Day of Atonement (9 page)

“I've seen worse.” B.K. quickly scanned the material. “Looks like I'll have some homework tonight.”

“What about Herbert Greenfield?” asked Troy. “I thought it was strange for him not to be there.”

“That's the stepfather, right? Oh, don't worry. I'm checking up on him. As a matter of fact, I'm going to Hitchcock to meet with him next week.”

“Hitchcock…” Troy thought aloud, searching his mind for its location. Then it finally registered. “That's a small city between here and Galveston off of I-Forty-five, right?” The same interstate where Elana's body was found!

“I know.” B.K. leered.

“That's a strange coincidence,” Troy said more to Elvin as confirmation that his inquiry into Herbert's presence wasn't too far-fetched. He turned his attention back to B.K. “You think he's connected to Elana's disappearance?”

“Maybe. In my book, everyone is a suspect until proven otherwise. I can't make connections where there are none, but I promise to leave no stone uncovered.”

Everyone is a suspect until proven otherwise.
What was that supposed to mean? Was B.K. implying that he would look closer into him? Is that what all this hypnosis crap is about? Troy could not get offended. He understood the process of eliminating suspects. “Fair enough,” he responded.

“If there's nothing else, we'll touch base after I get Shauna's
report. Elvin, please be sure to have your mom call me. I would prefer to be the one to ask her about undergoing forensic memory recall, if you don't mind.”

“Sure, that's not a problem.”

“The sooner I'm able to meet with her, the better. Maybe she can come on Wednesday while y'all are with Shauna.”

“I don't want her to come by herself. I'll see if my wife will ride with her. The boys can stay at the house alone.” Elvin seemed to be thinking out loud more so than responding to B.K.

“I can always ask my mom to come with Lilly. I'm sure she won't mind.”

“Y'all figure it out and have Lilly call me. If I don't hear from her by Wednesday morning, I'll contact her.”

“Okay,” replied Elvin.

“Well, I think we're done for right now. Elvin already has my card; let me give you one, too, Troy. If you can think of anything else or you have any questions, give me a call day or night.”

“I would like a copy of the autopsy report, if you don't mind,” Troy stated, taking B.K.'s card and putting it in his jacket pocket without looking at it. “And any photographs of Elana's body when she was found. Basically, I want a copy of everything you have. Not to step on your toes, but to analyze the evidence for myself.”

B.K. smirked and paused a moment before responding. “Give me a few minutes.” He grabbed a file from his desk and left the office.

“What do you think of him?”

“I think he is a bit smug.”

“So you're basically meeting an older version of yourself, huh?” Elvin teased.

“Aww, whatever. I actually like him. It shows me that he's confident
in his ability to help with the case. I believe this dude is going to finally help us find answers. Is he expensive?”

“Thanks to Jeff, he's cutting us a break, but even with the discount, he's not cheap.”

“I told you I would help. Let me know what you need.”

“I have what I need right here, man…you. Thanks for being here.”

Normally, Troy would have teased Elvin for being too sentimental, but this was not the time. He nodded and gave El a reassuring pat on the knee. Then B.K. returned.

U
nfortunately, Nate's first ice skating adventure involved an injury. Though she knew her boy was rough as he'd gotten many scrapes and bruises along the way, Natalie's heart still ached for him and his protruding lip. Seeing him tumble to the ground and then get up a screaming, bloody mess, kicked her mommy instincts into full gear. Diane had to hold her back from going to get him and let Alyssa bring him to her. “Girl, you will fall and hurt yourself out there tryin' to walk on ice with those heels,” she had said.

Natalie knew that Nate's injury looked much worse than it actually was, and though she, too, was crying inside, she managed to hold her emotions together as Troy had told her many times to do in front of him.
“You are going to make him soft by overreacting every time he gets hurt. He's a boy. He'll be all right.”
And Nate was. Big-lipped and all, he stopped crying after a few reassurances from his mom and grandmother that he was a big boy and all would be okay.

Alyssa was very apologetic.

“It's not your fault, honey,” Natalie had said to her. She'd seen exactly how Nate's fall had happened and after the crying and bleeding stopped, she scolded him for his actions.

“Can I go back out there?”

If Natalie had been the one to fall, she would have been done
skating for the day, maybe even for life, but Nate's persistence did not surprise her. She reluctantly agreed, despite the urge to continue coddling him. Troy would be proud. She did issue a very stern warning that his skating days would be over if he did not follow the rules.

Nate's accident ended the heart-to-heart she and Diane had been having. Natalie was willing to talk about God all day long with her mother-in-law, but sex was one topic that was strictly off-limits. They engaged in small talk…the weather…what they would do later in the week. While Natalie kept a close eye on Nate, ready to yell at him for the slightest act of defiance, Diane's thoughts ventured to the game plan for Christmas dinner.

“I think we should start on the desserts tomorrow or first thing Monday mornin'. There's no tellin' how long the funeral will last that evenin' and I ain't tryin' to be up all night. My heart really goes out to Lilly. I can't imagine losin' one of my children, not like that.”

“Me either. I'm a little nervous about meeting her. I don't know what to say. I wish it was under different circumstances, but I know being there is important to Troy.”

“Both he and Elvin had a hard time when Elana first disappeared. I kept Elvin a lot at first because Lilly had a nervous breakdown after a few weeks. Reed and I were separated at the time, so bein' able to help someone else kept me from dealin' with my drama. Those boys had a tough time. They blamed themselves.”

“I know. Troy has shared some of his feelings with me. I've tried to tell him that it wasn't his fault.”

“He blamed everyone, even me for not pickin' him up. To this day, Troy thinks that I got busy and lost track of time. I never had the heart to tell him that I'd called Reed the day before at work
and left word for his father to get him. Troy already had enough animosity for his dad. I didn't want to add fuel to the fire. I tried callin' Lilly's to see if Reed had come, but no one answered.”

“Why didn't Reed pick him up?”

“He never got the message. This was long before the days of voicemail and answerin' machines. We depended on people to write things down with pencil and paper. Unfortunately, one of the workers never gave him the message. I think back on the day Elana went missin' and I do blame myself. Even if Reed had gotten my message, deep down I knew he likely wouldn't follow through. Reed was good at givin' us money, but he was never reliable when it came to gettin' the kids and it was always because of one or both of the two b's, booze or a bi—”

“I got the point.”

Diane laughed. “Girl, you crack me up actin' like you're allergic to certain words. That's good, though. You are settin' a good example for Nate. Troy and Tracy heard it all when they were comin' up. They still do. Anyhow, Reed was messin' around with this lady who lived near Lilly. I figured since he would likely be over that way, he could get Troy this one time. I do feel like I partly contributed to Elana's disappearance. Maybe she would have never left had I not neglected my parental responsibilities. I'd taken Tracy to my sisters and I was at a hotel with Henry. I'm sure you know we weren't havin' a prayer meetin'.”

Natalie remained quiet, hoping to keep the conversation from once again venturing down that path.

“There was only one time when I depended on Reed for child-care and that was when Tracy was in kindergarten. I had started a new job and it would take a few months to get my schedule straightened out. I told Reed that if he did not agree to pick her
up, I would go down to the courthouse and sign over custody of the kids and they could live with him at his parents' house. I wouldn't have really done that, but it was the only thing I could think of. I needed his help until I could get my schedule together. For about five months, he got Tracy from school and kept her until I got off of work and to his credit, he never missed a day. The thing with Elana spooked us both and I felt better knowin' he had her than for the bus to drop her off and she be at home alone. Troy was always stayin' after school for somethin'. Sometimes it was for detention. That boy can be so bullheaded when he wants to be.”

“Tell me something I don't know.”

“The crazy thing is that the night before Elana disappeared, a black cat had crossed my path and I had a feelin' somethin' bad was goin' to happen.”

Natalie rolled her eyes unaware if Diane saw or not.

“Although my heart really does go out to Lilly, I'm glad it wasn't Tracy. I feel horrible sayin' that out loud.”

“Don't beat yourself up. I think that's a normal feeling. I'm sure many parents would say the same.” Natalie could relate. She reflected on her own feelings regarding the recent school shooting. As much as she cried about those babies, there's not a minute she didn't thank God for keeping Nate safe.

“I think part of the reason Troy treated Tracy so good was to make up for how they picked on Elana that day. Troy has always been protective of Tracy. He's protective of everyone he loves. You have a good husband, girl. Hang on to him.”

“I have no intentions of letting him go anywhere.”

•  •  •

It was around seven or so when Diane, Natalie, and Nate made it back to the house. Diane had dropped Alyssa and AJ off first, but not before taking them all to get fast-food. Natalie avoided the temptation of getting a greasy burger and fries by reminding herself that, although she was eating for three, only one of them would have to worry about the pounds from those extra calories setting in. Lord knows she did not want her hips to be like her mother-in-law's. Diane didn't seem the least bit concerned about the effects of a high-caloric value meal.

Natalie hadn't heard from Troy all day and expected him to be there. But, as Diane pulled into her driveway, the rented vehicle they'd gotten from the airport was notably missing.

“Troy must still be with Elvin.”

“I guess.” Natalie tried not to sound disappointed. She turned to the backseat. The long day and absence of his usual daily nap had finally caught up with her son on their way back to the house. “Nate,” she said, shaking his legs. “Wake up, honey. We're at Gigi's.”

He let out a shrill that sounded as if he were irritated about being disturbed, but his eyes did not open.

“Nate.”
Natalie tried again.

“Leave him alone. Here, take my purse and I'll carry him in.”

As soon as Natalie stepped through the door, the urge to pee hit her like lightning. She threw both of their purses aside and sprinted—as fast as a pregnant woman could—to the downstairs restroom.

After conducting her business, Natalie went back out to the living room to find Nate was still asleep and had been laid on the couch and Diane was swearing as she dumped the contents out of her purse onto the coffee table. “What's wrong?”

“I need to get everything out of this bag,” she said frantically.
“Here.” Diane flung Natalie's purse to her. Luckily she managed to catch it before it collided with her belly. “You can put your stuff in the armchair for now so it doesn't get mixed up with mine. I have a purse you can use.”

The confusion must have been all over Natalie's face as Diane further explained. “You had our purses on the floor.”

“Sorry. I had to go to the bathroom. Did they get dirty or something?” Instinctively, she began wiping the bottom of hers.

“No, silly, they didn't get dirty. But we can't carry these anymore. Don't you know it's bad luck to put your purse on the floor? You'll always be broke.”

“What!” Natalie laughed, but Diane was not amused. “So, what now? Do you have to wash your purse to break the curse?” Her obvious sarcasm was either missed or ignored.

“No. We have to throw them away.” She balled her purse like it was trash and headed toward the kitchen.

“Are you seriously getting rid of that?”

“Yeah. What else am I goin' do with it? I can't carry it anymore.”

“Come on, Di, it can't be that deep. That's a Gucci, much too valuable to discard because of some crazy superstition.”

Diane stared at her for a moment and Natalie braced herself for one of those decorative tongue-lashings that Troy had gotten from time-to-time. “It's a material, replaceable item to me, but if you think it's precious, take it. I ain't got no more use for it.”

The last thing Natalie needed was another purse, but she took it anyhow, hoping Diane would come to her senses later. The purse, a simple black tote, was cute, but it really wasn't her style. It was too plain. She was tired and her nerves were a little thin with all the superstition craziness. First it was the zoo thing, then downtown Natalie got fussed at for splitting a few poles, and now
this. It was too much for one day. “I'm going to lie down. You want me to take Nate upstairs?”

“No, he's fine down here. I'll get him dressed and ready for bed.”

“All right. Thanks. Good night.”