Nine Lives (Lily Dale Mystery #1)(14)

She breaks off at a deafening clap of thunder.

“Mommy? I don’t want to go camping,” Max says in a small voice.

“Camping! On a night like this?” Odelia looks from Max to Bella.

“We’re just going to Summer Pines. It’s not far.”

“Where?”

“Summer Pines,” she repeats, noting the woman’s blank expression.

“Never heard of it.”

Hmm. Struck by déjà vu, Bella elaborates, “We saw a billboard back on the highway. It said it was ten miles north of the exit, on Route 60. So it has to be around here someplace.”

Odelia fixes her with a strange, long look. “If you need a place to stay tonight, you can have your pick of rooms in the guesthouse.”

“We don’t have any money,” Max informs her, and Bella cringes.

“Oh, it would be free of charge, of course. Leona would want it that way. And you can keep an eye on the cat in case those kittens come. I have the keys, and I’ve been trying to look after the place, but you can imagine what a tizzy I’ve been in with the season starting tomorrow.”

“Season?”

“The official season. The Dale welcomes visitors from all over the world every summer. We have a daily schedule of events from now through Labor Day.”

Nodding as if she understands, Bella asks, “What kind of events?”

“Oh, the usual. Lectures, demonstrations, readings, healings . . .”

“What kind of healings? You mean like . . . doctors?”

“There’s physical healing, yes. And spiritual, emotional healing. You’ll see. Tomorrow morning when the gates open, this place will be jammed.”

“Jammed with what?” asks Max the Constantly Curious Kid.

“People.”

“Who are they?”

“Tourists and curiosity seekers, newbies and regulars, summer staff, and, of course, those of us who live here. Some—like me—are here year-round, but most of the mediums are just in residence for the season.”

“Mediums . . . you mean there are others? Is that what the assembly is? An assembly of . . .”

“Spiritualists. That’s right.” Odelia smiles at Bella. “So you weren’t familiar with the Dale before you got here?”

“No, we had no idea what it was.” She still doesn’t know what it is, though she’s guessing it’s some kind of new age summer resort. “We were just stopping by to drop off the cat.”

“I’d say it’s a little off the beaten path to the Midwest to qualify as just stopping by.”

Bella blinks. Had she mentioned their destination to Odelia? She must have.

“We’re not in all that big a hurry, but—”

“We have to go stay with my grandma because we don’t have any place else to go,” Max interrupts. “We don’t really want to because she’s fancy. But my mom lost her job, and we had to move out of our house, and my dad—”

“Max,” Bella interrupts gently, “Ms. Lauder doesn’t need to know all that.”

Yet even as she says it, she comprehends that the woman already knows far more about them than they’ve told her.

Noticing that Odelia’s fixated on something just over their shoulders, Bella spins around quickly, expecting to find someone standing there, but the spot is empty.

When she turns back, she sees Odelia nodding as if in silent agreement with the imaginary person whose presence even Bella could have sworn she felt.

“It’s time for dinner,” she says abruptly, opening a cupboard. “Are you two hungry?”

“I am. I love chocolate chips. We had a picnic at the rest stop, but that was a long time ago. Mom said we’d eat dinner after we dropped off Chance the Cat.”

“We will, Max. I’m sure we can find a place—”

“Nonsense, you’ve already found it. I was just about to sit down, and I always cook extra.”

“Why?”

“Because you never know who might drop in,” Odelia tells Max with a twinkle in her eye. “Although, sometimes, you do. I do, anyway.”

“Did you know about us?”

She shakes her head.

Meeting her gaze, Bella isn’t so sure about that. Nor is she so sure she’s hungry enough—despite being famished—to try chocolate chip chili.

Odelia turns away, taking out a stack of bowls. “After we eat, we’ll head next door and you can pick out the room where you want to spend the night.”

“We can’t possibly do that.”

“Why not, Mommy?”

“Yes, why not?” Odelia asks.

She isn’t quite sure about that, either. Maybe it is a good idea. After all, if neither Odelia nor Doctor Bailey has heard of Summer Pines, it might be farther away than she thought. Driving around at night with Max in an unfamiliar remote area—in a storm—with the engine clattering precariously . . . well, that definitely doesn’t seem like a good idea.

“You really have to stay. There’s a house filled with empty beds next door, Bella, and in this weather, you can’t sleep in a tent with a young child.”

Having introduced herself as Isabella, she’s startled to hear her nickname—the one only Sam called her—from a stranger’s lips. Most people who shorten her name just call her Izzy.