White As A Lie

6: The Funeral

Sunday, January 12th. That day would live on in infamy for me.

Many people showed up to the funeral, a lot of them I didn't recognize. I noticed Mr. Johnston couldn't be bothered to come. Maybe that was for the best...

"Nolan," a voice called me afterwards. We stood outside in the cemetery, the sky still grey from yesterday, and the ground coated with freshly fallen snow. My feet, along with the rest of me, was ice.

I turned around to see Nicole's older sister, Laura. "You made it." I said, halfway disappointed and annoyed. Laura lived in Texas, hundreds of miles away. Why couldn't she have stayed there? Of course I knew why. It was her sister, after all.

"Of course. I wouldn't want you to be alone." She had blond hair, just like Nicole. Her brown eyes even had that same sparkle. However, this sparkle didn't say "smart and sexy" like Nicole's. They said "selfish and rude".

"Thank you." I replied, but I was alone. Despite all these people, I was alone. They all came up, said their condolences, then went on. None of them really knew Nicole and I. No one truly knew how I felt. How could they?

"Have they told you what happened?" Laura asked.

I shook my head. "They've finished with the autopsy, though. We already knew she was stabbed, they're just trying to figure out the details."

She frowned. "Well, if they're finished, they should know. And if they know, they should tell you."

"I'm sure they will. They only finished yesterday, they probably wanted to wait until after the funeral." I felt myself getting hot with frustration. Luckily it was 30° out.

Laura nodded. "I heard about the baby." She said quietly.

I felt a strange anger flicker in me. How did she know about that? I just nodded, trying not to let that simple sentence get to me as much as it did.

"Such a shame. She always dreamed of being a mother." Laura rambled on. I clenched my fists. Here we go. "I had the same problem with my first husband, Tyler. But when I got together with Hank, everything changed. Now, because of him, I have a beautiful baby boy." She smiled.

Right. How could I possibly forget my nephew Brian? Every time I ever saw Laura, it was Brian, Brian, Brian. I've met him maybe three times. The kid was just five years old, but I swear Laura will tell you he's the next Einstein or something.

"It's a miracle what you can get when you get rid of the old, and try something new." She smiled that painfully obvious fake smile she used when she was insulting someone.

I was just about to say some snotty comeback when suddenly Crystal showed up. "Nolan, who's this?" She asked.

I frowned at her, but went along with it. "This is my sister-in-law, Laura."

Crystal stuck out her hand, and Laura took it. "It's very nice to meet you." Crystal said. "Do you mind if I borrow Nolan?"

Laura stared at Crystal, no doubt thinking she was some woman I was having an affair with. "Go right ahead." The fake smile continued.

Crystal returned the smile, then led me away from her. "What are you doing here?" I asked.

"I thought you could...use some company. Some friends..." She awkwardly looked away. "So, you looked like you were about to punch her."

"Laura Shaw-Adams-Wells is a very difficult person." I responded with a sigh.

"Three last names?" Crystal raised an eyebrow.

"Maiden name, first marriage, second marriage."

"Why not just keep Wells?"

"Because she's a difficult yet lazy person."

Crystal laughed. "What was she just talking about?"

"Her usual stuff, hinting that I'm not, or wasn't, good enough for her sister. She was all but blaming me for Nicole not being a mother. Or she not being an aunt."

"Seriously? She's doing that here? Now?" Crystal gestured to our surroundings.

I nodded. "Anytime she can, she brings it up."

"That's just awful." She said, and looked like she was about to continue, but I interrupted her.

"What did they say?" I asked.

"What did who say?" She played dumb.

"I think you know."

She sighed. "She was stabbed to death, as we already knew, with a paring knife." Crystal looked to the ground. "It doesn't look good for you. It comes down to you or her. Let's face it, people don't often stab themselves to death. Especially not...in their stomach and back."

My heart quickened. "Someone must've broken in! Besides, we don't even have that kind of knife!"

"The door wasn't broken or picked. And you not having the knife doesn't put you in the clear. If anything, it makes it more suspicious." Crystal said.

"I swear, it wasn't me! I swear on my wife it wasn't me! The knife that was used, don't they have that? Didn't they find one somewhere?"

She shook her head. "No knife was found. Let's not talk about this now. We wanted to wait until after the funeral to tell you." She sighed again. "I should get going." She walked away and got into her car.

I just stared after her.

***
That night, I sat in the living room and stared at the spot where I saw Nicole lying dead.

Blood was still visible in the grey carpeting, but just barely.

Stabbed in the stomach and back...

I didn't know how to explain that one. Crystal was right, people don't stab themselves in the back. But how was I supposed to keep them convinced it wasn't me? It was damning evidence of foul play, but if there's one thing that's true in all this:

I didn't do it.

Don't they have the knife? I know she said they didn't, but it has to be somewhere. Search the neighbors knives, dig in people's yards, I don't know. But they need that knife. Surely they can get some DNA from that to prove it wasn't me.

I needed to make sure they knew it wasn't me.