A Day in a Life

Chapter Eight

Elijah

M Y NEXT STOP is Sydni’s older sister, Hannah. The silicone beauty queen.

Sydni’s mother couldn’t help but show her preference for Hannah. It was so obvious, I’m surprised she doesn’t have a tattoo that says HANNAH on her arm.

This ought to be interesting.

When the door opens, I’m greeted by a well-manicured woman with the exact same hairstyle and hair color as her mother. She’s wearing a headband with a small amount of bangs swept to one side, exactly like her mother. Even their fingernails boast the same color nail polish—an unforgettable bright red. They’re the freakin’ Bobbsey Twins. It’s rather ridiculous. Obviously, Clara is trying to maintain her youth by copying her daughter’s style. It appears her daughter enjoys it, perhaps is flattered by it.

Hannah, however, can’t hide the purple circles under her eyes that reveal her fatigue like a neon sign. Being a mother is hard work. She’s dressed in casual office wear, which seems too fancy for a stay-at-home mom. But there’s nothing wrong with wanting to look nice. While she’s miles from hideous, her beauty queen days are over.

I think it’s her sour expression that makes her seem immediately unpleasant.

“Hello. I’m Elijah Garrett. I’m here to speak with you about Sydni. Your sister?” Not sure why I feel the need to clarify that Sydni is her sister. Maybe because everyone seems to have forgotten her.

I assume Hannah, the preferred sister, has all of her emotional needs met by her mother. Why would she bother to think about her baby sister?

“I don’t have much to say, but come on in.” Hannah opens the door to reveal a spotless home.

Other than the overflowing toybox in the corner, I would never know children lived here. Pictures of Hannah’s family dot the walls, to include a large, framed photo of Bella. The family dog. There’s not a single picture of Sydni.

“Please keep your voice down. My children are having quiet time. In-service day. No school.”

“My sister always vacuums while her son’s down. She says it helps him get used to noise, and…” I trail off as Hannah’s face contorts with distaste. I get it. Not helpful advice from a man who doesn’t have children. What do I know?

“Quiet time is very different from nap time. They’re much too old for naps. However, if they don’t have quiet time each day, they’re unruly and mean. What do you want from me, Mr. Garrett?”

“Elijah.”

“Hannah.”

Okay, now that our names are established, maybe we can get somewhere. “I’m trying to piece together Sydni’s final hours. I’d like to determine her state of mind. The police determined her accident was a suicide. I’d like to know if that’s true.”

“Her body was never found. She’s gone. What does it matter?” Hannah’s eyes are wide.

“I’d like to know what really happened. I think Sydni deserves that, don’t you?”

“Of course. So you work for the life insurance company?”

“Yes, Risk Policy Collective.”

“What exactly are they looking for? Do they suspect foul play?”

“It’s always a possibility, but this is a routine investigation.”

“Why can’t they just give Cole the two hundred grand and leave the poor guy alone?” Hannah spits out.

Two hundred grand? It appears there’s no end to Ashcole’s lies. Sneaky little sucker.

“Your sister is about to be declared legally dead. As long as I don’t find anything suspicious, Mr. Greer will receive his disbursement. But first, I’m trying to retrace her steps on that final day. Her state of mind is important. I would hate to accuse someone of suicide if that’s not what happened.”

“Are you saying you don’t think she took her own life?”

“I’m trying to determine that. Did you see her on the day of the accident?”

“What does it matter?” Hannah snaps.

“People contemplating suicide will often reach out for help first. Many times, they don’t really want to die. They want help.”

“Yeah, she came here. Lily was just eight weeks old, only fifteen months younger than my middle child. My older two girls are only fourteen months apart. I was a little swamped. Three girls under three.”

“So, they’re approximately seven, eight, and nine now?”

“Close enough,” Hannah shrugs.

“Were you able to speak with Sydni?”

“Well…I mean…a little bit. Emi had just colored on the walls, and Bri threw up her lunch. It wasn’t the best moment in time.”

“What did you do?”

“Sydni offered to hold Lily while I took care of Emi and Bri. I didn’t think she was ready to hold Lily, but she insisted she would be fine.”

“Was she fine?”

“Take a wild guess, Elijah.”

Hmmm, crabby. “By your tone, I’m going to say no.”

“Ding, ding, ding. Aren’t you a quick one? No wonder you’re a PI.”

I ignore Hannah’s sarcasm. “What happened?”

“She held Lily and cried her eyes out. It’s not good for a baby to feel those kinds of emotions. They’re very aware of the atmosphere around them.”

“Was Lily crying?”

“Well, no. She was sound asleep. But I didn’t want her exposed to so much angst.” Hannah shoots me a “duh” look.

“What did you do?”

“As soon as I was done taking care of Emi and Bri, I took Lily away from Sydni. She was just torturing herself.” Hannah rolls her eyes as though she’s disgusted with the subject matter.

“How did Sydni respond?”

“She begged me to let her hold Lily.”

“And you said no?” I again feel sorry for Sydni.

“I said absolutely not. No way. Until she could pull herself together, I told her it would be best if she didn’t see Lily for a while. It was too much.”

Once again, I’m glad I’ve mastered the art of controlling my emotions. It takes everything inside me, though. “What did Sydni do?”

“She continued to cry. I finally asked her why she had come to see me. Couldn’t she see how busy I was?” Hannah splays her hands.

“Wasn’t she helping you by holding Lily?” My stomach is tight with tension.

“Not if she was sobbing, she wasn’t. Finally, she stood and said, ‘Never mind.’ Then she left. I never saw her again after that.”

“What do you think she wanted?” I ask, inwardly cringing at Hannah’s cold treatment of her sister.

“Someone to feel sorry for her? I don’t know. She never said.”

Wow. Not sure I’ve ever seen a more unsupportive family. My family would never behave this way.

“I know that sounds terrible, but we scored in the parent department. Sydni had loads of support.” Hannah shrugs again, indicating this is all no big deal.

Hannah had lots of support and attention. Hannah scored in the parent department. Sydni was ignored.

“Were you and Sydni close?” I ask.

“Yeah, she was my sister. Of course we were close. I miss her every day. We were very different from each other, though. We didn’t have a lot in common.”

That’s been made very clear to me. “Were you close when you were younger?”

“I’m the oldest, and I was always given the task of watching over Sydni, or playing a game with Sydni, or taking Sydni to the park. Frankly, I hated it.”

“Did Sydni misbehave?” Because all bad behavior currently points to Miss Hannah.

“No. She was an easy child. I just wanted to be with my friends, not my little sister. It was such a drag. All my friends wanted to talk about was how cute she was. It was irritating.”

“Where was your mom?” Renovating her home?

“Errands, mostly. I was her built-in babysitter. After I complained, Mom apologized profusely for doing that to me. I mean, she was expecting a lot. She bought me a beautiful silver bracelet with our initials on it, and I forgave her.”

Such a mean mother, expecting her entitled daughter to help. “That was nice.”

“It was, but that’s not what was most important to me. You see, me and my mom, we’re best friends. We do everything together. We talk on the phone every day. We go shopping. We get manicures and pedicures. We just…love the same things, you know? We always have.”

“Where did Sydni fit in?” I ask boldly.

“Sydni? She didn’t. She never liked doing the same things as us.”

“But she was always invited?” Please say yes.

“Well…no. Sydni liked doing her own thing. What are you implying?”

“No implications. Just asking questions. Trying to understand the dynamic.” The dysfunctional dynamic.

“There’s no dynamic involved. Sometimes one daughter gets along better with their mother than the other. End of story.” Hannah smiles to herself as though she’s proud of undermining her little sister.

A mother should try to be close to all of her children. She shouldn’t favor one over the other. Clara and Hannah were blind to their actions and how they must’ve made Sydni feel.

Or maybe they were very aware.

My mom’s the best. She pesters me and my sister equally. There are no favorites when it comes to harassing us about our future plans. She’s great.

Hannah gets to her feet. “Are we done? I have children to care for.”

“May I ask you one more thing?” I fold my hands in my lap.

“I guess so.”

“When was the last time you and Sydni had lunch together?”

Hannah folds her arms, a defensive move. “We didn’t have that kind of relationship.”

“When was the last time you went shopping together?”

Hannah takes a few steps in the direction of the door. “That’s two questions, and Sydni hated shopping.”

“So, technically, you didn’t spend much time together, and you don’t know Sydni’s state of mind?”

“Okay, fine. I guess I don’t. Not really.” Hannah lets out her breath.

“Hey, no judgment. Just wanted an honest answer. I’m trying to understand Sydni, so I need to find people who can help me.”

“You know what, Elijah, I take that back. There’s a lot I know about Sydni. I know her and Cole were on the outs. I know divorce was on the table. I know Cole was seeing someone else. I know Sydni was upset about the disintegration of her marriage. Okay? So I did know my sister. She was having a hard time. Once she lost the baby, she was hysterical. It put her over the edge, and she took her own life. That was her state of mind.”

“Did you attempt to comfort her?” I already know the answer.

“I was busy with my own life. I know that sounds selfish, but I had three kids under three. It was difficult.”

“I understand.”

“Thank you. So glad you approve of my family relationships. Is there anything else?” Sarcasm is unbecoming of the former beauty queen.

“Yes. One more thing.”

“What?”

“Did you love your sister?”

“Elijah, we’re done. I’ll see you out.”

Hannah walks me to the door. I can feel her anger as though it’s another person in the room.

“I have nothing more to say to you. Don’t come here again.”

“Yes, ma’am.” I nod before walking away.

Hannah is an entitled character, guilty of being the favorite child. The world snaps to attention for her.

Other than that, there’s not much substance to her. Without her fancy clothes and house, she’d disappear.

Poof.