Page 14 of Deeper Than the Dead

Vera reached between them and gave Eve’s hand a squeeze to show her appreciation.

“We’ll be back to see you soon, Daddy,” Luna promised.

Vernon stared at her, his face blank. “Who are you?”

Vera winced. Of all the people he didn’t recognize today, Luna shouldn’t have been one. She came to see him nearly every day. She had taken care of him the final year he lived at home. Vera was certain it pained Luna, even though she understood that it was the disease talking.

“Why, you know who I am, Daddy. It’s Luna.”

He stared a moment longer, then nodded. “You don’t fool me. I know who you are. I told you I can’t marry you. It would hurt my daughters too much. I can’t do that to them. They just lost their mama.”

Now he obviously thought she was Sheree. If there was even an inkling of truth to what he’d just said, maybe he hadn’t so readily blown up their lives only a few weeks after their mother died. Vera wondered if Sheree had purposely gotten pregnant to change his mind.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, Daddy.” Luna’s voice sounded brittle now. Apparently, his words had injured her a second time. Maybe this wasn’t the first time he’d spoken to her as if she were Sheree. God only knew what he may have said to her. He and Sheree had navigated some fierce battles in those final weeks before she disappeared.

Luna turned away from the bed. Vera and Eve did the same. The three of them had made it to the door when he called after them. “If Fraley had been any good, he would have found her a long time ago. I kept expecting him to.”

The shock his words caused was evident on Luna’s and Eve’s faces. Vera imagined her expression reflected the same.

Had he known she was dead all this time?

Impossible.

Once they were in the corridor, the expected reaction flew from Luna’s mouth. “He couldn’t have known ...”

Vera shook her head. “Of course not. It’s the dementia. He didn’t know. We watched him grieve. I’m sure he means that her disappearance should have been solved long ago—not that she was dead.”

Vera steadied herself. Good God, this was a nightmare.

“He stayed after Fraley all the time,” Eve chimed in. “Went to see him every week even years later, wanting an update on what the man was doing to find Sheree.”

Luna nodded, seemingly appeased.

As they made their way back to the lobby, every staff member they encountered stopped them to pass along their condolences. Apparently, they had all heard about the find, the probability that it was Sheree, and the fact that she had been murdered.

“Bless your heart,” one of the nurses said, “I’m so glad they finally found your sweet mama.”

“How terrible,” another said. “Sheree was so kind. She certainly didn’t deserve such a terrible fate. She was an angel.”

It went on and on that way. Vera had no idea who these people were talking about, but it sure as hell wasn’t the Sheree she had known. She felt confident they were only being kind.

Luna’s fiancé was waiting for her when they reached the house. He said his aunt had called him from Hillside—she was employed there—and told him about seeing Luna in tears. He whisked her away for a quiet dinner.

Vera was grateful. She needed some peace and quiet.

As the truck’s taillights disappeared in the distance, Eve asked, “Do you think Daddy knew she was there all this time?”

Vera turned to Eve. “I suppose it’s possible, but I really don’t think so.”

“If he did,” Eve went on, “that means he knew what we’d done.”

“Maybe,” Vera agreed. She weighed the possibility, too damned tired to react on an emotional level. This was strictly her analytical side doing what it was supposed to do: analyze.

But if he had known, why hadn’t he said anything? Asked questions?

The chances that they would ever know his reasons or if he even actually knew anything at all were lost to the dementia.

Unless he’d confided in someone.

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