Dead Woman Crossing by J.R. Adler (books on motivation .txt) 📗

her head. Kimberley hadn’t thought of herself as family. To her, she was a temporary guest. Her mother was family. She and Jessica were just her baggage. She walked across the porch and down the steps, cutting across the lawn to the rock-lined path that led to the cottage. She hoped with time things would straighten out between her and Emily, but she couldn’t focus on that now.

At the front door of the cottage, Kimberley hesitated, her hand hovering just above the door handle. She was excited to see Jessica, but her excitement ended there as she was sure the reception from David and Nicole would be cold. Taking a deep breath, she opened the door. The living room was empty—a small sigh of relief. She walked through it and into the dining room. David was seated at the table drinking a Bud Light, waiting for his food to be served. He didn’t look up at Kimberley, his eyes forward, staring at the wall on the other side of the room as if there was something there to look at. Kimberley followed his line of vision to a blank wall, not even a splotch or a crack of paint to focus on. Her eyes went back to him, from his hands to his tense shoulders to the prominent vein in the side of his neck illustrating how infuriated he was.

Kimberley said, “Hi, David,” with a nod as she walked by.

He didn’t move, didn’t acknowledge her. He was just still, like a statue, aside from that beating vein.

In the kitchen, her mother was at the stove stirring a pot with a wooden spoon.

“Hey, Mom,” she said, trying to be nonchalant, like everything was normal and she hadn’t just had her stepbrother-in-law thrown in jail.

“Kimberley,” her mother said, not looking at her. It wasn’t exactly a greeting, more so like she was stating who else was in the room with her.

“Where’s Jessica?”

“I put her to bed.”

“Before I got home?” Kimberley twisted her lips, upset that she didn’t even get to say good night to her daughter, nor tuck her in.

“She was tired, Kimberley,” Nicole said curtly, looking over her shoulder at Kimberley for a brief second and then refocusing her attention to the meal she was preparing.

Kimberley knew her mom was mad, but she couldn’t stay mad forever. “Can I help with anything?”

Nicole shook her head. “Just pour yourself a glass of wine and have a seat.”

Kimberley did as she was told, uncorking a bottle of wine and pouring two glasses, one for her and one for her mom. She took a seat at the counter, spinning her glass slowly in her hand as if she were examining the red liquid.

“Whatcha cooking?” Kimberley attempted small talk, anything to get her mom to speak to her.

“Beef stew with potatoes, carrots, and onions.” Nicole took a swig of her wine and went back to stirring the pot.

“I’m sure you heard about Wyatt.”

Nicole nodded. “The whole goddamn town has.” She clenched her jaw, trying to compose herself.

“He fully cooperated, so the judge should go easy on him,” she explained.

“They’re going to lose the farm,” Nicole said just above a whisper.

“What was that?”

“She said… they’re going to lose the farm!” David yelled, slamming his Bud Light on the table, liquid shooting out the top like a volcano. The statue had woken up, his stone exterior crumbling around him. He got up from the table and with two big, thundering steps he was standing in the doorway of the kitchen. The vein in his neck bounced up and down, up and down.

Kimberley wasn’t afraid of David, regardless of how large or how mad he was. She looked him straight in the eye, laser focused, and said, “Now why would a perfectly prospering and legal farm go under from a small fine?”

“Don’t play fuckin’ smart with me. You know damn well it wasn’t any of those things.” Another vein made an appearance in the center of his forehead. It looked even angrier than the one in his neck. Was it the same vein, Kimberley wondered? She pictured the rod-shaped tissue emerging from his forehead, skin splitting, blood oozing, like a scene out of Alien.

“David, I don’t make the laws, I just enforce them. I didn’t make Wyatt illegally manufacture and sell moonshine.” Kimberley raised her glass of wine to her lips and took a sip.

His hands clenched the trim on the doorway, turning his fingers white. He glared at Kimberley like they were about to take part in a duel. Who would raise their gun first? David shook his head, let out a huff, and dropped his hands from the doorway. Immediately, he turned around, walking away, his heavy footsteps traveling through the dining room, the living room and then crossing the threshold of the front door, which slammed behind him.

Nicole stood silently in the kitchen holding the wooden spoon. Her mouth slightly open. She didn’t know what to say. Kimberley looked over at her mom, shook her head, grabbed her tote bag and walked out of the kitchen, retiring to her bedroom for the evening. She’d had enough of the Wyatt/moonshine situation.

Kimberley closed the door behind her and felt her way in the dark. She turned on the bedside light and quietly walked toward the crib.

“Good night, sweet girl,” Kimberley said softly, pushing Jessica’s hair out of her face and pulling her blanket up a little higher.

She tucked her stuffed elephant under her arm, careful not to wake her.

Kimberley changed into a pair of cotton shorts and a tank top and climbed into her bed. Pulling the files out of her bag, she turned her bed into her office. The pictures of the crime scene splayed out in front of her. Reports from first responding deputies, from the fisherman. The results of Megan’s forensics exams. It was all here. But when she looked at it, she realized how little they had to go on.

She read over each report carefully, looking for something to stand out, but nothing did.