Crossing Over

Chapter 34

                                  

The next few days went by in a flurry of activity. Cameron and his friends who Andra had yet to meet continued to gather the equipment they would need. They had been intrigued by the idea of filming what was occurring in the house. Cameron had told them as long as they kept it quiet they would be allowed to tag along. It was a win-win because Cameron had no idea how to operate half the equipment they were bringing.

For Andra's part, she went over everything they knew about Savannah and her death. She wanted to make sure that when she presented it to her audience that every detail was correct. She wanted to do Savannah justice. Neither Andra nor Cameron had spoken about what she had found after that afternoon. 

The day of the actual live stream dawned cloudy and grey. There were large angry-looking clouds just over the horizon but moving slowly.  Andra found it very fitting. There had been a storm the night Savannah had died. Checking the sky one last time Andra started down the stairs. Cameron should be here any second. She had made sure to tell him to wait on her in the driveway. She had one last thing to do before they left.

Denise was at the kitchen table. There was a small cup of coffee at her elbow. Her hair had been pulled up in a bun and she wore her glasses. Her head was bent over a small pile of what looked like billing statements.

"Can we talk momma?"

"Sure. I need a break anyway." She said standing and going to the refrigerator to grab a water bottle. "I hate this time of the month. Everything due at once. What's up?"

"I was just wondering why you lied to me."

"Andra Elizabeth what are you talking about?" she asked slamming the door with a look of confusion on her face.

"You told me about the last conversation you and Savannah ever had. You said she told you she couldn't trust her best friends but that wasn't right was it, momma? She told you about her mother that night. About Gloria and the Colonel. Gloria and Paul, your father. She came to tell you that they killed Donald and you turned her away."

Denise stood there staring at her daughter as if seeing her for the first time. "Andra how could you possibly know that?" 

"We came across some things while we were researching Savannah. Did you know she wrote about you in her diary? She wrote about him too." Andra finished in a scornful tone throwing the picture she had found online onto the table. In the picture, Paul stood with his hand on the shoulder of a teenage girl. That girl was Denise. "I found this picture of the two of you at Savannah's memorial service. They called him the Colonel. Why?"

Her mother crossed the room slowly and sat down hard at the kitchen table. It looked as if the strength had gone out of her legs completely. 

"He was in the military for quite a few years," she said in a voice so quiet that Andra almost didn't hear her. "He received a medical discharge after he injured his back on active duty. The colonel was a nickname his employees gave him because he ran the store like he was still in the military." 

"Mom please explain to me how you could have known that he did this and kept it quiet for all these years. I want to understand."

Denise looked up her eyes meeting her daughter's. Her voice pleading.  "I had suspicions that he was cheating. I think my mom did too but there was no proof. My mother knew she was dying I'm not sure she would have confronted him if she could have proved it. Even with my suspicions about him what Savannah was saying was so outrageous. I just couldn't believe that he would have been involved in an actual murder. I thought she was crazy. "Denise wiped the tears from her cheeks that fell freely now.