Island of Lost Girls - Jennifer McMahon [80]
Can you remember anything else unusual about that night?
Not really. We had kind of a party after the play. Families from the cottages down on the lake came because their kids were in the show. We were all in our yard eating hot dogs and burgers. Aggie, Peter and Lizzys mom, got a little tipsy and accidentally set the picnic table on fire. I guess thats the most unusual thing that happened.
And things broke up shortly after dark. People went home. What did you do, Miss Farr?
I um, went into the woods with some of the kids from the play.
Crowley flipped through his book.
Hospital records show you and Peter Shale being seen in the emergency room for stitches around ten oclock that same evening. Everyone Ive talked to says that at some point during or shortly after the party in the yard, you, Peter Shale, Lizzy Shale, and Greta Clark went into the woods and tore down the stage. Was there something particular that prompted this?
Rhondas head spun. She went over what few memories she had of tearing down the stage, but they were just a blur in her mind. It didnt feel like a true memory anymore. It was just a story she had told and retold so many times that it had long ago left any feel of reality behind. When she told the story, it was like recalling a dream. The dream where she and Peter ended up with matching scars.
Im not sure, she admitted. We all somehow knew it was our last play. Everything changed that summer. Peter and Tock got together. Lizzy was drifting away from us. I guess tearing apart the stage was kind of a symbolic thing.
Were Daniel and your father fighting that night? About money? Because Daniel had asked your father for another loan?
Rhonda remembered a time before, on Peters birthday, when Daniel asked Clem for a loan. He said it was to buy tools, but Clem hadnt believed himhad made some mention of gambling. She and Peter had heard the whole thing from inside their closed coffins.
Thats pretty much the story Clem, Aggie, and Justine tell, Crowley continued after listening to her recollections from earlier that summer.
Youve talked to Aggie? Rhonda asked.
Crowley nodded. A detective in Maryland met with her last night. Crowley ran a hand through his short hair, glanced down at his notebook, then continued. Daniel was in trouble with some gambling debts and your father felt hed bailed him out enough. It sounds like your father did an awful lot for Daniel. Is that the way you remember it?
Im not sure. I guess so. I mean, Daniel had bad luck. He was always coming up with these schemes, but none of them ever panned out. And it seemed like he always owed money to someone. Thats the impression I got anyway, but I was just a kid.
She thought again of the wings Daniel made, of Peter standing on the shed roof, determined to prove they would work.
Who took you to the emergency room? Crowley asked.
My father and Aggie.
Your mother didnt go?
I dont remember her going. I think she stayed home with Lizzy.
And Daniel, where was he when you had your stitches?
I have no idea. He wasnt at the hospital, I dont think. He must have stayed back with my mother and Lizzy.
Rhonda reached up and touched her scar. She thought of Peters matching scar. Of the way the blood poured down her face, how frightened she was. There was so much blood on both of them. On Lizzy too, because she was there, trying to help them. She took off her pirate jacket and wrapped it around Rhondas head. They were all crying so hard. Rhonda didnt even remember how they got back to her house, or the ride to the hospital. She just remembered being in the same room with Peter and how the doctor pulled the curtain to do the stitches.
Thank you, Miss Farr, youve been helpful. Crowley was closing his notebook, getting up to go. One more thing, if you dont mind, he added, fumbling in the pocket of his jacket for a small bag that he withdrew and held out for her inspection.
What can you tell me about this?
The pink plastic was cracked and grimy, but she recognized it immediately.