Page 85 of The Family Guest

Suddenly, a blast of bells filled my ears and I flinched.

“What’s that, Fly?” I asked, having to shout above the thunderous toll.

“The carillon. It consists of sixty-three bells, which play at designated times during the day. These are the noon bells. Berkeley even offers a course where you can learn how to play them.”

“That’s so cool.”

From the panoramic view and the magical bells, I felt giddy. And I was giddy with happiness to be spending time with my best friend. We hadn’t seen each other since August, and, though we FaceTimed frequently, it was not the same as seeing her in person. As toned as ever, she’d let her straightened hair go au naturel—wearing it in a big fro—and her complexion was aglow.

After touring the rest of the campus, we went for lunch at a cool Vietnamese joint on Telegraph Avenue, Berkeley’s iconic hippy-culture main drag.

Over the restaurant’s specialty, a vegan noodle soup called pho, we talked nonstop. Fly told me about her fabulous courses and her annoying roommate. “The only Black chick who needs to go to sleep with white noise playing,” which made me crack up. After my laughter died down, she asked about me.

I couldn’t wait to tell her my big news. “Guess what! I got into RISD!”

“No way!”

“Way!”

“I can’t even!” She leaped up and came around the table to give me a hug. “I’m just bummed I won’t be able to visit you on weekends at Stanford and vice versa,” she said before returning to her seat and changing the subject. “So, Sweetpea, spill the tea. What’s going on with Tanya?”

Through texting and FaceTime, I’d kept her posted. She even knew about Bear’s poisoning. Catching her up, I told her about our Thanksgiving and how Grandma, Will, and I had sabotaged Tanya by planting Grandma’s pearls in her backpack to make her look like a thief. “And we got a chance to find out what else she was hiding in her bag.”

Her wide-set brown eyes lit up. “Girl, that was so wicked! I love your grandma! Did you discover anything?”

“Hardcore proof she doesn’t come from England. Redlands is more like it. My grandma told my parents to get rid of her. Send her back home.”

“Whoot! Goodbye to…the exchange student from hell!”

“If I ever write a book about her, that’s what I’m going to call it.”

Fly laughed. “Hey, do you want to celebrate and shoot some hoops after lunch?”

“Totally!”

Shortly afterward, on a nearby outdoor basketball court, my bestie proved that she had not lost her magic touch. Air Jordan was better than ever.

“Fly, you slayed it,” I said breathlessly, giving her a high five.

A moment later my phone pinged. A Google Alert.

My heart hammering, I clicked it open.

It was a news bulletin.

Charred human remains were found early this afternoon by two teens while hiking in Tahquitz Canyon in Palm Springs. Police believe the body is that of a young woman and has been there over a decade. An investigation is underway.

A chill zipped through me. Palm Springs wasn’t far from Indio. They were practically adjacent.

After all these years, was it Billie Rae Perkins?

FORTY-FIVE

NATALIE

On the Monday after Thanksgiving weekend, I drove to Jason Nussbaum’s office. It was located in Century City, not far from Matt’s. Thankfully, they weren’t in the same building, and I deliberately took a late afternoon appointment so there’d be little chance of running into my husband. Or should I say my soon-to-be ex-husband. The thought of that little prefix still made me feel ill.

Located on the penthouse floor, Jason’s office was sleek and masculine, minimally furnished with black leather seating, chrome, and glass. A young, busty blonde sat behind the reception desk. I announced who I was. She peered at her computer screen, and then, with a small fake smile, met my gaze. “Please have a seat. Someone will be out shortly to get you, Mrs. Merritt.”