Page 80 of The New Year's Party
As soon as they exited the house with Doug, Phelps took command of the room.
He knew they only had a matter of minutes, possibly seconds, before the cops returned. And if anyone here told the true story of what had gone down tonight, the cops would quickly find that a lot more people than Doug had a motive for killing Jenn. Phelps, for example. Revenge for the restaurant was a pretty compelling reason.
Doug had made his bed. Let him lie in it.
“Listen,” Phelps said, his voice tight. “Tonight was awesome, reminiscing and hanging out, and I amshockedthings took a violent turn. I don’t know what Doug was talking about with his job. As far as I knew, Doug said he just got promoted. And I can’t imagine Jenn having beef with anyone. We all loved her. Right?”
There was a long silence and a lot of blank expressions. Then Ted chuckled.
“Yeah, man, me and Jenn...” He twisted his index and middle finger together and held them up. He popped hist’s. “Tight.”
“She was always... very sweet,” said Hellie in a faint voice. Olivia murmured her agreement.
“She was my wife.” Will’s voice was numb and flat. “My wife who I loved very much.”
“Allie?” said Phelps. Would she play along? She’d have no reason to lie since she had nothing to protect, but he was counting on her goodwill—
“She seemed nice to me.” Allie shrugged. Her nonchalance was scarily convincing. “I can’t imagine her having problems with anyone.”
“That’s right,” said Phelps, his voice warming now that he knew they were on his side. “It’s a huge loss to our friend group. And it’s too bad Doug let drugs get the better of him.”
“People do crazy things when they’re high,” said Bennett. His voice was a little too sincere, and Phelps couldn’t tell if Bennett was tracking, or honestly thought Doug had done it.
Right now, it didn’t matter.
Bunny popped up.
“Okay, I get it, now I really need the bathroom.”
“I’m making tea,” announced Allie. “Olivia, did you want some?”
Ted had pulled up Solitaire on his phone. Hellie looked like she was going to be sick. Will was standing slowly with a dazed expression on his face, looking like a man who had walked through hell.And back, thought Phelps. And back.
“Hey, man...” said Phelps to Will. Will turned empty eyes on his friend and Phelps walked up to him, arms open. Their bodies met with a solid thump.
Will was taller. His head sank against Phelps’s shoulder. Phelps held on even tighter as Will’s body shook with silent tears.
Should he say “sorry”?
Phelps had no fucking clue. So he did what he did with his boys when they were upset. He pounded Will’s back and said nothing at all.
Chapter 34
Ted
It’s three in the morning when I finally go outside, just behind the stretcher wheeled by two EMTs, bearing the body bag out to the newly arrived ambulance. Flashing lights in red and blue play across Phelps’s house. The inflatable Santa has, at some point in the night, become a puddle of material on the ground. Hopefully Phelps will patch up the hole. It was a good Santa. Beyond our chaotic circle, the world is black and quiet. Our audience, waiting with bated breath to see the end.
Pah. What am I saying? Our only audience is a damn cornfield.
It’s not like I haven’t been around death before. I was shot in the leg once in my early dealing days. A friend of mine caught the second bullet in the face. He was dead within minutes. Smart guy too—he was the state spelling bee champion in eighth grade. I remember leaning over him, stunned with pain from my own leg, stupidly saying, “Joey? Joey?” over and over, as if by saying his name I could call him back. Not my favorite memory. I may not have given a shit about Jennifer Bernanke in life. Still, being this close to murder isn’t the vibe, and a black mood threatens me.
Will is already outside, along with some of the others, lining the walkway as Jenn—or the bag that presumably containsher—is wheeled past. The wheels squeak. Beyond the ambulance, at least four Michigan City police cars are parked, one with its lights still flashing—the one with Doug in the back. I wonder if he can see the stretcher from where he’s sitting.
As the night has progressed, more and more emergency personnel have shown up. I haven’t been around this much law enforcement since I was in jail. Two detectives, in addition to Officers Avery and Jones. A guy who appears to be their boss. The ambulance crew. Forensics people. Other people who never bothered to introduce themselves, just walked around looking serious and official. Dear God, we’ve probably emptied out Michigan City’s entire night shift onto this lonely piece of property.
If a group of crows is a murder and a group of fish is a school, what’s a group of law enforcement officers?A panic, I decide with a dark little chuckle.
I light up a cigarette and watch as they transfer the body bag into the back of the ambulance and shut the doors. Will is now conferencing with one of the ambulance operators. Educating himself on what one has to do to claim a corpse, I imagine, especially a murdered one. Hell if I know.
