The store looked larger than shed remembered, but it still had pots of flowers on either side of the front door and a hitching rail at the side where Amish buggies could be parked. She touched a deep burgundy mum with her fingers, releasing its spicy scent, and went on into the store.
Lainey paused for a moment inside the door, orienting herself. Groceries were on the right, as always, but the left side of the store had been expanded. It was filled with handcrafted items to delight the heart of a tourist. Faceless Amish dolls, quilted place mats and table runners, even a few hooked rugs crowded the counters. The upper shelves held wooden items like napkin holders and even a small train.
The deep, saturated colors of a quilted table runner drew her, but she resisted the impulse and turned into the grocery aisle. Before she could pick up a box of cereal, a voice called her name.
Lainey? It is you. I heard you were coming back to look after your great-aunt. Its wonderful gut to see you.
Anna Miller looked much as she had twenty years ago, with a white apron over a dark blue Amish dress and a wide smile on her round face. The face might be a little rounder, the hair a bit more gray, the curves more generous, but Anna Miller hadnt changed much.
Mrs. Miller. Lainey walked quickly to the back counter. Id have known you anywhere. How are you?
Anna, please. Youre a grown-up now, aint so? But you still have a look of that little girl we knew. Her cheerful face sobered. Im afraid its a sad business that brought you back to us.
Lainey nodded. Obviously all of Deer Run knew who she was and why she was here. They probably knew what shed had for supper last night. I wish Id come sooner.
She blinked, a little surprised at herself. With everyone else shed felt defensive on that subject, but with Anna, one had the sense that, like Aunt Rebecca, she wouldnt judge.
Youre here now, thats what counts. How is your dear aunt today? Anna leaned on the counter, seeming ready for a long chat.
I dont think there was much change from yesterday. Her throat tightened. Aunt Rebeccas hands had always been so busystitching or stirring or comforting a child. It had seemed wrong to see them lying lax on the white hospital sheet.
Its hard to see someone we love chust lying there. Seeming to read her mind, Anna reached across the counter to pat Laineys hand. But with a stroke, sometimes it takes time for the brain and body to heal. Dont give up hope.
I wont. That was another thing that was easy to say but perhaps not so easy to do. What if this went on day after day, week after week? What would she do then?
We are all praying for her, Anna said softly. She is in Gods hands.
Laineys throat was too tight for her to do anything but nod.
Ach, Im talking away and not helping you with your shopping. You arent here for penny candy this time, aint so? Annas eyes twinkled, and she gestured toward the glass-enclosed case at the end of the counter. The top part contained a variety of obviously homemade baked goods, while below there was the familiar array of bubble gum, Swedish fish, and lollipops.
No, I think Ill pass on that this time. We used to be awful pests at picking out what we wanted, it seems to me.
You and Meredith and Rachel, Anna said. Youve talked to them since you came back?
Just briefly. They came over for a little while last night. It was nice to see them after such a long time.
Nice, but odd. Maybe even a bit awkward. What did you say to people you hadnt seen in twenty years?
You were always together that summer, aint so? Its quite a reunion, with first Rachel coming back to Deer Run and now you. Meredith never did leave, what with taking care of her mother and all. Anna shook her head, a mournful look sitting oddly on her cheerful face. I wont say Margo King was a pleasant woman, but it was terrible, her being killed and Meredith coming that close to losing her own life as well.
The words jolted, and Lainey could only stare at her. I didnt know. What happened to Merediths mother? An accident? She envisioned a car smash-up, with Meredith barely surviving. But Meredith had seemed well enough last night.
Anna shook her head. They didnt tell you? Well, it would be a lot to take in, and you having plenty of worries on your plate as it is. No, Margo was murdered, and Meredith nearly so, and all because of poor Aaron Masts death that summer you were here. If Rachel hadnt come back, maybe wed never
Her words cut off abruptly as the bell on the door jangled. Two women came into the storeone tall, angular and businesslike, the other so fair and frail that she looked as if a breath would blow her away.
Laineys gaze crossed that of the taller woman and met a look so malevolent that she was reminded of Zeb Stoltzfus for an instant. Apparently this was yet another person who didnt think she should be here. Lainey gripped the edge of the counter and managed a pleasant smile. She wouldnt let herself be unnerved by a strangers hostility.
Anna, after standing motionless for a moment, came from around the counter and went quickly to take the blonde womans hand. Laura, it is sehr gut to see you. I didnt know that you were home from...home already.
Lainey watched them, surprised by what seemed embarrassment underneath Annas hearty welcome. Laura, she repeated the name, memories coming back from the distant recesses of her mind. Laura had been a teenager that summer Lainey had spent here. Pretty, popular...what had happened to her? Her face was still beautiful, but thin and somehow empty-looking. She stood motionless next to the other woman like a doll.
Yes, Laura is home. The other womans tone was brisk. Shes doing very well, arent you, Laura?
Laura nodded, and the resemblance to a mechanical doll increased.
Were glad to hear it. Annas hearty tone didnt ring quite true, Lainey thought. And look who else has come home to Deer Run? She waved an ample arm at Lainey. Heres little Lainey Colton, all grown up. Lainey, you maybe wouldnt remember Laura Hammond. And Jeannette Walker. She runs the bed-and-breakfast across the street from your aunts house.
Lainey nodded. The Willows, of course. Its lovely. The front yard and flower beds were manicured to within an inch of their lives, and the large Victorian house was immaculately kept up.
Just the same, she wouldnt say shed look forward to staying there. It was a bit on the formal side for her.
It was time for Jeannette to say that she was glad to see Lainey, or to ask about her aunt. She did neither. Instead she handed a list to Anna.
Those are the things Laura would like. We wont wait. You can have them delivered to Lauras house.
Shes not staying with you, then? Anna seemed to be trying to untangle something in her mind.
No. Jeannette snapped off the word. She gave Lainey a cool nod. Well be going. Come along, Laura. She touched the womans arm.
Laura turned obediently and moved toward the door. But before she left she glanced back. She gave Lainey a long look, her forehead creasing as if with an effort to remember.
When the door closed behind them, Anna let out her breath in a whoosh. Ach, I am so clumsy. But there seems nothing to say around the woman that wont bring up things that are better left unsaid. At least she didnt recognize you.
Who? Laura? Jeannette had certainly known who Lainey was, regardless of her actual words.
And Laura? Well, Lainey didnt know what to make of Laura, but one thing struck her. Her fingers itched to draw that lovely, empty face, and she had a sense that she had drawn it before.
You dont remember? Anna looked at her questioningly. I shouldnt say She let that trail off.
I think youd better, Lainey said briskly. I cant go around Deer Run walking on eggshells, not knowing who Im going to offend next.
Anna shook her head. I cant tell you all of it. Not about the part that happened when you were here. Youll have to hear that from Meredith and Rachel. But Laura...the reason I was surprised to see her is that shes been in a mental hospital for more than a month. And she was there because it was her husband who killed Merediths mother.
Laineys mind spun. Lauras husband a killer? Merediths mother his victim? That didnt make sense.
And the thing that made the least sense of all was Annas implication that the crime had its roots in something that had happened that long-ago summer.
Well, one thing was certain. Shed have to talk to Rachel and Meredith again, and soon.
* * *
JAKE SUSPECTED LAINEY wasnt going to appreciate an unannounced visit from him this evening. On the other hand, if hed called her first, she could so easily have made an excuse.
Hed made up his mind to drive over after supper. He didnt want this decision put off any longer. Having a clients affairs in disarray pounded on his nerves like a jackhammer. He might be relaxed and informal in the rest of his life, but when it came to his profession, he dotted the is and crossed the ts. The school buddies who saw him as a typical good old boy would be surprised.
Only six oclock, and it was growing dark already, with lights appearing in the houses and shops along Main Street. Fall was drawing in, no matter how nice the weather had been.
A string of orange pumpkin lights decorated the house he was passing, and in the next yard the sheet of a makeshift ghost fluttered from the branch of an oak tree. Halloween wasnt until next week, but each year the decorations started earlier and grew more elaborate. The adults, it seemed, had taken over a holiday that used to be for kids.
There were no Halloween decorations at Rebeccas house, of course. But every kid in town knew thered still be whoopee pies waiting if you knocked on Rebeccas door. Not this year. The thought depressed him.
He parked at the curb and got out. The glow of a gas lamp came from the front windows, so Lainey must be there.
He toyed with the thought of what shed do for Halloween if she were back in St. Louis. A party, no doubt. Shed go as a gypsy. Or a witch. Either of those suited the somewhat wild quality of her beauty.
He reached the porch, raised his hand to knock, and nearly hit Lainey in the face as she swung the door open and charged through. For a moment both of them froze, probably equally startled.
Sorry. He lowered his arm, trying to look harmless. I didnt come to attack, honest.
My fault. I was just going out. The way she said it invited him to leave.
Ill just take a few minutes of your time. And then he could cross this job off his list and move on to a consideration of who would best care for both Rebecca and her property.
Lainey stared at him, maybe deciding whether or not to make an issue out of his unscheduled visit. Finally she shrugged and turned away from the door. You may as well come in, I guess.
Not a very gracious invitation, but hed take it. He stepped inside quickly, before she could change her mind.
Lainey headed into the living room, and he followed. She slipped the handbag strap from her shoulder and tossed the bag onto the table next to Rebeccas favorite chair. You might have called.
Sorry. He raised his eyebrows, feeling an urge to annoy her. Have a hot date?
For an instant he thought shed snap at him, and then a reluctant grin tugged at her lips. So far the only males I know in Deer Run are Uncle Zeb and young Thomas. Not exactly eligible, either of them.
You know me, he pointed out. Im generally considered eligible.
And thats according to the local newspaper, from what Aunt Rebecca said in one of her letters. Most eligible bachelor in the county, or something like that. Lainey looked as if she felt shed scored.
Ouch. I hoped Rebecca didnt know anything about it. He grimaced. How I let myself be talked into that idiotic contest I cant see.
Someone caught you in a weak moment, no doubt, she said.
Something like that. Well, much as I enjoy having my follies paraded to the immediate world, maybe wed best get down to business, so you can meet your date.
I planned to drop in on Rachel. Or Meredith. She shook her head slightly, as if to clear it. Im not sure. Theres something I need to find out from them.
Laineys eyebrows drew together, and she raised one hand to press her fingertips between them, as if to clear her thoughts. The urge to annoy her left him abruptly.
Whats wrong? He took a step closer, surprised by the strength of his concern.
Lainey blinked, seeming to make an effort to focus. I was going to ask Meredith or Rachel, but actually I guess you would know it, too. What does the death of Merediths mother have to do with the summer I spent here when I was ten?
He hadnt expected that, and maybe he should have. Once she was back in Deer Run, Lainey was bound to hear about the events that had been a nine-days-wonder just a month ago. Not enough happened in Deer Run to eclipse something as dramatic as murder, attempted murder and suicide.
I can, yes, he said slowly, trying to think how to frame the story. What did you hear about it? And how? Obviously not from Rachel or Meredith, or she wouldnt have been ready to seek them out tonight.
Sit down, for goodness sake. Lainey waved a hand toward the rocker that was drawn up close to Rebeccas seat.
He obeyed. They were practically knee to knee, sitting in the two rockers. Rebecca always liked to have her visitors close to her, especially as her hearing worsened in recent years.
Well? he asked, a little too aware of how near she wasenough that her elusive, exotic scent touched him.
Lainey shrugged. I dont see why it matters, but I was in Millers Store today when two women came inJeannette Walker and Laura Hammond.
Jake sent a startled glance out the front windows to the Willows, which sat diagonally across the street. Laura? Lauras back in town?
She nodded. I thought she looked unwell, and after they left, Anna told me why. She said Laura had been in a psychiatric facility. That her husband had killed Merediths mother. Her eyes grew shadowed. She said it had something to do with that summer I was here.
How much to tell her? Maybe hed have been better off not to interrupt her visit to Meredith and Rachel. Theyd do a better job of this than he would.
Well? She interrupted his thoughts. Is it true?
More or less. How much do you remember about the summer you were here?
She considered. I remember a lot about some things, not much about others. Ive started to remember more about Meredith and Rachel since I talked to them last night. But there are holes.