by Nora Roberts
MAYBE SHE SHOULD make a list, Cilla considered. Reasons for and reasons against taking the ring out of the box. She depended on lists, diagrams, drawings in every other area of her life. Surely it made sense to utilize one before making such a huge decision.
The against list would be the easy part, she thought as she scooped up some post-workout, pre-workday Special K. She could probably fill pages with those items. She could, in fact, write a freaking book, as many others had, on the Hardy women.
To be fair, there were a number for the pro side. But weren’t they primarily, even exclusively, emotion-driven? And weren’t her emotions twisted up with nerves because she was waiting—as he damn well knew—for him to stroll up to her at any point in any day and say, “Well?”
Which he hadn’t, not once, in days.
So she jumped, nearly bobbled her bowl of cereal, when he strolled in.
“Too much coffee?” he suggested, and poured himself a bowl of Frosted Flakes. Spock dashed straight in to attack his dog feeder. “How do you eat that stuff? It looks like little twigs.”
“As opposed to your choice, the vehicle for sugar?”
“Exactly.”
Not only up at six in the morning, she thought, but cheerful and bright-eyed. And she knew he’d worked late. But he was up, dressed and eating Frosted Flakes because he insisted on walking her across the road, hanging out until some of the crew arrived.
Would that sort of thing go on the for or against list?
“You know I’m not going to be attacked crossing the road at six-thirty in the morning.”
“Odds are against it.” He smiled, ate.
“And I know you worked late last night, and find it unnatural to be up at this hour of the morning.”
“Had a good run, too. You know, I’m finding that I can get a lot done by round-about noon most days with this routine. A habit which I intend to shed like a bad suit in what I hope is the near future. But right now?” He paused to shovel in more Tony the Tiger. “It’s working. I should have ten chapters fully inked by the end of today and have time to put a couple of new teaser panels up on my website.”
“Happy to help, but—”
“You’re looking for the negative. I like that about you because it pushes me to look on the brighter side of things—sides I might’ve missed or taken for granted otherwise. You remind me I love what I do. And loving what I do, it’s interesting to do more of it than usual for a space of time. And to pay us both back for all this industry, I’ll be taking us to the Caymans—a favorite place of mine—right about the middle of January, where we’ll soak up sea and sand while our neighbors are shoveling snow.”
“I’ll be finishing up two flips. I—”
“You’ll have to make time in your schedule. We can always bump sun and sea to February. I’m easy.”
“Not nearly as much as you pretend to be.” She opened the dishwasher to load in her bowl, spoon, mug. “You’re a slow leak, Ford.”
His eyes continued to smile as he scooped up cereal. “Is that what I am?”
“A slow leak, unchecked, eventually eats through just about anything. Stone, metal, wood. It doesn’t make much noise, and it’s a long way from the big gushing flood. But it gets the job done.”
He shook his spoon at her. “I’m going to take that as a compliment. Kitchen counter’s coming in today, right?”
“This morning. Then Buddy’s on for the finish plumbing this afternoon.”
He tucked his breakfast dishes in with hers. “Big day. Let’s get started. Walk!” he said, lifting his voice, and Spock raced in to run in circles.
She walked out with them, then stopped just to look at the Little Farm. Summer thrived over the grounds, lushly green. The big red barn stood, its practical lines softened by the curve of the stone wall, the textures of the plantings. She could see a hint of the pond, with the last vapors of dawn still rising, with the graceful bow of a young willow dipping. Back to the fields, wild with thistle and goldenrod, back to the mountains stretched across the morning sky.
And the house, the centerpiece, rambling and sturdy, with its white veranda, and its front wall half painted in warm and dignified blue.
“I’m glad my father talked me into painting the exterior ahead of schedule. I had no idea how much satisfaction it would give me to see it. When the painting’s finished, it’ll be like a strong old character actress after a really good face-lift.”
She laughed, the mood lightened, and she took his hand as they walked. “One that allows her to maintain her dignity and personal style.”
“I guess that’s apt enough, considering all the cutting and stitching that went into it so far. But I don’t get the whole fa ce-lift thing.”
“It’s just another kind of maintenance.”
Alarm literally vibrated out of him. “You wouldn’t ever . . .”
“Who knows?” She shrugged. “I’m vain enough to want things to stay put, or have them shored up when they sag. My mother’s had two already, in addition to other work.” Amused by the stunned horror in his eyes, she gave him a nudge. “A lot of men have work done, too.”
“You can put that one away. Deeply buried in a remote location. Are you mailing something out?” He nodded toward her mailbox and the raised red flag.
“No. That’s funny. I didn’t stick anything in there after yesterday’s delivery. Maybe one of the guys did.”
“Or someone put something in it for you. Not supposed to. Mail carrier doesn’t like it.” He veered over, reached for the lid.
“Wait! Don’t!” She grabbed his hand while her heart leaped up to pound in her throat. Beside them, Spock quivered and growled at the alarm in her tone. “Rattlesnake in the mailbox. It’s shorthand for the unexpected—an unpleasant, dangerous surprise.”
“I know what it is. Code name for the season-three finale of Lost. Well . . . keep back some.”
“Wait until I—”
But he didn’t wait. Instead, he shifted his body, putting it between Cilla and the box, then yanked the lid down.
No snake coiled and hissed inside. None struck out and slithered down the pole. The doll sat, her arms lifted as if in defense. The bright blue eyes were open, and the smile frozen on Cilla’s young face. The bullet left a small, scorched hole in the center of the forehead.
TWENTY-EIGHT
Enough was enough, Ford decided. The cops had the doll; the cops would investigate. And so far, the cops hadn’t been able to do dick-all about stopping the threats against Cilla.
They weren’t pranks, they weren’t harassment. They were threats.
Dusting the damn doll and the mailbox, asking questions, even determining—if they could—what caliber of bullet had been used wasn’t going to solve the problem. None of those things would prevent that look of shocked horror from covering Cilla’s face the next time.
Everyone knew there’d be a next time. And the next time, at any time, it could be Cilla instead of a doll.
Yeah, enough was more than enough.
He pulled up in front of the Hennessy place. It was somewhere to start, he thought. Maybe it was somewhere to finish. He walked up, banged on the door.
“Wasting your time.” A woman under an enormous straw gardening hat walked over to stand at the picket fence that formed the boundary between houses. “Nobody’s in there.”
“Do you know where they are?”
“Everybody knows where he is. Locked up.” She tapped her temple under the brim of the hat, then circled it. “Tried to kill a woman over on Meadowbrook Road a couple months back. Janet Hardy’s granddaughter—the one who was the little girl in that TV show? You want to talk to him, you’ll have to try Central State Hospital, down in Petersburg.”
“What about Mrs. Hennessy?”
“Haven’t seen a sign of her the last couple weeks. Selling the place, as you can see there.” She pointed to the Century 21 sign, then slipped a small pair of clippers into a pocket of her gardening belt. Settling in, Ford kne
w, for a little over-the-fence chat.
“She’s had a hard life. Her boy was crippled back when he was a teenager. Died a year or so ago. That husband of hers never had a good word to say to anybody around here. Shouting or shaking his fist at kids for playing too loud, or telling people to mind their own if they offered a helping hand. Me, I’d’ve left him after the boy died, but she stuck. Could be she’s taken off now he’s locked up, but more likely, she’s gone down to Petersburg. Don’t know if anybody’s looked at the house yet. I’m going to hope somebody buys it who knows how to be neighborly.”
It was a haul to Petersburg and back, Ford considered. “I guess you’d have noticed if she moved out. I mean, furniture, luggage.”
“Might have, if I was home.” She gave Ford a harder measure from under the wide brim of her hat. “You’re not kin to them, are you?”
“No, ma’am.”
“Well, I can tell you I haven’t seen her or heard a peep out of the house for days now. In fact, I’ve taken to watering what flowers she put in. I can’t stand to watch something die of neglect.”
CILLA TRIED to take a page out of Ford’s book and look at the bright side. The bright side could be that a defaced doll in the mailbox did no damage to her property. It cost her nothing but time and stress.
A bright side could be the police took the whole ugly business very seriously. True, they’d had no luck tracing any of the dolls so far, not when they were sold regularly on eBay or in secondhand and specialty shops, or could have been taken out of someone’s personal collection. But it brought her a measure of comfort to know the police were doing whatever the hell the police did.
And her crew was pissed off on her behalf. Having people in your corner, even if it was only to express outrage and support, was always a bright side.
Plus her new countertops and backsplash kicked serious ass. That knocked her level of stress down several notches. The streaks and specks of warm gold, flecks of black and white against rich chocolate brown set off her cabinets. And, Jesus, her copper hardware would just pop. She’d been right, so absolutely right, to go for the waterfall edging. She couldn’t believe how long and hard she’d stressed over that. It gave the counters such presence, such authority.
Cilla ran her hand over the island as she might a lover’s warm, naked flesh, and all but purred.
“Pretty dark, especially with this half acre of the stuff you’ve got in here.”
Cilla merely looked over, tipped her head and spoke in the tone she’d use to a naughty little boy. “Buddy.”
His lips twisted, but the attempt to defeat the smile failed. “I guess it looks all right. Cabinets are nice, anyway. Got a forest of them in here, but having the glass fronts on some breaks it up a little. I’ll get your sinks mounted. Be back tomorrow after they’ve cured to hook up the plumbing, the dishwasher and the faucets. Don’t know why anybody’d want copper for faucets.”
“I’m just crazy that way.”
“Crazy some way. Are you going to help me mount these sinks, or just stand around looking like the canary-eating cat?”
While they worked on the first undermount, Buddy whistled through his teeth. A few bars in, Cilla caught herself humming with him.
“ ‘I’ll Get By,’ ” Cilla said. “My grandmother’s signature song.”
“Guess the mind wanders to her in here. Got that clamp on there?”
“It’s on.”
“Let’s test the fit then. Second time I put a sink in this place.”
“Really?”
“Put in the one you’re replacing for your grandmother. That’s been going on forty, forty-five years, I expect. Probably time for a new. That’s right, that’s right,” he murmured. “That’s a good fit. That’s a good one.” He marked the location for the mounting clips.
“Let’s lift her out.”
Cilla gripped the two-by-four clamped to the sink. “You and your father did a lot of the work around here back then.”
“Still got plenty.”
“You did a lot for Andrew Morrow.”
“That’s a fact. We did all the plumbing for Skyline Development. Thirty-three houses,” he said, taking out his drill.
“That job made it so I could buy one of those houses. Lived there thirty-seven years come October. A lot of people got their homes because of Drew Morrow. I’ve fixed the johns in most of them.”
AFTER THE TWO sinks were mounted, Cilla went outside to hunt up her father. She’d kept him off the scaffolding that morning, conning him into “doing her a favor” and painting her shutters.
It looked as if he was having as much fun running the paint sprayer as he had hanging up three stories. “Take a break?” she asked and offered a bottle of water.
“Sure can.” He gave her arm a quick rub. “How’re you feeling?”
“Better since I got to work. Better yet when I stand staring at my counters with a big, sloppy smile on my face. Something occurred to me when I was working with Buddy. How he and his father did some work here. Dobby did, too. I’m wondering who else who’s working here now, or who I didn’t hire, or who’s retired, might’ve worked on the place when Janet had it. Maybe they’re pissed off because I’m changing it. It’s no crazier than Hennessy trying to run me down for something that happened before I was born.”
“I’d have to think about it. I was a teenager, Cilla. I can’t say I’d have paid much attention.”
He took off his hat, ran a hand through his hair. “There were gardeners, of course. The grounds were a showplace. I’ll ask Charlie if he remembers who she had for that. I do remember she had what you’d call caretakers. A couple who’d look after things when she wasn’t here, which was more than not. They’d open the house up when she was expected, that sort of thing. Mr. and Mrs. Jorganson. They’ve both been gone for years.”
“What about carpentry, electrical, painting?”
“Maybe Carl Kroger. He did a lot of handyman work back then. I’ll ask about that, but I know he retired some years ago. Florida maybe. I only remember that because I went to school with his daughter, and I ended up teaching her daughter. I can’t see Mary Beth Kroger—that’s Marks, now—giving you this kind of trouble.”
“It’s probably a stupid idea. Just another straw grasped at.”
“Cilla, I don’t mean to make it worse, or give you more to worry about, but have you considered that whoever’s doing this has a grudge directed at you? You, not Janet Hardy’s granddaughter?”
“For what? I’m a former child star, a failed adult actress who recorded a couple of moderately successful CDs. My only ties to this area were to her, and you. You, Patty and Angie were literally the only people I knew when I came here. And let’s be honest, I didn’t know any of you that well. I’ve dumped a few hundred thousand into the local economy. I can’t see how that would piss anyone off.”
“You’re right. I know you’re right. It’s the dolls. It’s such a direct strike at you. More than the vandalism, Cilla. Mutilating those dolls, the child you were, seems so much more personal than the rest.”
She studied him. “Are you here to paint, or to keep an eye on me?”
“I can do both. At least until school starts up. The summer’s flown by,” he said, looking past her. “I’ll miss being around here, the way I’ve been able to. We’ve made a lot of progress since June.”
You And I. She understood the words he didn’t say. “We have. Despite everything, it’s been the best summer of my life.”
FORD WATCHED WHILE Cilla hung shutters her father had painted on the front windows. The scent of the paint hung in the air, along with grass, heat and the dianthus in a big blue pot on the veranda.
“I just want to finish this off. You don’t have to hover.”
“I’m not hovering. I’m observing. There’s something satisfying about sitting on a summer day and watching somebody else work.”
She spared him a glance as he sat, at ease. “You know, I could teach you how to set a few screws.
”
“Why would I need to do that when I’ve got you?”
“I’ll ignore that since you bought me that very pretty planter. And the steaks you’ve promised to grill—on the grill I assembled.”
“Corn on the cob, too, and tomatoes fresh from the roadside stand. We’ll have ourselves a feast.”