Page 24 of Deeper Than the Dead
She thought of baby Luna. Vera had tried so hard not to like the child. But the baby just wouldn’t be ignored. Her smiles and gurgles got to Vera no matter how hard she tried to ignore her.
Just get home. She pressed harder against the accelerator.
The air cooled considerably after she turned onto Good Hollow Road. The trees were turning green again, and their branches and fresh new leaves shaded the road from the sun that was already hot, no matter that it was only April. When she pulled up to the house, Sheree’s car sat in the same spot as it had when Vera left for school. Obviously she was home.
Worry gnawed at Vera. Had to be Eve.
Or maybe the baby was sick, and Sheree was passed out drunk or something. It had happened before.
Vera bounced out of her car and hurried across the yard, up the steps, and to the door. If Luna was sick and Sheree was out of it, Vera intended to call her dad. He needed to see how bad she got when he wasn’t around.
The door suddenly opened, before Vera could wrap her fingers around the knob.
“Vee.”
Eve stood in the doorway. Her clothes were wet. Even her hair was damp, plastered to her head on one side. Somewhere in the house Luna wailed at the top of her lungs.
“What’s going on? Where’s Sheree?”
Eve moved her head side to side.
Vera noticed for the first time that her sister’s face was as white as a sheet. Her eyes as big as saucers. “What happened, Eve?”
“I tried to stop her ...”
Vera pushed past her sister and rushed up the stairs. She went first to Luna’s room. The nine-month-old stood in her crib, naked and screaming. Vera reached for her, pulled her into her arms. The baby was wet too.
A frown pulled at her face. What the hell happened here?
When Vera—Luna in her arms, clinging to her as if her life depended on it—walked out of the room, Eve stood in the hallway that spanned the second floor in either direction from the stairs. She blinked seemingly in slow motion and pointed to the shared hall bathroom.
Vera’s heart suddenly started to pound, yet the air wouldn’t fill her lungs.
She turned in the direction Eve pointed and walked the dozen or so steps to the bathroom door.
Vera stood in the open doorway for a long moment, her eyes taking in the scene while her brain scrambled to assimilate what she saw.
Sheree on the floor. Eyes open, unblinking.
Water stood in the tub. It had overflowed or sloshed onto the floor.
However many seconds Vera stood there looking, Sheree did not blink, and her chest didn’t rise or fall. Oh shit.
Vera turned to Eve, who stood next to her now. “What did you do?”
“Vee, I swear it wasn’t my fault.”
Luna wailed even louder.
10
Tuesday, July 23
Boyett Farm
Good Hollow Road, Fayetteville, 8:05 a.m.
Vera awoke with a start.
