“Melissa,” Kate said. “She shouldn’t have done that. The house wasn’t under contract. It still isn’t.”
“I’m glad she did. When I saw that the house was going to be sold, I guessed that the body would at last be found and everyone would be questioned. Maybe I shouldn’t have done it, but I wanted to know more. I called Melissa and she talked a lot.”
“Of course she did,” Kate said. “She’s incapable of keeping a secret.”
“She told me that I couldn’t buy the house now because the listing agent—you—were throwing a party, and you were inviting a movie star. I wasn’t sure but I thought maybe it was Barbara. If so, maybe you were recreatingthatparty. After I hung up, I thought that if I wanted information, Rachel was the one I should talk to.”
“The snoop,” Kate said.
“Right. I asked my lawyers to please get Rachel’s number and I called her. She told me of the party that was being given to celebrate Billy’s life, and that she had no intention of going. She seemed to think the party really was for Billy. But I didn’t think so. I had an idea that it was for a different reason, especially since you people were involved. If the body had been found, maybe if I helped solve the murder and prove that I didn’t do it, I could reappear. As myself. I could see my family again. Maybe I could even have a real life.” She looked at Gil and Quinn with love, and they smiled back at her. “I didn’t let myself think about it, I just told her that I’d like to go in her place. As her.”
No one said a word until Jack spoke up. “How hard did she laugh at that?”
Greer’s eyes sparkled. “Long and loud—and quite nastily. Rachel was never what one would call a nice person.”
“She used to say terrible things to you,” Kate said.
“Oh yes, she did. She said I was the ugliest person she’d ever seen.”
“You’re certainly not ugly now,” Jack said.
“Thank you,” Greer replied.
“I would have loved to have seen her face when she saw you!” Kate said, and they smiled at each other.
“It was grand, and worth all the pain to see her look of shock when she first saw me,” Greer said. “We had a few weeks to work on hair and makeup and her teaching me to speak with that flat Connecticut accent.” Greer made an eye roll. “Rachel was not a patient teacher.”
Gil had been silently listening to the story, then he and Quinn stood up. “I need to go to work.” He held out his hand, Greer took it, and the three of them went out the front door. There was silence for a few minutes and they all knew Gil and Greer were kissing goodbye.
When Greer returned, she took her place on the couch. “I guess you have some questions for me.”
Randal spoke first. “Didn’t your grandmother foresee that the body wouldn’t be found for twenty-five years?”
“I guess her visions didn’t tell her that. She did say the body was hidden somewhere, not buried, and it would be found relatively intact, but she didn’t know when. She just said that when it was found, people would look for me. And it’s true. Everyone seems to have spoken of my anger and the abuse I endured from Mr. Oliver. All of it. Even dead, I’m a suspect.”
“And you faked your own death,” Jack said.
“My uncle did that. He even sent a coffin here. I have a lovely headstone. It has an angel on it.” She paused. “Considering what’s happened, I think it was all good, but the waiting has been horrible.”
“Rachel didn’t tell you everything,” Sara said. “She had her own plan.”
“You heard my call,” Greer said. “I thought you might have. And you’re right. Rachel told me very little of the truth of what went on with her during that week. And she didn’t tell me that she was going to come here. She didn’t even hint that she and my brother had been lovers.”
“You’re the one who slapped him,” Sara said. “And Rachel kissed him.” She let out a sigh. “Mystery solved.”
“That first night after dinner, I was trying to sound like I knew anything.” Greer looked at Kate. “I had to use bits that you and I had seen to try to fill it in.”
“Aunt Sara and I got into the big cabinet and I remembered several things you and I had seen. Rachel had my hedgehog.”
“Whatis the interest in that toy?” Greer asked, her eyes wide.
No one answered her.
“I get it.” Greer sounded sad. “I’m not on the inside. Secrets are to be kept from me.”
“You certainly kept them from us,” Sara shot back at her.
“I did. Sorry. I should have trusted you.”
