Lotty’s eyes wouldn’t open. Little hands patted her face with increasing fervor. “Mom, guess what? I heard Aiden crying so I took him some applesauce. He’s happy now so you can sleep.” Lotty pried one eye open as Ty climbed onto the bed. “Boom,” he yelled as he fell face forward onto the pillows. He giggled, stood back up, and repeated the process. She glanced at the clock. 6:32a.m.

“You took him applesauce?”

“Yeah. And a spoon. I even got it open by myself.” He beamed before letting out another “boom.”

Lotty wiped her eyes with her hands. “Thanks, bud. Maybe next time you could give him a toy instead of food though, kay? He’s pretty good at making messes out of food.”

He stood back up on the bed. “Yeah, he’s kinda covered in it.”

Lotty dragged herself to Aiden’s room and was pleasantly surprised. The applesauce mess was contained to crib bedding and Aiden’s clothes. She changed both before laying on Aiden’s floor in exhaustion. Her mind had been busy all night and kept her awake for several hours. She’d gone to the police station yesterday, but accomplished nothing. She couldn’t identify the man from the Tuckers’ yard. Instead she’d been questioned by several officers and belittled by Officer Netley.  

In the night, she’d tried to think through every detail, no matter how tiny, she knew about the case, starting with the robberies. There had to be a connection between the three events. What could robberies, arson, and grave robberies have in common? 

Aiden plopped down on Lotty’s back and Ty lay next to her. “Can you play with me, Mom?” Ty asked as he pressed his forehead next to hers. His wide eyes pushed her “not right now” back into her throat. She racked her brain for an idea that would keep him happy and let her remain lying on the floor.

“Okay. How about doctor? I’m the sick patient and you and Aiden have to figure out what’s wrong with me.”

“Yeah,” he shouted, jumping off the floor.

“Oh, and you want to do it very quietly so you don’t disturb your sick patient. Patients need lots of sleep.”

Ty nodded as he began poking Lotty. Aiden followed his brother’s lead and prodded her arm with his chubby fingers. She shut her eyes and imagined the constant poking was a massage.

“Mom. Mom. You’re all better now.” Lotty’s eyes snapped open. She grinned. The boys had let her fall asleep while they played. That had never happened. “And I brought you some food. Doctors like you to eat.” He set a chocolate Costco muffin on a plate next to her.

The ringing of the doorbell forced her to her feet. “Thanks for making me better.” She squeezed Ty’s hand. How long had she been sleeping? She groaned as she walked toward the door, preparing to face Nikki and Jocelyn, who would be trying to force her to the gym on time. 

A glance at the hallway mirror revealed a frightening reflection. Apparently, part of the job of a doctor was to style his patient’s hair. Lotty’s head was covered in knots and tangles, some of which were adorned with a colorful array of chip clips. She pulled out the ones she could, but a few just wouldn’t come free. They were wrapped in her hair. Maybe Nikki and Jocelyn would accept her appearance as excuse enough to not go to the gym again.

After another ring, she swung the door open. Her stomach dropped at the same time as her jaw. There stood her perfectly manicured, expertly coifed, mother wearing four-inch pumps and a white pants suit. 

“Oh, Charlotte,” her mom gushed as she grabbed Lotty and squeezed all the air out of her. Lotty hadn’t seen her mom in over a year and hadn’t spoken to her in a couple of weeks. They got along much better if their interactions were limited. 

Once she’d loosened her hold and Lotty felt the sweet sensation of oxygen returning to her brain, she responded, “Hey, Mom. Wow, I had no idea...” She trailed off as she thought about how this was the worst possible time for her mom to show up. She always talked about how Lotty needed to get out of Montana. Hearing about the crime in the neighborhood would only add fuel to the fire.

“I know. I know. Isn’t this fun? It’s a little early birthday present for you.” Her mom smiled and gave Lotty’s shoulders another squeeze. She stepped inside and touched the top of Lotty’s head. “Oh honey.”

Lotty grinned. “Yeah, the boys fixed my hair while I slept.”

“You need to tell them your hair is too precious a commodity to act as a plaything.”

Lotty nodded. Her mom looked her up and down and gently winced. Lotty pretended not to notice, but was hurt all the same. Her cheeks burned and she imagined her mom adding “splotchy red cheeks” to her ever-growing mental list of Lotty’s flaws. She knew she didn’t look like she used to, but hoped her own mother would understand. She wanted her to look past the bags under her eyes, and instead see a young mom who spent countless hours up with little boys who couldn’t sleep. Couldn’t she ignore the saddlebags and love handles and just see her daughter, who was trying to figure out all this motherhood and marriage stuff and maybe not doing it very well, but trying nonetheless? Lotty blinked back tears and turned away.

“Oh, don’t cry.” Her mom placed her hands around Lotty’s face and looked directly at her. “It will make your eyes puffy. We’re going to figure this out together.”

Lotty furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. Figure this out? Had she heard about the problems in Strawberry Lake Estates?

“I’m not sure exactly how in Montana, but there must be a hairstylist somewhere around here who isn’t completely tainted by the back country. Even if we have to drive for several hours. Maybe Spokane? We’ll find someone who can properly wax those eyebrows and I’m going to introduce you to PiYo. It’s a blend of yoga and Pilates and it will change your life.” Lotty walked toward the kitchen as her mom talked, but her mom matched her step for step. “To start off, I’m taking you shopping.” She clapped her hands in excitement, but her face suddenly fell. “You can buy clothes here other than those awful touristy vests and cowboy boots, right?”

Lotty nodded. She didn’t trust herself to speak right now. If she opened her mouth, she was afraid horribly mean words would find their way out.

“Oh honey, I’m just so excited to see you,” she said, grabbing Lotty’s hand. “Now where are those grandbabies of mine? Let’s get them ready for a day of shopping.”

* * * * *

LOTTY DROVE PAST BERRY Beach. People, especially tourists, seemed to love everything in Walden carrying the strawberry theme, so the public beach next to town square was aptly named Berry Beach. Even with the spring chill in the air, several people laid out in swimsuits next to the lake and the spray park was full of screaming kids.

“Can we stop and see Dad?” Ty asked as Lotty pulled the van into a parking spot two blocks away from the square. Her mom had decided they’d start their excursion by checking out two of the boutiques on the square. If those were a disappointment, they’d have to check at the mall, even though to her mother’s horror there wasn’t a Nordstrom or a Bloomingdale’s. 

Her mom checked her lipstick in the mirror and answered, “No, no, sweetie. We’re going to be too busy. We’re going to find you, your brother, and your mommy some fancy, new clothes.”

Ty stared at his grandma, but didn’t respond. Lotty unbuckled Aiden, set him in the stroller, and followed her mom and Ty toward LuBella’s.

As the door opened and the bell dinged, someone tugged on Lotty’s arm from behind. She turned around, expecting Ty to ask for food or tell her he had to go to the bathroom, but instead she saw a young man with a familiar face. The look of desperation in his eyes stopped Lotty in her tracks. “I need to talk to you.” 

As he stared at her, recognition dawned. She’d seen him at the police station. He was one of the men they were questioning yesterday. She took a step back, but he moved closer.

“Please. I don’t want anyone seeing us,” he whispered. He motioned around the corner.

“Uh.” She hesitated. Following a man who was linked to crime in the neighborhood around a corner so they wouldn’t be seen should make her run in the opposite direction, but her curiosity was overpowering. “One second,” she said, holding up her finger and walking inside. “Hey, Mom, I left my purse in the car. I’ll be right back.”

“Charlotte, I told you, this is my treat. You don’t need your purse,” she said, running her fingers along a powder blue, cashmere scarf.

“Thanks, but I need my purse. It has toys and snacks to keep Aiden happy.” Lotty hoped her mom wouldn’t notice her bag sitting in the bottom of the stroller. “I’ll be back in a sec.” She ran out the door before her mom could argue, and headed around the corner where he’d disappeared. She should be hesitant, probably even scared, but she wasn’t. She covered her nose with her sleeve to block the horrible smell oozing from the dumpsters and waited next to the wall. The buildings blocked out the sun and cast an eerie shadow on the alley. When a figure in a dark hoodie stepped out, it felt like the opening scene of a murder mystery, and those never ended well for the victims. Now fear crept along her spine. She inched her way closer to the sunlight and tried to even out her breathing.

“Look, I know a few things I didn’t tell the cops,” the guy said. Lotty willed herself to look directly at his face. His wide eyes and shaky frame gave away how terrified he was. His fear eased hers. She was struck by how young he was. He couldn’t have been out of high school yet. How had he gotten himself tangled up in this mess? “You’re going to get yourself killed if you don’t stop,” he said as he looked side to side and pulled his hood further over his face.

“Stop what?” Lotty asked. Who did he think he was talking to? She wasn’t sure if she should play along to find out what he knew or be straight with him. The dark shadows prompted her to choose the latter. “I think you may have the wrong person.”

“No, I don’t,” he growled as anger flashed in his eyes. In an instant, it was gone and he looked scared again. “I was going to go to your house to talk to you, but if I show up in that neighborhood again, they’ll probably kill me. So, I waited outside the gate this morning and followed you here.”

“I don’t understand. Who would kill you?”

He sighed and shook his head.

“I’m sorry, but can you just explain what’s going on?”

He grabbed her arm and pulled her close. Her heart stopped and she couldn’t breathe. What had she been thinking following a criminal behind the buildings? “They found me on a site.”

“A site,” she whispered, still unable to find her voice.

“Yes, a website. You know, an underground site.”

“You were behind the grave robberies.”

“That’s what I’m explaining. I wasn’t behind them. I have no idea why they needed to happen. I was selected for the job and I did it.”

“What about the robberies and the arson?”

“I had nothing to do with either of those. The police kept asking me that too.”

“So you’re part of a, a what? Like an online underground...criminal network?” 

“Sure, I guess. Kind of. I need to get out of here, but j—”

“No, please. Tell me about this site.”

“There’s nothing much to tell. It’s disguised as an online shoe store. There are certain keywords and they’re constantly changing. Anyway, that’s not what’s important. What’s done is done. I just wanted to warn you. The night before the police brought me in I saw a post about you. It’s not good. You need to turn over the documents or you’re going to get yourself killed.”

“What documents? Who’s they?”

He sighed. “I’m trying to help you. You’ve got to stop acting all innocent.”

She rubbed her face with her hands. “Why are you trying to help me?”

“It doesn’t matter.”

“It does to me.”

“Because I, ah.” He turned away from her. “I saw you with your kids yesterday.”

She took a deep breath. “I still have no idea what documents we’re talking about. I’ve never owned anything so important in my life that someone would want to kill me over it.”

He shrugged. “Okay. Well at least you were warned, right?”

He started to slink away.

“Hey,” she ran after him and grabbed his arm. “How can I get ahold of you?”

“You can’t,” he said, pulling his arm free.

“How can I find the underground site you’re talking about? Even if I can’t login, how can I access the site?”

He stared at her, seeming to consider his options. “Do you have any paper?”

She pulled out a wrapper from a Dumdum Ty had stuck in her pocket that morning. The kid pulled a pen from his pocket and scribbled on the wrapper as he mumbled, “You’re going to be the death of me.” Then he shoved the wrapper into her hand. “Don’t show this to the police. You can’t trust them.”

“What? Why?”

He was already running off.

“Thank you,” she hollered after him. He waved her off and disappeared around the corner. Lotty pushed the wrapper into her pocket and moved swiftly in the opposite direction. She moved back toward her van before walking to LuBella’s in case anyone was watching. The bell announced her arrival. Ty and Aiden were absorbed in a show on her mom’s phone. She pointed at the stroller in fake exasperation. “It was in the bottom of the stroller the whole time. I tore that van apart trying to find it and here it was.”

“I wondered why you were so slow,” her mom said. “Aiden doesn’t need snacks or toys. Just a good, educational show. Anyway, we have so many pieces for you to try on.” She leaned in so only Lotty could hear. “Who knew a place in Montana could have such fashionable options? But, then again, the owner is originally from L.A.”

Lotty felt like a dress up toy for her mother and Keri, the middle-aged shop owner, who was usually very sweet. However, Doll brought out a whole new side of Keri. They threw item after item at her and spoke to one another like Lotty couldn’t hear.

“Now that’s slimming. If she adds some Spanks underneath, you’ll barely even notice the tummy.”

“Look at the way those layers hide inches on her hips.”

“Oh, that is a darling dress, but not for her body type. I’m afraid she’d look a bit like a marshmallow.” 

Lotty tuned them out. She wished she were alone so she could research the website her new friend in the back alley had given her. She tried to appear calm as she considered the possibility that someone wanted her dead. Was there any way she had documents people were after? And were willing to kill for? Maybe it was something Jason had. He had all sorts of documents relating to his cases. But then why weren’t they after Jason? And who was “they”?

“Mom, can we go? This place smells funny. Can we eat lunch?” Ty asked. Apparently his show had ended.

Aiden yelled, “Go, go, go.”

“Yeah, we’re finishing up right now,” Lotty said. Her mom stared at her.

“Charlotte, we haven’t even started on jackets yet.”

“Mom, the boys need a little break. Why don’t we get some lunch?” 

Doll closed her eyes and sighed, but then gave a slight nod with her chin. “I guess we do have all week.” Lotty tried to hide her shock. A week? Her mom had never visited for more than two days before. How was Lotty going to endure this for a week? 

“There’s a great little bakery next to Jason’s office. We could grab something there,” Lotty suggested. Doll was too busy showing Keri which items to wrap up to answer. “There are these amazing huckleberry cinnamon rolls. You’ll love them.”

“Yes,” Ty yelled, jumping up. “And then we can stop and see Daddy.”

Doll continued talking to Keri, paid for the items, and made her way to the door. “Mom, did you hear me?” Lotty asked.

Her mom smiled and motioned for Lotty to follow her outside. Once the door to LuBella’s had closed, she finally responded, “Look, honey, I didn’t respond in there because I didn’t want to embarrass you, but I don’t think a cinnamon roll for lunch is the best idea. We don’t want your new clothes to get tight.”

Lotty looked away. “Well I told Ty I’d get him one and then we’re going to stop and see Jason.” She pushed the stroller toward the other side of the square. “Thanks for the clothes.”