Page 80 of Little Buried Secrets

“I wish I could say it’s going to get easier, that the pain you’re feeling right now will ease,” I said. “Grieving the death of someone you cared about isn’t easy.”

He sniffled a few times and said, “Yeah, I know.”

I sensed he wanted to be alone, so I said, “I … ahh, I need to run, unless you want me to stay a little longer. Because I can.”

“Nah, I’m good.” He peeked inside my bag. “What’s with all the cheese?”

“I’m having family dinner tonight at my mother’s house. I’m in charge of the cheese board.”

“My parents want to have family dinner tonight too. My mom thinks we can all celebrate the holiday and pretend like nothing else is going on. I can’t pretend, and I won’t.”

“Will you go home for dinner?”

“Nope. Bronte said I can hang with them tonight.”

Meredith may not have been mother of the year, but she loved her son.

“Have you thought about talking to your mom about how you feel?” I asked.

“No.”

“I won’t tell you what to do or what not to do, but maybe if you sent your mom a simple text, telling her what you just told me, she’d understand.”

“I doubt it.”

“Think about it.” I fished a business card out of my handbag and offered it to him. “And hey, we haven’t known each other long, but if you ever want to talk about anything, give me a call.”

CHAPTER 32

I sat in my usual chair at my mother’s dinner table, so stuffed with food, I was certain standing would be difficult. I glanced around the table, staring into the faces of those around me, and I felt grateful to be there, spending the evening with those I cared about most. And though I grumbled at times about attending family events, I loved it when we came together the way we were tonight.

Giovanni and I were joined at the table by my mother and my stepfather, Harvey. My sister, Phoebe, was seated across from me next to Foley, and my niece, Lark, was to the other side of her. My brother, Nathan, had flown in from somewhere abroad, where his job as a marine wildlife photographer often took him. And then there was Simone, sitting next to her husband, Paul, my other brother. At the end of the table was my Aunt Laura. She was seated beside Whitlock. I’d had my eye on them throughout dinner, and I believed I’d seen a little flirting going on between the two of them.

“Well, I cannot believe it,” my mother said. “We’ve managed to get through an entire meal without one word mentioned about the case you’re working on, Georgiana.”

And yet, she was bringing it up now.

I wondered why.

“I know how much you dislike me discussing homicide investigations at the dinner table,” I said.

“You’re right. I don’t like it at all. I must say … this one is different.”

“Different how?” I asked.

“Half the people at this table are involved in Margot’s case, and Dr. Rae is … well, my doctor, and Laura’s, and Simone’s, and yours, Georgiana. I’ve known Dr. Rae for years. Many of us have. So just this once, I wouldn’t mind hearing about what’s happening with the investigation. For starters, why on earth is it taking so long to find the person responsible for killing her daughter?”

I glanced at Foley and Whitlock, hoping they’d say a few words. The expressions on their faces told me they had zero interest in being the first to speak up.

“It’s been a week, Mom,” I said. “Cases like this take time.”

She wagged a finger at me. “For some, not for you. You have a track record of closing your investigations in a week’s time, do you not?”

“We just discovered her … uhh, you know, two days ago.”

“I’m aware, but surely there are people you suspect.”

I turned toward Lark, who was clutching her stuffed unicorn a lot tighter than she had been a few minutes ago. Given she was nine years old, I wasn’t about to discuss suspects and other aspects of the case in front of her.

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