The Sister-In-Law by Crane Pamela

Author:Crane, Pamela [Crane, Pamela]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: thriller, Mystery, Suspense, Adult
Amazon: B08GKR7NB5
Goodreads: 56566202
Publisher: William Morrow
Published: 2021-08-10T07:00:00+00:00

Chapter 19

Harper

Lane told me to sit tight and he’d take care of the Michelle Hudson situation, but I’d never been good at sitting tight. I probably should have listened to Lane, but I knew Michelle. We had been neighbors for years. What harm could possibly come from a quick chat?

When I arrived at Hendricks Way, my first stop was to pick up my mail. It was odd that the mailbox was empty, because even after forwarding it to my new address, I still got advertisements and coupons almost daily. I didn’t think much of it before heading down the sidewalk to Michelle’s, waving at Mr. Radcliffe, a friendly enough guy who lived across from me. He was the kind of neighbor who barely spoke two words in passing, but would mow your lawn out of the kindness of his big, quiet heart.

When Michelle answered the door, her hair neatly coifed and linen outfit pressed, it almost looked like she was expecting someone.

“I suppose you’re here to find out what I saw that night.” She stepped aside, inviting me in.

“You always were to the point, Michelle.” I stepped inside, prepping myself for the worst. If only I had known the worst was yet to come.

* * *

By the time I was done at Michelle’s I needed to pick up the kids from school. A year ago, I would have welcomed the kids home with freshly baked cookies and questions about what they had learned. With crumbs scattered across the counter, they would chatter about the friend whom they played with or the answer they got right. But ever since “the accident,” they came home to an empty kitchen and silence. It wasn’t fair to them, I knew this. But sometimes I simply didn’t have the energy to do better. Today, however, I did. I could climb mountains today.

Once upon a time my love for my children was endless. Until one day my son did something so unspeakably horrible that it tore right down the middle of that love. Now, my love had edges. To make up for that, I rarely said no to them. Especially when all they wanted was some dollar store candy.

One tended to spoil children after losing a loved one, especially when that loved one was their father. Maybe it was out of guilt, or maybe it was out of empathy, or maybe it was just to stop the whining. Regardless, candy seemed to make things better, if only for a moment. But that single moment was priceless.

The line at the dollar store reached halfway down the hair accessory aisle. This gave Elise ample time to ponder the merits of headbands over hair bows while the cashier checked out customers with the speed of a corpse. My hair dripped on my shoulders, still wet from our mad dash across the parking lot in an impromptu downpour. I couldn’t wait to get out of my damp white oxford shirt, which I was certain now showcased my bra.

The cramped store—where

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