Page 29 of The Glittering Edge

There’s no mention of Sofía’s daughter, Camila. Penny’s eyes go back to the date, and that’s when it hits her: Sofía must’ve been pregnant when her husband died.

Penny’s hands have gone slick with sweat. She clicks on another obituary, then another, until she’s gotten through eleven of them. Every single one of these people was in love with a member of the Barrion family—and they all died within the last fifty years. None of the deaths were natural.

Penny’s vision doubles, and she closes all the tabs until she’s staring at the search results again. There’s one more obituary she hasn’t clicked on.

A pdf loads, revealing a scan of an old newspaper article with spotty text. It’s brief, barely a paragraph:

ELENA “ELLIE” THOMPSON BARRION, 1951–1979

Idlewood native Ellie Barrion died in a fire that destroyed part of Meredith House, the home of Barrion Heating & Cooling’s founding family. A graduate of the University of Chicago, Ellie was a former Miss Idlewood and a beloved member of the city gardening club. She leaves behind a husband, Charles; two children, Helen and James; and her parents, Dorothy and Dennis Thompson.

Giovanni De Luca died the same day as Ellie Barrion. His body was found right after the fire at Meredith House. Everyone assumed Alonso’s grandfather killed himself because he started the fire, but what if there was more to it? What if Alonso’s grandfather did something even worse—something that would make his ex-fiancée’s family suffer for generations?

Penny puts down her phone.

Her mom used to say there was a boundary between coincidence and design. Coincidence and meant-to-be. Coincidence and fate.

“But how do you know if it’s not a coincidence?” Penny once asked. “Can’t our minds trick us into seeing patterns that aren’t there?”

It was a slow day at the café, so they were doing a deep clean of the place. Her mom’s sleeves were rolled up, hands shoved into oversized yellow gloves. As she wrung out her cleaning rag, she gave Penny a mischievous smile.

“Your brain will always try to bury the truth,” she said, “but if you let the world come to you, it becomes easy to see. Sort of like being in love. Even if you deny how you feel, your body will give it away. There are truths your brain can’t tell you.”

Gray light begins to filter through the blinds. It’s morning. Anita’s accident was three days ago, and she’s shown no signs of waking up.

Penny closes her eyes, and she thinks about all the tragedies in the Barrion family. She tries to clear her mind and see the truth of it, but she can’t. All she sees is the smirking face of Alonso De Luca.

Penny sits up suddenly, the cot creaking underneath her.

Alonso. He could verify Corey’s story, right?

No.Penny should keep her distance. Because if all of it is true, how will Alonso—violent, volatile Alonso—react if he finds out Penny knows the truth about him?

But what other option does she have?

Penny sits there until the morning light goes from blue to gold, her heart pounding. Then she grabs her pink bomber jacket, takes her anxiety meds, and kisses her mother’s forehead.

“If I don’t come back,” she whispers, hoping her mom can hear her, “give Naomi my stuffed narwhal.” Then she marches off to confront a witch.

Penny

PENNY PARKS THE PRIUS IN FRONT OF VILLAGE BLUES RECORDS.Drinking black coffee was a bad idea; it canceled out her anxiety medication and her body is buzzing like an engine. Not an ideal emotional state for what she’s about to do.

And yet here she is, parked next to Alonso’s rusty blue car.

Alonso has worked at Village Blues Records since at least sophomore year. He might be their only employee, actually, because his car is there every day. The store is down the street from the café, in a converted house next to the grimy Boxer’s Irish Pub. There’s an old wheelchair ramp leading to the record store’s front door, and it squeaks under Penny’s Adidas sneakers.

Penny puts her hand on the door handle, but she can’t make herself open it.

“C’mon, Penny,” she mutters. “Think about the coffee orders.”

Back when Penny entered middle school, when her anxiety set in, she promptly forgot how to socialize. Even telling cafeteria workers whether she wanted lasagna or a burger was impossible. So Anita plopped Penny behind the counter at Horizon Café and made her take orders until it was terrifying instead of impossible, then tolerable instead of terrifying.

If Penny got through that, she can get through anything. She just has to pretend the stakes aren’t life or death.

She opens the front door.

Early seventies punk music blares over the speakers. The store is filled with headphones, used turntables, and records lined up in wire bins. The walls are covered with posters, band T-shirts, and tragically mismatched wallpaper.

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