“Beatrix,” he whispered, “go to bed.”
She did, her mind full of what she would do with him once they were both asleep.
CHAPTER 17
Mayor Croft drove Beatrix home the next afternoon once the roads were partially cleared. The long driveway was still snowbound, so she got out and was halfway up it on foot when her sister dashed from the house toward her. Only then did she remember that she never had called with an explanation of where she’d been.
“Oh,Bee!Don’teverdo that again! We had no idea if you’d tried to walk home and were freezing to death somewhere, or where we should be looking for you—of course we called the omnimancer’s house, but no one picked up, and the police said they couldn’t send anyone?—”
“You called the police?” Beatrix said, edging into the discussion.
“Of course! And Ella and I went looking for you along your normal path to work, but we could only get about athird of the way before it was too dark and cold and dangerous to go farther?—”
“I’m so terriblysorry,” Beatrix said, feeling wretched.
“I realize now that you had your hands full with Mrs. Clark, but if anything like this happens again, youmustcall!”
“I know, and I—wait, how did you know about Mrs. Clark?”
“Omnimancer Blackwell told me.”
“He called?”
“First thing this morning. Oh, Bee! I thought you were dead.”
Lydia threw her arms around her. Beatrix leaned in, touched and a bit surprised how upset her usually unemotional sister was. She told her that Sue was all right, the baby seemed well, and she’d spent the day alternating between helping the Clarks, checking on other people living on Main Street and assisting with the massive shoveling effort. She hoped that would seem like a good reason for not remembering to call. And yet Peter, who’d been every bit as busy, hadn’t forgotten.
Rosemarie stepped through the doorway, shaking her head. “Very thoughtless of you.”
“I know,” Beatrix murmured. “I’m sorry.”
Then Ella pushed by and danced a little jig around her. “See, Itoldyou she was all right.” She grabbed Beatrix’s hand and twirled under her arm. “Nothing to worry about.”
Beatrix smiled, feeling a bit better.
“Let’s go for a walk before we lose the sun—it’s beautiful out here,” Ella said.
Rosemarie’s frown deepened. “No, Beatrix will be helping her sister shovel the driveway while you make dinner.”
Ella rolled her eyes, expressing Beatrix’s feelings perfectly. She was the landlady here, but that often seemed to slip Rosemarie’s mind.
Once the chores were finally done, Beatrix led Ella into the sitting room, where no tele-vision cameras observed them. She slipped her notepad from one of her many coat pockets and wrote a warning as Ella watched:OB’s fuel no longer available. OB now tracking number used per day.
Ella read it, sighed, and took the pen.Can’t afford to wait for spring.
Beatrix nodded.But what else can we do?
Ella leaned back in her chair, deep in thought. Then she smiled and wrote:Can we go to Joan’s tomorrow?
Tomorrow—Saturday—she’d promised herself she would spend time with her sister, preferably out of this toxic house. But she hadn’t said anything to Lydia about it yet.OK. Plan?
Ella’s smile widened.Smith and Brown.
Oh dear God.
Joan sawthem out with a quiet “good luck,” her face betraying a trace of the anxiety Beatrix felt. What if theywere found out? What if, to avoid being found out, she actually killed somebody this time?
I will not murder anyone. I will not.
