Page 10 of June's First Murder
Sara Lee stood there for a moment, breathing heavily. Carl walked out of the library after having carried in a box of books and, oblivious to what had occurred, walked back to the booth that was now almost empty. Sara Lee looked at June, but before she could speak, June quickly said, “It’s fine, sweetheart.Go help Barb and Carl. Raymond is gone, and Diane is safely away.”
Her granddaughter appeared to want to argue, but finally nodded and walked back to the almost-empty coffee booth. A few minutes later, they joined June as she folded her camp chair and prepared to walk home.
“It’s been a long day,” Sara Lee commented with a tired sigh.
"Yeah, but a good day," Carl said. His hand brushed Sara Lee's, and June pretended not to notice the way they both smiled at that contact.
June watched as Sara Lee’s gaze followed him. The soft expression on her granddaughter's face made her look younger and more vulnerable.Let her have this, June thought. Let her have this happiness before whatever's coming arrives.
Because something was coming. June could feel it in her bones, and in the way the evening air seemed to hold its breath, and the tension hummed beneath the festival's cheerful surface.
"Ready to go home?" June asked as Sara Lee approached.
"More than ready," Sara Lee said, linking her arm through June's.
They walked home side by side as twilight settled over Meadowlark Creek. Behind them, the band began to play, and music drifted through the warm evening air. Children's laughter echoed from the park. The festival was ending the way it always did, with music and community and the promise that summer had truly begun.
It should have felt peaceful. It should have felt right. But June couldn't shake the feeling that they were all standing on the edge of a cliff they couldn't see in the gathering dark.
"That went well," she said, her voice more forced than she meant to sound. It was as though she was trying to convince herself of the statement’s truth. Then she sighed and added, "Despite the drama."
"Despite Raymond, you mean," Sara Lee grumbled.
"Yes. Poor Horace." June thought about the judge's face when he intercepted his brother earlier. The humiliation, frustration, and bone-deep weariness were etched into his expression. "Family can be such a burden sometimes." She paused, considering her words. "It makes you think about how two people raised in the same family can become so different. And what led to that animosity? No matter how estranged they may become, they're still family."
She was thinking aloud now, the way she did when trying to puzzle something through. Raymond and Horace… two brothers, raised by the same parents, given the same opportunities. But one had become respectable, successful, while the other had become bitter, cruel, and destructive.
What made people choose cruelty? What drove someone to spend their life making others miserable?
And more importantly… what happened when the people they'd tormented decided they'd had enough?
As they approached their home, June could feel her body relax, knowing sanctuary was close by. Once there, Pippi greeted them with bouncing enthusiasmwhile Mister Smee walked toward them with his tail held high, swishing back and forth.
Sara Lee plated turkey and Swiss cheese sandwiches on paper plates and carried them out to the back porch. June was glad her granddaughter had made the sandwiches the day before, knowing how tired they would be this evening.
She settled into one of the comfortable chairs, her body easing as tired muscles relaxed. The evening was a perfect temperature… warm enough to be comfortable, yet cool enough to be pleasant. Fireflies blinked in the gathering dark like tiny stars darting to and fro.
Pippi sprawled across Sara Lee's feet with a contented sigh. Mister Smee sat next to June's chair, accepting a few slivers of turkey with the regal air of someone receiving tribute, then proceeding to wash his whiskers with great delicacy.
“I’m not sure I will be able to move tomorrow,” Sara Lee said, leaning back in her chair, sighing heavily. “I might not make it out of bed!”
June chuckled. "Tomorrow, after the Sunday service, I thought I might reorganize the mystery section at the library, but right now, a day of rest sounds good."
"You should take it easy, but if you’re determined, I can help you," Sara Lee replied. "With my summer free from teaching, I can do more than just drive the library’s bookmobile."
They sat in the comfortable silence that came from years of knowing each other completely. June looked at her granddaughter in the fading light. This beautiful young woman moved back after her parents died andchose to stay in this small town when she could have gone anywhere. She’d made a life here built on teaching, books, kindness, and love. June was blessed and knew it.
"Did you have a nice lunch with Carl?" she asked, unable to resist.
Her granddaughter grinned. "I did. He asked me to the Solstice dinner."
"And you said yes."
"I did, but how did you know?" Sara Lee laughed.
June patted her hand. "You remind me of myself many years ago. It took your grandfather a while to convince me to go out with him. But he persevered. And I realized that a man with that kind of dedication deserved a chance. You deserve happiness, sweetheart. And don't forget that."
Sara Lee squeezed her fingers, and June felt the familiar tightness in her throat. After the accident that took Sara Lee's parents, June wondered if either of them would ever feel whole again. But they helped each other heal… or at least, they learned to carry the grief together, which was sometimes the best anyone can do.
