The World Never Ended novel · Chapter 23 of 24

Chapter 23: Three New Stones

The detective gave me five minutes, and I used them in the field.

It was past two in the morning, and the moon was out over the memorial grass.

My mother stood at the edge of it with the baby in her arms.

My father stood beside her, with his coat open and no hat.

They had both driven out in the dark when I called.

Two officers brought Dean across the grass with his wrists cuffed in front of him.

They had taken off the hood and the mask, but he was still in the gray suit.

The plastic rustled when he walked.

His hair was wet, and his face looked young and furious.

The three stones lay where I had left them.

One was a heap, one was a broken slab, and the third was a pile of granite with a few letters on top.

I had my daughter on my hip, asleep against my shoulder.

"Read them," I said.

"I won't," said Dean.

"You will, or we do this in front of the press on the courthouse steps."

He looked at the detective.

The detective looked at the sky.

"Cora," Dean said. "This is theatre."

"It was always theatre. Read."

Shane stepped forward and set a work lamp in the grass.

The light caught the letters.

Dean looked down at the first piece, and his mouth moved.

"Sylvia Sandstrom," he said. "Beloved mother."

My mother made a small noise and did not look away.

"Louder."

"Sylvia Sandstrom, beloved mother."

"The next."

"Gordon Sandstrom, beloved father."

My father's hand tightened on the strap of his watch.

"The next."

Dean looked at the third stone.

For the first time that night I saw something in his face that was not performance.

Keep reading free with an account. Start The World Never Ended from Chapter 1, then sign up free to read the rest of this chapter.