March 18, 1960

I’ve never been so happy, never knew such happiness existed. Losing James has ended up being a blessing in disguise. Mary and James are happy and now I’m ecstatic! Could life be better? I doubt it. I am so filled with feelings of love…

Judy shook her head and turned the page. She barely recognized the author anymore – just a faint feeling of déjà vu for a friend now long dead. Who was this love-struck girl who had written such corny, cliched nonsense? If one of Judy’s students had ever handed in trash like this, Judy would have written a giant ‘See Me’ on the top of the first page. But, alas, love was like that. By its definition, love called for corny cliches.

April 3, 1960

We’re going to visit my family today. I don’t expect them to be thrilled for me. I doubt they’ll understand. But how can they deny the glow in my face? How can they be upset when they see how happy we are? They will have to accept us…

She smiled slightly. Reading the words, Judy once again felt the hope that had coursed through her young body so many years ago. How terrific life had been on that April morning. How beautiful the whole world had seemed. Even now, Judy could still feel that tingle of excitement in her stomach. Everything was going to work out. Everything was going to be perfect, just like it was supposed to be.

Her smile vanished. How naive she had been. How fragile and elusive the few moments of joy had proved to be. But on that wonderful April day, who could have blamed such a happy, trusting girl for being blind to the cruelty that awaited her?

May 29, 1960

Help me. God, what have I done? The whole situation has become too much for me to handle. It’s completely out of control now. It’s taking on a life all of its own, and I don’t know where it will lead. I fear the worst, but what else could possibly happen…

What else, indeed. Judy turned away from the diary. She did not read anymore. May 30th was next. Her body felt cold. She could not bear to look at the words she had written on that day, could not bear to even think about that day.

May 30, 1960.

Her eyes closed in pain. Enough, already. Why was she tormenting herself like this? Why, when her relationship with Colin was bringing her true happiness for the first time in thirty years, had she come here in the first place? She should just let the past be; but, of course, that was not what the past wanted. It cried out, demanding that its secrets be set free. And one day, the past would have its way. One day, Judy would be dead and this safety deposit box would at last be opened. Its secrets would be let loose into the sunshine of truth where, hopefully, they will wither and die. One day, this small booklet written by a hopeful, guileless young woman will let Laura know why her precious David had to leave her forever. And one day, Laura will learn what happened on May 29 and…

May 30, 1960.

Judy put the book back in the bottom of the box, closed it, and called for the clerk to take it back. She stood there and watched the clerk walk away with her most secret possession, not knowing that she would never see it again.

19

Twenty-four hours had passed since Laura had kissed Graham’s cheek, made him promise to call her as soon as he learned something, bade him goodbye, and boarded the Qantas Airways flight in Cairns. Now the Pan Am jet that had originated at LAX landed with a thud. Laura stared out the window, watching the blurry mass focus into Boston’s Logan airport as the 747 coasted to a slower speed. She was exhausted, but Laura had not slept. Whenever she closed her eyes and tried, the same question kept nudging her awake.

What happened to David?

Laura still did not know. Her visit to Australia had given rise to more questions than it answered. Maybe some of these uncertainties would be resolved when they finally located the guest list or the phone bills from the Pacific International, but then what would she do? What was she searching for anyway? David was dead. What was the point in going through all of this?

She went through customs, found a taxi, and settled into the backseat. Her mind was still in Australia, still trying to figure out what David’s last few hours had been like. Nothing made sense anymore. If someone had been after David’s money, why had the bastards killed him? Why didn’t they just hold him for ransom? Laura would have given them all the money they wanted and not said a word to anyone. But no, they chose to go through this elaborate scheme and kill David when the alternatives would have been much more profitable.

Why go to all that trouble? Unless…

Unless David wasn’t killed for the money.

Laura sat up. Could that be? But why else would someone want to get rid of David? If his money was not the motive, what was? Laura’s mind clawed around for the answer, but nothing came to her. Sure, there were people whom David had alienated. But enough to kill him? Not likely. How about someone who wanted him out of basketball? How about some big-time bookie who had bet against the Celtics once too often and thought David had double-crossed him? Highly unlikely. Besides, this was hardly the mob’s style. If the mob had wanted David dead, they just would have sent some guy with a bent nose and a stiletto to do the job. There would have been no need for all this fancy cover-up.

The taxi reached the heart of the city, passing all the familiar landmarks Laura thought of as old friends. Had David really been murdered? When Laura mentally stepped back and viewed the evidence unbiased, she could see that most of it was circumstantial at best. So David visited someone in a hotel and made a few phone calls back home – big deal. It was a long stretch from those flimsy facts to concrete proof of a murder.

Laura glanced out the window. Reaching deeper into her mind, Laura wondered what she was really trying to find in all of this. Suppose David had been murdered. What would she do then? Would she hunt down the killers, demanding their blood like some character in a Charles Bronson film? Was she seeking vengeance, or was she just using this ‘investigation’ as an excuse to keep reality at bay for a little while?

Revenge had never been her game in the past. Laura’s mind traveled back to Gloria’s terrifying phone call from California last year. The two sisters spoke about nothing in particular, just catching up on what was going on in one another’s lives. When Gloria finally said goodbye, Laura felt baseless panic. It was nothing her sister had said, nothing in the words they exchanged and yet the conversation kept gnawing at Laura. Something was wrong – not just the routine problems of life but seriously wrong. Deadly wrong. She decided to charter a plane and fly out to see her sister.

‘Charter a plane?’ David had said. ‘Why the rush?’

‘I can’t explain it, David. You should have heard her voice. So lifeless. Like I was talking to someone who knew they were reaching the end.’

T.C. met them in the airport. They flew out to San Francisco and stormed in on a group of men gang-raping Gloria. After chasing the Colombians out of the house, David wanted to beat the shit out of Gloria’s scuzzy boyfriend Tony and leave him for near-dead. T.C. concurred. But even though Tony had inflicted unimaginable horror onto her sister, Laura felt no need to strike back. She only wanted to save her sister. Revenge did not interest her.

So why the change now? Why was she all of sudden demanding her pound of flesh? She had no answer to that query. Maybe it was because David would have done the same if Laura had been the one killed. He had always fought those who harmed his loved ones with an intensity that sometimes frightened Laura. But maybe her motives were much simpler. Maybe she hoped this created conspiracy would distract her from the base issue: David’s death. Be it murder or accident, David was dead. Nothing could change that simple fact. David was dead. Laura could say those three words easily enough, could think them, but they never truly sank in.