He followed her through the back door and they sat down on the grass in the shade. It wasn’t easy for him to fold himself, so he leaned against a tree, his long legs straight out. “So what are you sneaking around looking for?” He took a bite.
“If you saw that, didthey?”
“No. They’re fascinated by some old execution.”
“Why?”
He shrugged. “It’s Sara. She loves history.”
“Execution? You mean beheading? Something like that?”
“Not that far back. So what about you doing the spy imitation?”
She frowned, obviously not liking going back to her. “My grandmother hid some things here. I wondered if I could find them.”
He didn’t ask what had been hidden. He figured that if he did, she’d leave. “I heard that Derek Oliver wanted to marry you.”
Heardwas the key word.Eavesdroppedwas more correct.
She smiled. “He did suck up to me a bit, but I let him know that I found him repulsive.”
“Took that well, did he?”
“My experience of men is that if they’re hot when they’re young, they think they’re hot when they’re old and wrinkly.”
“Then I’m safe,” Lenny said, and she laughed.
“You want to know if I had a motive for killing him. No, I didn’t. I wasn’t even supposed to be here. I ran away from facing my mother.”
“I heard you were sent here.”
“A lie,” she said easily. “I knew I had to deal with my mother, but I postponed it by running here. I was ready to doanythingto escape the wrath of that woman. I knew my grandmother would be glad to see me.” She smiled in fond memory. “You ever have anyone on your side no matter what you did?”
“Not even close,” Lenny said honestly. He was piecing things together. Randal had told him the details of the skeleton they found. Rachel was looking for something her grandmother had hidden. The jewels that had been sewn inside a stuffed toy? Did she do that or did Mrs. Meyers? “Have you found what she hid?”
“No.”
“You could have returned years ago and searched.”
“My life has changed in the last years,” she said. “Besides, it never crossed my mind that the house and a lot of the furnishings would still be here. Is that all? Or are there more questions?” When she raised her arm to push her hair back, her short sleeve fell away and showed a tattoo on the inside of her upper arm.
“What’s that?” he asked. It was an unusual shape. A symbol, of some sort.
A frown crossed her face, then she quickly covered it. “A moment of sheer stupidity.” She stood up. “I have things to do.”
Search the guesthouse where you and your grandmother stayed?he thought. He got up too but much less easily than she did. “Gil’s at the cottage.”
“What?”
He saw the blank look on her face. “There were some pastries left from breakfast. I thought you might want to take some to Gil and Quinn.”
“No,” she said. “Not now. Maybe later.”
“I think Sara wants to see you. Maybe in the nursery?”
Rachel groaned. “More questions. I didn’t kill that odious old man. I wouldn’t even be here now if it weren’t for—” She broke off. “Are we done?”
Lenny gave a nod and she left quickly. She went around the house so he couldn’t see where she was headed. It was a ploy he’d used often when he was doing something he wanted no one to see.
