Sugar and Spice Chapter Twenty-four

 

Chapter Twenty-four

October 22 Wednesday afternoon

Amanda Lander’s House

Beacon Hill

Boston, Massachusetts

 

 WHAT TO DO? What to do? What to do? Heidi’s skin from the heat of the shower was almost burned. Now standing in front of the mirror, her hair wrapped in a towel, she realized that she’d lost the ability— no that was wrong. She’d given away the ability to make her own decisions.

Why? For most of her marriage, she thought she had the perfect daughter, the perfect house, the perfect husband. It had been easier to just go along.

When did it start?

In her early marriage no matter what she planned or did, Vernon changed it. It could be as simple as moving a vase or where she suggested a place for a weekend-get away. He always had an alternative.

Once Amanda was born, in contrast he never said no to the baby. She didn’t need to cry for anything. A whimper earned her every wish. It has escalated. Amanda had almost a Barbie city of dolls and her accessories, never mind other toys. Her bed was covered with stuffed animals. Her closet was stuffed with clothes until there was barely room for another dress.

Amanda loved clothes. Whenever Vernon bought her a new outfit, she would put it on immediately and twirl in front of him. “Do you like it on me, Daddy?” Then she would curl up in his lap and tell him she loved him so much. That was a lot cuter at four than it was at nine. Heidi didn’t want to admit to herself that she found it creepy.

As much as she tried to push the thought from her mind, Heidi wondered maybe, just maybe, they’d created a monster, a child who planned a murder.

Half of her wished she hadn’t continued looking at Amanda’s laptop. She wouldn’t have read how her daughter had planned how her friends could help, who would bring the knife, the gloves, the apron, the research on how long it took someone to die, the different suicide notes. She sent it all to her printer before closing the laptop and leaving it where she found it. Amanda would notice if she left it any other place, although Heidi could tell her daughter that it was the cleaning woman.

No, that wouldn’t work. Wednesday wasn’t one of the cleaning woman’s days.

Damn it! She was 41 and worried about making her daughter unhappy when she should be thinking of how to get her daughter the help she needed. And how to convince her husband that their child needed help.

Did she need help? What if she was overreacting? For one second, she worried how her beautiful daughter was a danger to others. Was she a danger to them also? No, no, no. not possible.

What could she do with the information? When her husband came home, he would deny the severity. He already had a lawyer ready to defend and/or sue the police who said something negative about his angel. His brother was using his city managerial position to keep the police under Lander control.

If Heidi couldn’t go to the police or even their lawyer who would tell Vernon, who could she talk to?

To whom should she share this? For forty-six minutes she sat, still in her bathrobe, her hair wrapped in a towel. Then she realized she had only one choice. She picked up her mobile.

“May I speak to Lieutenant Reardon, please.” She knew with those words she was probably tearing her family apart forever.