Recapitulation: Hardy’s peculiar revelations about Great-Aunt Gertie’s life and fears have thrown Barry into a sort of upheaval. He ushers Jenna from the funeral home in an acute sense of desperation.
Still they had to cleave the assemblage to retreat, which proved more difficult than you would think. Though the flow worked with them, the slow pace did not. Hands around her shoulders, they moved like a smooth rock placed on a gentle downslope, each step measured and deliberate.
“What are you doing?” Jenna hissed at Barry, a black handkerchief covering her mouth. “Let me go, I was right there.”
“Let’s wait until we get outside dear.” Enlightened Barry looked around at all of them, still unable to decipher the subtle code that would distinguish poor and rich. Ms. Wilborough’s final bequest encoded those tells so well he might as well have been blind.
They emerged through the double doors into the parking lot. Jenna started smacking him with her ringed hands, clacking with each hit. “We had a plan, we had a plan you ass.”
“And now we have a new plan. It got too dangerous in there.”
She stuck her middle finger up at him.
“Very mature.”
“Look closer.”
A polished gold ring, more dazzling than any of their cheap knockoffs, encircled the base of the finger. He leaned around her hand, and a giant emerald greeted him, glistening in the morning sunshine, almost wet in its sharp faceted reflections.
“Could have had three more like this if you hadn’t pulled me out like that.” Jenna rotated the ring around, then stopped to admire her new acquisition.
“They were all in there for the money, every single one of them. It was worse than I thought. Nobody cared about her, everyone just wanted a piece of the pie. Someone would have noticed.” He wiped his brow, the sleeve buttons redistributing the sweat.
“Don’t blame them for your cold feet.”
“Are you alright?” Hardy burst through the doors, his compact body uncoiling like a spring. “The service is about to start.”
“Oh, I just needed some air. We’ll be right there.”
“I’ve saved you and your daughter some seats in the front, just come up the side.” He disappeared back into
Jenna smirked at him. “So Dad, what’s the plan now? We lost our best chance to get the goods.”
“I’m not that old.”
“You’re probably even older than he thought. Whatever. What are we going to do now?”
“We’re going to go back in there and pretend that we care about Ms. Wilborough. We’re going to sit and cry and make all the right statements. Then, we’re going to go back to my apartment and make another plan.”
“Plan plan plan. We had your plan and then you broke your plan. Things happen.” She cocked her head. “Didn’t think you would’ve happened though. It’s all part of the game.”
“Not a game, never a game.”
“And we’re about to do what now? Pretend we care? Sounds like a game to me.”
Barry had stopped processing Jenna’s words. Static to his ears, wild magpie chatter. He’d cultivated relationships with his fellow diggers over the years, and after this funeral, he’d have to start drawing on them. In his view, the plan had only shifted to a marginal degree. They’d still go grave robbing, they’d just do it a little later with fewer crowds. Just the way he liked it.
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