Chapter 7 #2
The thought that her father could come looking for her was terrifying, and yet there was something deep inside Nina that had longed for years to know about him.
“He’s been inside a long time, Nina. We don’t know the man he is today, but I need you to know you’re safe here. If he finds you, we’ve got this—got your back.”
“I don’t want to see him, Sheriff Dans,” she said to convince herself it was the truth.
“Good, because that was your mom’s biggest fear.”
“It’s going to be okay,” Dan said. “We got you, Nina.”
Four simple words, and she felt the tears choking her again, but she forced them down. Not here and now. She’d give in to more tears later at home.
“Tell me more about what he did? Make me understand how bad this man, my father, is.”
“He put enough cocaine and heroin on the streets to destroy the lives of thousands of people, but not only that, his name was linked with multiple murders, but no one could get enough evidence to convict him.”
Her stomach churned with nausea on hearing the words. “D-does he have more children?”
“No. You’re the only one. He has a brother and a sister, and they have four boys and a girl between them. His parents are still alive,” the sheriff said.
“Jesus,” Dan whispered. “I’m so sorry, Nina.”
She ran a hand over her face. “This is crazy. I woke up this morning grieving the loss of my mother, and now I have all this other stuff to deal with.”
“Like I said, I thought you should have been told years ago, but that wasn’t my decision to make.
” Sheriff Dans reached for the box he’d pulled out of the safe.
Red tape was wrapped multiple times around the outside.
“Your mother gave me this to look after for you when she realized she had dementia because she was worried she’d lose it.
I was instructed to hand it to you after Shirley died. ”
She got out of her chair so fast, it wobbled. “What is in it?”
“I don’t know, but believe me, there have been times I’ve wanted to look.” Sheriff Dans handed it to her.
“B-but it could be something bad!”
“Your mother was a good person, Nina. I doubt she’d leave you anything bad. I don’t know what’s in here, but if it’s bad, or something to do with your father that you don’t want, bring it back to me.”
After everything she’d learned today, Nina didn’t want to take it but knew she had to. She picked it up and held it before her like it was full of explosives.
“Go home now and process everything. Don’t make any decisions in your current state. You need time to settle down and grieve, and remember what I said. Don’t try to contact your father.”
Your father. The words sounded odd to her.
“Want me to go with you?” Dan asked. His frown told her he was worried.
“No, I’m okay, but thanks. I-I just need some time alone now.”
She left then, not exactly running, but it was a near thing. Only when she was outside did Nina exhale slowly. Her chest felt tight, and her head was all over the place.
What should she do now? If she stood still, people would want to hug her, so she went to her car and put the box on the passenger’s seat. It was as she stuck her key in the ignition that she heard the music start.
“You have to be fricking kidding me,” Nina muttered. “Now of all times?”
People started arriving around her. Spilling out of shops and eating places. Behind Nina she heard Dan and his uncle.
“Well now, this is nice,” Sheriff Dans said. She felt the weight of his hand settle on her spine as she got back out of her car. “Come on, Nina. A dance will be good for you.”
“How do you figure that?” she said with a lot more anger than was required.
He didn’t answer and just put her next to him.
“Aww, Nina, I’m so sorry about Shirley.”
“Thanks, Esther.”
The woman wore a flashing Christmas sweater and furry reindeer horns.
Red Heckler was next. “Hey, girl, how are you holding up?” He pulled her into a quick hug, and it was like being embraced by a bear. He smothered her, and it felt kind of nice for the few seconds it took.
“Do you remember that time we asked Shirley to bring a pecan pie to bingo night?” Linda from the Do Si Do Diner called from the group behind Nina’s. “She didn’t have any pecans, so she made it with peanuts. Tasted terrible!”
This made everyone laugh.
“What about when she started painting?” Mrs. C. said. “We had to pretend they didn’t look like a bird had stuck its feet in paint and run across the paper.”
Nina found a laugh at that. She remembered her mother’s painting phase. Funny how she’d forgotten so many of the things that had made her mother the woman she’d loved.
“My favorite memory of her is always going to be the cake she put in for the bake sale at your school, Nina. She used salt instead of sugar,” Robyn Duke said.
It was freezing out here, but no one complained, and the stories flowed as they moved through the grapevine twist, as they had hundreds of times before.
The dance had been playing over the speakers in this town since she was young, and everyone had to dance when the music started, or end up in a cell in the building behind her.
In her grief, she’d forgotten what this town could be—what it was—and how this dance threw Lyntacks together to talk and keep an eye on one another.
People circled the wagons in Lyntacky when one of their own was hurting, and right now that was her, so they were giving Nina more memories of the mother she’d just lost.
“Okay?” Dan asked her.
She nodded because right then, she had no words, but she did feel lots and lots of love for the town and its people. Her town.
When the music finished, Nina thanked everyone for their memories. Then she got into her car and drove home, feeling so many things, she couldn’t name them all.
Nina carried the box inside and put it on the table in front of the sofa, then made herself feed the cat, who was protesting loudly over the fact that her human wasn’t filling her bowl fast enough.
“You’ll need to watch that waistline,” Nina muttered.
After pouring herself a large glass of wine, she found the scissors in her kitchen drawer and went to open the shoebox.
Sitting on the sofa, she took a large fortifying sip of wine. Then she cut the red tape and opened the lid. There was another note on top. As she lifted it, she saw what was underneath.
Money—lots of money. She stared at it, shocked. Nina reached for the envelope, which was just like the one she’d received in Circle Left, opened it, and pulled out the letter, unsure how much more her heart could take today.
I know this is all hard for you to grasp, my beautiful girl, but I need you to understand that this money didn’t come from him.
Two days after they sentenced your father, his family gave it to me so I could survive until he was released.
I saved it for you, Nina. Follow your dreams, and know I will always love you, xx.