The Bone Maiden

The Queen of Pentacles

I hurried to the bathroom the moment I heard Ariel’s footsteps on the stairs. The mud had already dried to my feet and left a trail of dirt from my bed to the bathroom. I quickly started a bath of hot water and frantically tried to wash it off before she finished making me breakfast. By the time I was done, she was calling me down.

Ariel’s go-to comfort food was always oatmeal. It was what she made me whenever she thought I was feeling down, or on rainy days. She thought the chalky chunks of dinosaur shapes would ease some of the pain I was feeling, but they only served to remind me of mornings hurrying to finish breakfast while my mom helped me get ready for school. I ate it anyway just to make her feel better. It was apparent she wasn’t going to let me hide in my room. So I sat at the kitchen table by the window, watching the rain drip over the glass and the mossy trees tremble from so many small impacts.

The doorbell rang while Ariel was cleaning up. She usually hummed in the kitchen. It was one of the reasons she decided to open a restaurant. It brought her joy. But she wasn’t humming now, or smiling. Theresa’s death was a dark cloud over everyone.

She tossed a rag over her shoulder and went to answer the door. I stayed in the kitchen, listening to the rain and the muted tone of her voice. She appeared in the doorway and cleared her throat. Two police officers were standing behind her.

“They just wanted to ask you a few questions—about—about Theresa, honey,” Ariel said, twisting her rag nervously.

“Oh, um. Sure,” I replied.

“Can we sit?” one of the officers asked. She waved him toward the table, and he stepped forward to introduce himself. I didn’t bother to stand up or shake his hand. He took a seat, studying me the way that cops do, but the other hovered near the door.

“We heard from Miss Collier’s grandparents that the two of you were pretty close,” he started. I nodded.

“She’s my best friend. Or she was.”

“We understand how difficult this must be for you. So we’ll try to make it quick. We’re just trying to piece things together. You understand?” I nodded again. “Did Theresa give you any clues—any indication at all that she might be planning to take her own life?” I gulped and shook my head.

“None. I mean—I know she wasn’t happy. She got depressed around the holidays, but it was nothing unusual. She promised she’d never—never do what she did.”

“Was it something you’d talked about before?” I shrugged.

“Kind of. Not specifically. We both lost our parents, and we were both hurting. We agreed that we’d never leave each other. Like a pact. That kind of thing.”

“And you feel like it’s out of character for her to do something like this?”

“Yeah, I guess it’s kind of stupid that we’d make a pact like that….”

“It’s not stupid.”

“Can I ask what this is about?” Ariel asked. She was leaning against the kitchen counter. He turned to her.

“We haven’t been able to locate a suicide note. It’s rare in cases like this, you see. Victims typically reach out to family and friends. There are signs. At the very least. We were hoping Miss Baxter might know where Miss Collier would have left a note.” I shook my head.

“If Theresa left a note, it would have been in the barn. That was her favorite place to go,” I explained.

“Yours too, from what I understand?”

“Not really. Theresa liked to be close to her parents. I understand what that’s like. But my home was in Florida and going to the barn with Theresa seemed like the obvious choice. We only hung out there once in a while. Especially when she was missing them or just wanted to get away for a while.”

“Did you ever envy Theresa, for having a place where she could remember her parents?” I stuttered to get a word out.

“I didn’t realize this was an interrogation,” Ariel said, her tone moving from a kind hostess to cold and unfriendly.

“Apologies, ma’am. We’re not interrogating anyone. Just trying to understand Theresa’s motives.”

“She was a troubled teenage girl. An orphan. Spending another Christmas away from her family. Is that not a clear motive?”

“No, frankly it isn’t. Theresa was a good student. Had a steady boyfriend. She had a loving home. A strong support system and close friends. If she’d left behind a note, maybe we wouldn’t have to ask so many questions.”

“If Ava knew about a note she would have told you. She has a loving home and a strong support system too. She had no reason to be jealous of that girl. Theresa—God rest her soul—she had her own set of issues. Let’s just put it that way.”

“What kind of issues?”

“Should I call my lawyer?” He let out an exasperated sigh.

“Not at present, ma’am. But I did have one more question for Miss Baxter if that’s alright.” Ariel gave him a look that was a cross between “go on then” and a challenge. He turned back to me. “Where were you last night? Between one to three am?” I shook my head.

“Home. Asleep,” I explained. “I came right home after I heard the news yesterday. I haven’t left. Why?”

“There was a break-in last night around that time. Someone broke through our protective barriers and may have contaminated the scene. We found footprints all over the mud outside.”

“And you immediately thought it was Ava?” Ariel asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

“Of course not, ma’am. We’re simply trying to cross all our t’s and dot our I’s, you understand?”

“Ava’s been home all night. I can testify to that. So can my husband. He checked on her as soon as he got home from work. She was in bed. And I’ve been in and out of her room all night worried sick about her. She didn’t leave her bed until I forced her to get up and eat breakfast. The girl just lost her best friend. What do you expect her to do? Go play out in a rainstorm?” He nodded and stood.

“Then I guess we have everything we need. For now.”

“Good. I’ll walk you out.”

Ariel ushered them back through the doorway. I could hear a few more words from the both of them before the door shut and she reappeared. She already looked tired. Like she really had been in and out of my room all night to check on me. Only I knew she hadn’t come back after trying to convince me to eat dinner the night before.

“Ava,” she said, trying to figure out how to get started. “Did you go to the barn last night?” I shook my head slowly.

“Honestly? I don’t know.”

“What do you mean you don’t know?” I took a deep breath.

“I think—I was maybe sleepwalking again. There was mud all over my feet when I woke up this morning. If I went back to the barn—I didn’t do it on purpose.”

“Oh hell.” She rubbed the bridge of her nose between her fingers.

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s not your fault, hon. I should have expected it to start up again. After your parents—and the dog—couldn’t get you to stay in bed for weeks. We’ll just have to—set up some precautions, alright? We don’t want anyone thinking you broke in on purpose.” I nodded and chewed on my lip.

“Why did you lie for me?” She tossed her rag onto the counter and went back to work cleaning up the mess she’d made making my oatmeal.

“I watch the news, Ava. You saw the way he was already trying to twist everything you said. I don’t want them to try and pin it on you.”

“Pin what on me? I thought it was a suicide.” Ariel took a deep breath and leaned against the counter. She had her back to me, and I could see how uncomfortable she looked.

“Look—I’m not saying someone killed her—just that kids these days. You see on the TV. Picking on each other. Telling each other to kill themselves. Bullying kids into suicide. Those police have no note to tell them why she did it. They’ll be looking for somewhere to place the blame. You understand?”

“Yeah, I think I got it. But if Theresa was being bullied—I never saw it. She was popular. People liked her.”

“Yeah—I hope you’re right.” She finally looked at me, breaking off her train of thought. “Don’t you worry about it too much, okay? Go upstairs and get some rest. They’ll figure it out.”