*****
Standing in front of the mirror combing out her wet hair after taking a shower, Ella caught a glimpse of the gold pendant around her neck—her grandmother’s necklace. A realization hit her…the necklace looked very much like the pendant Willow had around her neck and used as a key to the hearth. It couldn’t be the same, could it? Willow’s was still around her skeletal remains in the ground near the big oak.
She quickly removed the chain and inspected the pendant. It was definitely the same shape and it could indeed be a lily-like shape within, but it wasn’t possible, was it? She sat down and tried to remember the story her grandmother had told her about where she got the necklace. It had been given to her, by….by…her grandfather, yes, that was it—he’d said he had it made just for her after one his mother had lost.
She finished combing her hair and dressing then went up to the attic to look at the picture of Willow once more. She was hoping maybe she was wearing the pendant in the portrait so she could get a better look at it. She was wearing it, but it was too small to see any real detail. Feeling a bit disappointed, she decided to head down to the kitchen for something quick to eat and then she would go into town to pick up a box of overlooked items of her grandmother’s that Marlin had forgotten to give her. Apprehensively, she went down the familiar hall and sure enough, that mirror was back on the wall.
Was someone trying to make her think she was crazy? That had been Matt’s theory about Jeremy. Or maybe she was crazy and no one needed to help it along. It made her mouth dry and her heart race at either explanation that popped into her head—either someone had been in the house last night or the mirror had a mind of its own. Neither thought comforted her.
She obviously had some connection to this mirror since it kept showing her the past; maybe, as Jeremy had suggested, it was a gateway for Willow to communicate with the present to try and resolve some issue she could no longer resolve on her own, with the hope that Ella could help in some way.
When she rolled this concept around in her head, it made her feel less averse to the mirror’s presence. If somehow this whole thing was helping someone, she could live with that—she just hoped she wouldn’t go insane before the issue at hand was resolved.
She grabbed a bagel and her purse and headed for town.
*****
Having not slept very well, Ella was in dire need of some caffeine and it seemed so silly to make a whole pot of coffee for one person. Plus the kitchen coffee pot always brought to mind Jeremy dancing around the kitchen in his boxers and it made her too sad. She stopped at a little coffee house that Meme had said made a mocha to die for. She was only inside for a few minutes but when she came out she found her mother over the hood of her brand new car, keying the word ‘Brat’ into it.
“What are you doing?” she yelled at her mother.
Patricia stumbled over her words and was caught off guard. She had likely hoped to do her dirty work and then be gone before Ella came out.
“I’m advertising,” she said, obviously rather proud of herself for coming up with such a quick quip.
“Advertising? Advertising what?”
“I’m letting the town know just what a selfish child you are, buying yourself a fifty thousand dollar car when your mother can barely get her junker to start every morning.”
“You drive a Beemer, Mom. I hardly call that slumming it. Besides, I didn’t buy the car,” she informed her.
“Uhh…well…what?” Patricia said, confused by the comment.
“I didn’t buy the car; it was a gift from the Howards. After my accident on the hill they wanted to make sure I had a car that was safe and was better equipped for the terrain,” Ella added.
“Accident? Yeah, I guess I did hear talk of something like that,” Patricia said, back peddling a bit. “You still deserve to have everyone know how horrible you’ve been to me, not helping me out, all that money just sitting there and you don’t even have the decency to send a little my way.”
“You know, Mom, I really don’t want to deal with this right now, I have to go.”
“Oh sure. You can’t be bothered with the only family you have left. I’m so sorry. You could have at least offered me some of that fancy coffee,” Patricia blurted as Ella unlocked the car.
“You are something. Are you back on drugs or what? You just keyed my car. How was I supposed to know I was supposed to pay you with a cup of coffee for the lovely addition on my hood? Here. Take mine,” Ella said, handing Patricia the mocha. She got in the car and started to pull away when Patricia threw the mocha at the windshield, making a horrible mess.
Ella shook her head and drove to the nearest gas station to wash off the coffee and then proceeded to Marlin’s office.
Chapter 20
Ella entered Marlin’s office and gave him a big hug.
“Sweetie, how are you?”
“Okay,” Ella said sadly as she flopped into the big leather chair across the desk from him.
“You don’t sound so sure.”
“It’s not exactly been a great day so far.”
“Oh? It’s only ten o’clock,” Marlin said, looking at his watch wondering how bad it could be when the day had only just started.
“Exactly my point,” Ella said.
“How’s the new car? You still like it? Is it running okay?”
“It’s great. I love it, aside from the new addition I got today,” Ella proclaimed.
“Oh? What kind of addition?”
“Mom keyed the word ‘Brat’ into my hood while I was inside the JavaBean,” Ella said sadly.
“Geez. I swear that woman has the mentality of a 6 year old. We’ll get it fixed up and it will be good as new. Don’t you worry,” Marlin said.
“It’s not just that, it’s everything. Everything is upside down right now. I had this horrible fight with Jeremy and I said some things that I shouldn’t have and I don’t think he can forgive me. He moved out and everything.”
“What did you say to him?”
“Well, it’s complicated but more or less I accused him of trying to kill me.”
“You did what? Why? You don’t think that, do you?”
“I don’t, but I said it. I was confused. I am confused. I found Boo’s collar in his toolbox and Matt suggested that Jeremy was behind Boo having gone missing and then went on to back it up with the fact that Jeremy’s tools always seem to be involved with the attempts on my life and he is always magically there when something happens.”
“Yes, dear, to save you. If it hadn’t been for him, you might be dead now,” Marlin reasoned.
“I know that, I do. But Matt has this way of making his theory sound so plausible, you feel like it couldn’t possibly be false. I don’t know. It sounds so bizarre. As soon as I said it out loud to Jeremy I realized how ludicrous it was. I tried to apologize, but he was so hurt and I feel just horrible. I don’t know how to fix it. I’m not sure it can be fixed. I’m not sure I deserve to be forgiven for saying such awful things,” Ella cried.
Marlin came over and sat in the chair next to her. “There, there, sweet girl, everyone makes mistakes. I’ve certainly made my share of them. Give him a little time; I think he’s rather partial to you. You’ll see,” he said as he patted her back and held her.
“You think so,” she said wiping her eyes and sniffing.
“Yes. I think so,” he said, handing her a box of tissues which she gratefully accepted.
“If he’s so partial towards me, why didn’t he come to the hospital? Why didn’t he come visit?”
“He was in jail, dear.”
“What?”
“They wouldn’t let him go to the hospital with you because the police threw him in jail. He was sick about it. His one call was to me, but I was at the hospital with you and didn’t figure out he was in jail until Meme and I went to the house to check on Boo. His truck was there, but he wasn’t and the house was trashed.”
“Trashed—what do you mean?”
“The police searched the house, destroyed his room, tossed his work-shed, and tore up his truck. I’m guessing it took him the whole time you were in the hospital to get the house back in order.
“You should have seen him when I got to the police station; he was pulling his hair out. The police wouldn’t tell him how you were doing and as soon as he saw me he bombarded me with questions about you. Were you okay? What happened? Poor guy was really worried. He wanted to go that night to see you, but I told him he should go home and get some rest,” Marlin admitted.
“And then he did come to see me and I ignored him during his whole visit because Matt had me persuaded he was responsible for Boo and the accidents. I’m so stupid. I should have seen through all the double talk. I should have known that something had happened or Jeremy would have been there; he always has,” she said, not as much to Marlin as to herself.
After she wiped her nose and eyes and got a hold of her emotions she asked, seeing the portrait of Peter, Anna, and Zachary on his desk, “Have you found anything on the Owens children?”
“I found a death certificate for Anna and Zachary—they died soon after Willow died, but I can’t find anything on Peter, not even in any of the surrounding states. It’s the darnedest thing. It’s like he fell off the face of the earth. I mean he was a kid with no money who couldn’t have gone far on foot.”
“You wouldn’t think so, would you,” Ella agreed. “I had another one of those visions again last night.”
Marlin squirmed in his seat a little; this whole vision thing obviously made him a bit uncomfortable.
“I saw Willow using her necklace to open a secret compartment in the hearth of her home. There was some kind of document hidden in there, but I couldn’t tell what it was,” Ella continued.
“Well, that’s interesting. Too bad we don’t know where that necklace is now,” Marlin said.
“I know where the necklace is; I just don’t want to dig up her grave to get it,” she answered.
Marlin scrunched up his face at the idea of digging up someone’s bones.
“The weird thing is that the necklace looks an awful lot like Grandma Rose’s,” she said, reaching for the pendant around her neck.
“That is weird. Do you know where Rose got it?”
“She got it from her grandfather. He had it made for her. It’s supposed to be like the one his mother wore,” Ella told him.
“How strange, hmm, but it does give me a thought I might have to check into. Oh, and here is that box of your grandmother’s things. It’s nothing much. A notebook, a lone glove, a nail file, and a jar of Vaseline,” he said, handing it to her.
“Thanks, Marlin.”
“Let me walk you out to your car. Are you parked out front or in back?”
“In front,” she said as they walked by the receptionist.
He held the box as she unlocked her door, “Oh, look. It’s Matt.” She waved at a good-looking blond-haired young man walking across the street and then away from them. “I guess he didn’t see me or maybe he’s mad at me because I’ve been avoiding his calls.”
“Why’s that?” Marlin asked as he watched the young, somewhat familiar-looking man walking away from them.
“After what happened with Jeremy, I feel like I just need to be away from him—clear my head,” she said, putting the box in the car.
“And how did you meet him again?”
“Matt? I told you, he backed into my car at the hardware store.”
“Right. I do remember now,” Marlin said distractedly.
“Why do you ask?”
“He just looks familiar. I could have sworn I saw him at Morton’s funeral,” Marlin explained.
“I suppose it’s possible. Practically the whole town went to it. It was hard to avoid even for a vacationer,” she told him.
“A vacationer? No, this young man was a relative of Morton’s —his grandson to be exact.”
“Then it must be a mistake. Matt’s last name is Geier, not Morton, and I’m sure he would have told me if he were related to that creepy man since I had told him he scared me a couple of times.”
“I’m sure you’re right, dear. Now off you go. I’ll call the dealership and make arrangements to have the car fixed; you go do something nice for yourself. It’s been a pretty rotten day for you so far. I hope it gets better.”
“Thanks, Marlin,” she said and hugged him through the window.
“Bye,” he said as she drove off.
*****
“Hello...” Meme answered.
“Sweetheart, it’s me. I was wondering if you could answer me a quick question,” Marlin said.
“Of course dear, what is it?”
“I spoke with Cynthia Morton at the funeral and it’s been driving me crazy ever since. You know how bad I am with names. Do you recall her married name?”
“Umm…hmm. Gosh, it’s on the tip of my tongue. It starts with a G. Umm…Gerber? No, that’s not it. Gardner? That doesn’t sound right.”
“It wouldn’t happen to be Geier, would it?”
“Geier, that sounds…yes, I think that is it. Of course I can double check on my computer address book, but I’m quite sure that’s it,” she surmised. “Why do you ask?”
“And her son, M.J.? Do you remember what that stands for?”
“He is a handsome one, isn’t he? He didn’t spend much time at the funeral though. I always thought he and Harold were quite close, but…”
“Do you recall his name?”
“Of course, dear. It’s Matthew Jordan after his father. That’s why they call him M.J. Too confusing having two Matthews in the house,” she told him.
“That’s what I was afraid of,” Marlin confessed.
“What’s that, dear?”
“I may be awful with names but I know a familiar face when I see one. I was so hoping I was wrong,” Marlin said.
“Are you going to fill me on the mystery?” Meme asked.
“I will, dear. I’ll explain everything when I get home. Love you.”
Click.
“Love you too, dear.”
*****
Back at the house, Ella decided to take a walk to Willow’s house ruins and put her grandmother’s necklace into the indentation. What could it hurt, she thought. But not fifty feet from the house, she heard the roar of a truck coming up the hill. It was Matt. She supposed he was tired of her ignoring his calls and wanted to find out what was up. Truthfully, she didn’t blame him. He did deserve an explanation.
She didn’t really want to have to deal with him after the morning she’d had, but she might as well get it over with. She turned toward the driveway and headed for the truck that was now parked next to her new SUV.
“Whose car?”
“Mine. It was a gift from Marlin and Meme. They wanted me to have something safe for going up and down the hill after the accident.”
“Sweet! I don’t suppose they added the keying?”
“No, that happened this morning. My mother of all people. She’s a bit peeved that she didn’t get anything out of the inheritance and that I won’t give her all mine.”
“She’s got some issues, huh?”
“You could say that,” Ella said with her hands in her jean pockets. “It’s been a couple of bad days actually,” she added.
“Is that why you haven’t been answering my calls?” he asked, leaning back against the shiny clean truck, looking devilishly handsome.
“I’m sorry about that. I just needed some time alone,” she answered.
“You could have just told me that, instead of not answering. A text would have been fine. With all the accidents you’ve had lately I was worried something had happened to you.” He seemed rather miffed.
“You’re right, I’m sorry. I should have told you. I’m just not thinking straight. I didn’t mean to worry you. I did see you this morning. I waved, but you were pretty focused on where you were going. I was leaving Marlin’s. I was hoping to have you meet him,” she sai
d.
“That is a shame. I had some errands in town to take care of. So this ‘I want to be alone’ thing—are you over that now?”
“I’m not sure,” she admitted.
“Is there anything you wanted to talk about? I mean, what’s got you in such a mood?” he asked.
She decided to ignore his rudeness and answered, “It’s just everything’s upside down for me right now. Jeremy and I had a horrible fight and he moved out; my mom, the accidents—it’s all just a lot to take in.”
“Jeremy moved out, huh? Well, that’s probably a good thing,” he said, chortling.
“Why is that a good thing?”
“Well, given his involvement with the accidents and …”
“He wasn’t involved in the accident,” she corrected.
“Technically, yes, he was. The police…”
“Stop. Just stop. I don’t want to hear your version of what’s been happening.”
“My version? It’s the world’s version; you just don’t want to accept reality. His tools have been found at the scene of every accident you’ve been in. Your cat’s collar was found in his toolbox. He’s a moody introvert. He’s got psycho killer written all over him. I’m sorry if you don’t like hearing the truth, but I worry about you being here with him. He’s tried to kill you more than once.”
“He SAVED me. He didn’t try and kill me. If he hadn’t shown up when he did I would have died, not once but twice,” she said angrily.
“Convenient, wasn’t it, that he just happened to be there?” Matt argued.
“Matt, you need to stop now,” she said.
“I’m just telling you what everyone else sees and you refuse to acknowledge,” he continued.
“You need to leave,” she proclaimed.
“What? Why?”
“Because I don’t want you here anymore.”
“You’re joking, right?”
“Do I look like I’m joking? Leave—now,” she said as she headed up the stairs.
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