Chapter Nine #2
“I like it. Lucky for us that people just tossed this stuff. Some of it looks barely worn,” I said, sliding my arms through the vest’s armholes and finding it a snug fit.
I rolled up the other garments and tucked them under my arm, avoiding the sleeve with the stain, ready to take them back to the cabin.
If I laundered them tonight, they might smell okay by tomorrow.
“I think we’ve seen the whole farm,” said Lily. The lamps on the roof line flickered, then switched on, casting small pools of light on the ground.
“Now that we’ve taken the tour, we should head back to the cabin. I want to do some preliminary work this evening and get the background details.”
“I can head to the grocery store while you do that. We’re going to need food and wine and bubble bath.”
“Wine?”
“A necessity on our down time,” said Lily, unzipping the jacket and taking it off. “Just because we’re secret agents doesn’t mean we have to lower our standards.”
“True. What’s the bubble bath for?” I asked, wondering what scheme Lily was cooking up.
“Me. I expect thirty minutes of uninterrupted bathing time every evening, assuming we aren’t snooping.”
I figured there was going to be a lot of snooping. The yard might be nearly empty but there were other buildings we’d yet to explore. “We’ll make it work. You can take my car.”
We were chatting about what supplies we needed from the supermarket as we traversed the yard when a gust of wind blew the trainer T-shirt from under my arm and across the yard.
I tossed Lily my car keys and ran to grab the T-shirt, finding it stuck on a hedge.
I peeled it off and was turning away when I heard irritated voices, a man’s and a woman’s.
Curiosity filling me, I jogged to where the hedge opened onto a path and ducked my head around, seeing Yvette and Joel walk past. They turned away from the stable yard, heading towards the house.
I was ready to retreat and leave them to their grief, when I heard Joel say, “Of course, I’m devastated, Yvie.
She’s my wife. Was my wife. What we did will never change that. ”
“I know. I’m not saying it will. I loved my sister too and I know what we did was wrong but…
” They rounded the corner, their voices drifting away.
On instinct, I darted after them, jogging to the next bend in the path, seeing the pair head through the garden gate, just like Lily and I had earlier.
Once they were clear of the gate, I jogged forwards again, crouching to keep from being seen.
“We can be together,” said Yvette. “Really together. We’ll give it a reasonable time, of course, to grieve and…”
“How can you even talk like that?” Joel’s voice was sharp. “Jessica hasn’t even been dead a day. We haven’t even buried her and you’re talking about when we can be together.”
“Isn’t that what we wanted? It was just never the right time to tell Jessica and now… It’s terrible she’s gone. Awful. I can’t imagine life without my sister in it but we have each other. We can help each other get through this. Joel—”
“This is too much,” he snapped.
“I understand. I know. Everything will feel less raw soon. We can talk about this again in a few days and…”
“You think it’ll all be okay in a few days?
Take a look around, Yvie, we’re in damn trouble, I have to bury my wife, and you’re living in some crazy fantasy.
What did you think you were going to do?
Step into Jessica’s shoes? Suddenly everything is magically okay?
Everything is not okay.” A thump followed, like a hand hitting wood and when I parted the hedge enough to peer through the branches, Joel had one arm resting on the porch’s wooden pillar, the other covering his eyes.
Next to him, Yvette reached for him but he brushed her off, turning away as she tried to encircle him with her arms. “Just stop it, Yvie,” he groaned, a sob wrenching from him.
“What? Joel, I’m trying to be here for you! We should be here for each other! Now more than ever. I know you love me, I know you…”
“I don’t. I don’t know why I said it but I don’t. We were stupid. I was stupid! There’s no future for us, there’s…”
“Don’t say that! Don’t!” Yvette covered her ears with her hands, her face burning red. “I could tell, you know,” she spat. “There’s nothing stopping me from telling everyone we’re together.”
Joel turned back to her, his jaw stiff, his lips turned down. “You do that,” he said, pressing a finger into her face, “and I’ll kill you.”
I gasped and a boot slipped from my arm, landing on the path with a soft crunch. The hedge rustled in the wind.
“What was that?” said Joel, his voice colder than ever.
There was silence then, Yvette said, “It’s nothing.”
“There’s someone there.”
“It’s the wind, it’s…”
If I stayed and they decided to investigate, there was nowhere for me to hide.
I turned, grabbed the boot, and ran in a half crouch, keeping below the hedge until I turned the corner.
Then I sprinted for the stable yard, pausing when I got there, my back pressed to the wall, counting the seconds until finally, relieved that no one had followed me, I headed for the cabin, worry filling me.
Jessica Casey was dead and her husband had just threatened to kill her sister.
Worse than that, it sounded like they were having an affair.