Page 153 of Murder on Charity Lane

“I’m hiding on the deck around back. So the sooner the better!”

Nicholas shot me a disbelieving look. “Why are you hiding?”

“Because my ride isn’t here yet!” Mrs. B said, and ended the call.

I MADE NICHOLAS drive, because he didn’t mind speeding. My contribution was grinding my teeth and asking unanswerable questions: “What is she doing there? How did she get there? Oh, god, is she trespassing? Do you think she broke in? Are we going to break in?”

Nicholas accelerated through the iron gates of Hope Ranch and past the lagoon.

“Maybe CJ is back at the house,” I said, trying to cheer myself up. “Maybe that’s why she called!”

“Why would—” He shook his head. “That doesn’t explain anything.”

I told him to stop picking on me, then chattered nervously until we arrived at the property. Nicholas followed the drive toward the house and parked beside a car that reminded me of Ocean’s.

Because it was.

“That’s Ocean’s car,” I said. “What’s she doing here?”

“Maybe Mrs. B drove it over.”

I blinked at the house. “Uh, should we ring the doorbell?”

“Yes?”

“No, Mrs. B said she’s around back, let’s look for her first. Oh, god, what if Karina catches us creeping around?”

“At the very worst, she’ll yell at us.”

“I don’t like when people yell at me! And at the very worst, she’ll call the cops. All we need is another run-in with Detective Enible. Lily-Ann told me I can’t speak to him.”

Nicholas started around the side of the mansion. “C’mon.”

I hated breaking the rules, but Mrs. B had sounded so worried that I followed Nicholas along the flagstone path to the rear of the house. The air smelled different here, as the sea breeze welled up the cliffs from the beach.

I stopped and didn’t see Mrs. B.

But a moment later, we heard her. “Sophie! Nicholas! Up here!”

75

LILY-ANN

After Anthony left for the store, Lily-Ann spent a minute staring out the window. She didn’t know why she’d sent him away. Well, no, that was a lie. She’d sent him away because she’d finally admitted that she loved him. That frightened her. Needing him frightened her. After Piotr, needing anyone frightened her. Though perhaps that was a lie, blaming it on Piotr. She’d never been comfortable needing people. She’d always suspected that she did it wrong.

She was thinking about that when Mrs. B texted. She read the message and frowned. Mrs. B’s motivations made sense, but her logic rarely did. She was an odd combination of good intentions and terrible ideas.

As Lily-Ann considered her next step, she caught sight of Ocean jogging across the courtyard. Heading for her car. Which meant that Mrs. B hadn’t only texted Lily-Ann. She’d probably texted the entire Murder Collective, and sworn them all, individually, to secrecy. Oh! This was the perfect opportunity to check for evidence. So she slipped into her mules, grabbed her phone, and bustled out the door.

She caught Ocean entering her car and called, “Will you drive me?”

“Uh,” Ocean said.

“I presume we got the same message from Mrs. B.” She trotted closer, trying to catch her breath. “‘Hurry to the DeYoungs’ house and don’t tell anyone.’”

Ocean’s worry turned to irritation. “Treacherous old woman.”

“And Anthony’s got my car, so…”