Jenna shook her head. She didn’t regret skipping the interview. Not at all. She wasn’t sure how she would have reacted if she’d been in the same room with Reena. She wasn’t a violent person, never had been. And it was rare for one woman to ask another to step outside and solve a problem with their fists.
But Jenna wanted to. She wanted to channel months of frustration and fear and sadness into one punch that connected with Reena’s overly powdered nose.
So Jenna was glad to be at home.
But she found herself in front of the TV when the ominous and overly dramatic theme music for Reena’s show started playing.
Jared came into the room and sat on the end of the couch. “You’re going to watch the freak show?”
“I’m ashamed of myself.”
“It’s kind of like porn, I guess,” he said.
Jenna looked up. She remembered Sally’s assertion that all men, including Jared, looked at porn. She started to ask but stopped herself.
“I’m glad we didn’t go on there,” Jared said.
“Are you?”
“Yeah. I don’t think it’s a good scene. I don’t think it helps. Like I said, it’s a freak show.”
“I think you’re right,” Jenna said. “No, I know you’re right. I just want Celia and Natalie to be found. I’d give anything for that.”
“I know you would,” Jared said. He slid down off the arm and onto the couch seat. “God, her makeup is horrible.”
Reena came on the screen. A live shot in front of the police station. The scenery around her looked so wholesome, so safe and homey, it was hard to believe such horrible crimes had happened in Hawks Mill. That people looked at each other with suspicion, that no one felt safe in their houses anymore.
Reena loved the contrast. It played right into her hands. She loved to sit on TV and scare middle America.
Reena jumped right in. She didn’t bother to bring her audience up to speed on either Celia’s or Natalie’s cases. She acted as if the unseen audience were an old friend, someone who was able to just pick up on the never-ending story of murder and betrayal and mayhem that Reena brought to their homes every night.
“I’m here in Hawks Mill, live in front of the police station in this beautiful town, because there is breaking news in the case of Celia Waters, the missing Diamond Mom. And, of course, we have the latest news on the case of Holly Crenshaw and yet another murder here in this picturesque little town. And this time the victim was a middle-aged man.”
Jenna’s hand moved toward the remote, an involuntary gesture. She knew she should turn it off. She knew she should look away.
But Jared was there, watching. And Jenna knew she couldn’t avert her eyes. Reena’s show was too much of a train wreck.
“. . . and you know I’ve had my doubts about Jenna Barton, the friend of Celia Walters who showed up late that night, that tragic night Celia disappeared. Snatched away by some animal.”
Reena’s bright red lips pursed. She shook her head, so disgusted by all of it. Jenna knew Reena loved every minute, every controversial, overblown minute of the spectacle.
“We’ve now learned why Jenna Barton was late that night. This is an exclusive, people, one you need to pay attention to. One that involves a lie Jenna Barton told, and a crime committed by a minor.”
Jenna looked over and locked eyes with Jared. He paled, his lips parting but no words coming out.
“What is she talking about?” Jenna asked, not expecting an answer.
“She couldn’t,” Jared said.
They turned back to the TV.
“As it happens, Jenna was late to meet Celia that night—and this information comes from a reliable source. A rock-solid source. Believe me, I never bring anything on the air unless it’s rock solid.” She pointed a manicured nail at the screen. “You can count on that.”
“What a fake-ass bitch,” Jenna said.
“It turns out Jenna’s son was involved in an underage drinking incident. He’s fifteen. That’s why Jenna was late that fateful night. That’s why she didn’t meet her best friend. That’s why Celia Walters was taken off the streets by a maniac. And yet Jenna Barton lied about it—”
Jenna threw the remote as hard as she could. It missed the TV—fortunately—but shattered against the wall.
“Mom?”
“Turn it off,” she said, her voice barely under control. “Just turn it off so I don’t have to see that witch’s face ever again.”
CHAPTER FIFTY-SEVEN
Jared’s fingers scrambled around the edges of the TV until he found the power switch. He pressed it, and Reena’s face disappeared. He looked down at the floor. The remote was in a few pieces, the batteries scattered.
He couldn’t remember ever seeing his mom throw anything in anger.
He turned to face her.
“Did you tell anybody else?” she asked, her voice level and strong. Every word fell like a brick.
“I told you. I mentioned it in the park to those guys and—”
“Ursula,” she said, finishing the thought. “What about Mike?”
“He wouldn’t say anything. Never.”
His mom pulled her phone out.