“You lead and I’ll follow.”
Kate loudly groaned. “Don’t tell him that! Next thing you know, he’ll be expectingmeto do that.”
“I gave up on that long ago,” Jack said, eyes sparkling.
“Let’s go before you two do it on the table,” Troy said.
“What do you know about such things?” Jack shot back.
“Well, Dad, I’m not a virgin.”
Laughing, Jack got up. “Okay, kid, see if you can follow along.”
Kate leaned back against the booth and watched as the two of them walked toward the stage together. From the back, they looked so much alike—and that thought made her frown. It seemed to bring back a memory, but she couldn’t quite grasp it.
When Jack and Troy got on the stage, there was applause of anticipation. The bar was beginning to fill up. “This is my little brother,” Jack said into the mic. “He says he can sing but I haven’t heard him, so let’s see what he can do.” Jack spoke to the head of the band, then he handed the mic to his brother and stepped away.
They played “The Way You Look Tonight.” Sinatra, long and slow.
Many of the people there had never heard the song before. Some slow danced, but most just listened. Troy had a beautiful voice and, like Jack, he seemed to have an excellent memory for lyrics.
As he sang the old song, Kate’s head seemed to spin. A memory was coming to her, but it wasn’t the one she’d briefly glimpsed when she saw Jack and Troy walking away together. This one was different. That song had been playing that night. It was one of Mr. Billy’s favorites.
She closed her eyes. It was Lachlan House, she was with Greer, and they were doing something they shouldn’t.Spying, she thought. The grownups were having a party, and she and Greer were hiding behind the door, peeping around it, and watching. Greer was nearly grownup, but they treated her like she was as young as Kate. Mr. Oliver had used a word Kate had never heard before:retarded.
It must be the night Derek Oliver wasn’t there, Kate thought as the memory became more clear.And some of them knew he was dead.
Billy came into the vision, a big green bottle of champagne in his hand. “Drink up, my dear friends,” he said over the loud music. “Tonight we party as though it is our last.”
And he knew it would be, Kate thought. He’d found the body and put it in the closet. He knew there would be no more parties. He wouldn’t even be able to occupy the whole house. It was his last night of joy.
Lea saw them peeping around the corner. “You’re too young to be here,” she said, frowning as she escorted them into the hall. In the next minute, she smiled and handed them a grocery bag. “I put in sparkling apple juice and pastries. Now take it upstairs and let no one see you.”
Grinning, Kate and Greer ran through the kitchen and up the steep stairs to the nursery. It was their favorite place.
They quickly unloaded the bag of treasures. Cream puffs, chocolate truffles, two big slices of pie, little cakes, and two bottles of what they liked to pretend was champagne. There were even a couple of pretty glasses.
“Do you like cake or pie better?” Kate asked as she picked up a little cake with lavender icing with a pink rosebud on top.
Greer was looking around and frowning. “Someone has been here.”
“The woman who cleans?” Kate asked. “I like her. Sometimes she lets me help. I got inside Mr. Oliver’s tub and scrubbed away the gray ring. He’s a dirty man.”
“Look at that closet. There’s a white line around it. That’s glue. And your dog’s string is caught under it.”
“Oh no!” Kate started to get up but Greer stopped her.
“That door is sealed. Leave it alone. And the turtle rug is gone. Who did this?”
Kate saw that she was right. “You should get your grandmother. You said she was magic and can see things that are going to happen. Maybe someone told Mr. Oliver something bad, and he went away and took things with him.”
“I don’t think he left,” Greer said. “Reid drove his car away.” She took a deep breath. “And I think my grandmother was here.”
“When?” Kate’s eyes were wide. She’d heard a lot about the magical grandmother.
“Today. I don’t know why she came here, but I know she has secrets. She’s why I never went to a real school. Reid said that if I stayed home, Grans would behave herself.”
“Did she do something bad?”
