He knew she meant Greer. He lowered his voice as they walked to the bedroom where Rachel/Greer had been staying. “She’s been telling Dad and me all about her life. She had her nose cut open and she said we could go to Scotland to see her family. Dad said I can wear a kilt.”
“I’ll research your family and find your tartan—except that’s an English idea. I’ll buy you the finest sporran, one that’s worthy of Lieutenant Colonel Johnny Thompson.”
He smiled. “I’m supposed to get Greer’s clothes and her passport.”
Sara gave him a sharp look.
“I know. I can’t say her name. It’s all a secret.” His face showed fear. “No one is going to kill her, are they?”
“No!” Sara said. “Let’s pack while they’re watching the movie. We can throw stuff out the window and Lenny can help you take it to my car.”
Quinn grinned at that. “Gr... Rachel said she hid her passport. There’s a loose board in the closet. It’s—” He stopped because Sara had frozen in place, eyes wide. “What is it?”
“I know where there’s a good hiding place. Lea has been looking for a wall safe, but there’s somewhere else something could be hidden. I need to go. I’ll send Lenny up to help you. Is that okay?”
“Oh yeah,” Quinn said. “He’s cool. We have a bully at school. I wish I could take Lenny there to have a talk with him.” He was smiling at the thought.
“I think Lenny would love that. I need to go.” When Sara got to the door she wasn’t surprised to nearly run into Lenny. She assumed he’d heard it all so she just waved her hand and he nodded.
“I hate bullies,” he said as he went into the bedroom to help Quinn.
Kate was standing in the hall.
“Why aren’t you watching the movie?” Sara asked.
“Because whatever you are up to is always more exciting than any movie—and a whole lot more dangerous. There’s an active murderer on the loose. Where are we going?”
“To the cottage. I need to search a hiding place in there.”
“Tell me where it is and I can go look.”
“No,” Sara said. “It’s time for me to face the past.”
After they told Lenny where they were going, the two women left the house together.
As soon as Kate unlocked the cottage door, Sara began shaking in fear.This is absurd, she told herself.It all happened long ago. It’s over. Done with.
But for all her thoughts of encouragement, the second she stepped inside the pretty room, it was as though she’d never left it. She could almost feel Cal there. Her memories were vivid, crystal clear.
In front of her was the beautiful stained glass window. “Mr. Lachlan bought this window at an auction and had it installed here. It doesn’t really fit, but...” Sara could feel her current self fading away. Writing, traveling, people she’d met over the years, seemed to leave her. “I lost my virginity in this room.”
Kate said nothing but quietly waited for whatever her aunt wanted to tell her.
“Cal cut the grass here. He always seemed older than he was. He was doing garden work when he was twelve. He doubled his workload after his mother, Renata, died. His father remarried the same year she passed.”
“Was his new wife nice?” Kate asked.
“No,” Sara said. “She looked on Cal as a nuisance. She used to say that when she had kids, she’d send Cal away. But she never had any.”
“How’d she like you?”
“Exactly as much as I liked her.” Sara sighed. “It especially hurt since Renata adored Cal. If it hadn’t been for him, I’m sure she would have left. Back then, the father was always given custody. He just had to say his wife had screwed someone else, andzap!he got it all and the wife was cast out. Renata couldn’t bear losing Cal.”
“How did she die?” Kate asked.
“We never knew. She just died. No long disease, just...gone.”
“Not...?”
