Page 17 of Our Lips Are Sealed
“And it’s not fair that Samuel lied,” Jamison continued. “He should have had more faith in you.”
That one hurt. But it didn’t change the fact that the statement was just a manipulation tactic. Jamison was a Fairweather, whether she liked it or not, and gaslighting people was second nature to them.
“I could say the same about you.”
The door closed again. “If you come with me, I promise to listen,” Jamison said from the other side. “I love you, but for me to even think about accepting this thing with Samuel, you have to do this with me.”
“I love you,but?“ Evie huffed, so very done with her sister’s behavior. “That’s a pretty messed up thing to say. You’re willing to listen, but only if I give in to your demands.”
Evie stormed back to her own room and sat on the bed with Annabeth joining her.
“She’ll do it, you know.”
“I know,” Evie said, trying to call Ben. He didn’t answer and she thought about who she could call next. It was after eight now, and Samuel’s phone would be off. “Why in the hell did your mom have to go to Atlanta?”
Simone had taken off to be with Selah and his fiancée Lenora. The pair had been involved in a car wreck where Lenora had been hurt, losing one of the twins she was carrying. Since then, Selah had become a walking basket case watching the woman he loved suffer. His mother had gone up to knock some sense into him and help Lenora where needed.
“I think the real question is, why is Jamison so hell bent on going right this very minute,” Annabeth said. “If she knows about Hopper, and knows Samuel is under suspicion, why is she wanting to run off like this? I mean, she’s always been reckless, but not stupid reckless.”
That was easy for Evie to answer. It was because Jamison had never been toldnoa day in her life. Her sister always did whatever she wanted without any repercussions. The term spoiled didn’t quite cover it.
“Judy is sick,” Jamison said, appearing in the doorway. “If we wait, we’ll lose our chance to meet her.”
Evie wasn’t sure how much more her heart could take. “What do you mean sick?”
“She has lung cancer, and treatment ended weeks ago because it wasn’t working. The doctors gave her a month, maybe two, and she’s trying to stay in her home for as long as she can, but every day it gets a little harder,” Jamison explained. “They’re talking about moving her to a hospice facility on Monday, and she thinks it won’t be long once she gets there.”
It was an awful thing, and she was sorry for the woman, but she couldn’t leave Samuel. His betrayal stung more than Jamison’s, but Evie wasn’t about to speed off across three states while he was being investigated.
“What if they arrest Samuel while we’re gone?” she asked. “Did you ever think about that?”
“They won’t,” Jamison insisted, coming into the room. “I heard Liam on the phone with his father. Neither of them believes Samuel has anything to do with this.”
“Well then, can’t we be rational and wait until the interview is over?”
“Samuel would never let you go without him,” Annabeth replied apologetically. “I’ve watched enough of those crime shows with her to understand that him running off to another state while under suspicion wouldn’t be a good idea.”
Evie thought she might throw up. “I can’t.”
“Yes, you can,” Jamison said. “Think about what it means to meet Judy. She’s our mother’s mother and a real, solid connection to Laura Jean we’ve never had.”
“She’s really dying?”
Jamison nodded. “When I called, Judy got tired while we were talking and passed the phone to her nurse,” she said. “The nurse and I spoke for a long time, and even she told me we needed to hurry if we wanted to see her before the end.”
With shaking hands, Evie searched up New Orleans on her phone. Route, pictures, acclimating herself to the sights. Her anxiety wouldn’t allow her to walk into a situation blind, let alone a whole new city.
“This is insane.” Her fear of what was happening with Samuel, the obvious connection their family had to these murders, and now Judy’s imminent death had Evie choking on a sob. “This is totally fucking insane.”
Annabeth placed a hand on her leg. “So is letting Jamison go on her own. She’ll be dead in a ditch before even making it to the Alabama border.”
“Hey, I can get to my classes and Evie’s work.” Jamison came over to sit with them. “I only get lost every now and then when I drive around Hollingsdale. I’m not that bad.”
Yes, she was that bad and would be on the road the second Evie let her guard down.
“Hollingsdale has two main roads,” Annabeth pointed out, sarcastically. “Even I, a person who hasn’t left the house since the nineties, can find my way around Hollingsdale.”
Evie flipped through photos of the French Quarter, searching up the Maison Bourbon Jazz Club, the place where her parents met. “What about these murders?” she asked. “What if this sicko actually wants to hurt us?”
