Page 63 of Jar of Hearts
Geo turned around slowly. Nearby, the receptionist messed around on the computer, pretending not to listen, even though she so obviously was.
“I’m Tess DeMarco,” the owner said. “I was on the cheer team at St. Martin’s.”
Geo blinked, surprised. In high school, Tess had been brunette and very slender. Now she was blond and heavyset. But her eyes, full of accusation and judgment, were the same.
“It’s funny,” Tess said, walking closer to her. “When Angela went missing, I thought that maybe you did something to her. Because your fight at cheer practice the week before she disappeared was so ugly. I remember your face as she screamed at you in front of everyone; you were furious, and so embarrassed. But then you guys made up, and everything went back to normal, and I thought, nah, you could never have hurt her. I actually felt bad for thinking it. But I was right in the end, wasn’t I?”
Geo said nothing.
“I believe in karma,” Tess whispered. “And the fact that you’re still here and Angela isn’t means that yours is still coming. Now get out of my salon, Georgina. And never, ever come back here.” She held the door open and continued watching through the glass as Geo made her way to her car.
It’s not surprising Tess remembers Angela as this perfect person. Angela Wong could be as bright as the sun, and when she shined her light on you, nothing could make you feel more special, more important, more valued. But when she withheld it, which she often did over petty things, it could cast you into darkness. There was no in-between. Angela felt everything fully, and if you were close to her, you felt everything she felt.
The only other person who could possibly understand this was Kaiser. He’s the only person who loved Angela the same way she did, who felt the loss of her the same way she did. But unlike Geo, he didn’t find out until years later what happened to her. He was almost driven mad by the not knowing.
Geo was driven mad by the knowing.
She must have fallen asleep on the sofa, because when the doorbell rings and wakes her up, a full hour has passed. She answers the door, still wrapped in the blanket. It’s Kaiser, and he looks about as exhausted as she feels. He’s wearing his badge, which means he’s on duty.
“Come in,” she says, moving aside so he can enter.
“I should have called first,” he says, closing the door behind him. “I was in the area, doing some follow-up work in the woods. Saw your car.”
“Anything new?”
He shakes his head, frustration etched on his face. “No. Nothing. The lead we had on Calvin didn’t pan out. I feel like I’m missing something obvious, and it’s driving me crazy. Something I can’t see, that’s right in front of me.”
Geo is standing in front of him. She looks up, and their eyes meet. He’s wearing the same cologne, the one that’s mildly spicy-sweet, and again, it makes her hyperaware of how long it’s been since she’s made love to someone. Prison sex doesn’t count.
“I’m glad to see you,” she says, and she is. “I wish…”
“What?”
“Nothing.” She takes a seat on the sofa, lets the blanket slide off her shoulders. She’s wearing a T-shirt and sweatpants, her go-to outfit now that she has nowhere special to be. He takes a seat on the other end, watching her.
“There’s something I was going to tell you the other day,” Kaiser says. “About the double homicide I’m working. About the little boy.”
“I remember. What is it?”
“The boy is—was—the female victim’s son.”
Geo frowns. “I don’t understand. I saw his parents on the news.They were giving a press conference about it. His mother was grieving, but she’s alive.”
“She’s his adoptive mother. The woman the boy was found with, she was his biological mother.”
A long silence falls between them as Geo processes this, and she becomes acutely aware of the different compartments inside her, each reacting differently to this revelation. The compartments bang against each other like metal on metal, screeching and clanking and noisy, although outwardly, she shows no sign of the turmoil she’s feeling inside.
“That’s not all,” Kaiser says. “The biological father is Calvin James.”
The clanking inside her stops. Inwardly and outwardly, Geo is still.
“I didn’t tell you earlier because we’re not releasing any of this to the press, not until we know for sure what it means,” Kaiser says. “I haven’t even told the Bowens, the little boy’s parents. And I won’t, until we have proof Calvin killed them.”
“Why are you telling me?” she asks.
“Because I don’t know who else to tell,” he says. “You’re the only person I know who knew Calvin intimately, and is still alive.”
She closes her eyes, lets out a long breath, then opens them again. “So what is it you want to know? Whether or not I think Calvin is capable of killing his own child?”
