“And to think I thought I was gonna be bored here,” Bex laughed. “So, did your mom kill the guy?”

“No,” Theo answered.

“But if you knew Mamie, you’d understand why people thought she might have.”

Theo raised her hands. “I’d argue with him on that, but Mamie earned her reputation fair and square.”

“Do the two of you not get along?”

“That’s beside the point. But I will tell you that there were no hard feelings between me and those folks who thought she might have done it. For a short time, even I was beginning to wonder.”

“This is so wild.”

“It would have been sad, but he totally deserved it,” Caleb added.

“Hardy was a horrible human being,” Jordan agreed. “I do wish it hadn’t been Mom who found him, but the world is a better place without him in it.” He pulled his arm from around Theo and stood up. “We’ve got a lot going on tomorrow, T.J. Maybe we should go home and get some sleep.”

“You’re right,” she agreed, taking his offered hand. He pulled her to her feet. “I’m wiped out.”

“It was really good to see you,” Caleb told Theo, standing up and gathering her into a hug. “I’ll be around for a bit. Let’s hang out again, alright?”

“Oh, you’ll see me around. There are still wreaths to make, and I’ll bet you’ll be hauling trees around for the next few days.”

“Don’t remind me,” he laughed.

“I don’t know what my plans are,” Bex said, pulling herself to her feet. “If I don’t see you again, it was really nice meeting you. Thanks for letting me hang out with your family today. You’re all a really cool bunch of people.”

“Yeah, except for this guy,” Jordan said, shooting a fist into Caleb’s upper arm.

“Always shit talking,” Caleb threw back.

“Tell Odie I’ll call in the morning. Indigo is staying with Max during the funeral, but Odie’s helping me with the wake. There’s some stuff we still need to work out.”

“I’ll tell her if I remember.”

“I don’t forget anything,” Bex said. “I’ll give her the message.”

“Thanks.”

The night air was cold, and Theo felt it sting her cheeks as she and Jordan stepped outside and walked to their vehicles. It seemed unnaturally quiet, and both of them stood still for several long moments, just holding hands and not speaking.

“Indigo’s probably real close to the ‘why stage’, isn’t she?” Jordan asked.

“I think it starts at about her age.”

“She already asks a lot of questions.”

“I think it’s about to get worse.”

“Like Bex worse?”

“Probably.”

Theo heard Jordan sigh.

“Heaven help us both.”

12. WAKE

Theo sat between Jordan and Ashley in the second pew inside Hope Lutheran Church. The last funeral she’d been to was Audrey Dixon’s, the woman who had been gunned down in the Rising Star Market on Tremont in Boston. Much like today, Theo hadn’t known the deceased. She stood in the back because the church had been so filled with people who wanted to say goodbye to a twenty-six-year-old woman who had been killed by her jealous soon to be ex-husband. She’d never spoken to Audrey, but she had been in the market when she’d been shot. She’d heard Audrey scream when the first bullet exploded into her back, and she’d heard her pajama clad body hit the floor when she’d been shot a second time. Theo felt like she owed it to the woman to be there, just like she owed it to Mina Harper—and Ashley—to be at the services being held this morning.

As the pastor concluded the eulogy, Theo studied the spray of white lilies that covered Mina’s casket. She’d read somewhere that they were the traditional choice for funerals because they represented rejuvenation of the soul and rebirth. They reminded Theo of the snow that was falling outside, and she moved her gaze to one of the many windows so she could watch the flakes drift down from a cottony gray sky.

“Libby asked me to go to the graveside service,” Ashley whispered. “I think she only asked a few people.”

“Of course,” Theo replied. “Odie’s already at the office. I’ll see you when you get there.”

They all stood and slowly walked down the center aisle of the church. Theo felt Jordan’s hand at the small of her back and she was happy for the warmth it generated. The sanctuary was decorated for the holiday, and the large poinsettias that were scattered around the space were bright and vibrant in contrast to the funeral flowers.

“I’m starting to wonder about people who seem to be true crime enthusiasts,” Jordan said quietly into Theo’s ear. “Are they aficionados? Fans?”

“I’m not sure,” Theo shook her head, knowing that these people existed. Glory, for example, although she only went so far as to read books written about crimes, and she called them her guilty pleasure. Theo remembered stopping at a garage sale at Elizabeth Everett’s house when she’d been ten years old. Glory bought four boxes of paperbacks from their neighbor and paid three times what she’d been asking for them. Those books had been placed on the shelves in the tiny little room in the upper part of the barn. When Theo thought about this now, she realized she had no idea whether or not Glory had actually read any of those books or if she’d just said that she had. All these years later, Theo suspected she’d only bought the boxes of books because she knew Elizabeth needed the money.

“Well, I’ve spotted one,” Jordan said, his hands at Theo’s waist. He turned her ever so slightly even as they proceeded toward the entrance, and Theo found she was looking at Bex. The woman wore a pair of black jeans with her oversized boots and a long black sweater over a white T-shirt. Her hairstyle made Theo think of an actress she’d seen recently.

“I just figured out who she reminds me of,” Theo whispered. “Remember A Million Little Things?”

Jordan was quiet for a moment. “I remember being upset that you made me watch it with you. Tearjerker. I felt like a huge wuss blubbering over that show.”

“Think about it,” Theo prodded.

“Greta!” he said, a little louder than he meant to.

Theo nodded. “There you go.”

She wasn’t sure if Bex had heard them speaking, but she looked up as the two of them walked past. The woman tipped her chin slightly and gave them a closed mouth smile.

“It’s just weird,” Jordan said as they spilled out into the lobby. He took the coat Theo carried and helped her put it on. “You’re bored so you attend a funeral for a person you didn’t even know existed until the night before?”

Theo buttoned her coat and slipped her hand inside Jordan’s. “Yeah, it’s weird,” she agreed. “But I’ve just come to the conclusion that this world is filled with a lot of people I don’t understand.”  

Theo and Jordan entered the building from the back. Odette liked to clean as she cooked, so Theo wasn’t surprised that the kitchen was tidy, even though Odie had been working in it for the last several hours. The scent of apple cider filled her nose, and she spied the stockpot Odette had simmering on the stove. A whisp of steam swirled up from the top and thoughts of a crisp, sunny autumn day danced through Theo’s mind.

When they walked into the main room, they saw that a long folding table had been set up in front of Ashley’s desk and several dishes were arranged on the top. Theo had never been to a wake where lasagna had been served, but she decided to make two large pans of the pasta dish anyway. It was a good way to feed a large amount of people, and if there were leftovers, they would be good for Libby to take home and have in her fridge. It was highly unlikely that the woman would find it in herself to do much cooking.