Page 60 of They Say a Girl Died Here

“Bonnie was in love, though, right?” Anna asked cautiously. “She was pregnant, wasn’t she?”

Alexa studied her, guarded, still protecting her long-dead friend. “How do you know about that?”

“I guessed. The girl she worked with at the dentist said she was throwing up. Had gotten moody. I found some cards hidden in her bedroom.” Her heart pounded faster. “Do you know who the father was?”

“No.” Alexa shook her head, and Anna’s hope deflated. It had been too much to ask that a name be delivered wrapped in a bow. “We never had secrets, but although she fessed up to me that she was seeing someone—she was so giddy with it, I knew there was a romance—she wouldn’t say who.”

“And you didn’t have any suspicions?”

Alexa leaned back in her chair, her expression softening. “You know, back then, I was just so pissed at her for not telling me, I figured it was someone like Todd Greenbough, who I didn’t like much because he and Chris didn’t get along.”

Todd. “How come?”

“Oh, I don’t know. Competitive, maybe. Looking back, I think Chris was a little jealous. We all had crushes on Todd.” She laughed. “I mean, you’ve seen him, right?”

Anna shrugged. She didn’t want to think about Todd being handsome and she didn’t want to think about how the possibility that he was Bonnie’s secret boyfriend made her feel sick. Alexa leaned on her desk, her gold jewelry jangling.

“But there’s no way it was him. I’ve thought about it a lot. Bonnie always had daddy issues. And she was nervous sometimes, which she’d never been about boys our age. I think she was seeing someone older. She changed the way she dressed during that time too. Tried to be more sophisticated. Less chill, more Barbie.”

“You think this guy could have been married?”

“I don’t know for sure.” Alexa shrugged. “But it was someone whose life would blow up if their relationship ever came out. They were seeing each other at the dental clinic after hours. She said she was studying, but I don’t buy that. She never studied that hard. And she never let me go hang out and help her.”

“There was no mention of her being pregnant when she died, though? I asked Dr. Burdett and he said she wasn’t.”

“Then I guess she wasn’t.” The phone on the desk rang, but Alexa didn’t answer it, instead punching a button to send it through to voicemail. “It’s too damn hot to work today.” She wafted some papers in front of her face. “She’d talked about going to some abortion place in the city because there sure as shit isn’t anywhere around here she could have gotten that done, then she changed her mind. She must have changed it right back again.”

“She must have.” Anna’s head was whirring. They used to meet at the dentist’s. A thought struck her. Maybe they’d met at the dentist’s. Where else would she get to know older men around here without it becoming gossip? “Thanks, Alexa. You’ve been super helpful.”

“You’re welcome.” She pushed back in her chair to get up to see Anna out. “I miss her every day, you know? I don’t always think about her, but she’s always there under my skin. When times are hard, I feel her with me. You think that’s what God’s really all about?”

“Maybe.” Anna paused at the door. “I’ll let you know if I get the piece written.”

“You do that. And come by anytime. We could grab lunch or whatever. It’s good to have new people in town.” There was a yearning behind that homely family happiness bubbling out of Alexa. Underneath it all, she was just a girl who missed her friend.

72

Her palms were sweaty even in the cool air of Butterflies Dental Clinic reception, and she kept her baseball cap on with her hair tucked into it, hoping that Victoria wouldn’t recognize her if she came out. Thankfully the waiting room was empty, and there was only the genial assistant, Marjorie, behind the counter, a woman in her sixties with neat gray hair and glasses that hung on a chain around her neck.

Anna looked at all the awards on the low shelf beside the counter. A glass plaque declared Butterflies had won an Excellence in Practice Award, and a tall marble award that maybe was supposed to look like a tooth but was more like a sharp-edged obelisk stated that Dr. Sallinger had won Nebraska Dentist of the Year in 2020. Anna picked it up. It was heavy. Really heavy. As Marjorie gave her a look, she put it carefully back and smiled.

“I guess most people in town trust you with their teeth after all these accolades.”

“They certainly do. And what can we help you with?”

“We just moved here, and my mother has quite a few dental issues.” She figured that if Bonnie had met her lover during her working hours, maybe they’d had a lot of work done. Given them time to get to know each other. “I think she could use getting some implants. Do you do a lot of that kind of thing?”

“We do everything, and we most certainly do implants. Let me get you some information.” She perched her glasses on the tip of her nose and pulled open a desk drawer, rifling through the pamphlets. “There you go.” She handed some over. “As you can see, we try to keep our prices reasonable. Harper’s Creek isn’t a wealthy town and Dr. Sallinger is a good Christian soul. Never misses church.”

“My mother is the same.” Anna could only imagine Mom’s face at that line.

The woman’s smile widened. “That’s what we like in Harper’s Creek. Christian values.”

“Amen.” Dear god, Anna thought. If she died again tonight, then she was going to hell. “My mom’s terrified of the dentist, but if I wanted to put her mind at ease, is there anyone who’s had work done here that maybe she could speak to? Doesn’t have to be overly recent.” Come on, Marjorie, Anna thought, give me something. “No one too young, though. She thinks we know nothing of the world, and she’s probably right.”

“I like the sound of your mother.” Marjorie smiled her approval. “There are plenty of folks who’ve had work done here. Miles and Jeannie at the diner—Jeannie dragged Miles here a few years back when he needed a filling. He hadn’t seen a dentist in over a decade, so he might be one to talk to if it’s allaying fears you need. He was coming for a cleaning every two months for a while after that. I wasn’t out front then; I worked as Dr. Sallinger’s private secretary.”

Miles. Could Miles have been Bonnie’s secret lover? It made Anna want to laugh out loud. Sure, his life would be over if Jeannie found out, but he wasn’t exactly the type of guy you thought about for someone who might have daddy issues. Miles worked in the kitchen of a diner and lived under his wife’s thumb. Not exactly a big strong man to look after you.