If You Ever Tell (36 page)

And she knew she would never stop being afraid.

C
ELESTE
W
ARNER HUDDLED IN
the backseat, trembling. Her grandmother had chattered all the way to the car, then asked her why she was so quiet. Celeste had merely shrugged her shoulders, too shaken to trust her voice, and Grandma had begun talking again, fast and steady, the way she always did when she was excited about something. She’d loved the fireworks display, which she hadn’t attended since Celeste had stopped talking.

I shouldn’t have started talking again, Celeste thought in agony. If I’d stayed quiet, I would have been safe. And I could have thought of some way to keep Teri safe, too. I’m smart—smarter than anyone knows. I could have come up with a plan to protect Teri
and
me. If only I hadn’t started talking!

And now she’d seen Death. At the fireworks display, when she’d looked around, she’d seen
it.
No, she’d seen the
person
who killed her mother. All along, Celeste had known a
person
had killed her mother and tried to kill her. She had known, but she hadn’t wanted to believe a person would do such a thing, so she’d turned the person into an
it
—Death. But she was a kid then. She was almost an adult now. Besides, she knew she couldn’t pretend any longer, because she’d seen the killer—a person—in the park tonight.

Celeste had tried to look away and couldn’t. She’d willed her gaze back to the fireworks, but she didn’t seem to have any control over her own body. She could
not
turn away. She could
not
look away. And then her gaze had met another’s. The gazes locked. Finally, the other set of eyes had narrowed slightly and Celeste had felt a cold wind wrapping itself around her heart. When she’d finally managed to tear away her gaze and stare up at the sky where the fireworks had turned into a garish blur, it was too late. Celeste could feel Death watching her.

“Honey, does the cat have your tongue?” Fay craned her neck and looked in concern at Celeste curled into a ball in the corner of the backseat. “Celeste, baby, what’s wrong?” she demanded in alarm. “Dear God, what’s
wrong
?”

“We have to leave here,” Celeste ground out in a barely audible voice. “We have to leave town tonight.”

Fay frowned. “What are you talking about?”

“We have to leave!” Celeste cried. “I saw the person who killed Mommy!”

Jason whipped the car to the side of the road, ignoring the blasting of a car horn behind him. Fay slammed against the door and cried out, but Jason paid no attention, turning to face his daughter. “You saw the person tonight?” Celeste nodded, tears running down her cheeks. “Who was it?”

Celeste shook her head violently. “No. I can’t… can’t…”

“You have to tell me,” Jason said loudly. “Who
was
it?”

“No… no… can’t…” Her voice faded even lower. “No… can’t…”

“You can’t what? Talk?” By now Jason was shouting, making Celeste cower. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you, sweetheart, but you have to tell me who you saw!”

“Leave… must leave.”

“Celeste—”

“Leave!” Celeste whisper-screamed. “Have to leave!” Suddenly her eyes seemed to glaze, and she shrank into herself, her face beginning to go blank.

“Jason?” Fay asked fearfully. “Jason, what should we do?”

Jason looked at his horrified mother, then at Celeste, who once again seemed to be completely withdrawing from the real world, burying herself in the shelter of silence and total passivity. “All right, honey. Don’t be afraid. We’ll be out of town by morning,” Jason said soothingly. “Just let me know one thing. Did the person who killed your mommy see you?” Celeste barely nodded. Jason hesitated. “Do you think the person knew you remembered?”

Celeste shuddered uncontrollably, thinking of those eyes—those knowing eyes—fixed on her, and nodded yes. Yes.
Yes!

“Mom isn’t feeling well,” Mac murmured in Teri’s ear. “I have to take her home before I can come to your house.”

“Oh
no
!” Teresa felt complete despair. Carmen and Gabe wanted to make their big announcement, and Sharon was going to take it badly. Teri
knew
she would take it badly. There might be a scene. Teri had been counting on Mac to help her smooth things over if the situation got out of control. “Mac, I need you!” she hissed.

“I’ll be there just as soon as I take Mom home,” he said earnestly. “Have you looked at her? Something just came over her. I think she might pass out if I don’t get her home.”

Teresa covertly peeked at Emma, who indeed looked tall and bleached and rigid, as if she were using every ounce of her strength to hold herself together. “You’re right. Get her home,” Teresa said. “If you can’t come tonight, I’ll understand.”

“I’ll be there,” Mac assured her. “Just try to keep Carmen and Gabe from saying anything until I arrive.”

He took his mother’s arm and led her gently away from the group. Sharon looked at them. “Emma isn’t feeling well,” Teresa explained, although Sharon hadn’t asked for an explanation. “He’s just going to take her home and then—” Teri realized she’d slipped and almost said,
And then come to my house for the party.
She still hadn’t mentioned the get-together to her sister-in-law and now she couldn’t put it off any longer. “Sharon, I bought some cakes and pastries and champagne. And juice for Daniel, of course. I thought it would be fun if we had a little after-fireworks party tonight.”

When Sharon didn’t answer, Teresa looked at her more closely. Sharon’s face had turned pale as parchment, making her freckles stand out sharply, and her eyes seemed almost to jitter in their sockets. Teresa had never seen her sister-in-law look so strange, and alarm instantly flooded through her. “Sharon? Are you all right?”

Sharon’s odd, nervous gaze fastened on Teresa and she almost hissed, “What is going on tonight?”

“I don’t know what you mean.” Teresa knew how unconvincing she sounded. “I just thought I’d like to put everything that’s happened this week out of my mind. And I’m sure Kent wants to celebrate our finally selling the house. I thought it would be nice to have an impromptu little gala,” Teresa ended lamely.

“A
gala
?” Sharon repeated.

“Well, yes. Just a kind of mini-party, our own Fourth of July celebration. Nothing special—”

“That is a damned lie,” Sharon returned in a steely voice. “Something has been wrong all evening. I’ve felt it for hours. Now you come up with this absurd idea for a party that will keep Daniel up until midnight, which you
know
I won’t allow!” Kent and Gabe had drawn closer to Sharon, Kent looking bewildered, Gabe looking apprehensive. “I know there’s some kind of conspiracy going on.”

“A conspiracy?” Teresa tried to laugh, but nothing came out. “I don’t know what you mean.”

“Yes, you do!” Sharon’s face had turned from white to almost scarlet. “Teresa, you’ve never been a good liar. I want to know what’s going on and if you don’t tell me—”

“Carmen and I were going to announce our engagement,” Gabe said.

Carmen gasped and muttered, “Gabe, don’t.”

But Gabriel rushed on. “We’ve been seeing each other for months. I proposed in the spring and we’re getting married in September. We delayed telling you because we knew you wouldn’t be happy about me getting married again. Anyway, Carmen and I put Teresa up to having this get-together at her house. We thought we’d tell you there, but I haven’t been feeling right about the whole thing. It isn’t fair to put Teresa on the spot like this. So I’ll just say it plainly, Sharon. I’m marrying Carmen.”

Sharon looked as if someone had dealt her a crashing physical blow. She literally staggered and swayed as if she might faint. Kent reached for her, but she jerked away from him. She pinned Carmen with an almost frightening slit-eyed look and said savagely, “You bitch!”

“Sharon!” Gabe said loudly, although Teri thought he sounded more concerned than angered.

Sharon rushed on. “I’ve suspected for months something was going on with Dad. He hasn’t acted like himself. At first, I thought he was sick. That’s why I’ve been so nervous, as all of you have so tactfully pointed out to me. Finally, I realized there was a woman. I told myself it was something extremely casual. But his behavior, his seeing less and less of Daniel and me—well, I knew there was something more serious going on with him.

“For about a week, I thought the woman might be you, Carmen, but then I told myself Dad couldn’t be so stupid as to get involved with
you
! Years ago, one evening my mother attended a meeting in the conference room at a motel about ten miles from here. Afterward, when she got in her car, she saw you coming out of a room. She said your hair was mussed and you had this sickening lovey-dovey look on your face. You got in your car and drove off. Mom was curious, so she stayed and watched. Five minutes later, Hugh Farr came out of the same room. It was obvious you two were having an affair.

“She told me and I promised not to tell, not even Kent. But Mom would understand my not keeping the secret
now
, not when Dad is involved with you, Carmen. He’s too good, too naive, to imagine what you really are, so it’s up to me to protect him. Do you understand me, Carmen? I will do
anything
not to have my father involved with you!”

Gabe had lifted Daniel down from his shoulders and the child looked at his mother with wide, startled eyes. “Sharon, that is enough!” Gabriel’s voice lashed at his daughter. “I won’t tolerate this from you, especially here in public. My God! What would your mother think?”

“Yes, what
would
she think, Daddy?” Sharon was backing away from them, tears beginning to pour down her face. “What would she think of you sleeping with another woman? Planning to
marry
another woman, not to mention Carmen Norris! Carmen
Norris
! It’s sickening! It’s blasphemous!”

“Sharon, stop it!” Kent nearly begged. “You’re acting like a maniac!”

“I hate you!” Sharon shouted at her father and Kent. “I hate
both
of you! And as for you, Carmen—”

Before any of them realized what was happening, Sharon turned and began running at top speed, pushing her way through the little crowd of people whose curiosity outweighed their good manners. The four adults stood stunned for a moment. Then Kent tried to pursue his wife, struggling to make his way through the gaggle of onlookers without knocking down anyone, tripping once and almost falling.

Gabe, slower to react, followed him by about fifteen seconds, leaving Daniel standing by himself. The little boy burst into frightened sobs and Teresa rushed to him, picking him up and holding him tightly. “It’s okay, Daniel,” she said. “Your mommy is just upset. Everything will be fine.”

But Daniel was not to be comforted and neither was Carmen, who stood still as a statue looking stunned. All of her careful planning, Teresa thought in a flash. She loves Gabe so much and he pushed past her without a word, his entire being focused on his daughter. “Carmen,” Teresa said, carrying the weeping Daniel toward Carmen and touching her arm. Carmen jumped and looked at Teri as if she didn’t know her. “Carmen, we weren’t expecting Sharon to take this news well.…”

“Take it well?” For a few moments, Carmen’s shocked gaze rested on Teresa’s face. Then the woman abruptly burst into loud laughter. “Well, that’s an understatement. She sure as hell didn’t take it well. Did you hear those lies she was spewing? She doesn’t care who she hurts. She’s horrible!”

“Oh, Carmen, please.” Teresa felt helpless, her nephew sobbing onto her shoulder, her friend looking as if her world had just caved in on her. “Just give her some time, Carmen. She’ll come around.”

Carmen laughed for a few more moments, then stopped as suddenly as she’d begun. Tears welled in her eyes. “Time? Time won’t change her mind, Teri. You know it won’t change her mind. She’s always hated me.”

“I don’t know that she hates you, Carmen, but Gabriel loves you. He’s going to marry you even if Sharon doesn’t stop acting crazy. And she
is
acting crazy tonight. My God, she even ran off and deserted Daniel!”

“My mommy’s crazy and she doesn’t want me anymore!” At this, the little boy wailed even louder and Teresa wanted to swallow the words. She bounced him as if he were a baby, looked at Carmen, who was dissolving into a broken, weeping mess, and wished herself a thousand miles away from this almost farcically nightmarish scene. But wishing wasn’t going to help anything, Teri told herself sternly. “Come on, Carmen. Let’s get out of here. Maybe the guys have caught up with her.”

Carmen was reluctant to go, but Teresa finally got the woman moving, although she had an odd, shuffling walk and slumped shoulders. Carmen—who always walked smartly and had excellent posture. At last, they found the men standing beside an empty parking space two blocks away. “She took our car,” Kent said in amazement. “We saw her just tearing off like there’s no speed limit. She was headed north.”

“Toward home,” Teresa said. “I’m sure she just went home.”

“All right, here’s what we’re going to do,” Gabe said. “Teri, I’d appreciate it if you’d drive Kent and me to his house. If Sharon isn’t there, he can take his car and I’ll take mine and we’ll both look for her. After you drop us off, take Daniel to your house.”

“I’ll take Daniel
and
Carmen,” Teri said with a significant look at Gabe. He hadn’t even glanced at his alarmingly pale fiancée.

“Thank you, Teri, but I need to be alone,” Carmen said in an odd, distant voice. “I want to go home.” She gave Teresa a weak smile and took Gabe’s hand, holding it up to her lips. “Please call me in a little while, Gabe.”

“I will,” he said absently.

“I mean it.
Please
call.”

“Carmen, I said I
will.
” He was curt and distracted, his mind obviously on one person—his daughter.

Carmen glanced at him, her eyes devoid of all joy, all hope. She dropped his hand and walked away from them, her shoulders sagging.

“Gabe, I think you could have been a little kinder to Carmen,” Teresa couldn’t stop herself from saying. “She’s very shaken.”