Page 34 of No Capes
“Her home office light would be on at two in the morning. I’m not sure.”I’m not the detective.
“And what were you doing up at two in the morning?”
Why is anyone awake in the middle of the night?“I had to pee?”
He coughs, averting his gaze a second too late. “Last question. Did you notice any arguments she had around the day of her death? Can you think of any reason someone might want to hurt her?”
You mean her argument with Arielle.It takes some effort to stay focused on Officer Kyle rather than sneaking a look at Dad.Was Officer Kyle asking me the same questions he’d already asked him?
“I didn’t notice any arguments,” I say, because I didn’t.
“Great,” says Officer Kyle. He flips his notebook closed and caps his pen. “That’s all I need.”
Waste. Of. Time.
“No problem.” The ringing in my ears dies down. He gathers himself, and my dad escorts him to the door. The dobermans bare their teeth and claw at their gate as he walks to his car. Police officers, neighbors, dinner guests… those dogs do not discriminate.
Dad returns and sighs. “Thanks for doing that.”
“Do you think it will help?”
“Maybe.” Dad-speak fornope.
“Dad,” I say as he trudges upstairs. “Did you ever see the minivan after it crashed?”
My dad managesCapital Auto Careand has been an auto mechanic for over twenty years. As far as I know, he’s never questioned the “accident.”
“The next day,” he says. “While the police tape was still up. Some guys and I went down. There wasn’t much car left to look at.”
“Was it obviously a hydroplane?” I ask. “That caused the crash?”
“It was obvious there was a hydroplane,” he says, “from the state of the guardrail. And the tank being punctured hard enough to leak that much gas, which is about a one in a million chance… but not impossible. Really, really unlucky.”
“Could it have been a Super?” I ask. “That caused the accident?”If a Super was involved, anything could have happened. But why would one be?
As my dad starts to answer, I keep going, my questions pouring out. “How did Mom die before the crash? What was shehit with that caused the skull fracture? When would that have happened? Did you ever ask to see the autopsy?”
“I’m so sorry, Madeline.” He shakes his head. “I wish I knew. By the time I finished arranging everything and putting affairs in order… the dust had settled. I didn’t see the need to investigate myself. I’d give anything to do it differently.”
Something about the coffee that Officer Kyle nursed annoys me.
“Do you know if anyone wanted to hurt Mom?”
He pauses on the top step, which creaks beneath his weight. “She made enemies with her stories. Who knows what she could’ve dug into. But I can’t think of anyone who would do this.”
What about the Levines?I can’t ask that right now.
“Yeah.” Mom never shared her drafts or sources with us. Her laptop was with her during the car crash and it had disintegrated in the flames; she hadn’t backed anything up that we could find. There was no way for us to know what she’d been working on.
“We’ll get through it,” says Dad. “Let me know if you want to go back to the support group. I know this is a lot.”
“Thanks…” I say. I only went to the support group to humor him, and he thinks that I went twice and declared myself “supported.” What really happened was that on day two, some seventh grader brought his emotional support hamster, which ended up peeing on my leggings. Hard pass after that.
“I’ve gotta go work on payroll. Will you be okay here?” he asks. “Things at work are piling up. I’m gonna change and head to the library.”
“Night, Dad. Don’t stay out too late.”
He chuckles, and I head for the fridge, bringing Officer Kyle’s cup to the dishwasher.
