“Good.” I grinned. “Have fun.”
“Always.” She gave me a quick hug and took off, leaving me to contemplate Josh Atherton. Annie was a lot more confident in her ability to resist his interrogation techniques than I was. I could only wonder what sort of information he would try to wangle out of Annie.
*
Friday morning, I washed dishes while Derek finished up a phone call with our contractor, who assured him that the work was moving along and everything was on schedule. Our home would be ready and looking beautiful within a month. Derek let him know that he planned to be in the city next week and would stop by to inspect everything done so far.
After the phone call, we drove to the supermarket to stock up on groceries and incidentals for the week.
On the drive home, we got more news, this time from Gabriel, who announced that Trudy had come home. As Gabriel had predicted, Trudy had refused to leave her home for the sake of her own safety, so he was in the process of moving into her spare bedroom. Trudy had only weakly protested his presence, and now it was clear that she was happy to have him there, especially since Elizabeth would be visiting for only a few more days.
If she wasn’t arrested for murder first.
We drove by the house to welcome Trudy home but stayed just a short while. I had to endure Elizabeth’s hugs while she expressed the hope that she and I could get together for lunch soon. But how could she possibly think I would want to get together with her when I didn’t even know if she was guilty of killing Amelia or not? She carried on as if nothing had happened, and I made some lame excuse about being too busy this week to go to lunch.
Derek sensed my unease, and we left as quickly as we could, leaving Gabriel to watch Elizabeth’s every move and keep Trudy safe. If anyone could multitask under those circumstances, it was him.
*
Amelia’s memorial service took place the following day in the tiered theater side of the town hall, opposite the exhibit hall.
Robson had been hoping that Trudy’s memory would return by then, but the poor woman was still at a loss as to what had happened to her companion and friend. But since the sheriff had released Amelia’s body and the funeral home had gone ahead and performed the quiet burial—with just Trudy, Robson, Elizabeth, Gabriel, Derek, me, and my parents in attendance—Robson decided not to wait any longer to hold the larger memorial service.
It wasn’t a religious ceremony but a simple and sweet memorial to a woman who was known by very few of us but who nevertheless had left an indelible mark on Dharma. There were several lovely short speeches, including a few words from Annie. A string quartet played in the background.
At the last minute, we had tried to track down any possible relatives of Amelia’s. Trudy was unaware of any and expressed the belief that the woman was alone in the world. Amelia had been an only child, she said, and Trudy was fairly certain that both of her parents had been as well.
“I never saw her write a letter to anyone,” Trudy had said. “She never called any family.”
It was sad to think that the woman had no one who would care that she was alive or dead. But that wasn’t really true. She had Trudy. And I was pretty sure that Trudy was the reason why most of the town had gathered together to give her friend a decent send-off.
“She died a hero, saving Trudy’s life,” Robson stated in his eulogy.
It was true. There was no better way to say it. But as I listened to his words, guilt rained down on my soul. I had been so ambivalent toward the woman. She was finicky and judgmental and always scowling at me, and I had no idea why. Was she jealous of Trudy’s time or affection? Or was she just a sourpuss? I guessed it was both.
Glancing around the tiered assembly room, I spotted Trudy sitting in the first row and found Elizabeth in the seat next to her. A quick chill tickled my spine at that sight, but then I spied Gabriel seated directly behind the two women. He was clearly taking very seriously his job of guarding Trudy. Mom and Dad were sitting with my two brothers and Robin a few rows down and over from me and Derek. China and Savannah were seated together nearby.
Seeing my brother Jackson reminded me of his odd disappearance that day at the exhibit hall when I was about to introduce him to Elizabeth.
I leaned over and whispered to Derek, “We need to talk to Jackson.”
He nodded. “As soon as this is over.”