“They don’t talk about us much. They probably wouldn’t want anybody to know I’m in town. We’re sort of the bad branch of the Goodlings.” Tommy winked.
Darcy giggled.
“So, I’ve been waiting here for hours,” Tommy said. “Where is everybody? Where’s Ashleigh?”
“Oh.” Darcy felt sad for him. “You don’t know.”
“Don’t know what?”
“Um, maybe Dr. Goodling or Mrs. Goodling will be home soon.” Darcy didn’t know how to tell him the bad news. It should probably come from family, she thought. Dr. Goodling would know just what to do. “I mean, they’re kind of missing. A lot of people are missing right now. The authorities are straightening everything out, though.”
“I don’t understand,” Tommy said.
“Um…oh!” Darcy pulled her key ring from her purse. “I have a spare key to the Goodlings’ house. I feed Maybelle when they’re out of town.”
“Maybelle?”
“She’s de-barked, so she’s creepy.” Darcy led him to the front door and unlocked it. “I was going to feed her and take her out. Want to help?”
Darcy led him into the house. A Welsh Corgi jogged up to them, then opened its mouth and rasped at Tommy.
“She’s really sweet, actually.” Darcy rubbed the dog’s head. Maybelle gave a few more soundless barks at Tommy, then followed Darcy deeper into the house. In the laundry room, Darcy filled Maybelle’s bowl with food.
The Goodlings made pretty good money, Tommy thought. Their house was spacious and full of sunlight. Some of the rooms were two stories high.
He wandered into the living room and looked at the photographs on the wall. There was the object of his obsession, the girl whose face filled his dreams. Golden hair, enchanting eyes, mysterious smile. In the pictures, she was every age, selling Girl Scout cookies, playing the Virgin Mary in a children’s play, kneeling in her cheerleading uniform with her fist tucked under her chin.
While Darcy filled the dog’s water bowl, Tommy went upstairs.
He found Ashleigh’s room right away. It was large and frilly, with a private bathroom and walk-in closet, and everything here smelled sweet.
Tommy sprawled on her bed and buried his face in her down-stuffed pillows. He sniffed deep. This was the right place, the right girl.
“Um, hey, Tommy?”
He lifted his face from the pillow. Darcy stood in the doorway, watching him.
“What?” he asked.
“So I guess I should go,” Darcy said. “You can wait around here.”
“Wait!” Tommy stood up. “Where is Ashleigh? I have to know.”
“Um…”
“Tell me!’ Tommy shouted. He seized the girl and shook her. “Where is Ashleigh?”
“She’s dead!” Darcy wailed, and then she broke down crying. She sank to the carpet. “She’s dead! Jenny Mittens killed her!”
Tommy squatted down and looked her in the eyes. He squeezed her arm tight, pushing fear into her.
“Explain,” he said.
Darcy led him into the back yard, past the duck pond and the shaded outdoor swing to a magnolia tree with sprawling arms and royal purple blossoms.
“It’s called a Purple Queen magnolia,” Darcy said. “It was Ashleigh’s favorite. That’s why I buried her here.”
Darcy pointed to the giant gnarled roots of the tree, which might have been hundreds of years old. A section of the otherwise immaculate lawn had been churned up between the roots, leaving a muddy mess.
“Ashleigh is…buried here?” Tommy asked. He felt dizzy. This wasn’t how it was supposed to go.
“Well, Jenny turned her all to bones and little pieces,” Darcy was blubbering, with a little drizzle of snot running from her nose. “It was so bad. And Dr. Goodling never came home. And I couldn’t just leave her there. She was my best friend,” Darcy sobbed.
Tommy felt kind of bad for the girl. He wanted to reach out and comfort her, but he could never do that. His touch never comforted anyone.
“I wish she could come back,” Darcy said. “I wish it was me instead of her. I’m the one who sinned. I’m the one God should have taken.”
Tommy stared at the churned earth. Fury swelled inside him. The girl had been alive only a few weeks ago. Alive and ready to give him answers, bring him understanding. But something had happened, and he’d missed her completely.
If he’d been faster, and if he’d been here for her, she would still be alive.
Tommy screamed and punched the solid trunk of the magnolia. “Fuck!” he said.
Darcy cringed. Tommy seized her by the shoulders again, and he snarled into her face.