had removed the yellow tape. No one bothered to return the lawn to its original state. That would be Hanna and
Jeremy’s job.
Clouds rolled in and the air grew still. I looked at the bare trees and the churned soil in what had once been the vibrant
wildflower garden. “Do you think the gardener will come back?”
“I wouldn’t.” Hanna snuggled deeper into her jacket as she glanced up at the gray sky. “I’m hoping the snow will cover the
worst of it. For now.”
Jeremy shot his mother a side glance. “We’re redesigning the entire lawn. That’s only the beginning. I actually spent most of last night looking up house cleansing rituals.”
“You believe in that?” Stella asked.
He snorted. “I do now.”
Hanna and Jeremy had each other. Hanna said they still had a lot to work through about Xavier, but I doubted that would be
as tough a climb as she feared. Jeremy stood by her side, even now, watching over her. Protecting her. She’d raised a good
son despite his father’s genes.
Stella glanced at the closed door to the back of the house. “Are you going to be okay here?”
Hanna shrugged. “For now. Honestly, I can’t make one more major life decision. Daniela and I are going to rebuild the café,
with her as my partner this time. We’ll see where we go from there.”
Daniela was on the mend. Stella was not as lucky. She had a disastrous mess at work, trying to explain to patients and the
court why she didn’t “see” the actions of her former husband and her mother. Rumors about her mother starting more than one
fire flared to life. Stella didn’t bother to bat them away, which probably meant those were true, too.
Lukas and Isabel insisted on their innocence for various crimes back then and recently. The ongoing lies only stained Stella’s
reputation further. She talked about finding a new career, but it was more likely she’d run through the money Xavier left
her on lawyers for her mom. Stella talked tough about cutting Isabel off, but she wouldn’t.
Stella often acted nastier than she needed to be to cover whatever fears and insecurities life had saddled her with, but she was decent. She hid it well, but she was. She’d made a terrible decision, a series of them, actually, but who hadn’t? Even Hanna had regrets.
We all shared a terrible taste in men. Most of Stella’s actions going forward would be guided by her love for Everly instead.
That left me. Alone as always. A dragging sadness had my body moving at half speed. I’d grieved for years, thinking I’d drained
every last tear. But I appeared to have an endless supply. My life was inextricably tied to the Tanner family in an unwanted
bond I could not break.
Brilliant, flawed Patrick. The man I once believed to be my great love and who I now saw as the other half of a doomed, tragic,
wrong love affair. Victoria, a woman pushed to the brink. The role I played in giving her a shove would haunt me forever.
Forgiveness. Solace. I didn’t bother chasing either. Maybe my soul didn’t deserve rest.
I continued my breathing exercises and mind puzzles. On Tuesday I’d head back to the therapist. Start again. Learn new tricks
to survive the day. The principal told me I could return to work. He acted like I should thank him. Instead, I requested a
leave of absence, citing my treatment by the school system as the reason.
Figuring out who I was and where I went from here was next year’s problem. Getting through the next few minutes, dealing with
Aubrey, was today’s issue.
She and the mysterious young man who showed up in town when she did stepped out of the house. They walked together toward us, abandoning any pretense of them barely knowing each other. They showed up today so Aubrey could grab the few family items she’d requested Hanna put aside for her.
The two of them stopped next to us, not taking the final steps of getting in the car and driving away.
I should let it go but the question still nagged me. “Are you going to tell us who you really are?”
The young man carried bags and had a box at his feet. “My name is Gabriel Harbison. Sort of.”
Not really an answer but why did I expect straight honesty from anyone associated with Aubrey?
He shrugged. “Harbison is my mom’s former name. I decided to make the change because of family stuff.”
More daddy issues. I didn’t want more information. “Got it.”
“He’s writing about the Tanner family. Lucky him,” Aubrey said.
The crowd started shuffling and shifting. Aubrey and Gabe had managed to hit on the one topic no one wanted to discuss.
Stella looked hunted. “No, thank you.”
Hanna shook her head. “Nope.”
“Not interested.” In fact, I couldn’t be less interested.
Jeremy winced. “Ditto.”
Aubrey shook her head. “Don’t panic. You all assumed it was for a book. Gabe probably hinted at that, but it’s for a thesis.”
Stella stiffened. “Excuse me?”
“Did I forget to mention we went to college together?” Aubrey smiled. “Both of us under different names because of family
mess, which is fascinating if you think about it.”
Mess?
Aubrey plowed ahead without waiting to gauge our reactions.
“He’s a genius and skipped, like, five grades somewhere along the line, but he’s in a PhD program at Penn State.
I actually start in the same program next summer.
I’ll keep the name I’ve been using to avoid a paperwork nightmare, but we all know I’m a Tanner. ”
I had so many questions.
In a gesture so much like her mother, Aubrey let out a dramatic sigh. “Makes sense for me to lean into the Tanner name when
it suits me.”
Hanna frowned. “If you say so.”
A student. Really? “What’s the program?”
“Criminology.” Aubrey delivered the news without a hint of irony.
Gabe’s enthusiastic smile. Aubrey’s satisfied expression.
I was going to be sick.
“Aubrey actually inspired my thesis. It’s . . .” Gabe waved his free hand in the air. “Well, I won’t bore you with the official
title but it’s about the impact of true crime commercialism and enthusiasm on the communities involved in the underlying event.”
“I came to figure out who killed my family and why. Gabe said he’d help.” Aubrey elbowed him. “You should apologize to Marni
for hitting her. He panicked.”
“Sorry.” He had the grace to look ashamed. “I was also the one running along the back of the property the day you found the
body. I guess you all saw me.”
“A spectacular performance.” Aubrey treated us to a theatrical bow. “It didn’t go how I planned but seeing your actions and assessing the reactions now, talking to people in town, will help him.”
“I’m going home to scream into a pillow.” Stella pulled her keys out of her pocket.
“I’d like to take one more look at the pond. Sort of a final goodbye before I leave.” Aubrey didn’t ask for permission. She
basically told Hanna and Jeremy.
Jeremy nodded. “Sure.”
Hanna, Stella, and I stood with Jeremy while Gabe loaded the car behind us. Aubrey marched over the wet ground slowly freezing,
probably from the air but maybe from her presence. She didn’t look back or say a word.
“I feel like we should call Penn State and warn them,” Jeremy whispered.
“Her true identity will excite some members of the faculty.” Stella sighed. “They’ll learn the hard way because Aubrey isn’t
the type to hide her pathology. She enjoys causing chaos too much.”
“Are you going back to school?” I asked Jeremy.
Jeremy shot his mom a quick look before answering. “I missed a lot but I’m going to try to catch up.”
Which would leave Hanna alone a lot of the time. Even with the café and her plans for the property that left a lot of downtime.
“What about you? Any plans?”
“I was hoping you two would come over. We could have tea.” Hanna smiled. “And by that I mean wine and pastries.”
“I don’t need to be here for this part.” Jeremy rolled his eyes as he headed over to Gabe at the car. They stood with the
bags and box. Had a discussion on the best way to load the items.
“Stella? Are you up for it?” Hanna sounded wary, like she already regretted making the offer.
“One condition.” Stella hesitated. “No talk about the Tanners.”
Hanna laughed. “We are allowed to talk about literally any topic but the Tanners.”
The first hint of a smile crossed Stella’s lips. “I’m in. Marni?”
We’d been through fire together. Been threatened and scared witless. I clearly sucked at female friendships, but maybe this
would work. We didn’t have to pretend. We were all flawed. We’d all made poor decisions. We all survived.
Xavier would hate us being together. Victoria would be furious. Patrick would panic. Aubrey probably preferred us hating each
other.
Yeah, this felt right. “I’ll bring the wine.”