CHAPTER 6 – EMMA’S BALLOON
Emma did not understand why everyone was shouting.
She stood near the party table with a blue balloon string wrapped around her wrist and cake frosting on one thumb. Her grandmother had told her Ava was not coming. Then Ava came. Emma had run to hug her, but Margaret stopped her, saying grown-ups needed to speak first.
Now Ava was on the ground.
And Uncle Tyler was upstairs looking scared.
Children often understand more than adults want them to.
Emma knew Ava would never ruin her birthday on purpose. Ava remembered the names of stuffed animals. Ava still had pictures of Emma’s mom. Ava cried once when Emma asked if heaven had telephones. Ava was safe.
Tyler was not safe when angry.
Emma had seen him throw a glass in the pool house once. Everyone said it slipped. She had seen Grandpa Howard take papers from her mother’s old desk and tell Grandma not to mention it near the child. She had seen Grandma Margaret smile at people she hated. Emma did not have adult words for any of that, but her body knew.
When Ava pointed up, Emma looked up too.
Tyler saw her.
For one second, uncle and niece stared at each other across the bright party air.
Then Emma began to cry.
Not loud at first. Just a small wounded sound.
That sound shattered something in the crowd.
A woman rushed to Emma and guided her away from the patio. Margaret tried to follow, but Officer Cole stopped her with one raised hand.
“Ma’am, remain where you are.”
Margaret’s face tightened. “That is my granddaughter.”
“And this is an active scene.”
Howard said, “Officer, surely this can be handled with some discretion.”
Dana looked at him with cool disbelief. “A woman fell from your deck.”
“She was emotional.”
The phrase made Dana look toward Ava again, lying still but conscious, one arm lowered now after spending all her strength on the accusation.
“Interesting,” Dana said.
Howard blinked. “Excuse me?”
May you like
“How quickly everyone here knows what she was feeling, but no one seems clear on what they saw.”
For the first time, Howard Graves had no immediate answer.
