He laughed and hugged me again. “But you were really happy when you were at Mr. Whit’s house, too.”
I shook my head, confused. “I’ve never been to Mr. Whit’s house. Do you mean his apartment down the hall?”
“No,” Henry said as he gathered a few of his action figures and put them in his bag. “His house by the ocean. The big one with the pointy thing.” He lifted his armsover his head and pressed his palms together, simulating a triangle. “At the top of the house.”
“When haveyouseen his house?” I asked, baffled.
“In my dream,” he said, as if it should’ve been obvious. “It was me, and you, and Mr. Whit, and Addie. And we had a little puppy. She was so cute! I can’t wait to see her.”
Now it all made sense…
I grinned. “A puppy, huh? Did she have a name?”
He nodded, grabbing his teddy bear. “The tall lady said her name was Daisy.”
“Who’s the tall lady?” I asked, a ripple of unease just beneath my skin. “Is she another…friend?”
“No, ma’am,” he said. “I need my toothbrush!”
Deciding “the tall lady” was a mystery to solve another day, I dropped Henry off with June and hurried back to my apartment to get ready. I’d finished doing my makeup and arranging my hair—not nearly as expertly as Merilee had, but still a decent attempt—and checked the time. Whit would be arriving any minute.
I hurried into the bedroom to slip into the dress but came to an abrupt halt as soon as I entered the room. It wasn’t hanging on the door where I’d left it.
“What the heck?” I muttered.
I rushed to the closet door and swung it open, rifling through the clothes hanging there. Which was ridiculous. I knew I’d seen it hanging on the closet door just that morning. And of course, it wasn’t in the closet.
Frustrated, I dropped onto the bed and covered my face with my hands, trying to retrace my steps. But that revealed nothing.
I glanced at my phone again.
“Damn it!” I pushed off the mattress but froze.
A corner of crimson fabric peeked out from under the bed.
Remembering all too well the last time I’d had to check under my bed for anything, I swallowed hard and eased down onto my knees, and then darted my hand underneath, yanking the dress out as fast as I could.
Fortunately, nothing sinister made an appearance and the dress was undamaged, just a little dusty. Trying not to think about how the hell it had ended up there, I slipped into it and added the jewelry borrowed from Merilee. I was just searching for the shoes that should’ve been sitting next to my closet when the doorbell rang.
Finally locating the shoes on the other side of the room as if someone had flung them there, I scooped them up and hurried to the door. “Just a sec!” I called, slipping them on.
I pulled the door open, my face flushed with excitement. But my smile faded instantly when I saw that it wasn’t Whit.
The man standing there was young, Hollywood-handsome, and dressed like he was preparing to set sail on his private yacht.
“May I help you?” I asked, closing the door halfway between us.
“Just introducing myself,” he said, extending a hand. “Carter Dean. I reckon you knew my grandfather.”
I blinked, confused. “I didn’t think Mr. Dean had any children or grandchildren. He wasn’t exactly fond of kids, from what he told me.”
Carter laughed lightly. “Sounds about right. We weren’t particularly close, but I’m the only family left.”
I could see a family resemblance. He could’ve been a much younger, much less bitter and cantankerous version of Old Man Dean. But something about him made me uneasy.
“I was told Mr. Dean didn’t haveanyfamily around,” I said, remembering my conversation with Whit about funeral arrangements. “Why didn’t you come sooner?”
Carter shrugged. “Like I said…not close. I only found out about my inheritance when Mr. Briggs contacted me.”
