Devil in the Details

Chapter Eleven

The house Evelyn had grown up in was a blue, two story craftsman. It was tucked between other houses a lot like it, in varying shades of blue or brown. All the houses on this street had huge trees in the yard and open windows. It wasn't a rich neighborhood, but it was the kind where kids could play in the street. There weren't as many kids these days. Bicycles and scooters had been replaced with lawn gnomes and fake wheelbarrows of flowers. It had changed a lot over the years, but it was still a good neighborhood. Evelyn sat in her car for a long time, looking at it, before she could gather the energy to go inside. In her lap, Evelyn's phone was open to her conversation with Diana. Diana insisted she could leave work to join her if Evelyn needed, but this was something she had to do herself.

Taking deep breaths, Evelyn turned the car off and shoved the handful of keys in her coat pocket along with her phone. A neighbor watched from her porch, stretching out her neck as far as it would go to see who she was. Evelyn raised a hand to wave at her, letting her know it was okay. She was glad they were looking out for each other in the neighborhood.

Evelyn had heard that her grandmother had been a lot kinder once. The death of her daughter, Evelyn's mother, had taken its toll and nearly killed her, too. That was something else she'd heard a lot. Not that Evelyn didn't love her grandmother, she did. It was that, sometimes; she didn't know how her grandmother felt about her. There were times in her life that Sadie Young had been cold to her granddaughter.

Sometimes, it was like she blamed Evelyn for her mother's murder. She hadn't been too keen on Evelyn marrying a girl, either. She'd raged against it, claimed they were both going to hell, and refused to attend the wedding. At some point, Floyd had taken the situation into his own hands. She'd stopped being as hateful, though it was still clear Sadie did not like Diana in the slightest. Evelyn still kept in touch, though she didn't always know why. Family was important to her, since she had so little of it. In fact, Sadie was all she had that she knew of.

Evelyn pulled open the creaky screen door, making a mental note to have it repaired before sticking her head into the kitchen.

"Gran?" she called out, coming in. "Gran! It's Evelyn. You home?" She looked around. The smell of cornbread was in the air. There were beans and rice on the stove, so she knew Sadie was home. "Gran! It's Evelyn!"

"I'm comin," Sadie called back down the hall, "quit yer hollerin!" Evelyn grinned, listening as her grandmother made her way down the hallway. The cane she needed now tapped across the floor, announcing where she was. "Good to see you, dear." She said, leaning on it as she entered the kitchen. She waved her hand at the counter where she stored a few drinking glasses now- within reach so that they were easier to get. Her age was making it harder to reach the cabinets. "Make us some tea, would you?" She asked, "are you staying for dinner? I have beans and rice."

"Sure, Gran." Evelyn said, moving to get the cups and some ice. "I wanted to talk to you about mom. Is that okay?"

"I reckon." Sadie snorted, easing herself into her favorite chair. "Get me a few of those cookies, would you? I think my sugar is actin' up." Evelyn sighed and retrieved the cookies. Sadie was fond of thin, wafer style cookies- the cheaper, the better. This was a common thing Sadie did. If they came up on a topic she didn't want to discuss, she'd say she didn't feel well and the cookies weren't working to end the conversation.

"I had to go see Benjamin Walker, Gran." Evelyn began, setting the tea before them and the cookies. Immediately, Sadie stiffened.

"For these murders?" She asked, gripping her cane and shifting her weight. Evelyn sat down.

"That's right."

"Did he finally admit to it?"

"No, Gran." Evelyn replied, taking a sip of her tea. "Not yet. He did suggest that he knew more than he was letting on, though."