The Mill River Redemption (16 page)

“That was today? Well, we’re not done, not with the books, at least. I don’t even know how much Alex has gotten done.”

“What do you mean, ‘how much
Alex
has gotten done’?”

“He’s doing the book inventory. He’s even making a spreadsheet of all the titles,” Rose continued. “He offered, and I thought it would be a good project for him. He spends so much time reading as it is, and Lord knows there’s nothing else for him to do around here.”

“This is
important
, Rose,” his aunt said. “Alex is what, nine? You put a nine-year-old in charge of this project?”

“My son is
brilliant
. He’s in accelerated classes, and he has an incredible gift of being able to remember everything he reads in perfect detail. He is quite capable of making a simple list of the books in this house.”

Alex smiled to himself, pleased at his mother’s praise and words of confidence.

“He’s still only nine,” Emily said. “And, this is something
you
should be doing. Alex has no way of knowing which book, if any, Mom might have chosen as a clue, and Mom wanted
us
to be the ones to figure it out.”

“You know, right now, I don’t give a rat’s ass what Mom wanted. Alex is perfectly capable of helping me, and it won’t kill you to wait a few more days. Hell, we have until the end of August.”

“Oh, so now you’re in no rush to finish up Mom’s business? I don’t get it. A few days ago, all you wanted was to get out of here.”

“I still want that,” Rose said. “But it’s clear now that it won’t happen as quickly as either of us would like.”

Alex chanced a look out the window beside the front door just in time to see his aunt reach out and pull his mother close.

“What are you doing?” Rose yelled, quickly breaking Emily’s grasp. “Get the hell away from me.”

“Well, that explains it,” Emily said. “You reek of booze and cheap mouthwash, just like you always did. Mom believed you when you told her you’d given up drinking, but I can’t say I’m surprised. After all this time and everything that happened—”

“I’m not
drinking excessively
. I have a drink every once in a while. It’s no big deal,” Rose said.

“That’s bullshit, Rose, and it
is
a big deal. You’re up here by yourself, with important stuff to do and a kid you’re responsible for. And you’re hungover, passed out, whatever, on the sofa all afternoon? Nothing has changed with you, that’s for sure.”

“Nothing has changed, you got that right. I don’t need any lectures from you. Alex is fine. I’m fine. We’ll finish the goddamned list when we’re good and ready, and until then, you and your filthy dog just stay the hell away from here.” Alex heard the squeak of the screen door as his mother prepared to come back inside.

He turned and quickly walked away, but not before he heard his aunt’s parting shot.

“You’re not fine, Rose. You’re an ugly drunk and a poor excuse for a mother.”

A
S SHE APPROACHED
T
HE
B
OOKSTOP
, D
AISY
D
ELAINE SAW
I
VY SITTING
with Emily in the front porch swing. The little gray dog at her side pricked up his ears and yipped.

“Good idea, Smudgie! Before we go see Miss Rose, we’ll go visit with Miss Emily first. I haven’t apologized to her yet. Yoohoo,” Daisy called. Emily and Ivy stopped talking and looked at her.

“Well, hi, Daisy-lady,” Ivy said as Emily wiped at her eyes. “Haven’t seen you in a few days. You doing all right?”

“Yes,” Daisy said as she and Smudgie walked toward the porch. “I’ve been pretty busy with my garden recently. Lots of my herbs
are ready for picking and drying now, so that’s what I’ve been doing. That way, I’ll have plenty to use for my potions the rest of the year. Except today was so nice, I thought I’d take Smudgie for a long walk.”

“You’re right, today was just perfect,” Ivy said as she lifted a bare foot to wiggle her toes in the summer breeze.

Daisy nodded and looked at Emily. “Miss Emily, I’ve been meaning to come see you to apologize again for the accident at your mom’s house. You know, with the ashes.” Daisy bowed her head and spoke more quietly. “I still feel so bad about that. I tried to apologize to Miss Rose again, too, but she wasn’t too happy to see me.”

“What?” Emily said, sitting up straighter. “You went to see Rose?”

“Um-hmm, last week,” Daisy said. “I even made a special batch of forgiveness potion for her. She was still pretty angry, though. Miss Emily, do you think you could help me think of a way to get Miss Rose to forgive me?

“Daisy, you best stay away from Rose right now,” Ivy said from the porch swing. “She’s got some problems of her own to deal with, and she needs some space. Maybe later in the summer you could talk to her, but now’s not a good time.”

“Ivy’s right,” Emily said. “Look, Daisy, what happened was an accident. There’s nothing to forgive. Plus, Rose hates dogs, so going over there with that cute little fella is a really bad idea.”

“Oh,” Daisy said. “I guess I’ll wait, then, as long as Miss Rose will be here for a while.” She looked up for reassurance and was surprised to see Ivy scowling and Emily’s mouth pressed into a hard, thin line.

“She will be,” Emily said. “I’m sure of it.”

———

I
N THE KITCHEN OF HER LITTLE HOUSE NEXT TO
S
T
. J
OHN
’
S
, C
LAUDIA
was working on dinner. Kyle was coming over after he dropped Rowen off at a friend’s house, and she was looking forward to a nice, private evening together.

She had a pan of chicken tenders sizzling on the stove. Thanks to an herb marinade and cooking spray, the recipe was low in fat but still very tasty. She’d already made a tossed salad and a fresh fruit salad, and both were chilling in the refrigerator. In another pot on the stove was a colorful mixture of green and wax beans, which she would season with sea salt, extra virgin olive oil, and a dash of garlic powder. For dessert, she’d picked up an angel food cake, some fresh strawberries, and some light Cool Whip to make a healthier version of strawberry shortcake.

Over the past five months, she’d learned that Kyle was definitely a “meat and potatoes” sort of man, but he was willing to try almost anything she made. Claudia smiled to herself, remembering how he’d eaten three helpings of her Greek stuffed eggplant.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a soft knock at the front door, followed by the sound of a key opening it.

“I’m in the kitchen,” she called. She was turning the chicken and listening for Kyle’s footsteps when she felt his arms slide around her waist from behind.

“Hey,” he said in her ear as she leaned back and looked around at him.

“Right on time,” she said, before he leaned to kiss her quickly on the mouth. “There’s fresh tea in the fridge. And I think there’s cold beer in there, too. How was your shift?”

“Quiet,” Kyle replied. He opened the door to the refrigerator and removed a pitcher. “But Fitz told me when he came in that the DiSanti sisters had a bit of a blowup this afternoon.”

“A blowup?”

“Yeah, apparently they got into it and started yelling at each
other in front of their houses, right out in the open. Upset Emily pretty bad, or at least that’s what Ruth said. She was over at The Bookstop when it happened.”

“That’s the small-town gossip chain for you,” Claudia said with a half-smile. She felt a twinge of insecurity as Kyle mentioned Emily’s name, but she quickly brushed it off.

“I know, it’s tough to keep anything private in Mill River,” Kyle said. “But if you go and scream at someone in public, well, I can’t imagine you’d care about privacy.”

“Almost everyone in town knows about Josie’s will now, anyway. I went walking with a couple of the teachers yesterday—Jan the science teacher and Brenda from special ed—and they were telling me that people in town are starting to think of the situation as Mill River’s own little reality show.” Claudia looked at Kyle and did her best impersonation of a dramatic television announcer. “Will the DiSanti sisters find the clues hidden on their properties and discover the key to their inheritance? Will they start to rebuild their relationship and honor their mother’s memory? Or, will they lose out on another chance to change their lives? Find out on this week’s episode of
The Treasure Next Door
.”

“A little melodramatic, but not bad,” Kyle said, grinning at her.

Claudia rolled her eyes. “I have no idea how it’s going to turn out, not that it’s any of my business. The only thing that worries me is that Josie DiSanti was my landlady, and I’ve been paying my rent to her attorney since she died. If her estate sells this place, I’ll have to find somewhere else to live. It sure would be easier to move during the summer, before school starts again.”

“Yeah, that’s true. The sisters have until the end of August to do what they’re supposed to, but it might not take them that long. And you might find out about your house situation a little sooner.”

Claudia nodded. “That would be good. They could just finish
what they need to and get on with their lives, without any more shouting matches.”

“Fitz says they’ve been feuding for years, and there’s no telling how bad it’ll get. Back when I was in Boston, we had two women in my district who were neighbors and bitter enemies. I swear, we were out there every other day breaking up arguments. We finally ended up arresting both of them after they got into a fistfight.” Kyle chuckled and shook his head. “I’d hate for calls to start coming into the station here if they get into it again.”

Claudia felt another jab of insecurity as she envisioned Kyle, in his attractive police uniform, potentially making repeated visits to the beautiful DiSanti sisters to mediate their disputes.
What if the sisters began to have physical altercations? Wasn’t watching a “chick fight” supposed to be a huge turn-on for men?

“Claudia? Earth to Claudia, please come in, over.” Kyle’s voice jarred her back to their conversation.

“Sorry,” she said. “I zoned out a little. What did you say?”

“Just wondered what we’re having. I’m starving.”

Claudia ran down the menu for him as she dipped a finger into the tub of whipped topping thawing on the kitchen counter. “Everything’s pretty much ready, other than the strawberries for dessert. Here, come grab a plate.”

“Awesome,” Kyle said. As she served him some chicken, he balanced a dish on one hand and slipped his other arm around her waist. “I was just thinking,” he said in her ear, “how I’ve fallen in love with the perfect woman. Smart, drop-dead gorgeous, and a good cook to boot. But, I think I’d like something other than strawberries for dessert.”

Claudia leaned back against him and smiled coyly. “Oh, really? That’s a shame.” Secretly, she was delighted that he’d reassured her of his feelings for her at exactly the moment she’d needed him to. She held up her serving tongs and turned to face him. “I splurged,
you know,” she said, batting her eyelashes. “I got an angel food cake and whipped cream and everything to make strawberry shortcake.”

“Whipped cream is good,” he said as she giggled. He put his plate on the counter and pulled her closer. “But, I’m not sure we’ll be needing anything else.”

1986

“M
OMMY, YOU
’
RE
PACING
AGAIN
,” R
OSE POINTED OUT AS
her mother casually walked laps in their small kitchen. She emphasized the new word she’d learned from watching her mother deal with uncertainty over the potential sale of her first house.

“Am I? Oh. I guess I am. Nervous energy has to go somewhere. Finish up your dinner, girls. I want you in bed a little early tonight.”

At this, Rose sat up straighter in her chair and looked with wide eyes at her sister across the table.

“Why? Today’s Saturday, so it’s not a school night.” Her mother didn’t reply, so she guessed at the answer. “Is there going to be a fire drill?”

“Maybe.”

“Why do we have to have another one? We’ve already had lots of drills.”

“Because it’s important to practice often, in case there’s ever a real fire. I want you girls to know how to get out of the house by yourselves if you have to.”

Rose sighed. It was the same explanation every time, and she knew by now that there was no use arguing.

Sure enough, late in the night, she and Emily were awakened by the high-pitched screeching of the smoke alarm.

“Oh, no,” Emily said. She sat up in bed and peered around. “I don’t want to go outside. It’ll be cold.”

“Come on,” Rose said. She was already up, stepping into her shoes and pulling on a jacket over her nightgown. “It’ll just take a minute, and then we’ll be back inside. We’ve got to hurry, though. Mom’s waiting.”

When Emily had put on her shoes and coat, Rose grabbed her little sister by the hand and led her to the bedroom door. They paused there, both of them reaching to press a palm flat against the door.

“It doesn’t feel hot,” Emily said.

Rose nodded in agreement. “The important thing is to check. We’re just pretending now, so we can go out.”

They opened the bedroom door and went to the top of the stairs.

“Remember to hold the rail, and walk bent over so you’re close to the ground,” Rose said. Still holding Emily’s hand, she led the way downstairs, through the darkness pierced by the wail of the smoke detector. As they felt their way down, Rose had strange recollections of walking down a different set of stairs. In one, a much larger hand held on to her own. “Not too fast, Rosie,” her father’s voice said in her memory. “One step at a time.” She remembered looking up at him. It wasn’t a face that appeared in her mind’s eye, though, but a tanned, muscular forearm and a shiny wristwatch.

She also remembered being carried down those same stairs, crying and struggling to breathe in thick smoke.

As Rose’s foot stepped onto the floor, the loud reality of her situation drove the memories away. She waited a moment for Emily to join her, and together they headed toward the front door. It was the closest exit to them, but when they reached it they realized that a small balloon had been tied to the doorknob.