Page 88 of Everything You Want Me to Be

“Macbeth!”

I yelled it again and again, laughing at Portia’s horrified glare, at everyone who ran desperately to the doors. They all left the gymnasium and I could hear the trample of the crowd as they made the long circle around the halls outside. A single, abandoned spotlight lit the stage and Peter stood on the opposite side of it from me. Our eyes struggled through the light and we stepped forward to the edges of the shadows.

“I still have your money.” I said the first thing that came to mind, even though it was a lie.

“Hattie, please,” he whispered.

“I want to give it back to you.”

“I don’t want it.”

The thunder of feet got louder. They were past the halfway point.

“Tomorrow night. After the play. Meet me at the barn.”

I could hardly see his face through the spotlight. He moved forward slightly, revealing only the curve of his head, the rising of his chest and the uncertainty of his stance. Mirroring him, I took a step closer, feeling the kiss of the light touch my lips. It connected us, heated us.

“I can’t,” he said.

“You have to. You have to say goodbye.”

“It’s impossible. Don’t ask me to.”

The feet stopped outside the double doors and there was a muffled chant, a sonnet they’d all memorized to banish the evil I’d invoked.

“I’ll wait all night, Peter. All night for you.” I couldn’t hide the longing in my voice. “Come get your money and say goodbye.”

The doors burst open just as Peter turned away and the noise of everyone drowned out anything he might have said in reply.

DEL/ Thursday, April 17, 2008

I CHARGEDPeter Lund with the murder of Henrietta Sue Hoffman at 3:02 p.m. on the day of her funeral.

It didn’t sit right with me, him confessing right after Mary Beth came to visit. She went in to see her husband, then calmly gave us a sworn deposition that she’d followed Peter to the rendezvous, seen Peter and Hattie together, dropped the knife, and left. She described the dimensions of the murder weapon perfectly.

“Why did you keep this to yourself for six days?” I pressed. “Why didn’t you say anything when I was over at the farm?”

Mary Beth smoothed one hand over her stomach. “I had a lot to come to terms with, Sheriff. I’d just found out my husband was cheating on me and our unborn child. I hadn’t thought him capable of that, let alone murder.”

“You were talking murder with Winifred Erickson that day. Don’t tell me it was about chickens.”

She nodded, dropping her head. “You’re right. I’m sorry I lied to you about that. We were talking about abortion.”

“Why did you lie?”

“I was ashamed, I guess. I didn’t know if I should have this baby, considering.”

Jake and I exchanged a glance and I leaned in, waiting for Mary Beth to raise her head and meet my eyes. When she did, I took off the gloves.

“Maybe you did some considering on Friday night when you saw the two of them together. Maybe you took some revenge on your cheating husband.”

“I didn’t.” She hardly seemed bothered by the accusation, let alone surprised. “If I was going to kill anyone that night, it would have been him, not her.”

Jake’s eyes widened a bit.

“So what you’re saying is you’ve been thinking about killing your husband and your baby in the last week, but you didn’t have anything to do with Hattie’s death.”

“That’s right.”