Ashley looked back at Theo who gave her a smile.

“We’d love to have you,” she said, pulling herself up from the couch. “Come on.” She took ahold of Ashley’s wrist and gently pulled her toward Glory’s room. “You don’t have to if you don’t want to, but there’s a tub in here, or if you’re more into showers, I’ve got one of those, too. There are fresh towels, soaps, shampoos … I even have a brand-new toothbrush if you want it.”

Ashley stood in the middle of the room, her eyes fixed on the row of framed pictures that lined the top of the dresser. Theo was pretty sure the woman wasn’t seeing the people with fixed smiles who stood on the other side of the glass, though.

“I feel hungover, but I didn’t have a drop of alcohol last night.”

Theo was quiet for a moment. “How did you find out about your friend?”

“Mina and her mom are very close.” She stopped, looked down. “They were very close.” Theo watched as Ashley swallowed. It looked as if it caused her pain to do so. “She’d been using a bunch of dating apps the past few months. She had a bad breakup about a year ago. She pretty much swore off guys, and that lasted for a while, but then she kinda swung the other direction, started dating like crazy. She was on Siren, Fling, and another app called Flirt. She had a date on Friday night, and Libby, Mina’s mom, always checked in with her if she knew she was going out. We both just started worrying about her a little. She kinda went a little crazy, going out with guys I never imagined she’d have an interest in.”

Ashley reached up and pushed her hair from her face. “Libby called yesterday because Mina wasn’t answering her phone.” Ashley shrugged. “Libby’s cool. She’s not a pain in the ass like a lot of moms. They talked on the phone a lot.” She took a deep breath and looked up at Theo. “She didn’t know if Mina had gone out the night before. She thought I might.”

“And you did.”

Ashley nodded. “I did. I don’t know who the guy was, but I knew she had a date. I hung up with Libby and I went to Mina’s house, but she wasn’t there. Her roommate said she thought she might be at work. She’s a waitress at South Street. She was supposed to open, but she didn’t show up for her shift.”

South Street Steakhouse was an upscale restaurant located on Main Street right in the heart of town. The establishment was known for superior food and excellent service. Mina most likely brought home at least $200 in tips even if she worked a short shift. According to Ashley, she’d been employed at the restaurant since before she graduated high school five years ago.

“She’s never late for a shift, and she never calls in sick.” She sighed. “Shit.” Her eyes filled with tears. “She was never late. I can’t wrap my head around it, you know?”

Theo reached up and pressed her fingers against Ashley’s arm. “I do.”

“When I found out she hadn’t shown up, I knew something was going on. It wasn’t until some camper showed up to cabin four yesterday afternoon that any of us knew what had happened.” Ashley looked up at Theo, and Theo saw the pain swimming in the blue of Ashley’s eyes. “That sick sonofabitch raped her,” she said, tears spilling over her lower lashes. “Then he strangled her to death. I’m so angry. I don’t know what to do with it all.” She turned, looking around the room. It was almost as if she was just now realizing where she was. “Oh, my god,” she said patting the pockets of her jeans. She reached in and pulled out a set of keys. “I’m so sorry,” she repeated, suddenly flustered. “I need to go. I need to leave. I’m so sorry I bothered you.” She left the room quickly, Theo close on her heels.

“Ashley, please stay.”

“No,” she shook her head, her black hair flying around her. “Thank you. You and Jordan are … god, you’re so unbelievably kind … I’m gonna go.” She looked around for her coat, found it slung over the back of the couch and she grabbed it, taking it with her instead of putting it on. “I’ll see you Monday,” she said over her shoulder as she opened the door and ran outside. Theo realized Ashley hadn’t taken her boots off the night before and was grateful now that she hadn’t. She moved quickly and shut the door before any of the cats got it into their heads to go exploring. Then she moved to the front window and opened the blinds, watching Ashley execute a speedy three-point turn before she took off down the driveway.

Theo turned and located her cell where she’d plugged it in the night before. She could hear Jordan and Indigo in the kitchen. She knew Jordan had made Ashley’s coffee, and that the mug was cooling on the counter because he wouldn’t have bothered her in Glory’s room. She flipped through her phone and waited as it rang. When Trix picked up, she heaved a sigh.

“I think Ashley needs you,” she said. Then she told her why.

8. FROZEN DINNER

At six o’clock sharp that evening, Theo served pork chops with apple and corn stuffing and a rosemary mustard sauce. There were new potatoes, green beans and buttermilk biscuits with softened butter. For dessert, Theo spooned warm, chunky applesauce over scoops of vanilla ice cream.

“Damn, Theodora,” Delaney groaned, holding her stomach. “You never disappoint.”

“Very tasty,” Mamie agreed, standing up and going to the sliding glass door, throwing it wide open. “Except for the fact that it feels like it’s a hundred degrees in here.” She threw a glance in Indigo’s direction. “Don’t stress,” she told her granddaughter. “The screen’s shut. None of your precious animals are in danger.”

“Thank you, Mamie,” Indigo responded. “But it isn’t hot in here.”

“That’s because you’re four,” Mamie said. “And I don’t wanna hear from any of the rest of you, either. It’s coming for you,” she warned. “You, too, Jordan, you stick around with this one long enough.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Jordan replied, not sure what else to say. When Delaney almost choked on a mouthful of ice cream, he threw her a dirty look.

The slight breeze that came through the screen was cold, and it brought the kittens into the room, their noses upward as they caught the scents carried in on the evening air.

“So, I hear you were at the bowling alley the day it flooded,” Mamie said, looking at Indigo.

“Me and Jordan went to play but we couldn’t.”

“Butch has needed new plumbing for a long time. That building is at least as old as the dirt it’s sitting on. I know Glory was after him long before she took off for Europe. I guess it finally caught up to him. I hear there was so much damage done that he’s not sure he’ll be able to reopen.”

Indigo licked the last bit of vanilla ice cream from her spoon. “You mean there’s not gonna be any more bowling?”

“Well, I don’t know that for sure. What I do know is that Mr. Henry quite liked your idea about the hockey rink.”

“Did you hear about that, Laney?” Indigo asked.

“No,” Delaney shook her head. “Tell me.”

“I thought it would be good if they froze all the water in the bowling alley. Then Jordan could teach me how to skate and we could play hockey.”

“Wow,” Delaney said pushing away her ice cream bowl. She pulled her long sleeves down even further so they were covering her hands, then she crossed her arms over her chest. “You guys have been watching a lot of hockey, haven’t you?”

“It’s so much fun.”

“It was actually something Gramps started. He was watching TV when we were there one Wednesday. They were showing some replays of an Avalanche game, and it sparked Indigo’s interest immediately. We decided to watch a game one night. I thought she’d ask to turn it off after a few minutes, but she didn’t.”

“The girl is hooked,” Theo said, smiling at Indigo.

“Oh, no, Antee,” Indigo told her, looking very serious. “Hooking is a bad thing.” Theo couldn’t help but laugh.

“The rest of us thought it was funny,” Jordan said, leaning over to kiss Theo’s cheek.

“I think you must have quite a bit of pull with Mister Henry, Indigo Blue.” Mamie took a sip of her coffee, ignoring the joke. She looked over at Jordan, then at Theo. “He called me up and asked me if I could come and see him the other day. Turns out he had some questions about property taxes. Butch’s property in particular. He said he had some things to talk to Glory about, and you know what that means.”

“Nobody does anything in this town without talking to Mister Henry and Glory first,” Delaney stated, hugging herself a little tighter.

“Interesting.” Jordan stood up and started clearing the table. “I wonder what Gramps is planning?”

“I bet you’re going to find out sooner rather than later.” Mamie put her napkin on her plate and pushed herself away from the table. “I think I’ll head on home now. Indigo, why don’t you run and shut that door. Delaney’s lips are turning blue.” Indigo did as she was told. “Would you like it if you could play hockey?”

Indigo turned to look at her grandmother. “That would be so amazing.”

Mamie stood up and gave Theo a pointed look. “So much better than ballet.”

Delaney waited for Mamie to walk out of the room before she quietly said, “There it is.”

“Could’ve been worse,” Theo said with a shrug.

“So much worse.”

“Indie, let’s go say goodbye to your grandma. Then it’s bath time.” She turned to Delaney. “Will you stay a little longer if I promise to loan you a sweatshirt?”