“Ididn’t name her,” John said, as he fussed over his pet. “That was all Heidi.”
“Who’s Heidi?” inquired Thea, as nonchalantly as she could.
“That would be me,” a musical voice sounded behind her, drawing her attention away from John and the dog. A younger woman made her way down the steps in flip-flops and a floral summer dress, the hem floating out behind her. Her hair was a tangle of ashy curls, cheeks well-chiseled and chin dimpled. She might’ve been the most beautiful girl Thea had ever seen, and she tried to keep her mouth from gaping open involuntarily.
“This is my eldest daughter,” John introduced. “Heidi. My other is away at Whitman.” And oh how he loved to tell people. It was the second time he’d squeezed it into his very brief conversations with Thea now. “Heidi, these are our new neighbors. Thea and — Bree, was it?”
Bryce smiled amicably, but Thea knew her well enough to spot the irritation sparkling in those brown eyes, made golden in the midday sunlight. “Bryce.”
“Bryce. That’s right.” John placed Sugarplum down at his feet, and she scurried off to chase a butterfly hovering around a cluster of sweet peas curling up the trellis. “Thea’s mother owns the bookstore on Fothergill Street.”
“I haven’t had a chance to visit yet,” Heidi replied. She shook Thea’s hand, her fingers soft and nails painted seafoam blue. Thea could scent floral perfume wafting off her, as powdery and sweet as the rain-watered hydrangeas. “Good to meet you both. Are you staying for the barbecue?”
“Oh, we only came to —” Bryce began, but Thea cut her off.
“If you’ll have us! I’m starved.” A lie. Thea and Bryce had sliced off a chunk of lasagna before bringing it here, and snuck a few brownies in on the way for dessert. Still, shehadcome here to investigate, and how could she, if she didn’t stay for a hotdog or two?
Bryce’s narrowed eyes burned into her, and Thea tried to ignore them, face feeling slightly hotter than it had a moment ago under both women’s stares.
“Of course! Excuse me while I get everything ready. I’ll warm up the lasagna, too!” John strolled away with Sugarplum following at his loafers, disappearing back into the house. It was a newly renovated house, something Thea had seen scaffolding around for years, now, and it showed in the large windows and tidy brickwork. Most of the other homes in town were old and crooked or else on their way to being demolished completely.
“So what is it you do, Thea?” Heidi pushed her sunglasses onto her head. Free from the shades, her eyes were an electrifying blue that seemed to hold Thea in their icy grip.
“Oh, I work at the bookstore with my mom,” she replied, working hard to steady her voice. “And I present a podcast, too.”
Bryce cleared her throat. “Wepresent a podcast.”
“That sounds interesting!” Heidi’s focus didn’t stray from Thea, and Thea could feel Bryce bristle beside her. “What’s it about?”
“True crime,” said Thea.
“Murder,” said Bryce, in a cold warning tone that she usually only used when Thea had woken her up before seven.
“What about…” Thea continued, as she glanced bewilderedly at her best friend, then “…you?” back at Heidi. Bryce’s jaw had been clenched as she scowled at their new neighbor, her arms crossed over her chest. Thea frowned, clueless as to what had sparked Bryce’s sudden hostility.
Heidi seemed to be oblivious to the tension. “Oh, I used to work in a boutique,” she said cheerfully, “but there aren’t many fashion opportunities here so I just got a job at that cocktail bar around the corner. The Bloody Mary?”
Thea’s stomach flipped with excitement.“We’reheaded there tomorrow night!”
“Great. I guess I’ll see you there.” Heidi scanned Thea from head to toe. She must’ve liked whatever she saw, because she smiled before drawing away. “I better go help out Dad. I’ll be back.”
Thea could only nod and watch her swaying hips as she wandered back to the house.
Beside her, Bryce scoffed and examined her chipped fingernails sourly. “Jesus. Want me to leave you two alone?”
“What?” Thea blinked away the Heidi-induced haze, snapping her gaze back to her best friend.
“I thought we came here to deliver lasagna and snoop, not flirt with the daughter of the guy you thought was a murderer not five minutes ago.”
“I wasn’t flirting,” Thea protested, though it came out mangled and unconvincing.
“Uh-huh,” hummed Bryce with a roll of her eyes. “I have better things to do with my day than this, so —”
“Look,”gasped Thea, pinching Bryce’s wrist as she gestured to a small, ramshackle shed in the very corner of the yard. Shadows from the overhanging willows covered most of it, and what didn’t was infested by ivy and weeds. “Don’t tell me that you wouldn’t hide body parts there.”
“I can say with absolute certainty that I have never hidden body parts anywhere, nor do I plan to. Besides,” Bryce sighed, “if he was using that shed, the plants would be disturbed.”
“Okay, Sherlock. Maybe he just wants you to think that.”