Page 34 of Sweet Like a Psycho (Secrets of Suburbi 2)

She shook her head like I was an idiot. “Dear, I knew both women. They aren’t the same. At all, really. When Violet was little she was so full of life. A sweet little thing. Life’s been hard on her. But Adeline? She was always very cold.”

“How has life been hard on Violet?

Sally lifted her teacup and took a sip. For a moment, I thought she was going to keep her lips sealed for once in her life. But then she grabbed one of the cat napkins and dabbed her bottom lip. She leaned forward like she was about to launch into the story of all stories.

“I used to babysit Violet when she was little. Like I said, she was so full of life and a wonderful little girl. Nothing at all wrong with her. Her father died a few years after they moved here, and you know how the death of a parent at such a young age can be detrimental to the mind? Well, she seemed okay. Not good, but as you’d expect after such a loss. Like she was putting on a brave face. I still babysat her on occasion. But looking back on it now, maybe she was more distressed than I realized. Kids are smarter than you think. I still wonder if there’s something I could have done to help…” her voice trailed off and she shook her head, lost in her own story.

“When her mother remarried shortly after…Violet started to grow more sullen. I thought it had just taken her a while to process the fact that her father was gone. Like that brave face was suddenly just gone. I tried to talk to her mother, but she barely ever answered the door. And whenever she did…she called me nosy. I never got to babysit the little girl again. But I’d see her around the neighborhood. She seemed okay. Her smiles were rare, but still there occasionally. I thought she was good. Until suddenly she wasn’t anymore.”

The chair beneath me squeaked. I realized I had practically scooted to the end of it. I waited, but Sally seemed like she was done with her story.

She started humming as she lifted her cup back up.

“What about between when you thought she was good and when she wasn’t anymore?”

“I stopped babysitting her when she was ten years old. I couldn’t tell you for sure what happened to Violet. Only things I’ve heard.”

“Well, what things have you heard?” I never realized how hard it was to prod a gossiper into gossiping.

“Hmm.” She placed her tea cup back down. “I’ve heard a lot of things. People can be cruel.”

If Damien wasn’t such an asshole I’d already know about all the rumors. But he was adamant about me dropping the case. After Violet had shown up at the precinct he had gotten even worse. I couldn’t even glance at my phone without him looking at it over my shoulder. “Do you mind telling me what people have said?”

“Well, take it with a grain of salt. You know how rumors are.”

Was she seriously warning me about rumors? She was the queen of them. “Of course.”

“Let’s see. Some people think that her odd behavior started when she failed the SAT’s and didn’t get into the college of her dreams. Some think it’s because her boyfriend dumped her and moved across the country. Or that her nervous ticks drove him away. Or that it happened after her mother and stepfather died, but I know that’s not true because she moved out to the woods before that happened. And those are just the kind rumors.”

“Her mother and stepfather died too?” Poor Violet. She was surrounded by death and tragedy. I tried to ignore that Sally was referring to Violet’s OCD as odd behavior. Plenty of people had that. It wasn’t a big deal at all, and I barely noticed it when I was with her.

“They passed away shortly after they retired out of state. Tragic. The poor girl lost her boyfriend and family all in the same year she found out she was with child.”

It was tragic. She had no one to help her. She must have felt so alone. “Do you know who Zeke’s father is?”

Sally shook her head. “I’m assuming it was her ex-boyfriend. What a jerk for leaving her all alone to fend for that child. But I swear I only see Violet in Zeke. He looks just like she did at that age. Without the dreadlocks of course.” She smiled and shook her head.

An awkward silence settled around us.

I placed my hand around my cup of tea, suddenly cold. “You said those were the kind rumors. What about the ones that aren’t kind?”

Sally sighed. “That she murdered her boyfriend, stepfather, and mother in cold blood and has been hiding out in that dilapidated house ever since, biding her time until she strikes again. Or possibly hiding out there to help prevent herself from killing again. Regardless of the reason, rumor has it that all her victims are buried underneath the floorboards. Maybe there’s even more bodies than just the three.”

I waited for her to laugh. Or…something. The officer I had talked to the other day had said the same kind of thing. All the warnings from Damien. Is that really what most people thought? How? How could they possibly think that? No wonder she wanted to escape from all the prying eyes. Violet wasn’t a murderer. Despite the fact that she tried to be strong for her son, she seemed as delicate as her name. A violet lost in a sea of cruelty. “You don’t believe that?”

“She’s disturbed. No one would live out in the woods if they were right in the head.”

“She doesn’t live out in the woods. She has a house.”

“One that doesn’t belong to her. That house has been falling apart out there ever since I was a child. I’m telling you, she fled her house and ran off to the woods just as fast as Adeline Bell did. If Adeline Bell is guilty of something, I believe Violet is too.”

My blood felt cold as I listened to her. “You knew her when she was little. What do you really think is true?”

“I think something happened in her childhood home that no one knows but her. Something that caused her smiles to disappear at a young age. Something that caused her to eventually lose it. Something terrible.”

r /> I realized I was holding my breath. My exhale sounded ragged. I held my cup even tighter. What the hell did she mean by that? Was she trying to give me a clue without actually saying anything at all? “Sally, if you know something that happened, you have to tell me.”

She shrugged. “I don’t know what happened. But as I said, terrible things happen in this neighborhood. Speaking of which, can I file another complaint with you about my missing gnomes?”

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