In Silence

CHAPTER 29

Avery took her editor's advice to go to people she trusted. She decided to start with Lilah, who she had been meaning to pay a visit to anyway.

She parked her rental in the Stevenses' driveway and climbed out. Their garage door was open; Avery saw that both Lilah's and Cherry's cars were parked inside.

Avery made her way up the walk, across the porch to the door. She rang the bell. Cherry answered.

"Hey," Avery said.

The other woman didn't smile. "Hey."

"I stopped by to see how Lilah was feeling."

Cherry didn't move from the doorway. "She's better, thanks."

Avery had been meaning to call Cherry and apologize for the way she'd snapped at her at her father's wake, but hadn't. Until that moment, Avery hadn't realized just how badly she had hurt the other woman. Or how angry she was. Her reaction seemed extreme to Avery, but some people were more sensitive than others.

"Cherry, can we talk a moment?"

"If you want."

"I'm sorry about the other night. At the wake. I was upset. I shouldn't have snapped at you. I've been kicking myself for it ever since."

Cherry's expression softened. In fact, for the space of a heartbeat, Avery thought the other woman might cry. Then her lips curved into a smile. "Apology accepted," she said, then pushed open the screen door.

Avery stepped inside and turned to the younger woman who motioned toward the back of the house. "Mother's on the sunporch. She'll be delighted to see you."

She was. "Avery!" the older woman exclaimed, setting aside her novel. "What a pleasure."

Lilah sat on the white wicker couch, back to the yard and its profusion of color. Sun spilled through the window, bathing her in soft, white light-painting her the picture of Southern femininity.

Avery crossed, bent and kissed the woman's cheek, then sat in the wicker queen's chair across from her. "I've been worried about you."

She waved aside her concern. "Blasted allergies. This time of year is such a trial. The headaches are the worst."

"Well, you look wonderful."

"Thank you, dear." Lilah shifted her gaze to her daughter. "Cherry, could you bring Avery an iced tea?"

Avery started to her feet. "I can get it."

"Nonsense," Lilah interrupted. "Cherry's here. Would you mind, sweetheart? And some of those little ginger cookies from the church bake sale."

"No problem," Cherry muttered. "Got to earn my keep, after all."

Avery glanced at the girl. Her features looked pinched. Avery cleared her throat. "Really, Lilah, I can get my own dri-"

Cherry cut her off. "Don't worry about it, Avery. I'm used to this."

After Cherry left the room, Lilah made a sound of frustration. "Some days that girl is so testy. Just miserable to live with."

"We all have bad days," Avery said gently.

"I suppose so." Lilah looked down at her hands, clasped in her lap. When she lifted her eyes, Avery saw that they sparkled with tears. "It's been…difficult for Cherry. She shouldn't be taking care of us. She should have a family of her own. Children to care for."

"She will, Lilah. She's young yet."

The woman continued as if Avery hadn't spoken. "After Karl left, she changed. She's not happy. None of my children-"

Lilah had been about to say that none of her children were happy, Avery realized. Hunter she understood. And to a degree, Cherry. But what of Matt?

Avery reached across the coffee table and caught Lilah's hand. She squeezed. "Happiness is like the ocean, Lilah. Sometimes swelling, sometimes retreating. Constantly shifting." She smiled. "Sudden swells are what make it all so much fun."

Lilah returned the pressure on her fingers. "You're such a dear child, Avery. Thank you."

"Here you go," Cherry said, entering the room with a tray laden with two glasses of tea, sugar bowl and plate of cookies. Each glass sported a circle of lemon and sprig of mint.

She set the tray on the coffee table. The cookies, Avery saw, were arranged in an artful fan, atop a heart-shaped doily. "How lovely," Avery exclaimed. "Cherry, you have such a gift."

She flushed with pleasure. "It was nothing."

"To you, maybe. I could no sooner put this tray together than run a marathon in world record time."

"You're too sweet."

"Just honest. Join us?"

"I'd love to but there are some things I wanted to do this afternoon. And if I don't get to them, it'll be dinnertime and too late." Cherry turned to her mother. "If you don't need anything else, I'll get busy?"

Lilah waved her off, and for the next few minutes Avery and the older woman chatted about nothing more weighty than the weather. When the conversation lulled, Avery brought up the subject most on her mind. "Buddy told me that back in the eighties you were part of a civic action group called Seven Citizens Who Care."

She drew her eyebrows together. "Why in the world did he do that?"

"We were talking about Cypress Springs. How it's such a great place to live." Avery reached for a cookie, laid it on her napkin without tasting. "Said you enacted real change in the community."

"Those were difficult times." She smoothed the napkin over her lap. "But that's ancient history."

Avery ignored her obvious bid to change the subject. "He said Pastor Dastugue was part of the group. Who else was a member of The Seven?"

"What did you say?"

"The Seven, who else-"

"We didn't call ourselves that," she corrected sharply. "We were the CWC."

She had struck a nerve, no doubt about it. Ignoring the prickle of guilt, she pressed on. "I'm sorry, Lilah. I didn't mean to upset you."

"You didn't." She smoothed the napkin. Once. Then again. "Of course you didn't."

"Was there another group called The Seven?"

"No. Why would you think that?"

"Your response…it seemed like The Seven might be something you didn't want to be associated with."

She went to work on the napkin. "Silly, Avery. Of course not."

"I stopped by the Gazette this morning," Avery said. "Rickey Plaquamine offered me a job."

"Outstanding." Lilah leaned forward, expression eager. "And? Did you takejt?"

"Told him I'd think about it."

She pretended to pout, though Avery could see she was delighted she hadn't outright declined the offer.

"We'd all be thrilled if you decided to make Cypress Springs your home, Avery. But no one more than Matt." She brought her tea to her lips, sipped then patted her mouth with her napkin. "Buddy told me you and Matt seemed to be enjoying yourselves at Spring Fest."

Avery thought of the other night, of dancing with Matt under the stars. Of how comfortable she had felt, how relaxed. Although she hadn't seen him since, he had called every day to check on her.

She smiled. "We did. Very much."

Avery offered nothing further, though she could tell the woman was eager for details. And assurances, Avery supposed. About her and Matt's future. Ones that she was unable to make.

"Rickey looked great. He said he and Jeanette just had their third."

"A handsome boy. Fat. All their babies have been fat." Lilah leaned toward Avery, twinkle in her eyes. "It's all the ice cream Jeanette eats during her last trimester. Belle from the Dairy Barn told me Jeanette came every day, sometimes twice a day, for a double-swirl hot-fudge sundae."

A smile tugged at very's mouth. Poor Jeanette. Small-town living-life in a fishbowl.

Avery refocused their conversation. "Until today, I hadn't known Sal was gone. I was so shocked. Dad knew how I felt about Sal, I'm surprised he didn't tell me."

Lilah opened her mouth, then shut it. "This year," she began, struggling to speak, "it's been difficult. Our friends…so many of them…passed away."

Avery stood and crossed to the woman. She bent and hugged her. She felt frail, too thin. "I'm sorry, Lilah. I wish I could do something to help."

"You already have, sweetheart. By being here."

They chatted a couple moments more, then Lilah indicated she needed to rest. They stood. Avery noticed the woman wasn't quite steady on her feet. It alarmed her to see her this way. Just over two weeks ago, she had seemed the picture of health.

They reached the foyer. Lilah kissed Avery's cheek. "Stop by again soon."

"I will. Feel better, Lilah."

Avery watched as the woman made her way up the stairs, noticing how tightly she gripped the handrail, how she seemed to lean on it for support. She found it hard to believe that seasonal allergies would cause this dramatic change in the woman, though she had no real frame of reference for that belief since she had been one of the lucky ones who had been spared them.

Hunter had claimed his mother was addicted to painkillers and booze. Substance abuse took a terrible toll on health and emotional stability. Could that be what she was seeing?

Cherry appeared in the study doorway, to Avery's left. "Mother's going up to nap?" she asked.

"Mmm." Frowning, Avery shifted her gaze to Cherry. "Is she all right?"

"She's fine. The allergy medicine takes it out of her."

"You're certain? She's not having any other problems, is she?"

"Of course not. Why do you ask?"

"I'm concerned. She was so strong just two weeks ago."

"Her bouts are like this." Cherry shrugged. "Mom just doesn't bounce back like she used to."

Avery lowered her gaze. Cherry held a gun, some sort of revolver. She returned her gaze to the other woman's. "Not to be too nosy, but why the-"

"Gun? I'm heading out to the practice range."

"The practice range?" Avery repeated, surprised. Girls in rural Louisiana grew up around hunting and guns, though they were less likely to know how to use one than to bake a peach pie from scratch. "You shoot?"

"Are you kidding? With Matt and Dad as role models? How about you?"

"I'm a bunny-hugging pacifist."

"You want to come along anyway?"

"Why not?"

Avery followed Cherry into her father's study. His gun closet stood open. It held no less than a dozen guns and rifles. Cherry helped herself to a box of bullets, closed and locked the closet. She slipped the key into her pocket, fitted her revolver in its case and snapped it shut.

"Ready?"

She nodded and they headed out, Avery following in her own car. The gun ranges was actually a cleared field ten miles outside of town, not far from the road to the canning factory. On the edge of the field sat a dilapidated chicken coop and three bales of straw,. each set a dozen feet apart, standing on end. The land looked what it was: abandoned and overgrown.

They climbed out of their cars. "This was part of the Weiners' farm, wasn't it?" Avery asked.

"Yup. Sold the whole thing to Old Dixie Foods. Moved up to Jackson."

Avery wrinkled her nose. "What's that smell?"

"The canning factory. Wind's just right for it today." Cherry opened the gun case, took out the gun and began to load it. "Give it a minute, you get accustomed to the smell."

Avery had a hard time believing that. "What kind of gun is it?"

"Ruger.357 Magnum with a six-inch barrel."

"The Dirty Harry gun, right? From the films?"

"Close. Detective Harry Callahan carried the.44 Magnum." She laughed. "Even I don't need that much firepower."

Avery watched as Cherry slid six bullets into the chamber, then snapped it shut. "What do you shoot at?" she asked.

"Whatever. The chicken coop, tin cans, bottles. Dad has a hand-operated skeet thrower, sometimes we shoot skeet. For that we use a hunting rifle or shotgun."

To that end she popped open her trunk and took out a cardboard box filled with tin cans. While Avery watched, she crossed the field and set the cans on top of the straw bales and along the chicken coop's window ledges and roof.

She jogged back. She checked her gun, aimed and fired, repeating the process six times. The cans flew. She missed the last and swore.

She glanced at Avery. "I heard what you asked Mom about. That old group, the CWC."

"Do you remember it?"

"Sure. I remember everything about that time."

Avery frowned. "It's so weird, because I don't."

Cherry reloaded the revolver's chamber. "That's not so weird. My family's the reason I remember so clearly."

"It was a rough time, your dad said."

"Rough would be an understatement."

She fell silent a moment, as if lost in her own thoughts. In memories of that time.

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Shoot." Cherry grinned. "Sorry, I couldn't help myself."

"Did you know Elaine St. Claire?"

"Who?"

"The woman who was murdered."

Cherry sighted her mark. She pulled the trigger. The bullet exploded from the gun. She repeated the process five more times, then looked at Avery. "Only by reputation."

"What do you mean?"

Cherry cocked an eyebrow. "Come on, Avery. By reputation. She'd seen more mattresses than the guy down at the Sealy Bedding Barn."

Avery made a sound of shock. "The woman's dead, Cherry. It seems so callous to talk about her that way."

"I'm being honest. Should I lie just because she's dead? That would make me a hypocrite."

"Ever hear the saying 'Live and let live'?"

"That's big-city crapola, propagated by those intent on maintaining status quo and contentment of the masses. You have to live with the bottom-feeders."

"And you don't?"

She looked at Avery, expression perplexed. "No, we don't. This is Cypress Springs not New Orleans."

"You're saying Elaine St. Claire got what she deserved? That you're glad she's dead?"

"Of course not." She flipped open the.357's chamber, reloaded, then snapped it shut. "Nobody deserves that. But am I sorry she's not spreading her legs for every dick in town, no I'm not."

Avery gasped; Cherry's smile turned sly. "I've shocked you."

"I didn't think Matt's little sister could talk that way."

"There's a lot you don't know about me, Avery."

"Sounds ominous."

She laughed. "Not at all. You've been gone a long time, that's all." Without waiting for a response, she sighted her tin prey and fired. One shot after another, ripping off six. Hitting her target each time.

Avery watched her, both surprised and awed by her ability. Un-nerved by it as well. Particularly in light of their conversation. She shifted her gaze to Cherry's arms, noticing how cut they were. The way her biceps bulged as she gripped the gun, how she hardly recoiled when it discharged.

She'd never noticed what good shape the other woman was in. How strong she was. How strongly built. Avery supposed that was because compared to her, everybody looked big.

Truth was, she'd always thought of Cherry as a girlie-girl, like Lilah. And like her own mother had been. Avery had been the tomboy. The one who hadn't quite fit the mold of Southern womanhood. And now here was Cherry, all buff and macho, blasting the crap out of tin cans.

Cherry reloaded, turned and offered the gun to Avery, grip out. "Want to give it a try?"

Avery hesitated. She disliked guns. Was one of those folks who thought the world would be a better place if every weapon on the planet was collected and destroyed and people were forced to sit across a table from one another and work out their differences. Maybe over a latte or caffe mocha.

Cherry's smug grin had her reaching for the gun. "Okay," she said grimly, "walk me through this."

"It helps to plant your feet. Like this." Cherry demonstrated. "Wrap both hands around the grip. That's right," she said as Avery followed her directions.

"I feel like an idiot," Avery said. "Like an Arnold Schwarzenegger wannabe."

"I felt that way at first. You'll grow to like it."

When pigs fly. "What now?"

"Point and shoot. But be careful, it's got some kick."

Avery aimed at the can that looked closest to her and pulled the trigger. The force of the explosion sent her stumbling backward. She peeked at the target. "Did I hit it?"

"Nope. You might try keeping your eyes open next time."

"Shit."

"Try again."

Avery did. And missed cleanly. After her sixth attempt, she handed the gun back. "My career as a shooter is officially over."

"You might change your mind. If you stay in Cypress Springs."

"Don't hold your breath." She watched Cherry handle the weapon with a sort of reverence completely foreign to Avery. "What's the allure? I don't get it."

Cherry thought a moment. "It makes me feel powerful. In control."

"That's an odd answer."

"Really? Isn't that what weapons are all about? Power and control. Winning."

"And here I always thought they were about killing."

"There are always going to be bad guys, Avery. People determined to take away what you hold dear. People without morals or conscience. Guns, the ability-and willingness-to use them are a necessary deterrent."

Avery had argued this one before and knew she couldn't win. And a part of her knew Cherry spoke the truth. The current truth. But she was idealist enough to believe there was another way. "The only way to fight violence is with violence, that's what you're saying? React to force with greater force until we've blown the entire planet to hell?"

"The one with the biggest boom wins."

Moments later, Avery drove off. She glanced in her rearview mirror. The sun was setting behind her, the sky a palette of bloody reds and oranges. Cherry stood where she had left her, standing beside her car, staring after Avery.

Her outing with the younger woman had left her feeling uncomfortable, as if she had been party to something unclean. As if she had witnessed something ugly and had done nothing to stop it.

The things Gwen Lancaster had told her about The Seven played through her head.

Anyone whose actions fell outside what was considered right, noral or neighborly was singled out and warned. Before it was all over, they'd broken the civil rights of their fellow citizens in the name of righteousness, law and order.

Could the woman she had just spent the past hour with be party to that?

Absolutely. Avery didn't have a doubt about it. What she was less certain of, however, was how to reconcile the Cherry Stevens she had been witness to today with the one who had brought her breakfast her first morning in Cypress Springs. The one who had been caring, sweet-natured and sensitive.

Today, nothing about Cherry had rung true to her, from the things she had said about Elaine St. Claire to the subtly sly tone she had assumed with Avery.

But why would she have affected such an attitude with her? It didn't make sense. Why either alienate her or, if part of The Seven, be so open about her beliefs? Surely those involved hadn't maintained their anonymity with such transparency.

Avery drew to a stop at the crossroads, stunned with the course of her own thoughts. She was thinking as if The Seven was a given. As if they had and did exist, as if anyone could be a part of their numbers.

An ill feeling settling in the pit of her stomach, she dug through her purse, found the card with Gwen's phone number on it. She punched the number into her cell phone; on the third ring the woman's recorder answered.

"It's Avery Chauvin," she said. "You've got my attention now. Call me." She left the number for both her cell and parents' home phone, then hung up.

Through the open window came the sound of a gun discharging. Avery jerked at the sound. She closed the window against it and the sour-smelling breeze.