Influenced Eva Robinson (polar express read aloud .TXT) 📖

like she’d been punched in the stomach, and she held out her arms to steady herself.

“He’s by the pond now,” said Stella. “In the pond, really. He’d passed out near it, and, you know, died. And we brought him a little further over to it. It was probably a bad idea. It was actually a very bad idea.”

“Oh, now you agree it was a bad idea,” said Daniel. “After you both persuaded me to do it.”

Hannah’s jaw dropped. “Why would you do that? Why didn’t you call an ambulance?”

“I panicked,” Stella shot back. “It’s hard to think clearly. If we’d called an ambulance, when they showed up they would have known I was hammered. We were all hammered—you’re not the only one who woke up in the grass. And that’s how Melody’s kids were taken away. I don’t remember drinking that much, but apparently I did. And Rowan’s always on coke. My ex-husband would have my kids within days, and he’s a monster. And not to be a total bitch, but this is your fault.”

“Why is it my fault?” Hannah shouted.

“Shhhh.” Rowan was by her side now, grabbing her arm. “She thinks it was the brownies.”

“I don’t understand,” said Hannah.

Daniel stood and crossed to her. “Forget it. She’s being ridiculous.”

Stella rubbed her eyes. “Let’s think about this rationally. We know the grant is going to save lives. Didn’t we spend all night talking about that? Young people’s lives. And it’s in Peter’s name. The funding comes through to our account in a few days, but not if he’s dead, because it’s in his name on the grant. It’s how we get the teen center. So what do you think Peter would want?”

Rowan was stroking her arm now. “It’s the same outcome, Hannah, whether he’s on the grass or in the pond. But if he’s in the pond, we can build the teen center. We still get the grant. Stella gets to keep her kids. Do you see what I’m saying? There’s really nothing morally wrong with dragging someone. We didn’t kill him, did we? We’re just making sure the grant is funded like he wanted. It’s what he would have wanted. He always said that the outcome is what matters when it comes to morality. This is the better outcome.”

“You thought this was a good idea?” Hannah narrowed her eyes. “There’s something else, isn’t there?” Rowan had some other angle motivating her, but Hannah couldn’t figure out what it was.

Rowan stroked her hair. “Well, what’s done is done.”

“Right.” Stella started pacing. “But Daniel does have a point. It was illegal. I’m not sure what the law is, but I’m sure there is one.”

“That is what I said!” Daniel’s eyes were wide. “Why are you only just now understanding this? I said that from the beginning and you both ignored me.”

“Keep your voice down,” said Rowan sharply. “Both of you.”

Hannah’s breath felt shallow, and she couldn’t seem to get enough oxygen. “Am I understanding this correctly? Peter died, and you dumped his body in the lake? I’m now implicated in a crime, and I didn’t even get a say in it? Just by being here while you made this idiotic decision, I’m now involved in this crime?”

Stella folded her arms. “The question is, what did you put in the brownies?”

Hannah’s jaw dropped. “Are you accusing me of poisoning him?”

“Not intentionally, of course,” said Rowan. “But he had a severe nut allergy. Very severe. Were they homemade, or a mix?”

“I told you about his allergy,” Stella added. “And he vomited before he died.”

“There were no nuts in it,” said Hannah. “It was a mix. Chocolate chips and sea salt or something.”

“A mix?” Stella asked, horrified. “Did you check with the manufacturer if they produce it on factory lines that are shared with nuts?”

Hannah stared at her. She felt like she was underwater now, drowning. “No… I didn’t check. I didn’t know that was a thing.”

“What about your kitchen?” asked Rowan. “Do you ever use peanut butter? Even a trace amount could kill him.”

Hannah held her stomach, ready to vomit all over the grass. Nora ate peanut butter all the time, and she wasn’t exactly a tidy eater. And the kitchen had been a bit messy this evening.

“Sometimes,” said Hannah in a whisper.

“It’s just that he threw up.” Stella’s tone was almost sympathetic now. “Like anaphylactic shock. And I did tell you about the allergy, Hannah.”

Hannah turned, covering her mouth as the wine and punch she’d drunk earlier started to come back up. With supreme effort, she choked it back down again. She needed to get home, back to her own house.

“You don’t know it was the brownies,” Daniel added. “You are blaming her for no reason.”

Now that some of the fog of alcohol was wearing off, the true horror of the situation was starting to dawn on Hannah. She turned back to them, staggering a little.

Daniel shook his head. “I don’t understand how we got so drunk. I never do.”

“I still think we need to call the police,” said Hannah.

“No!” Rowan shouted. “It’s too late. He’s already been moved. We can’t go back on that.” Rowan grabbed her arm. “If you’re sure Peter is dead, what’s an ambulance going to do? Except stop the teen center from being built and get us arrested?”

“This was insane,” said Daniel.

Rowan crossed her arms. “I woke up to this. I was down by the pond. I was passed out. I mean, I guess I’m worried about what people will say, after the Arabella situation.”

There it is.

“But I’m also trying to look at this how he would,” Rowan went on. “He wouldn’t be sentimental about a body. He really wouldn’t. If we didn’t shift him a little into the water, his most important work would be destroyed—the grant he just got. He doesn’t have a partner. He doesn’t have kids. All he cared about was doing good in the world for young people. This was his legacy. And we’re preserving it.”

She wiped a hand across her nose,