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We continued up. I decided to take one of the bedsheets from her bed, not mine. It seemed more appropriate to do so. When we entered Geraldine's bedroom, Misty gazed around, shaking her head with disapproval.

"It's so..."

"What?"

"Bland," she said. "And what's with that other bed? Why isn't it made?"

Geraldine's bed was made with the usual perfection, not a crease in the pillow or the spread, but my father's bed was stripped bare.

"It's where he slept. She wanted to feel he was gone, I guess."

"That's ugly. She could have left it made up," Misty said.

Of course, everything was glittering and clean: the dressers and armoire, the tables and the windows. Everything was in its place, not an article of clothing left out, not a drawer so much as slightly open. The window shade was down, the curtain closed.

"There's nothing to suggest a woman sleeps here," Misty continued as I located the bedsheet in the bathroom closet. "No flowery scent, no daintiness, and that plain white bedding ...It's almost like a hospital room," she added.

I gazed around, considering what she said.

"I wasn't in here very often," I said. "She never let me help clean it, and even when I was a little girl, I couldn't come running in here if I had a bad dream. The door was always kept shut."

"It doesn't look like you missed much," she said. "You know it's strange, I have to keep reminding myself she was really your sister, not your mother?'

"Me too," I said.

"I bet. Ready?"

I nodded and we returned to the living room where Star sat next to Jade on the sofa, talking. She had the shovel in her hand.

"I'll get the flashlight on our way out," I said. "There's a back door."

"That's good. I wouldn't want anyone seeing us carrying her out the front:' Jade said. "They would think we murdered her or something"

"Okay, we have the sheet. What do we do next?" Misty asked Star, who had somehow become the one who knew the most about burying a dead body.

"Roll her up in the sheet," she replied and stood up. She reached out and I handed the sheet to her. "Move the table out of the way," she ordered. Misty and I did so and she spread the sheet out next to Geraldine.

Her eyes were still fixed on me, I thought. I couldn't look at her. Star went behind her and looked at us.

"Let's go," she said. "Roll her over."

"Ugh," Jade said, but got beside her. With her head turned away, she put her hands on Geraldine's back. Misty moved quickly to join them.

"Cat, you hold up the sheet on the end and as soon as she's completely on it, hand it over to me. Okay?"

With my eyes closed, I lifted the sheet and waited. My hands began to tremble. I could hear Geraldine screaming. "What do you think is going to happen now? Huh? tell you. You're all going to get into big trouble, that's what!

"I told you what would happen if you were friends with these girls. Look what they're getting you to do. Throw them out, now. Go on, tell them to go home."

They rolled her over and I opened my eyes.

"The sheet," Star said.

I handed it to her quickly and she pulled it snugly around Geraldine. Then they rolled her again and Star pulled the sheet tighter once more. Soon, Geraldine was completely covered, even her head.

"Okay," Star said. "Let's pick her up and carry her out."

"Lucky she's not too heavy," Misty said as they lifted her.