Saint Homicide (Single Shot) Read Free Page A

mother-in-law whispered.
    “Karen?”
    “Daniel, she’s gone.”
    “What?”
    “Lynn’s gone. I woke up a few minutes ago because I thought I heard a car outside. I thought it might be that boy come to get her again. I went to her room and I found a note.”
    I steadied myself as if someone had shoved me. “What does it say?”
    I could hear the paper in her hand.
    “It just says: ‘Dear Mom. I have to leave. I hope you’ll forgive me but I know you’ll see I’m right one day. You won’t believe this, but I do love you. I love you all. Tell Jennifer I love her most.’” A sob caught in her throat and she coughed. “That’s all. She didn’t even sign it.”
    “Did you have a fight?”
    “No. No, that’s the thing. Today had been one of our good days. This whole week had been good. And now this.” She broke down and the sound was so close to my ear I was embarrassed. I held the phone away from my head and rubbed my face with my other hand.
    When I put the phone back to my ear she was saying, “Can you find her?”
    “I don’t know.” I felt dizzy and put my hand on the dresser. “Maybe I should call the police.”
    “What would they do? She just turned eighteen. And she hasn’t been gone very long. She’s just gone. Both my girls are gone.” Her voice cracked. “First Pete, now my girls.”
    “I can’t believe she’d leave us like this.”
    “Please, Daniel. You have to go find her. She ran away with that boy. I know she did. They couldn’t have gotten far.”
    I walked with the phone over to the bed and sat down. One of my pillows fell to the floor. “What’s this boy’s name again?”
    “Randall,” she said with disgust. “Randall Terpweiler.”
    “How’d she meet this kid? She never told me much about him.”
    “Well, he’s not really a kid. He’s twenty-four years old.”
    I sat down on the carpet and leaned against the wall. “She never told me that.”
    “She didn’t volunteer it to me. I had to drag it out of her.”
    “But you never told me, either.”
    “Lord, Daniel, I didn’t want to bother you with it. I know you got your hands full with Jennifer.”
    “This guy. What do you know about him?”
    “I think he works at a video store downtown. On Curtis Street. I know it’s Curtis Street because when Lynn told me that, I was pretty worried. I’ve heard Curtis is rough. I hate to ask you to go down there, but his number’s not listed and they’d know where he lives most likely.”
    “I’m not sure they’ll tell me, Karen. They’re probably closed anyway. I could try it in the morning.” Even as I said it, though, I glanced around for my shoes.
    “No. It’s an all-night store. I remember that much. I’m just scared that if we wait, she’ll be gone. Please tell me you’ll go. He’s not listed and I’ve looked in the phone book, but I can’t find a number for him or the store. And that just makes it worse. The more I think about it, the worse it gets. Please tell me you’ll go.”
    “Of course I will.”
    “Thank you,” she said catching her breath. “Thank you, Daniel. If they give you his address, you’ll try to find her?”
    “Yes.”
    “Should I come over and sit with Jennifer?”
    “Yes, please. I doubt she’ll need anything, but I’d feel better about it if someone was here.”
    “I’ll be over in ten minutes,” she said.
     
    *
     
    Even more than usual, I dressed without much regard to what I was putting on. After she’d come home from the hospital, Jennifer had demanded that we remove all of the mirrors in the house. It was an odd request, but she was adamant on the point. For my part, I didn’t miss them. To tame my hair, I just pulled on a gray sock cap.
    Before I left, I eased open Jennifer’s door and peeked inside. She lay stiffly in the murky orange light, the expulsion of her breath like a drafty old house. I closed the door and slipped into my coat.
    My breath bellowed out in gray clouds as I locked the front door.