The Ladies of the Secret Circus by Constance Sayers (the little red hen ebook TXT) 📕

Lara padded softly through the foyer, passing all the black-and-white family photos as well as photos of their prized horses and the painting of her great-grandmother standing on a horse. As she passed it, a detail caught her eye: the choker necklace. She reached up to touch her own neck. It was bare. Still feeling the imprint of the necklace on her collarbone, Lara couldn’t remember taking it off, but then so many things about the hour after she left the church were hazy. At some point, she must have cooperated with her mother because she was also out of her wedding dress and now in a long sleeveless cotton nightgown that looked like it belonged in another century.

The minute she stepped outside, the breeze hit her. Goose bumps dotted her arms, and she rubbed her hands over them. She walked out into the field where, as a teenager, she’d sat with Todd so many times. Easing herself onto a soft patch of grass, she thought there was something comforting about being here again. It recalled a simpler time.

Usually her mother was up by five, so the animals were stirring and restless, waiting for Audrey to feed them. They turned their hopeful attention to Lara.

She thought she heard rustling in the tall grasses behind her. Lara twisted to get a better look. “Todd?” Instead of his tall figure standing there, she found only the softly swaying grass. Thinking she heard movement again, she turned, hoping that Todd would emerge from the trees. There had been mysterious things—mysterious people—appearing here before, only now she welcomed them. She’d even dreamed about them again last night.

It was late harvest in the valley, and she knew the nearby winery’s seasonal staff would be out this morning, racing against the clock for any late grapes that were ripening. Expecting to hear the firing up of tractor engines and the shouts and laughter from the early-morning pickers, she pulled her legs closer, meeting the eyes of the tall chestnut horse that had begun staring at her from his gate. It was as though time had stopped. Even the scene in the house looked like one of those episodes of The Twilight Zone where everyone had fallen into a deep sleep with Lara being the only person conscious and left wandering the earth.

She didn’t know how long she’d been sitting when she heard the gravel shifting then saw the glare of headlights coming up over the drive. Her breath caught. Todd! Oh, thank God.

This had all been a terrible nightmare.

But the car that emerged from the trees wasn’t Todd’s familiar white Mustang. Instead it was a dark Jeep Cherokee. She’d seen this car before. The door opened and the outline of a man appeared. From the way he placed his hand heavily on the roof before he came around the car, she knew that whoever he was, he was delivering bad news.

Lara jumped up and ran down the hill, forgetting that she was only dressed in a thin cotton nightgown. The sight of her emerging from the field, her hair a wild tangle of blond and her makeup still in streaks, must have been a fright. “Did you find him?”

The face was familiar, and it took Lara a minute to place it. Ben Archer, the chief of police.

Immediately he removed his jacket and placed it around her shoulders. “How long have you been out here? It’s freezing.”

Lara looked out in the field blankly. It was definitely lighter now than when she’d come outside. She could make out the outlines of the mountains in the distance. “I don’t know. Half an hour. I thought I heard something.”

“Jesus, Lara,” said a voice. Lara turned to see her mother at the door, pulling her bathrobe tight.

“I found her out here.”

When they reached the house, Lara’s mother grabbed her arm and ushered her up on the front porch and through the door.

Once they were inside, the police chief didn’t move much past the stairs. “We found Todd’s car.”

Lara felt the room spin and could feel herself swaying. In a flash, thoughts came. What questions should she ask? Should she be sitting or standing? Would she need tissues? An eternity seemed to pass before she realized he’d said Todd’s car. Not Todd. Ben had not said he was found dead.

“What about Todd?” Audrey had taken her by the shoulders.

“Is he hurt?” Lara added, her voice rising hopefully, because the alternative was worse.

Ben shook his head. “No sign of him.”

“What do you mean no sign of him?” said Audrey. Her mother’s voice had an edge to it, causing Lara to turn and look at her. Despite the woman’s earlier denial, her mother knew something.

“We called the state police.” Ben Archer rubbed the back of his neck. “They’re going to take the car and analyze it.” There was a haze of stubble on his face and a look of exhaustion. He clasped his hands in front of him like an undertaker at an unexpected funeral.

It occurred to Lara that, living in Kerrigan Falls, he probably hadn’t had to give bad news to anyone before, so he had no practice at it. Nothing happened here. Until now.

“That’s why I wanted to get down here to talk to you,” he continued. “His car is going to be towed through town on a flatbed. People will notice it. They’ll talk.” He stammered. “I just wanted to prepare you. Now I’ve got to tell Fred and Betty.”

“They don’t know yet?” Lara’s hand went to her mouth from shock. She imagined Betty Sutton hearing this news.

Ben shook his head. “I came here first.”

“Where did you find it?” Audrey’s voice was thin and tense, expectant even. “The car?”

Lara studied her mother’s features, looking for something.

Ben hesitated before answering. “Wickelow Bend.”

Audrey’s eyes widened, but not with surprise. Lara made a mental note of that. There was something unsaid between her mother and Ben Archer. At the mention of Wickelow Bend, the air seemed to go out of her