She should have figured it out earlier. She was a college professor; she was supposed to be smart, wasn’t she?
Gnawing on her lower lip, Maddie asked, “Where is she, Rex? Where’s my grandmother?”
Putting the pieces together had been simple. Evelyn said their talk had been “enoughfor now.” Joe said, “I know Nancy’s death seems strange. But life—and death—often are, aren’t they?” Lisa told her in a robotic way about finding her grandmother’s body. And now, the painting, the bowl, and the quahog shell had been hidden in the bureau drawer. Right there, in Rex’s guest room.
He stayed motionless for what felt like a long time. Then he sat down again.
“Jesus,” he finally said. He wrung his hands, then scooped one over the arc of his skull. “Please believe me. I told her not to do it.” He bent his head and studied the floor.
Maddie’s body went limp, as if the stress of the past days had been expelled from her like air from a balloon. “Just tell me the truth, Rex. She’s still alive, isn’t she?”
He raised his head, and met her eyes. “Yes.”
She closed her eyes. Tears began to flow. She’d been right. It was why the bowl and the quahog shell and her mother’s painting had been hidden in the cabin. Maddie might be the only one who knew what those things meant to Grandma Nancy . . . or would mean to her. So Grandma removed them from the cottage and made sure they were safe—before she set the fire.
“Where . . .” Her voice quavered as she repeated, “Where is she, Rex?”
He huffed. And sighed. “That’s the worst part. I don’t know where she is. She was staying here until the fire. As far as I know, she was still here when I called her from the cottage to tell her I was bringing you over.”
Maddie remembered when he’d left to tell Rafe they were leaving, he also said he needed to make a quick call.
“So you’ve known all along. And you’ve been an accomplice.”
He didn’t respond.
“Who else knows? Brandon?”
“Brandon? God, no. He wouldn’t have allowed it. He’s a lawyer. It would have made him complicit.”
“At least this explains why he hasn’t been able to get the death certificate,” she said. “It would be hard to get one if the person isn’t dead.”
“Evelyn said she’d take care of it, that she’d contact George, the ME. They’re on a town committee together. The one about the beach erosion. Anyway, she told Brandon not to worry, that she’d get the certificate. Brandon’s a busy guy, going back and forth to Boston, juggling clients in both places. She convinced him it was a small thing she could do to help and that his father would have wanted her to do. George, of course, knows nothing about it. He would never have gone along with it, either.”
Rex was talking too fast, as if he had to pour out his culpability all at once.
“So, Evelyn knows,” she said. She was surprised she wasn’t angry, that she hadn’t raised her voice.
“Yes. But we—none of us—know how the fire started. It could have been a fluke. Your grandmother is too attached to that place to want to destroy it. Not to mention that it’s so close to other structures. Nancy was home when the fire engulfed the coast guard boathouse and the pier. She remembered the fear that it would spread up the hill and burn every shop, every restaurant, every house and cottage in its path. But as for faking her death . . .” He paused again. And huffed. “Evelyn knew Nancy wanted to see you before she turned ninety. To try to make things right before she died for real. So Evelyn came up with the plan of how to fake it. She’d always felt bad for Nancy. And for your father. And you. On account of what happened to your mother.”
Maddie cringed.Do not talk about my mother, she wanted to snarl. Then, in her mind’s eye, she saw the blue lights flashing again, the image of the cop at the cottage door. She quickly flicked it away.
“Lisa, my neighbor? Does she know?”
“Yes. Evelyn offered her money, but Lisa declined. She said she’d be happy to do something nice for your grandmother. Nancy’s a quirky lady, but Lisa thinks she’s wonderful. She checks on her every day.”
Turning her head, Maddie looked out the window. “CiCi, the real estate agent?”
“CiCi? Nah. She wouldn’t have been able to keep her mouth shut.”
She looked back at him. “What about Francine? I don’t really know her, but . . .”
He shook his head. “No. Francine doesn’t know. She’ll be shocked. And totally pissed. At me. She looks up to me like I’m her father.” He tried to smile, but the corners of his mouth quickly drooped.
They sat, breathing but not speaking.
Maddie ached from her head to her heart to her foot. There was one more person she needed to know the truth about, not for her sake, but for Rafe’s.
“Joe?” she asked quietly. “Was he hoping I’ll give the land back to the tribe?”
