“Have to get—” Izzy started to nod again before catching herself. “Have to find Greta.”
“She’s right here,” Olivia said, but Izzy had drifted away.
The moonflowers, she prayed, wouldn’t take Izzy’s life.
A light flickered in the trees above as Olivia parked beside the Chevrolet. She grabbed a sweater from her satchel, doused it in the river, and quickly wrapped Izzy’s limp hand to protect her and her daughter. Then she reached inside Izzy’s car and tossed the woman’s suitcases into the sedan.
Headlights sped down the hill as Olivia turned away from the door.
Drive.
That voice. She could hear it again, louder than the cries.
Her headlights dimmed, she trailed the moonlight along familiar back roads, praying that Izzy’s body would fight against the poison. That the effects would only be temporary.
The baby slept between them, so tiny in the shadows, and she worried now that it wasn’t the same child she’d met at Simon’s. Hopefully, Greta was safe with her father in Winfield. She would ask Izzy the moment that she woke.
As the hours passed, their flight away from Haven House began to feel like a new beginning. For the first time in years, even with the enemy right behind her, peace reined again in Olivia’s heart.
39:Harper
With the bundle of bouquets in one hand and flashlight in the other, Finn led Harper down to Ashe Lake. While they didn’t need the light yet, it wouldn’t be long before the sun bedded itself down.
Harper ducked under an evergreen branch. “Are you going to tell me what the flowers are for?”
“Not yet.”
“You’re a man of mystery, Finn Sterling.”
“Not really.” He laughed. “I just prefer focusing on one thing at a time.”
Simon Farrow first, and then what else did Finn have in mind? For a man so seemingly buttoned-up, he was full of surprises.
The lake transformed in the setting sun, pale orange and pink smearing the blue. Reeds and grass circled the water like a wreath and another turtle—or perhaps the very same one—broke the surface with its wake.
She and Finn followed the path until she saw the outcrop of rocks, and there, waiting where she’d left it, was the engraved piece with Simon’s name.
Finn handed her the flashlight and then lifted it carefully. “It’s a cuff link.”
She scanned the small lake and trees like they might finally find answers here. “Maybe he lost it when he was searching for Olivia.”
“I’ll have to do some checking.” He closed his fingers around the gold piece. “Please don’t tell anyone yet what you found.”
“Confidentiality,” she whispered. “You’ve got the paper.”
“This probably won’t stay secret for long.”
“According to Simon Farrow’s obituary, he died in 1968.”
“Sounds like you read about his father,” Finn said. “Dr. Simon Farrow was a professor in Winfield.”
“Your grandmother didn’t know if Dr. Farrow and the Simon Farrow that Olivia married were related.”
“She knows.” He shifted the flowers in his arms. “I suspect she diverted your question.”
Harper thought back to the evasive conversation she had with Mrs. Lamb. “She’s as good at deflection as you.”
“Gram will do just about anything to protect those she loves.”
