Vivi Ann closed her eyes. It felt as if everything were draining away—blood, hope; life.

“You told me to get rid of it, remember? And she had that guy who was harassing her last year.”

“That’s why you’re sure they’ll come after you.”

“It’s why I’m afraid.” He reached out, touched her chin. “Go ahead and ask me, Vivi. I know you want to.”

She heard the desperation in his voice, saw it in his eyes. All his life he’d been let down, and he expected it of her, but she knew him. Knew him. She knew how he looked at his son when he was sleeping and how he talked about their family. There was darkness in her husband’s past; but those days were behind him. Love wasn’t a surface emotion for Dallas, nor was friendship. No matter what he’d done wrong before, she knew he wouldn’t kill Cat. “I don’t have to, Dallas. I know you’re innocent.”

He seemed to deflate before her eyes. Saying nothing, he looked away.

“Now get ready. We’ve got to go to your friend’s funeral.”

For the next two hours, they went through the morning routine in silence, except for Noah’s nearly constant babbling.

At eleven o’clock, Aurora and Richard showed up, looking glum and concerned. Vivi Ann and Aurora stared at each other for a long moment, neither speaking, and then they all got into Richard’s rain-spotted black Suburban. They dropped Noah off at their house, along with Janie and Ricky and the sitter, and then drove to the church.

There, the pews were almost full of black-clad mourners.

Throughout the short, impersonal service, Vivi Ann held Dallas’s hand. She could feel his tension; sometimes he squeezed her hand so tightly it hurt. When the funeral was over, she got to her feet, pulled him up awkwardly beside her. Together, they merged into the aisle and went downstairs, where food filled the table and no one would make eye contact with Dallas or Vivi Ann. As usual, the women had baked their way to goodbye. People stood around, talking in small groups. There were no pictures of Cat set up on easels around the room, no sounds of weeping.

“Hypocrites,” Dallas muttered beside her. “Look at them. Those women crossed the street to avoid her if they could.”

“Don’t,” Vivi Ann said sharply.

Aurora, Richard, Dad, and Winona came up to them, closed in tightly. Vivi Ann felt a wave of gratitude for their support, but she could see by her dad’s face that he was not happy about being here.

And then, suddenly, Al was there, in uniform. “Come with me, Dallas Raintree,” he said in a loud, showy voice. “You’ve got some questions to answer.”

Vivi Ann clung to her husband’s hand. “Come on, Al. You can’t believe—”

Dallas pulled free of her. “Of course he believes it.”

Al took Dallas by the arm and led him away. The crowd parted, stunned into an uncharacteristic silence by the drama unfolding in front of them.

Vivi Ann followed Al and Dallas through the crowd, pleading with Al to be reasonable, but he didn’t answer, just dragged Dallas out into the parking lot and drove away.

Vivi Ann opened her purse and fumbled through the junk inside for her keys. Then she realized that she hadn’t driven here. She looked back for Aurora and saw people gathered together on the church steps, watching her. “He didn’t do it,” she yelled at them. Her voice cracked like an egg and the emotions she’d been trying to control spilled out. She knew she was crying and she couldn’t stop, couldn’t even manage the strength to turn away.

Aurora came up to her, put an arm around her. Winona was next. Together her sisters shielded her. Vivi Ann noticed that her father held back, staying where he was.

“Come on,” Winona said. “We’ll take you home.”

“Home?” Vivi Ann looked at them incredulously. “Take me to the police station. I need to be there for him when he’s done.”

Aurora and Winona exchanged a look.

“What?” Vivi Ann demanded.

“You’re making a scene,” Aurora said firmly. “Let’s walk toward the car.”

“What if I refuse?”

“Then I’ll break one of your legs,” Aurora said, smiling at the crowd, saying loudly, “She’s fine now. No need to worry.”

“We’ll take you to the police station,” Winona said, and Vivi Ann let herself be led away.

The drive to the police station was over so quickly there wasn’t much time to talk, and Vivi Ann didn’t know what to say anyway. As soon as they parked along the curb, she got out of the car and ran into the station.

Tags: Kristin Hannah Fiction
Source: readsnovelonline.net