Her First Mistake Carey Baldwin (ereader with dictionary TXT) đ
- Author: Carey Baldwin
Book online «Her First Mistake Carey Baldwin (ereader with dictionary TXT) đ». Author Carey Baldwin
A cover up? If she didnât have to walk back to her car and then drive herself home, sheâd take Angelica up on that drink.
âOperation clean up.â
âOh, youâve been cleaning. I couldnât help noticing how⊠fresh⊠the place smells.â She leaned in. âBut is that okay? What if the police need to check for blood spatter or prints orâŠâ The desolate look on Angelicaâs face made her regret her big mouth. Blood spatter? What a horrible thing to say. âI mean, I know the police think Celeste never made it home, but what if she did?â
âThird post cap from the right on the front porch railing is hollow. Thatâs where Celeste keeps her spare keyâand it was still there when the cops searched this place.â
âCouldnât Celeste have put the key back after she went inside?â
âI guess, but then how did her purse get in the alley? Besides, the police were here from dawn to dusk on Sunday. They had special lights and sprays and fingerprint powder. A team of them came through, took a ton of photos, and then gave us the all-clear to reoccupy if we wantedâthatâs why Iâm here.â
âTo reoccupy?â
âTo get it ready for Celeste to reoccupy. Sheâs coming home. I feel it in my bones, and I want things to be nice for her. All those people traipsing in and out, even if they did have shoe covers on.â Her brows drew together. âThey dusted fingerprint powder everywhere. And Celeste obviously wasnât expecting to be gone long, because she left dirty dishes in the sink. You were here last week. Iâd put the nuts and bolts back together by then, but surely you noticed it needed a deep clean.â
âWell, I⊠No, I didnât notice the place being dirty.â Her heart ached for Angelicaâthe younger sister clinging to hope⊠and yet, if the situation were reversed, Mia would be more worried about preserving evidence than tidying up. Even if the cops had cleared the place, a new clue might come in that would make them want to take a second look, and⊠âWhy keep this a secret from Alma?â
âBecause if I tell my mother that I have to get the place ready for Celeste then itâs going to trigger the thought of another possibilityâwhat if Celeste doesnât come home again, ever?â Angelica poured more Scotch. âCeleste is going to have a spit-shined house and a warm bed with clean sheets when she gets home. Iâve seen to that. But my mother and father, and especially my brother, donât need to know Iâve been over here. I donât want them voicing the question âwill she or wonât she come home?â; and Iâm sure Isaiah would make a big thing out of it, and say we shouldnât get our hopes up. Well, to hell with him.â She covered a belch with her hand. âPardon me.â
âNothing wrong with hope,â Mia said softly. She was no psychiatrist but sheâd sat on Dr. Baqueroâs couch long enough to recognize magical thinking when she saw it. Angelica believed that if she cleaned up Celesteâs house as if she were coming home, that meant Celeste had to come home. âI really do understand. And I give you my word I wonât mention seeing you here today.â
Angelica smiled in seeming relief. âThanks Mia. Youâre the best.â
âIâm not.â Mia didnât feel worthy of Angelicaâs trust.
In that moment, she decided.
She was going to tell her about the keys.
âAngelica?â
âSure you donât want a drink?â
âMaybe a small one wouldnât hurt,â Mia said.
Angelica wobbled to the kitchen and a minute later returned with another red solo cup, which she half-filled with liquor before giving it to Mia. âNeat okay?â
âNeatâs great.â In the space of time itâd taken for Angelica to get the drink, Mia had lost her nerve. She swilled the booze before carefully setting the cup on a coaster. Perhaps she just needed some Dutch courage.
Angelica sat down on the couch, her body angled toward Mia, shoulders back, spine straight, eyes expectant.
Mia took another gulp of Chivas that burned on its way down but did little to bolster her nerve. She simply couldnât bring herself to confessâbut she could tell Angelica something else instead. âIâve been meaning to tell you. I found something in Celesteâs pocket the day I borrowed her dress.â
Angelica leaned forward, mouth slightly agape while Mia unloaded the whole story about the matchbook, the strip club, Shoshanna and the run-in with Isaiah.
When Mia finished, Angelica snapped her jaw shut and said, âWhy didnât you tell us before?â
âI didnât want to upset your mother.â
Angelica frowned. âAt least you told the police. Has Samuels checked out that dancer yetâShoshanna?â
âI donât know. He doesnât share a lot. Heâs not exactly a fan of mine.â
âYou think not?â
Mia shrugged. âListen, I promised your brother I wouldnât mention seeing him at Lacyâs. I donât want to put you in a bind, though. If you think you have to tell him I told you, Iâll understand.â
âSo youâll keep my secret, but I donât have to keep yours? Thatâs my kind of bargain, but, in this case, I happen to agree. Itâs best not to mention any of this to my family unless the police think itâs related to Celesteâs disappearance. Motherâs very fragile right now.â Suddenly, Angelica looked away. âYou said Isaiah dragged you into a back room?â
âYes, but it was just a case of mistaken identity. After all, I was wearing your sisterâs dress.â Suddenly aware of how strange that sounded, she hurried to gloss over her admission. âBesides the club, I was hitting some of the swankier restaurants that day, and I thought dressing with class might maximize my chances of getting people to talk to me.â The quizzical look in Angelicaâs eyes was fleeting, unfocused, a little too drunk to care. âAnd, of course, heâd been drinking.â
Angelica picked up a cap and screwed it on the Chivas bottle. âYouâd think Iâd know better than to get wasted like this.â
âYouâre not going to be perfect. None
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