Haunting Olivia (26 page)

“Directly?”

“No,” Ivy said. “William was just a figurehead for the last couple of years. So he wasn’t even really involved in the day to day. According to Declan, William didn’t think a student was worthy of his daughter. I don’t know what he could possibly have so against him. All William would ever say about the subject was that he didn’t like Declan and that I was making a big mistake by marrying him.”

“He wouldn’t elaborate?” Amanda asked. “How could he say you were making a big mistake but not say
why?
”

Ivy shrugged. “My mom thinks William is just trying to control me. So does Declan. And I’m so conditioned to not give a flying fig what William thinks. But it bothers me.”

“Because you think William knew something about Declan?” Olivia asked.

“I guess so,” Ivy said. “But what? If he knew Declan to be a womanizer, say, wouldn’t he just tell me? Or if he was an embezzler or whatever. Why not just tell me what his big gripe was? Why keep it secret?”

“Until your wedding day, too,” Olivia said. “If he’s going to reveal his problem with Declan in the letter you’ll receive on March twentieth, wouldn’t he specify you had to open it at the crack of dawn?

Before
you married him?”

Ivy ran a hand through her short auburn hair.

“That’s what I don’t get. What I can’t figure out. It’s as though it doesn’t matter to William whether I go 246

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through with the wedding or not. My mom thinks he’s up to something. But I can’t imagine what. I’m sure I’m inheriting the inn he owns in New Jersey.

That’s the only other property he does own. There’ll be a bunch of silly rules for me to follow for a month, just like he put you two through.”

“I’m just grateful my letter didn’t stipulate that I had to spend the thirty days in the cottage,” Olivia said. “I can’t imagine ever spending another night there.”

“I’m so worried about what’s going on here,” Ivy said. “Are you sure you and Kayla will be safe?”

“I’m not sure,” Olivia said honestly. “And I don’t know what’s going to happen when the thirty days are up. There are two weeks left to go.”

“You mean with Zach?” Amanda asked.

Olivia nodded. “Kayla is my daughter. So I’m going to make my home wherever she is. I just don’t know if that will mean in her home. I don’t know how Zach feels or what he wants.”

“How do
you
feel?” Ivy asked.

“I love him so much,” Olivia said. “I want us to be a family more than anything.”

“Maybe you should tell him that,” Amanda said.

Olivia closed her eyes and thought of him, how he came to her every night now. How they made love with so much passion. It was so hard to tell how Zach felt. He was sexually attracted to her, that she knew. And she was his child’s mother. So there was a complex emotional core between them on that level alone.

But did Zach
love
her? That she didn’t know.

Chapter 21

When Zach and Olivia arrived at Johanna’s shop at eight o’clock the next morning, the door was unlocked, but Johanna was nowhere to be found.

“Johanna?” Olivia called out.

No answer.

Zach tapped Olivia’s arm and pointed under the curtain of a fitting room. He’d know those three-inch-high red suede boots anywhere. And that over-powering perfume.

“You two are glued at the hip,” came a familiar voice from the fitting room. “Someone ought to separate you with a machete or something.”

Ah. All the better that Marnie was here and making vicious comments. He had a small recorder in his pocket. His plan had been to get Johanna talking again on her own turf. But perhaps he’d get the queenpin to incriminate herself.

Olivia shot him an uneasy glance, and he squeezed her hand.

Marnie came out of the fitting room, wearing her usual tight jeans—and a black lace push-up bra.

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“Zach, give me a man’s opinion, will you? Do you prefer this color on me, or this color?” she asked, holding a white and then a black sweater to her chest.

“I prefer
appropriate
on you,” Zach said.

Marnie laughed.

“I heard that Don withdrew from judging the Inner-Beauty Pageant,” Zach said. “I don’t think you’ll be able to seduce Pearl, so the pageant should be fair from here on in.”

Marnie’s smile faded.

“Johanna, I have my receipts for you,” Olivia called out. “Are you here?”

“Johanna’s not feeling well,” Marnie said. “I promised her I’d handle the collection of your receipts and the signing of the clipboard. We are cousins, after all. It’s the least I can do.”

Zach stared at her, his gut twisting. “Maybe we’ll stop by her house. Keep things on the up-and-up—

and bring her some hot soup. Nasty cold?”

Marnie’s wheels were spinning. “Nasty bruise, actually. Johanna’s a bit of a klutz. Walked right into a door.”

“Really,” Zach said. “I’d think anyone who could walk on those four-inch heels she favors would be pretty steady on her feet.”

“Well, that shows you what you know, Zach,”

Marnie said. She turned to Olivia. “You can leave your receipts on the counter. The sign-in sheet is there too. Until Johanna’s on her feet again, I’ll be minding her business,” she added pointedly.

“I prefer to deal with Johanna herself,” Olivia said. “Let’s go, Zach.”

“I wouldn’t bother her if I were you,” Marnie quickly said. “She’s got something of a concussion HAUNTING OLIV IA

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and needs to rest. In fact, she’s at the hospital,” she added, stepping toward Olivia.

The bell above the door jangled, and a few women came in. Zach saw Olivia’s shoulders visibly slump with relief.

“I’ll be calling that attorney to inform you that you forfeited,” Marnie said. “According to Johanna, you only have a window of fifteen minutes to produce your daily receipts and sign the clipboard. It’s now eight-twenty.”

“Actually, Marnie,” Olivia said, “I read the fine print of the letter from my father’s lawyer. It states that if Johanna Cole is unable to conduct her duties as caretaker during the thirty-day period the terms of the conditions are void and the cottage is mine.”

A murderous glint shone in Marnie’s eyes. “Well, then, enjoy your trashed house.” One of the women perusing a display of turtlenecks asked for Marnie’s help, and Marnie snapped, “We’re closed.”

“Let’s go, Liv,” Zach said, ushering Olivia out. “Is that true about the conditions?” he asked as they headed down Blueberry Boulevard. “No more eight o’clock visits from Johanna? It’s yours fair and square.”

“Not that I want it,” she said. “But yes. I just have to talk to Edwin Harris, William’s lawyer. And I suppose Johanna will need to verify that due to illness she was unable to meet her end of the bargain. It might end up being her word against mine.”

“Nope,” Zach said, pulling out the recorder.

“Marnie verified it for you.”

Olivia smiled. “Didn’t you once say you were an architect, not a detective?”

Zach’s cell phone rang. It was Blueberry’s finest.

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He, Olivia, and Kayla were wanted at the Abernathy residence.

“Now what?” Zach muttered as he opened the passenger door of his truck for Olivia.

Ten minutes later, Zach had his answer. Eva Abernathy woke up that morning to find a dead mole on her pillow—with a note that read: “You’re next.”

“We found this outside the twins’ bedroom window,”

an officer said to Zach, holding up a pink wool glove with pink sparkly pompoms on the hem.

“And we’re pressing charges,” Clark Abnernathy said, his arm around his wife. “My daughters are dropping out of the pageant.”

“Thanks to Kayla!” Eva screamed from the top of the stairs. “Because of her and her stupid jealousy, we have to drop out. It’s so unfair! And now that we’re out of the pageant, she gets to go first.

It’s probably all part of her big plan!”

“Officer, something supposedly connecting my daughter has been found each time there’s been an incident,” Zach said. “I think she’s been set up. If my daughter were going to drop a dead mole on someone’s pillow, she wouldn’t be stupid enough to drop her very unique glove outside the girl’s window. Or leave a perfume trail. Or hand her backpack to the principal when she knows the principal will pull out the evidence that will incriminate her.”

“He might be right,” the officer said to the Abernathys. “And the glove doesn’t prove anything.”

“Get out, all of you,” Mrs. Abernathy said, her cheeks bright red.

Once they were back in the truck, Zach said, “I’ve HAUNTING OLIV IA

251

had it. I don’t know what the hell is going on, but I’m getting to the bottom of it.
Now.
”

“How?” Olivia asked.

“There are three girls left in the pageant besides Kayla. Marnie’s daughter, Jacqueline McCord’s daughter, and the Carle girl, Cecily. Two of the mothers have a huge problem with both of us, and one of them may be trying to frame Kayla. Let’s go talk to Cecily’s mother. Find out if she’s gotten any threats.”

A few minutes later, they pulled in front of the Carle house, a pretty extended Cape near the center of town. Rorie Carle welcomed them in, and they sat down at the kitchen table to coffee and scones.

“Rorie,” Olivia said, “I want to say first that Kayla is not responsible for what’s been going on.”

“Look,” Rorie said, “I’ll be honest. I don’t know Kayla well. She was over here once and seemed like a sweet, polite girl to me. But so do the Abernathy twins and Brianna Sweetser. I don’t know what to make of Deenie McCord. But when one of the girls called Cecily first thing this morning to report what had happened, even Cecily wondered aloud if Kayla was the culprit.”

“But Cecily stuck up for Kayla in public,” Olivia said. “I’m surprised to hear that she thinks Kayla’s the one.”

Rorie shook her head. “She doesn’t think so. She’s just worried that it might be Kayla. If it’s not, then it’s Deenie. But in the window of time that the posters were taped up, Deenie was taking a makeup midterm exam. And everyone knows that her asthma precludes 252

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her from going anywhere near perfume. One sniff and she can’t breathe. So . . .”

“So Kayla looks guilty,” Zach finished.

“I’m sorry,” Rorie said. “I like Kayla. So does Cecily.

But we don’t know what to think.”

“Rorie, has Cecily been targeted in any way?”

Zach asked.

Rorie’s lips tightened. “I just found out about it this morning. She didn’t want to tell me because she was afraid I’d worr y, but she did receive a threatening letter just a few days ago. After hearing about the dead mole at the Abernathys’, Cecily was so shaken up, she told me about it.”

“What did the letter say?” Olivia asked.

Please tell me there is nothing connecting Kayla to this
one,
Zach thought.

Rorie got up and took her purse from a hall closet. She withdrew an envelope and handed it to Zach.

You’re too pretty to win the Inner-Beauty Pageant.

Everyone knows it’s for ugly girls. So you’re no competition. But you’d better keep your mouth shut. Or else.

Zach shook his head. “Unbelievable,” he said, handing the letter to Olivia.

“Keep her mouth shut about what?” Olivia asked.

Rorie shrugged. “At first Cecily thought it meant sticking up for Kayla. But now she doesn’t know what to think.”

The phone rang, and Zach and Olivia quickly thanked Rorie for her time and honesty, then left.

“Now what?” Olivia asked, her expression as glum as he felt.

“Now we go for a walk,” he said. “Between Marnie HAUNTING OLIV IA

253

this morning and this bit of news, I just need a breather.”

He didn’t have to think about where to go; he in-stinctively drove to the beach, and they headed down the mile-long rocky path to the secluded strip that was always deserted. Today was no different.

The beach was beautiful. Even gray and cold and still covered in the last storm’s snow, this particular stretch of beach took Zach’s breath away. And it brought him back to the happiest days of his former life, which seemed like a million years ago. He could barely remember being that kid, watching his father stagger up the road at two in the morning, dead drunk. Watching his mother get into some stranger’s car at ten or eleven at night. Twenty minutes later hearing the car door open, then close, then the front door open and close. Coming downstairs in the morning before school to find a half-eaten bag of potato chips on the kitchen table, if he was lucky.

It was worse, of course, when he was younger and couldn’t fend for himself or earn his own money to feed and clothe himself. But he’d been working since he was fourteen.

With everything he’d been through, he’d never once thought about stealing. Or lying. Or doing anything other than what seemed right to him.

When you had parents whose values were completely opposed to yours, doing right came pretty easily. If you were unsure of what was right in a given situation, you imagined what your mother or father would do and did the opposite.

His parents had died in a car accident not long after he had left Blueberry with Kayla. He’d been 254

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tracked down in Boston by a Blueberry cop, heard the “I’m so sorry to have to tell you this, son, but . . .”

The ramshackle house was his. Two bedrooms and peeling paint and falling down. At first, he’d been tempted to come back and live in it, enroll in the University of Maine. But he couldn’t imagine going back, bringing Kayla back to that nothing-ness. Boston was new, about new possibilities, about his new life. He wouldn’t bring her back to Blueberry until he could make a nice home for her.

“This is where she was conceived,” Olivia said, shaking Zach out of his thoughts.

He glanced down at where she was staring, their secret place back under the stand of trees, where they’d made love, hidden from view. In Olivia, he’d thought he’d found the answer to every question he’d ever had in life.

“The last few months have been crazy,” Zach said, kicking at the sand. “It was a combination of Kayla starting eighth grade and my starting to date Marnie. Eighth grade is a world’s away from sev-enth,” he said. “She slowly changed from this sweet angel girl to this defiant, moody creature who’d lock herself in the bathroom, then come out with so much black make-up on her eyes. She’d take her clothing allowance and buy shirts that said: “I Hate You More.” Everything I asked, her answer was: