Page 21 of The Summer that Changed Everything
“I’ll take the time off if you need me.”
“Thank you. Just the thought makes me feel better.” She shoved one of the throw pillows behind her lower back. “How are my plants doing?”
“Much better than when you were taking care of them, that’s for sure,” she said with a laugh. “Did you ever remember to water them?”
“Occasionally.” It was getting late. Completely relaxed, Lucy covered a yawn. But a second later, she tensed and sat up straight. Someone was outside! She could’ve sworn she saw movement—the dark shadow of a man at the corner of the property.
Her mind immediately returned to Reggie. Surely he wouldn’t bother her...
A chill ran down her spine as she got up and crossed to the screen that enclosed the porch, straining to see through the trees and deep into the shadows.
“Lucy?” Missy’s voice came through the phone.
“What?” she said, absently.
“I said my mom’s trying to reach me.”
“Oh, sorry. I’ll let you go.”
“I’ll call you tomorrow when I get off work.”
“Okay.” She was still staring outside when her friend disconnected. But she couldn’t make out the same shadow, didn’t see or hear anything move, either. Had she imagined it?
She wanted to take a flashlight and reassure herself that there was nothing out there. But she knew that would be foolish. Instead, she went inside and after making sure the doors were locked, she went around and closed and locked all the windows, too. She’d been enjoying the breeze as the temperature cooled, but she knew she wouldn’t feel safe if she left a window open.
The house grew stifling within an hour. To cool off and help battle the terrible humidity, she took a cold shower and wore only a tank top and a pair of panties to bed. But still she lay awake for hours, listening to the creaks and groans and other settling noises of the house before finally drifting into a fitful sleep.
7
Ford sat at the kitchen table with his laptop, studying Reggie Burton’s Instagram account. It was a long shot that he’d find something that would indicate whether Reggie had lied during the trial of Lucy’s father. It’d been far too long since then. But getting to know him again in a general sense could help Ford gain some sense of what the man was like these days. Having Lucy back in town could even prompt Reggie to post something he normally wouldn’t—or shouldn’t. The fact that he’d called Patti Clark about his encounter with Lucy was interesting. It gave Ford the impression that he was trying to make sure the Clarks remained united—with him—against her. Most people didn’t have much respect for Reggie, but it was different for Nelson and Patti. They had money, which gave them a certain degree of clout, and, unlike Reggie, they actually contributed to the community. So if Reggiewasguilty of lying, it would be wise of him to shelter in the shade they provided...
Was that what he was doing?
Ford scrolled back through the man’s posts. They were mostly about Confederate statues and symbols, trucks and women. Hedidn’t have many followers, so there wasn’t a lot of interaction. His sister, Anna, seemed to be the most supportive person he knew. She commented on anything that wasn’t too politically charged or divisive. For instance, she hearted every picture he put up of his little boy, and she’d wished him a Happy Birthday a few weeks ago.
Would a man who’d just killed three people give a cellmate he barely knew details of his crimes?
Ford figured that sort of thing had happened before, especially with personalities who craved attention or were prone to brag. But he remembered Lucy’s father as a quiet loner, a man too antisocial to take to a stranger that quickly. When Ford looked at the situation from that perspective—from how gruff and unfriendly Mick had seemed, not to mention how self-serving Reggie still was—he could see why Lucy might have her doubts about Reggie’s testimony.
But what did it mean? Was there something that required what happened that summer to be reexamined? Aurora’s parents certainly wouldn’t be happy to have such a question raised; he’d heard their reaction at the restaurant. No one else would be excited about it, either. The fact that there was strong evidence to connect Lucy’s father to the Matteo murders made it easy to believe he’d also killed Aurora. Maybetooeasy.
At least Ford now knew why Lucy had returned. She was looking for answers—and maybe vindication. She’d also been maligned because of Aurora.
But if Mick hadn’t murdered Aurora, who had?
The idea of a second killer seemed ludicrous. No one had been harmed since.
Pushing away from the table, he got up and began to pace as he scoured his memory of the night Aurora went missing. At about nine o’clock, she’d texted him, asking to meet on the beach. He’d told her he was tired and heading to bed—because he was already hanging out with Lucy and wasn’t interested inseeing her but didn’t want her to get jealous and cause a problem. When Aurora didn’t respond, he’d been relieved to have gotten away so cleanly. But he woke up the next morning to his parents pounding on his bedroom door, asking if he knew where Aurora was. They said she’d told her parents she was going to a party with him and several other friends and had never come home.
At the time, he’d been more annoyed at being disturbed than worried. The Clarks had let their children run wild. Patti had been the kind of mom who was so eager for her daughter to be popular that she made almost nothing off-limits to her. He’d simply assumed that when he’d told Aurora he was going to bed, she’d gone over to Stephanie’s or Jackie’s or Josephina’s. Those were the girls she’d hung out with most often.
But he’d soon learned that she’d gone to a party down by the river with Stephanie, who’d had to get home before Aurora was willing to leave. After Stephanie said goodbye to her at the party, no one seemed to know what happened to her—when she’d left, where she’d gone or who she was with. Everyone just grew more and more concerned.
Then, a week later, her body was discovered floating in the Potomac. The coroner’s report named strangulation as the most likely cause of death—there’d been no water in her lungs to suggest drowning—but the body was too bloated and decomposed to determine if she’d also been sexually assaulted.
Stepping onto the porch, Ford stared out over the beach as he replayed what he could remember of the conversations he’d had with Lucy after Aurora went missing. At first, she hadn’t acted too worried about Aurora, either. But as the days passed and the search intensified, Lucy had expressed mild concern, and she’d seemed as shocked as he was when they found Aurora’s body.
Pulling out his phone, he scrolled through his contacts to locate Lucy’s number. He wished he could communicate with her, let her know he’d do what he could to help her this summer. If there were still some unanswered questions about what happened fifteen years ago, she had the right to put her doubts to rest.
