by Mary Bowers
“So it’s Rod, is it? I wondered. Edson is in love with you, too, you know.”
Willa laughed. “Edson is in love with his ghosts. Rod is in love with me. Isn’t it incredible? He says he’s been in love with me from the very beginning. Me! A nobody, always living on charity, a rich lady’s drudge. He loves me!”
“And he loves me,” Claire said with a gentle wonder. “Dan Ryder. Isn’t it ironic? A tragedy has brought both of us so much happiness, and if it hadn’t been for Dolores’s accident, we might have all wasted months, years, not letting ourselves be happy.”
Willa set her glass on the table and tried to compose herself. She wiped away the tears. She turned shining eyes onto the pale, mermaid-like woman beside her. “He wants to marry me.”
“Already?”
“He says he’s known since the first time he saw me, but he didn’t know how to get close to me. He said I was like Sleeping Beauty, wandering around in a trance. And you know, that’s exactly what I’ve felt like all my life. Not that I’m a beauty, but I’ve always lived in a trance. Like a ghost walking alone among the living. He loves me, and he wants to marry me,” she repeated, counting over the words like precious stones. “He says we’ve wasted enough of our lives being alone and unhappy. That we shouldn’t waste another moment. He says he’s got money, and he wants to be my sugar daddy,” she added with an embarrassed laugh. “Sugar daddy! To an old frump like me.”
“Never let me hear you talk like that again! Come here, silly!” Claire put her arms around Willa and gave her a hug. Then she topped up the flutes and lifted hers. “To love.”
“To love,” Willa said. “And to happy endings.”
They touched glasses and drank.
“Are you going to do it? Are you going to marry him?”
“That’s why I needed another woman to talk to. What do you think? Should we wait? He wants to take me to Las Vegas this weekend and go to one of those chapels, but I don’t know what to do. All my life, other people have made all my decisions for me. I’m just not used to making up my own mind. What would you do if Dan suddenly asked you to marry him? Would you run away with him if he wanted you to?”
“Yes,” Claire said immediately, before she could even think. Then she sat back and quietly thought it over. “Yes, I would. I’d marry him today. But he hasn’t asked me.”
“He will. I know he will. And if he doesn’t,” Willa added madly, “you just go ahead and live with him. Just go ahead and do it.”
“Why, Willa Garden, what would people say? What would they think?”
They gazed at one another a moment, then burst out laughing.
“Who the hell cares?” Willa said. “Oh!” She covered her mouth. “Did I just say hell?”
“You did, you bad girl. And I don’t give a shit.”
They bubbled over with tipsy laughter, and then they began to reel off all the forbidden words they knew, the ones that dignified ladies never even thought, much less said aloud.
When they had stopped laughing, Claire became suddenly serious and asked, “How long have you known about me and Dan?”
“Since the day you went to the beach and found Dolores. He took you home after. It was then that you both knew, wasn’t it?”
“Yes. I was hysterical when he found me. He caught me in his arms and called 911, holding me the whole time. He was so strong, so protective. He took care of everything, and when the police wanted to go on and on questioning me, he put a stop to it and took me home.”
“I know. I saw.”
Claire was pensive for a moment. Then she made up her mind. “Listen, Willa, I have to ask a favor of you. Have you told anybody about Dan and me?”
“No. I felt kind of ashamed that I’d seen you two. I didn’t want my neighbors to think I was a Peeping Tom.”
“Do me a favor and don’t tell anybody just yet. It’s awful to have to admit it, but I never got along with Jerry’s family.”
“Jerry?”
“My husband. His sister is suing me, and if she wins, I could lose this house. It’s all nonsense. We sold our house up in Minnesota, and now she claims Jerry promised half the proceeds to her. He owned that house outright when I married him, but now she claims she gave him the down payment and made a lot of the mortgage payments in the first few years. We never made any wills, but the house was in his name, and I inherited it. We used that money to buy this house for cash. I can’t give her that much money, and anyway, she hasn’t got any proof. Jerry certainly never mentioned it to me. But she’s getting documentation together, and other family members are backing her up. I think she’s hired an investigator, trying to get dirt on me. Jerry hasn’t been gone that long, and it would look bad if they found out about me and Dan. I had a hard time with it myself. It seemed too soon, but I couldn’t help loving Dan. Has anybody been around asking you questions about me?”
“No!” Willa was horrified.
Claire smiled. “Welcome to the world of in-laws. When you marry Rod, you just may find out.”
“He doesn’t have any relatives living. He had a daughter once, but she died young. She ran out in front of a car and was killed. He saw it happen, and his wife blamed him, even though it was an accident. It ruined his marriage, and it almost ruined his life. He told me he thought about killing himself after his marriage ended. He’s been alone for a long time now, and that’s what makes it so wonderful that he’s finally found me. He thought his life was over. I could hardly bear it when he told me.”
“Awful. What a sad story. So he’s all alone in the world?”
“Yes. We were talking about it after Dolores’s memorial service – how he always thought when he died nobody would be there for his funeral. His parents are dead, and he no longer has any contact with his ex-wife. So it’s going to be just me and Rod. There won’t be any in-laws, on either side.”
“Well, I wasn’t so lucky,” Claire said wryly. “Until this lawsuit is settled, I need to live like a nun. I don’t want to give her any ammunition. Don’t mention it to anybody for a while, will you? And if anybody comes snooping around –“
“Don’t worry. I won’t say anything to anybody.”
“Not even your husband?” Claire teased.
“Not if you don’t want me to.”
“You’re a real friend, Willa. I’m so glad we’ve had this talk.”
“Me too.”
Noticing that Willa was feeling shy now, Claire changed the subject. “By the way, have you heard anything about Peggy?”
“No. She still hasn’t – you know – turned up.”
“Hmm. I’m beginning to think she left Parker, and Dolores drowning on the same night was just a coincidence. Parker and Peggy always seemed happy together, but you never know what goes on between a husband and a wife.”
“No, you sure don’t. I’m afraid I think that Peggy drowned too, though. We may never know. That would be horrible, never knowing. Oh, Claire, I feel so bad about being so happy! With what Parker and Ben are both going through, it seems indecent.”
“Being miserable won’t make them any happier. You haven’t had any chance for a life of your own before. Don’t blow it. Go ahead, marry him. Grab all the happiness you can with both hands, and never look back.”
Willa gazed at Claire gratefully. “You’re right. I have to tell Ben, though. If I just suddenly take off, he won’t know what to think. Dolores was the closest thing I’ve ever had to a sister. I guess you could say he’s almost a brother-in-law to me. I can’t give him something else to worry about. I can’t just up and leave without a word.”
“All right, but don’t let him talk you out of it, and don’t give him a lot of time to think about it before you and Rod elope. He has no right to stop you.”
“Elope.” Willa said, wondering at the word. “That’s something kids do. Look at me – 63 years old and about to elope.”
“Be happy, Willa. Just go for it and be happy. I intend to. Nothing is going to stand between me and my man.
Now that I know Dan loves me, I won’t let anything come between us.”
Willa sat back and said, “Mrs. Wilhelmina Johnson. Willa Johnson. You know, Garden was never my name anyway. At least, it was my mother’s name. I never knew my father.” She looked Claire in the eye. “I was a bastard. That’s why I’ve always been treated like I was second-class. My mother was one of the Strawbridge’s maids, back in New York. The family hushed it up and sent her away. Dolores was just a baby then, and Frieda was already a widow. She took my mother in, probably just to spite her own family. Nobody in Frieda’s new household knew my mother, and Frieda hired her as a companion and told everybody she was a widow.”
“How Victorian.”
“Yes. Stupid to still be keeping a secret like that in this day and age, isn’t it? You can’t help it if your parents weren’t married. But Frieda thought it should be a dead secret. She thought I should be ashamed.”
“Of course she did. It gave her more control over you.”
“Well, she’s not controlling me anymore. And when I’m married, I’m going to have my own real name, just like any other married lady. I’ll be Mrs. Rodney Johnson.”
“Oh, Willa, I’m so happy for you.”
“You’re going to marry who?”
Since his wife had died, Ben Brinker had had trouble wrapping his mind around any information at all, and a gawd-help-us like Willa Garden announcing she was running away with her lover would have had him reeling even on a good day.
“Rod Johnson. He’s renting the Greene’s house, across the street.”
“Who is this guy? How long have you known him?”
“How long did you know Dolores before you married her?” she countered.
He gave her a long, hard stare. “Long enough. Well, goddamn, Willa, if this isn’t good news in the middle of a long trip straight to hell. Come here and give me a hug.”
“You’re not upset that I’m so happy, when . . . ? I’m only telling you because we’re going to Las Vegas, and I didn’t want you to wonder where I was. But if you want me to stay, I will. Oh, Ben, you must wonder how I can do this to you at a time like this! I’ll tell Rod we have to wait.”
“You’ll do no such thing. You’ve been a big help to me, and now that we’ve got her decently to rest, there’s no reason for you to put this off. Go ahead and be happy, Willa. I’ll stay here and console Ed.”
“Oh, don’t be silly. Ed’s just a friend.”
“He’d have been more if he could have figured out how. I think he’s going to take this hard, but all’s fair in love and war. He was here long before this Rod fella came along. He had his chance. Willa Garden, femme fatale. Who’da thunk it?”
She smiled. It was a genuine, all-over-her-face smile, and it was as strange as it was wonderful. At first she had distrusted this new happiness, but with Ben’s blessing, she got past the last barrier and let herself go.
Chapter 19
By Saturday morning, Ed was becoming resigned about his houseguests.
On the one hand, they had been using his house as a bed-and-breakfast for a week and a half now. Porter had trampled through Ed’s butterfly garden after a squirrel and then run into the house full of mud and scattering lantana clusters everywhere. Even worse, it looked like they were about to shoot an episode of the reality show. Purity’s haunted warehouse was shaping up into something they could work with. That meant that they’d be staying with him even longer, and Ed would have to get into his Haunt or Hoax? jumpsuit. It made him feel like a Trick-or-Treater, and the thought of having to include Purity on one of their shoots was giving Ed stomach pains.
On the other hand, the twins had gotten into the habit of delivering freshly-baked goodies almost daily, and they turned out to be magnificent pastry chefs. Ed, whose interest in food hadn’t gone beyond the realization that without it, you die, found himself looking forward to their visits. But there was no doubt in his mind that the goodies were for Teddy, and once he left, the twins were going to be showing up with cleaning supplies only, just once a week. Ed got up each morning wondering what they’d baked. In fact, by the weekend, he’d gotten into the habit of watching for them from his office window.
That morning, Lily knocked on his office door early. He recognized her demure little pattern of four knocks, so he called for her to come in.
“We haven’t talked in a while, have we?” she said, taking a seat on the other side of the desk. Ed had opened the windows, and there was a gentle breeze coming in. Outside, the cardinals were whistling to one another and a woodpecker was banging on a tree. Ed hadn’t felt so peaceful since the day the twins had told him about Frieda’s ghost.
“No, our schedules don’t coincide,” he said. “Are you leaving?”
Smiling wryly, she said, “No such luck. And our schedules are only out of sync because you make sure you’re up before us and go to bed before we get back at night. I’m sorry I haven’t been much help to you. I thought I would be, but you turned out to be right about Purity.”
“You have to watch Teddy every second, don’t you?”
“In this case, he’s the table leg in your analogy. I have to make sure Purity doesn’t suddenly go after him. It hasn’t been easy. She’s a tricky little bit.” At the last second she left the “ch” off.
Ed sighed. “I’m not sure I’m making any progress anyway. I’ve pretty much gotten to the point of putting the file away into my archives in the “Unsolved” section and hoping for something else to come to light in the future. It’s so frustrating! I keep thinking the other shoe is about to drop, but it doesn’t.”
“Well, what I wanted to tell you is, we’re definitely going ahead with the Spuds shoot. Teddy’s already sent for Wyatt and Elliott.”
Wyatt Wayne and Elliott Billington were Teddy’s videographer and soundman for Haunt or Hoax? Though the show was successful, they had decided on keeping a skeleton crew. “Lean and mean and ready to rock,” is how Teddy put it. “The cheaper the better,” is how his producer-father put it.
Ed stirred and frowned, but he could hardly say he was too busy. “All right. When are we shooting? And what’s it all about?”
“Don’t worry about it. You can just wing it. We shoot on Monday, so you’ve got two whole days to brace yourself.”
“I am not a ‘wing it’ kind of investigator,” he said. “You know that. I need information.”
She sighed. “It’s the old farmer’s-daughter-and-traveling-salesman soap opera thing. I’m surprised Purity couldn’t come up with something more original, but there it is.”
“You sound skeptical. Is the haunting real?”
She gave him a look. “Porter thinks it’s real. At least, that’s what Teddy says.”
“And Porter is now the brains of the outfit, apparently.”
Lily gave him a wan little smile. Then they both turned at the sound of a car coming through the gate and pulling into Ed’s driveway.
“Right on time, as usual.”
“I wonder what they’ve baked today,” he said, already standing up.
By the time they got out of the office, the twins were coming in the front door with a covered plate, Ed’s copy of The Record, and shocking news.
“Mr. D-D, you were just too slow,” Rosie said, setting a plate on the breakfast bar and whipping off a homespun red-and-white checkered cloth to reveal carefully arranged apricot Danish. The perfume of fresh-baked pastry wafted across the kitchen. “She went ahead and ran away with another man. We just saw Mr. Ryder across the street getting his morning paper, and he told us. She finally went and did it.”
Focused on the sweet rolls, Ed said, “Who did what?”
“Willa Garden,” Poppy said. “She eloped! They’re off to Las Vegas. Probably gonna get married by Liberace. Bless her heart, I hope she’ll be happy. He’s kinda dull.”
“So is she,” Rosie pointed out.
“What are you talking about?” Ed said, forgetting the Danish.
“Miss Willa,” Ros
ie said. “I was just kidding about the too-slow thing. If you’da wanted her, you would have made your move by now, right, Mr. D-D?” She gave him a grin that seemed forced, and the twins glanced at one another sheepishly when he didn’t respond.
Lily came in and asked what was going on, and as the twins told her, Ed stood still, as if he’d seen the basilisk.
“Well,” Lily said, shooting a worried glance at Ed. “Isn’t that nice? I guess it’s never too late.”
Ed turned around and walked slowly back to his office with Bastet at his heels. In the kitchen, the women heard him quietly close the door.
It wasn’t even an hour later when he came out again, looking stricken.
“It’s his own fault,” Rosie whispered as Poppy and Lily shushed her. Teddy wasn’t up yet. “He should have made his move years ago.”
Ed came into the kitchen and gazed at them silently.
“Don’t take it so hard,” Lily said. “Here, have a sweet roll. I’ll get you some coffee.”
He looked at her without comprehension, then said, “The police are next door. I just saw an unmarked car pull up, and Detective Bruno and his partner came out and went up to Parker’s door.”
“You think they’re arresting him?” Poppy blurted.
“No,” he said, removing his glasses to rub his eyes. “I’m no expert in body language, but it didn’t look like it. Also, they would’ve brought uniformed back-up, I think. No. It’s something else, I’m afraid. I think they may have found Peggy.”
It was a couple of tense hours before they knew that Ed had been right. Finally, Detective Bruno came to the door to ask Ed to go stay with Parker a while; he had identified the body, and was shaken.
“Here, bring him something to eat,” Rosie said, looking for something to put a few sweet rolls on.
“I don’t think he’s going to be hungry,” Ed said. Then he paused and gave Rosie a warm little smile. “You’re very kind, you and your sister. Very kind.”