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.“You saw the pin, huh?” Tears rolled down Ricky’s face, and his mouth twisted as he tried not to cry in front of me.I turned my back to him so he wouldn’t feel embarrassed.Behind me, he wept.“What was the pin from?” I needed to make noise so I could pretend not to hear Ricky crying.“Our mother had a car wreck when Shayne was a little girl.She had to have a pin in her hip.” Dean spoke to me as though Ricky wasn’t crying.“And, yes, I saw it.”“I can’t believe it’s her.Not after all these years.” Ricky choked out the words and put his hands over his face.Dean and I squirmed in our chairs.When the other man’s sobs slowed, Dean handed him a white cloth handkerchief.Ricky wiped his face, then stared at the barn.“I ought to go out there now and beat the truth out of that pathetic runt myself.” Ricky’s body was tense.He jabbed an accusing finger in the direction of the barn.“If we want to know what happened to Shayne, that’s where the answers are.”I raised my eyebrows at Dean in question.He sighed and shook his head.“Trey and Shayne dated before she disappeared.They actually broke up a few months before she went missing.Something went on between them, and Shayne was afraid of him.”“Tell you what that something was, little brother.” Ricky leaned forward, resting his thick forearms on the table.“I was home from college that weekend.Shayne was doing those interviews.Remember that?”Dean listened intently, his eyes on his brother’s face.I made a mental note to ask him about the interviews later.If Shayne was dealing with a lot of different people, one of them might have hurt her.“She came driving up in that old junky station wagon Mom gave her, all red-faced and upset.She was shaking so hard she could barely get her things out of the car.” Ricky leaned back in his chair, fury simmering in his eyes.“I asked her what was wrong, and she said she and Trey got into an argument.Wouldn’t tell me over what.But, Dean-o, she had these scratches on her arm, looked like some kinda animal made them.”“Why didn’t you ever tell anybody?” Dean frowned at his older brother.“Because…I…went to see him.” Ricky’s shoulders rounded.“You kicked his ass?” I clarified.He shrugged and would not meet my gaze.So jovial Ricky had a temper.“The sheriff investigated Trey, but said he was clean.” Dean said to me.“Mom and Dad felt guilty for suspecting him and insisted he stay on.”I glanced at the barn and considered Trey as the one who killed Shayne.Despite what Dean said about the investigation turning up nothing, I had no trouble seeing him as her murderer.His instability struck me as a lifelong affliction.Their failed romance added in motive.Next time I saw Shayne’s ghost, I’d try to direct her to communicating with me about Trey.“Shit,” Dean’s yell made me jump.“That’s Lisette’s car pulling up to the house.Who the hell called her?” He glared at Ricky.“Not me.” Ricky’s wide eyes could have been elaborate acting or the real deal.“Mom may have.You know she still considers her family.”Julienne’s Jaguar sedan appeared not far behind Lisette’s Mercedes.Upon seeing their mother’s car, both brothers rose.Dean held out a hand to pull me up.I took it not because I needed it but because I liked the gesture and hoped Lisette was watching.The three of us walked toward Julienne’s car, me trailing a little behind and feeling like the worst kind of intruder.I noticed Lisette sat in her car an extra few seconds, applying makeup.I shook my head.The story Dean told me about his divorce involved infidelity and a lot of hurt feelings.I didn’t understand why Julienne still considered someone who cheated on her son as family, regardless of whether Lisette grew up with the Turgeau children.Dean and Ricky reached their mother.The older woman cried openly, clutching both her sons and Madeleine to her.Colton put his arms around the weeping family and leaned his head against Julienne’s.I kept my distance, feeling my otherness more than ever.This was not my family.Lisette, on the other hand, did no such thing.She threw herself into the circle of mourners, slipping under Dean’s arm.He pulled away as if burned and walked toward me.“Come on,” he said.“No doubt you’ll want to shower before dinner.I’ll get you some towels and show you the bathroom.”Though Madeleine had already done those things, I followed him silently [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]