Almost Dead (Lizzy Gardner #5)(21)

When the old lady finally paused for breath, Hayley jumped in. “Please, Mrs. Kingsbury, I need to know what happened to Debra Blatt.”

“I told you already. I gave her away.”

The words came out so fast, Hayley thought maybe she heard her wrong. “You gave her away?”

“Damn straight,” she said, lifting her chin, daring Hayley to judge her. “She was nothing but trouble.”

Another cat appeared. This one was solid black.

“I had four cats at the time, and she used to pull on their tails. Once she started peeing in the bed, I couldn’t take it any longer.”

“How long did Debra live here with you?”

“Two hellish years. She must have been five or six when I finally called social services and told them they needed to take the girl or I was throwing her out on the street.” The woman snorted. “That did the trick.”

“Do you know where she is now?”

A spider skittered out from under the carpet and onto the linoleum. The woman was fast, though—she jumped on the thing, putting her whole body into killing it with the bottom of her slippered foot. “What do you mean do I know where she is?” She guffawed. “It’s been close to twenty years.”

“You haven’t stayed in touch with your granddaughter?”

“No. Why should I? She wasn’t my blood. I only took her in because Dan promised to pay me, which he never did.”

Having heard enough, Hayley started for the exit.

“She must be close to twenty-five years old now,” the woman shouted after her. “Wait. Did she die and leave me some kind of inheritance? Is that why you’re here?”

Hayley had never been much for words, but it took everything she had not to turn and verbally rip the old hag to shreds.

“That’s it, isn’t it?” the woman screeched after her. “My granddaughter died and she wants to help out her ol’ Grandma.”

Hayley stepped outside without bothering to shut the door behind her. Away from the stench, she inhaled.

“You come back here right now and tell me how much she left me!”

Hayley pulled a tape recorder from her back pocket and pivoted so that she was facing the old woman, who’d skittered after her as far as the doorway. “It’s true,” Hayley told her. “Debra married well. She had millions when she died, but her will specifically states that we can only disperse monies to the people who loved her most.” Hayley smiled and held the recorder in the air for her to see. “I’m so glad we had this talk. I can’t thank you enough for being so frank with me. I’ve got everything the estate attorney needs right here.”

It was a ludicrous lie, but this was a ludicrous, awful old woman. It felt sweet to watch her mouth fall open, and sweeter still to hear no words come out of it.





CHAPTER 15

The house was a fortress, Lizzy thought, with never-ending hallways and a lot of unused rooms, wasted space. She had no idea where Kitally and Hayley were, but she wasn’t their mother and she wasn’t about to call and check up on them.

She was a visitor, a temporary guest, nothing more.

Lizzy left the office at the end of the house and headed for the kitchen. She wasn’t hungry, but she hadn’t eaten all day. She would force something down. Maybe some soup. She walked across the hallway, each step echoing off the polished wood floors.

She felt suddenly very alone.

A sharp creak froze her blood.

She took a step backward. Right there, where the hallway transitioned from wood to stone.

CREAK.

A loose board. That’s all it was. Nothing to worry about.

She stepped into the living room. Moonlight spilled in through high windows, shedding an eerie light over still unfamiliar terrain. Most of the furniture, in her opinion, was cold and uninviting. She’d never claimed to have any sort of flair for interior design, but the place needed a makeover—a throw rug and a few decorative pillows.

In the kitchen, she looked out the window above the sink. One of the girls usually turned on the outside lights, but since neither of them was home, the lights weren’t on. It was pitch-black out there.

A tap-tap on the window nearly brought her out of her skin. Instinct kicked in. Both hands shot up, her gun clasped unsteadily between them, her finger on the trigger.

She saw nothing but the dark expanse of the lawn and the black trees beyond.

She took a few breaths before finally pointing the gun at the floor. Hadn’t even realized she was carrying her gun around until that moment.

Her heart pounded against her chest. She’d heard a tap; she knew she had.

“Hayley, is that you?”

No answer.

She needed to calm down.

She locked her gun in her holster and concentrated on finding a damn light switch. Once she located the first switch, she flipped on every one she could find in the place. By the time she was done, the front yard was lit up like Christmas.

Better.

She could see past the front lawn all the way to the mailbox.

She unlocked the door and stepped outside, leaving the door open. A couple of acorns and a branch lay on the ground in front of the window. She looked up. A tall oak was the culprit.

Back inside, she sucked in a deep breath.

The cat circled her legs. Hannah. Where did you come from? She’d forgotten all about the cat. Never once in these past few weeks had she wondered or worried about Hannah’s fate.