Crowned and Moldering

I had to think for a second. “You mean Cliff Hogarth?”

“Yes, that one,” Dain said. “Another brain trust.”

I seriously doubted that Lily had ever slept with Cliff Hogarth, but now wasn’t the time to argue about it. “So Lily was sleeping with both Cliff Hogarth and Mr. Jones,” I said. “Two men you had little respect for.”

“I told you she was a slut,” he snarled.

I shrugged. “Maybe you’re right. But she refused to be a slut with you, didn’t she, Mr. Dain? She wouldn’t have anything to do with you, right? I’ll bet that burned you up.”

His upper lip shook when he tried to sneer. “She was nothing to me.”

“And yet you wanted her so badly,” I taunted.

“Shut up!”

“So you killed her.”

“She was nothing to me.”

“She was everything to you,” I countered.

“She spurned me!” he shouted, raised the tire iron, and came at me.

Without thinking, I grabbed a paint can and hurled it at him. It hit him squarely in the face and the cap bounced off, spilling a quart of Red Velvet interior satin paint all the way down the front of him.

He was still raging and paint was still dripping off of him like blood when I raced out the front door and almost knocked down Eric, who was dashing toward the house. He crushed me to his chest and I wanted to crawl up inside him and stay safe. But I couldn’t—not yet.

“Are you all right?” he demanded.

“Dain,” I mumbled. “Inside. He killed Lily.”

*   *   *

Days later, the St. Patrick’s Day Parade and Spring Festival were a huge success. The high school’s production of The Sound of Music was lovingly dedicated to the memory of Lily Brogan. Sean actually walked out on stage and said a few words about his sister and how she loved the theater we were all sitting in. His sister, Amy, joined him onstage and also said a few words. Amy had to gulp away tears, and her big brother put his arm around her shoulders to comfort her.

By the time the two of them left the stage and the play began, I was crying like a baby. And judging by all the sniffles I heard, I wasn’t the only one.

During the reception after the play, I was thrilled to discover that my plan to get Sean together with drama coach Lara Matthews was a huge success; they had started dating. When I saw him sneak a kiss from her behind one of the stage flats, I had to wipe away more tears. If anyone deserved to be happy, it was Sean Brogan.

Speaking of dating, Emily and Gus finally a

I was thrilled that Emily had invited Brad and Denise Jones. They fit right in with my group of friends, and I spent some time laughing and chatting with them before slipping off to wander through Emily’s house alone. I couldn’t help myself; I wanted to check the work we’d done so far and make a mental list of all the things that were left to do.

I was sipping champagne and studying the plaster corbels on either side of the bay window in the back sitting room when Gus walked in.

“Hey, babe. What’re you doing in here all alone?”

“Just checking my guys’ handiwork,” I said. Then, since I figured I wouldn’t have another opportunity to speak to him alone, I rushed ahead. “I’m worried about Emily.”

He frowned. “Why?”

“Gus, I’ve known you my whole life and I love you like a brother. But if you hurt my friend Emily, I’ll never forgive you.”

“Aw, come on, Sha

We wound our way through the clusters of guests to the front door and stepped outside. Emily hadn’t yet hired a tree trimmer, so the massive eucalyptus and redwood trees surrounding the house still loomed overhead, casting odd shadows as they swayed in the evening breeze. The moon was almost full and I wondered if it really did cause people to act crazy sometimes. My guess was yes.

It took Gus a few minutes of walking and gazing at the sky before he finally got around to telling me what he wanted to say. “Look, I don’t want you to worry. I won’t hurt Emily. I’ve been in love with her for more than ten years, ever since she first moved to town.”

I shook my head in confusion. “But it’s been so long. Why did you wait until . . . I don’t understand.”

He smiled and shrugged lightly. “She wouldn’t have me.”

“What do you mean?”

“She refused to get involved with me.”

I gaped at him. “Is she crazy?”

He laughed. “Naw. She thought I was too young and wild for her. She was sure I would grow tired of her.”

I glared at him. “You wouldn’t dare.”

“No, I wouldn’t.” With a scowl, he added, “But she insisted that my reputation had preceded me.”

“Your reputation as the world’s greatest lover?” I teased. “So, what changed her mind?”

He kicked a small stone across the flagstone pathway. “Would you believe it was Mrs. Rawley?”

I was puzzled for a moment. “You mean the ghost?”

“The ghost,” he said, and laughed again. “It happened after she read Mrs. Rawley’s diary.”

When we’d first started working on Emily’s house, my crew had found the old journal inside a wall of the dining room. As a young woman, Mrs. Rawley had hidden it inside a hole in the wall of her bedroom, behind a picture frame. Over the years, the small book had slipped down the i

In the journal, the young Mrs. Rawley had revealed her unhappiness and pain. She hadn’t had the courage to run away with her one true love, who just happened to be Gus’s great-grandfather. Instead, she had done her duty and married the man her parents approved of, and had missed out on any chance of real happiness. If she’d had it to do over again, she would’ve followed her heart and her life would’ve been completely different. Apparently, the ghost saw her chance to help another couple follow their hearts when Emily moved in and Gus finally showed up.

“Mrs. Rawley’s story opened Emily’s eyes to the realization that happiness is fleeting,” Gus said. “You’ve got to grab it while you can.”

I wiped away a tear and gave him another hug. “Be happy,” I whispered.

He gri

*   *   *

The day after the housewarming party, Callie went home to her mother. There were more tearful hugs and lots of promises to keep in touch. After she left I swore I would never cry again, because I’d shed more tears in the past few weeks than I had in my entire life.

Within a day, Mac and I both admitted that we missed Callie desperately. Mac was already lobbying his sister to send Callie back for the summer. I didn’t hold out much hope.

“Girls that age are totally into their friends and boys and the beach,” I explained.

“So you think she’ll forget all about us old people when she gets back to groovy Bel Air?”

I laughed at the very idea that we would be considered old, but the thought that Callie might forget about me was actually painful. “I hope not.”

“Me, too,” he said, and wrapped me in a tight hug. “Maybe we’ll get lucky and talk her into visiting for a week.”

I patted his back sympathetically, knowing how much he missed the girl. “Let’s try for two weeks.”

*   *   *

Days later, in a police lineup, Dismal Dain was identified by a hospital security guard. The guard swore that the last time he’d seen Dain, the guy was wearing a pair of blue scrubs and walking into the third-floor intensive care unit, where Cliff Hogarth had been a patient. The evidence was piling up, and Dain was finally forced to confess to killing Cliff, as well as Lily Brogan and her unborn child. To hide the crime, he shoved her body into the dumbwaiter. Then he packed her clothes into her backpack and tossed it down the laundry chute.