As I stood in line with my parents, a familiar face invaded my peripherals. “Renlee,” I said shortly.
Renlee, in full uniform, approached me with a look of grave concern etched on his face. Luckily, my parents were deep in conversation with other neighbors who stood behind us.
“I got a complaint yesterday from Peter. He said you assaulted him in his office.”
I chewed on the inside of my cheek while I rubbed my nose. The overpowering fragrance of flowers threatened to entice my allergies out of hiding. My empty stomach churned as vodka sloshed around.
“Are you here to arrest me?” I asked callously.
Renlee narrowed his eyes. “No, he’s not pressing charges. I just want to know if everything is okay? He said you were wasted.”
I rolled my eyes. “I wasn’t wasted.”
Renlee leaned in and sniffed near the nape of my neck. “You smell like alcohol, Elle. What’s going on?”
“What’s going on, you ask?” My excitement caught the attention of several others in line. I sighed and lowered my voice. “What’s going on is that I’m at my third funeral in less than a year. I have a dead fiancé, dead stepmother and now a dead friend. Someone murdered Callie, and I need to find out who did it.”
Renlee placed his hand on my arm, but I shuddered and stepped away. “I’m so sorry, Elle, but you can’t just go up to people accusing them of something.”
“I’m going to solve Callie’s murder,” I said.
Renee’s jaw tightened. “You can’t interfere with our investigation, and you know it. You need to pull yourself together, Elle.”
“Do you mind? Can we talk about this some other time and not in a funeral home?”
Curious glances darted our way. I caught my mom’s gaze out of the corner of my eye. I couldn’t stop feeling as though the room was staring at me, and my face turned a deep shade of scarlet.
“If I get another complaint about you,” Renlee whispered into my ear, “I’m not going to be able to let it slide. Understand?”
“Perfectly,” I snarled.
Renlee strode away, and I wished more than anything I had a bottle of booze in my hand.
I scanned the rest of the crowd until I caught the gaze of another familiar face.
Noah stared back at me with furrowed eyebrows and a curious frown.
Twenty-Four
What the hell was he doing here? Sure, most of the city was here, but many of them had ties to Callie or her parents. What reason did Noah have for being at her funeral service?
I turned my attention away from my ex-boyfriend, pushing away the anger and resentment Noah brought forth and reminding myself why I was here. I was here for Callie. I may have watched the young girl grow, but I never had a chance to see her grown up. Today was about her and only her. I'd find out why Noah showed his face later.
My parents and I waited in line to greet Callie's parents, Ron and Samantha. Both stood tall with their chins raised, despite the grief ripping through their souls that couldn't be any more evident from their solemn eyes. They greeted each guest with kindness and grace as everyone provided their deepest sympathies.
When it was my turn to see them, my body stiffened, and air caught in my chest. I couldn't breathe. I couldn't shake myself into reality, instead finding myself stuck in a web of nostalgia. All the nights I spent with Callie, all the times her parents entrusted me to protect their daughter. Because that's what parents do: they make sure, no matter what, their children are safe.
They were successful for most of her life, until now. Now, they had to overcome a feat no one should have to manage: burying their only child.
Ron and Sam caught sight of me and my parents. A sad smile etched itself across Sam's soft facial features. Her hair, much grayer than I remembered, fell just below her chin in a fashionable bob. Ron, who'd gained a few pounds in the last handful of years, flicked away a stray tear that slid down his cheek.
"Elle!" he said. "So good of you to come.”
Color rushed to my cheeks, and my mom nudged me forward. "Ron, Sam. Of course I'd be here. I'm, I'm—" I couldn't finish. Pain tore through my chest, shredding my heart along its way.
Sam pulled me into her arms. Neither one of us spoke. Neither could utter the words dancing upon our lips, begging to be said. Instead, I squeezed Sam's hands and gazed into her husband's eyes.
"Justice will be served. I can promise you that."
The couple smiled weakly and nodded. They didn't have any idea what I was up to, and I wouldn't tell them until the time was right. But I couldn't wait for the moment when I could tell these parents their daughter's soul could finally be at peace.
My parents whispered with the Jacksuns as I meandered toward the casket. I didn't know if it would be closed or not; not all murders were gruesome. Half of me wanted to see her face again, and the other half of me begged not to. The latter part of me sighed with relief upon seeing the shiny top of her final resting place sparkle under the funeral home lights.
My shoulders tensed, and I couldn't bring myself to take a deep breath. Never once in a million years did the thought ever cross my mind. How could I ever have predicted that one day I'd attend Callie's funeral?
And it wasn't just the death of a person, but the stolen promise of a future. Every hope and dream she ever managed to think of would never happen. She wouldn't become the first woman on Mars, or even the first woman president. She wouldn't win a baking contest while serving on the PTA. She'd never get married or grow old. Instead, her body would be buried, and her memory would dull over the years until one day, anyone and everyone who knew her would cease to exist too. And, just like that, Callie Jacksun's spirit would vanish.
I approached the bench before the casket. Unsure of what to do, I followed in the footsteps of the older woman before me. I kneeled, only inches away from Callie's dead body. A rush of exhilaration tickled inside me. Was it all just a game? Would Callie would pop out and say, “Surprise!”
Or maybe I wasn't quite ready to come to terms with a loss so close to my heart. Another loss so soon. I hadn't finished grieving the last one. Too many funerals this year. Would they ever stop? While I wished they would, I knew deep down, they would only continue. Death would always be a part of life.
My quivering hand reached out to touch the casket, as though I were reaching out for Callie's hand. I startled when my fingers graced the smooth surface, unsure exactly what would happen.
Nothing happened. Callie didn't come out of hiding. I didn't feel her spirit beside me. Absolutely nothing felt out of the norm. I was just a sad person saying farewell to a dead girl.
Out of the corner of my eye, Noah watched me intently me as I said goodbye to the little girl I bonded with so many years ago. Exhaling, I looked back once more.
"I'm sorry, Callie. I'm so sorry this happened to you," I whispered. "I'll find out who did this. I swear it.”
Pulling myself up, I cleared my throat and willed away the tears that threatened to break through. I had to get some fresh air before I lost my shit in front of half the town.
I found my parents fraternizing with a few other neighbors. I nodded to the neon exit sign, and my mom nodded back. I strode out of the funeral home and into the crisp, moist air of a spring dusk. The fresh air kissed my cheeks while the scent of rain tickled my nose. It was one of my favorite smells in the entire world, one that many people never experienced. Living in Keygate most of my life, though, I spent many winters pining for the distinct smell of spring. And now, here I was, in the middle of it.