“They use it for camping stoves, so there was some around. The smell will go away soon.”
“I don’t know if I want it to,” Stevie replied. “That’s probably the only thing I’ll solve all summer.”
She waited for Janelle to jump in and say no, of course not. Janelle was always encouraging, but she was also realistic. Her silence confirmed Stevie’s worries.
However, there was something that changed her mood immediately. A text from David popped up on her phone:
Got off work a day early. See you tomorrow.
16
STEVIE WOKE UP IN A BRIGHT AND BEAUTIFUL MOOD THAT BEFITTED Barlow Corners. Today, David would be here. Today, she had something she could give to a family member of one of the Box in the Woods victims. Today the kids were coming, and that seemed wonderful too.
Again, Stevie set out in the morning on a bike. The route to town was easy enough, with only two turns to make. Still, most of the country roads had no bike lanes, no sidewalks—you were supposed to ride along the edge of the street and trust. She wobbled at times and pumped the brakes anxiously, never really sure if she was about to skid off the side of the road or into traffic. No one else seemed to be having these problems. People on racing bikes whizzed around her, utterly sure of their command of the road.
When she arrived in the town center about half an hour later, she was a shattered husk of her former self, but she had grown in her own personal estimation. She rolled the bike up the sidewalk for the last few blocks of the journey and chained it in front of the library.
The library air was shockingly cool on skin that was slick with sweat. Allison was in the new reading room, organizing some picture books. She had on a cheerful yellow shirtdress with a matching necklace made of big yellow beads. Janelle would have appreciated the lemony color and the precision.
“Hey,” Stevie said quietly.
Allison turned.
“I have something for you,” Stevie said, reaching into her backpack and producing the typed paper of art supplies. “We found it when we were organizing the art pavilion. It was in a big box of junk, but . . . I know you like to have anything Sabrina made or wrote, so . . .”
Allison stared at the paper, then looked up at her, a strange expression on her face.
“The art pavilion?” she said.
“Yeah. We were cleaning it. Well, Janelle was, and she found this, and I thought . . .”
Allison turned her gaze back to the paper. Stevie couldn’t make out what she was thinking, but there was a lot of movement behind her eyes. Stevie was not great with intense emotions and felt the pull of the exit on her heels.
“I should get going,” she said.
“Yes . . . ,” Allison said distractedly. “Yes.”
Stevie was halfway to the library door when Allison hurried up to her and took her gently by the arm.
“Thank you,” she said. “That was . . . it was kind. Thank you so much.”
“It’s no problem,” Stevie said. Because really, it wasn’t.
“Sabrina was bad at typing,” she said. “It was a joke in our family. Sabrina could do everything, but she couldn’t type to save her . . . ”
Allison reconsidered finishing the sentence, blinked, and reset the conversation.
“How is your research going?”
“Not great,” Stevie said. “Most people probably won’t talk to us because of Carson.”
“They will if I ask,” Allison said, her eyes bright. “Who do you want to speak to?”
“Anyone who will talk to me,” Stevie replied. “People who were there. Shawn Greenvale, Susan Marks, Paul Penhale . . .”
“Do you have to be back right away?”
“Not really?”
“Come on,” Allison said. “Paul’s practice is only a few doors away.”
The Barlow Corners Veterinary Hospital was actually four doors down, next to the Pilates and barre studio. It was a brightly colored office, intensely cheerful, with many children’s drawings of their pets in crayon, almost all with messages thanking Dr. Penhale for caring for them. There was a coffee station and fresh-baked cookies on the side. A man with tidily trimmed gray hair and scrubs covered in cartoon puppies sat behind the desk. Stevie vaguely recognized him from the picnic.
“Hey, Joe,” Allison said. “Is Paul in with a patient?”
“He is but should be done in a second.”
As he said that, a door opened and a man in maroon scrubs stepped out, carrying a small curly-haired dog in his arms. The dog looked a little loopy and had a bandage on his ear.
“You can take that bandage off before you go to bed this evening,” he said, passing the dog to a woman in the waiting room. “But he’s going to have to wear the cone for a week, until the stitches heal. And no dog park for a while.”
Once patient and owner were checking out at the desk, he came over to greet them.
“Hey, Allison,” he said, looking between her and Stevie with some confusion. “What’s up?”
“This is Stevie from the event the other night,” Allison said. “You remember.”
“Hard to forget,” he replied, but he nodded a polite greeting to Stevie.
“Stevie’s okay,” Allison said. “It would mean a lot to me if you would give her an interview about the case.”
Paul raised his eyebrows in surprise. “Really?”
“Really,” she said. “She’s all right.”
The owner and the small dog left, and Paul waved his goodbye. Then he turned to the man at the desk, who was typing into a scheduling program with lightning speed.
“Hon, when’s my next?”
“You have forty-five minutes,” the man replied. “Your ten fifteen spaying appointment asked to bump to this afternoon.”
“Looks like I have some time now,” Paul said. “I could use a coffee. That okay with you, Joe?”
“Fine by me,” Joe replied. “Gives me a chance to unpack the surgical supplies.”
“My husband,” Paul explained. “Keeps everything going.”
Joe did not deny it. He peered over the desk to regard Stevie.
“So the Box Box guy owns the camp now, huh?” he asked.
Stevie nodded.
“And he also wants to make a podcast about the . . . about what happened? Seems like a broad remit. Still, I have to admit I like those boxes.”
Stevie shrugged, because Joe was right. It was a weird combination of interests.
“Joe likes organization,” Dr. Penhale explained. “I joked that he wanted us to take our honeymoon at the Container Store.”
Joe held up his hands, indicating that he was guilty as charged.
“So you’re set here,” Allison said. “If you need anything else, you ask me.”
With a nod, she exited.
“You seem to have made a big impression on Allison,” Paul said. “And if you’re all right with Allison, then you’re all right with me. Let’s walk over to Patty’s, get a coffee or a soda or something.”
They crossed the street to the Sunshine Bakery. Patty Horne was in the back, decorating a cake. She gave a wave but continued with her work as her assistant rang up the coffees and prepared them. Paul insisted on paying. All the tables were empty, so they took the one by the window. Sunshine Bakery was, true to its name, extremely sunny. Sunlight poured in over the cheerful yellow table, decorated with a red Gerbera daisy in a jar.