Dead Woman Crossing J.R. Adler (early reader chapter books txt) 📖

mouth, and Nicole kept pulling them out, trying to show her all the things each of them could do. A colorful truck that rolled over the shaggy green carpet. A stack and learn. A magnetic drawing board. And a set of foam blocks with numbers and letters on them.

“Morning,” Nicole said. “That’s for you.” She gestured with her hand to the coffee table where a glass of water, two ibuprofens, and a cup of coffee sat.

Kimberley walked around the coffee table and kissed the top of Jessica’s head. “Thank you,” she mouthed to her mom. She plopped down on the couch, tossing the pills in her mouth and washing them down with the entire glass of water.

“How ya feeling?” Nicole asked, leaning against the counter.

“Like I got hit by a bus.” Kimberley took a sip of coffee.

“But you had a good time?” Nicole gave a small hopeful smile.

“I did. Emily’s a lot of fun.”

“She is. What d’you two talk about?” Nicole pulled another toy from Jessica’s mouth. “No, sweetie. You don’t eat the toys. You play with the toys.”

Jessica’s face crumpled. Toddlers did not like being told what they could and could not do. Before she full-on erupted, Nicole handed her a green, gummy-like teething toy. She immediately stuck it in her mouth, her face uncrumpling.

“Actually, we talked about Wyatt a lot. Did you know he’s been hanging out at The Trophy Room, staying out later than it’s even open?” Kimberley took a sip of her coffee.

Nicole’s eyes widened. “What? No. Emily doesn’t think he’s cheating, does she? They seem so happy.”

Kimberley sat forward. She hadn’t even thought of that. Maybe he had nothing to do with Hannah’s murder. Maybe he was cheating. But still, the fact that Emily had said he didn’t come home until after 3 a.m. the morning Hannah was murdered didn’t sit right with Kimberley. It was worth looking into.

“Want something to eat?”

“No. I’m not hungry.”

“You have to eat.”

“I couldn’t even if I wanted to,” Kimberley said, groaning and resting her head in her hands.

The pieces of the night before started falling back into place slowly. Some of them sticking out more than the others. One in particular brought on a bit of anger. The farm was in trouble financially and her mother hadn’t mentioned it to her. Why wouldn’t she tell her about that?

Kimberley picked up her head. “Emily mentioned the farm’s in trouble. Did you know that?” She raised an eyebrow over the top of her coffee mug as she took a drink.

“I knew it wasn’t doing all that well. But I try to stay out of it. That’s between Wyatt and David.” She pushed a button on the truck that made a sound like an engine turning on.

“Where is David?” Kimberley looked over into the dining room.

“Somewhere on the farm, working on something,” Nicole said not looking at Kimberley.

“I’m going to take Jessica to daycare.”

“I thought I was going to.” There was a tinge of annoyance in Nicole’s voice.

“I got it. Can you get her dressed? I’m running late and gotta get going.” Kimberley punctuated her impatience by drinking the rest of her coffee in two big gulps.

“If you’re running late, then I can take her to daycare.”

Kimberley walked back to her bedroom, her mouth dry and her head pounding as she got dressed as quickly as possible into her uniform. She was pissed her mom hadn’t told her that the farm was in financial trouble and that she once again was using a passive approach when it came to issues in her household. She had done that her whole childhood, letting her father get away with anything and everything. She pulled her hair back into a low ponytail and smeared a tinted moisturizer all over her face. Kimberley came back out into the living room, expecting Jessica to be ready to go, but she was still sitting on the floor playing with toys, while Nicole sat with her.

“I thought you were getting her ready,” Kimberley said, pressing her lips firmly together.

“What is your problem, Kimberley Ann?”

“Why didn’t you tell me how much financial trouble the farm was in?” She folded her arms in front of her chest.

Nicole opened her mouth to answer.

“Because it’s none of your goddamn business.” David stood in the door frame of the dining room.

Jessica began crying, clearly scared from the raised voices and the tension that felt heavy like a thick fog.

She turned to face him. “It is my—”

“Kimberley, just stop. I don’t need you two arguing, especially in front of Jessica,” Nicole warned. She pulled her granddaughter into her lap, running her hand over her head, trying to soothe her. “You just go on into work. I’ll get Jessica ready and take her to daycare.” Jessica’s crying faded, turning to sniffles.

Kimberley narrowed her eyes at David and then at her mother.

“Fine, Mom. You handle things the way you’ve always handled them by sweeping them under the rug.”

Kimberley turned around, storming out of the house.

“Fuck this,” Kimberley whispered to herself when she was outside of the cottage. She started walking briskly along the path toward the front of the property when it hit her. The sour taste in the pit of your stomach, like her intestines were slowly twisting in on themselves, and then the release, shooting up like an elevator whose cables have snapped, but in reverse. Kimberley vomited the better part of a bottle of wine into the grass along the side of the pathway.

21

Kimberley hustled into Custer County Sheriff’s Office, eager to tell Sam what she learned the night before about Wyatt. Barbara sat at the front desk with a smile on her face. It immediately faltered when she saw how terrible Kimberley looked; she was pale with messy hair and bloodshot eyes. Her uniform was wrinkled, and her shoes were caked in dried mud.

“Are you alright? You look terrible,” Barbara said, standing up from her desk.

Kimberley looked down at herself and attempted to smooth out her wrinkly shirt, but there was no use.