While she was busy talking to Sybil on the phone, Auri opened her laptop and saw a message from the cousin of the missing woman who stole the necklace.
“They’re making you stay home?” Sybil asked, her voice turning whiny.
Auri chuckled. “Just today. They think I’m traumatized.”
“You are. You can’t not be.”
“I don’t know.” She looked deep inside herself, but not too deep as she was a little scared of heights. “Maybe.”
“Definitely.”
She decided not to argue. “I’ll let you go so you can get ready.”
“Okay. Watch the soaps and fill me in.”
“You got it.” Auri hung up, then read Billy’s message. Billy Press, the thirty-something car salesman from Amarillo who Auri believed to be Emily Press’s cousin, had responded to her message faster than she thought he would.
Dear Aurora,
Thank you for writing. I could hardly believe it when I saw the picture you sent. I really think that’s my cousin’s necklace! And it’s been found after all these years? My family is floored. I would love to chat and hear all about it. If it’s okay with your parents, can you give me a call? Any time, day or night.
I look forward to hearing from you,
Billy
A part of Auri regretted sending that picture when she did, but now maybe the necklace would find its rightful owners.
But, again, what would happen to Mrs. Fairborn? Why would she still have it after all these years if she weren’t the killer? What other explanation was there?
“You’re up,” her grandma said from her open door. She still wore the tattered turquoise robe Auri’s mom teased her about mercilessly. The one that her grandmother demanded she be buried in because its comfort transcends life itself. Her words.
“I made bacon,” she said.
“Why do you think I’m up?” Few things made her mouth water like the smell of bacon sizzling in the morning.
Auri once asked her mom why there wasn’t bacon-scented perfume. She said there was. Bacon grease.
Auri tried it. It wasn’t as appealing as she thought it would be.
“How are you feeling?” her grandma asked.
“I’m better. I’m sorry I snuck out, Grandma.”
The woman sat on her bed and rubbed Auri’s knee, careful to avoid her ankle. “Are you going to tell me what’s going on?”
“What do you mean?”
“First you skip school and break into a friend of mine’s home. Then you sneak out. Next thing you know, you’ll be caught smoking behind the bleachers and playing chicken for pink slips on a dark deserted highway with a boy named Snake.”
Auri scoffed. “Please. If I play chicken, it’s not going to be with a boy named Snake. That’s a horrible name for a car guy. His name will be Flash or Rocket or NOS-feratu. Get it? N-O-S-feratu?”
Her grandma smiled, but Auri could see the worry behind it. “You know you can talk to us about anything, right?”
“I know, Grandma. And I do have a question.”
“Oh.” She scooted farther onto the bed. “Ask away, peanut.”
“Let’s say that there is a sweet little old lady in town who used to be a, oh, I don’t know, a serial killer of sorts.”
Her grandma nodded her head in thought, playing along.
“And let’s say, hypothetically, that she hasn’t killed anyone in years.”
“Okay, I’m with you.”
“And everyone in town likes her.”
“Mm-hm.”
“And she’s a little crazy but not in a dangerous way.”
She stifled a grin. “Got it.”
“It’s just, would it matter if she were brought to justice? I mean, she doesn’t have that much longer to live, right? So, would her going to prison for the rest of her life change anything?”
Her grandma sat back, her head bowed in thought. “I see where you’re going with this.”
“I was so dead set on bringing a serial killer to justice, I didn’t even think about Mrs.—the woman in question. I mean, from what I can tell, she doesn’t have a cruel bone in her body. If anything, she’s too generous. And then Mom said that serial killers rarely stop of their own accord. Something or someone stops them.” She hugged her pillow to her and sat back in frustration. “Maybe I’m wrong, Grandma. But I’m not.” She pleaded with her. “I have irrefutable evidence.”
“What kind of evidence?” she asked, suspiciously.
“I mean, I don’t have it have it,” she said, her voice rising a notch in panic. “I just know about it.”
“I see. Well, could it have been anyone else? Perhaps another family member?”
“I thought of that, too, but she only had her husband and he went missing before the cases stopped. There was one more victim after his disappearance, the very man the police suspected did it, so her husband couldn’t have done it. And Hercules Holmes was accused of murder and possibly killed because of one person’s actions. Shouldn’t his name be cleared? Shouldn’t his family know that he wasn’t a killer? That he was innocent?”
Her grandma drew in a deep breath and pressed a hand to Auri’s chest. “I think all the answers you’re searching for are in here, peanut.”
“In my boobies?”
“Your heart, baby.”
Auri deflated. “I was afraid you’d say that.”
She laughed softly. “So, how many pieces?”
“Three.” When the woman questioned her with a single skilled glance, she said, “Four.” Her grandma got up to leave and was out the door when she shouted, “And a half!”
Her grandmother’s laugh filtered toward her as Auri tapped the screen on her phone. She texted her mom to see how the case was going since her cruiser was already gone. She must’ve left super early.
She was just about to hop in the shower when a thought hit her. She sank back onto her bed and chewed on an already abused nail. What if there was a way to get the necklace back to Billy Press without getting Mrs. Fairborn thrown into prison? The woman couldn’t go to jail. How would she ever learn to make a shiv out of her toothbrush if she didn’t have any teeth left? How would she protect herself?
The answer was so simple. All Auri had to do was break the chain of custody. She would steal the necklace and tell her mom that she’d taken it when they first broke into Mrs. Fairborn’s house, a lie that would never hold up in court. And if Mrs. Fairborn had a good lawyer, the necklace would never even be allowed in evidence, because Auri could’ve gotten it from a shack in Timbuktu for all anyone knew.
That settled it.
She went about making plans for the evening. One more time, then she’d never sneak out again. She had to get the necklace. Maybe Mrs. Fairborn wouldn’t even notice it missing. Auri could return it to Billy Press and everyone would be happy.
She decided to call Billy and tell him her plan. If all went well, his family could have that necklace back in the next few weeks. She called him using video chat on Instagram.
He picked up immediately, but his screen was black. “Aurora?” he said.
“Yes. Is this Billy?”