Paranoid(33)

“Really?” Lila rolled her expressive eyes. “Give me a break. Because none of us are ‘fine’ tonight. I don’t know if we ever will be again.” Frowning she added, “Annessa couldn’t even pull herself together to make it. She claimed she was too upset. And that she’s having a problem with her kid.”

On that issue, Rachel could relate.

“I don’t know why Annessa couldn’t get it together for a couple of hours,” Lila said. “Geez! Talk about a prima donna. And come on, it’s hard on all of us. We’ve all got teenagers with issues.”

Annessa Bell had belonged to the popular group in high school, one of the rich kids. She’d moved away for years but with the passing of her father had come back to Edgewater to claim her inheritance, or so the rumor mill had it, even though, according to Lila, her husband was “rich enough that she could afford to loan money to God.”

Lila let out a disgusted breath. “I just don’t get it. Annessa doesn’t have a corner on being upset. We’re all shocked and a little freaked out. You’d think she might want to come and talk it out with people who knew Vi.”

“Everyone handles grief differently,” Rachel said.

“Yeah. Maybe you should give Annessa a break,” Nate said, coming to their missing classmate’s defense. “She probably has her own issues to deal with. She’s married to a guy twice her age.”

“And that’s a problem?” Lila threw back. “So am I, and Chuck and I, we’re happy. Make that very happy.”

Nate shrugged one shoulder. “Just saying, you never know.”

“Well, if you ask me, she’s weird about the reunion. Annessa should be embracing the community, but she spends all her time working. Can you believe that? With her money? Ever since her husband’s corporation bought property around town, she spends all her time visiting the sites. I’ve seen her car at the cannery, St. Augustine’s, and Reacher’s farm. Did you know he bought that, too?” Lila’s lips pinched together in disapproval.

Rachel offered, “It probably has more to do with trying to get a vision for the new construction.”

“Whatever. The point is she should be here tonight. She’s in charge of the money, you know . . . keeping track of who’s paid and who still owes and . . . well, she sent a spreadsheet, so I guess that’ll have to be good enough.” Obviously irritated, Lila reached in her pocket again, but this time didn’t come up with a cigarette.

Watching her, Rachel recalled that Annessa and Lila hadn’t liked each other much in high school, but that was long ago. Lately, though, Lila had been pissed that Annessa and her husband hadn’t used Lila as a real estate agent when they had purchased various properties in the area, including the old cannery and St. Augustine’s hospital with its now-closed private school.

Lila gave up her rant. “Nothing I can do about it.” She touched Rachel on the shoulder. “All this talk of Vi. It’s depressing and just . . . just awful.” Lila gave a little shudder, her bracelets rattling. “I need a glass of wine. You?” she asked Rachel.

“Not now.” She shook her head.

“What about a double shot of whiskey?” Nate suggested.

“Oh. You want?” Lila asked, brightening a little. “I’ve got . . . scotch, I think. Chuck always keeps a bottle of Glenlivet—”

“No.” Nate held up his hands. “I was joking. I’m good. Really.”

But Lila was already moving away, hurrying past the pillars separating the living and dining areas. At the far end of a long table, Brit Watkins was huddled with Reva Santiago and Billy Dee Johnson around an open laptop. Reva wore a sleek black suit and a white blouse, her black hair cut in layers to her shoulders. Billy Dee was dressed more casually in sweats and a T-shirt, as if he’d just jogged off the practice field. His bald head shined in the glow of another chandelier as he picked up one of Brit’s catering menus. Brit appeared uncomfortable in the straight-backed chair. The trio, in deep discussion over their tasks of planning food, drinks, and games or contests, had not seemed to notice that Rachel had arrived.

“She never listens, does she?” Nate asked, shoving his hands into the pockets of his slacks and hitching his chin toward Lila. Still tall and lanky, his hair as brown and thick as she remembered, Nate would probably be a candidate for the most unchanged since graduation. A few faint lines were visible near the corners of his eyes, the beginnings of crow’s feet, but other than that, he looked about the same as he had when they’d graduated.

“Never.”

Lila was already filling two glasses at a mirrored sideboard that was laden with trays of food, gleaming stemware, and open bottles of wine, soda, and hard liquor.

In the middle of the display, three white candles had been lit, tiny flames flickering around a small bouquet of violets in a glass vase, obviously a tribute to Violet Sperry.

Geez. Lila must have moved on that quickly.

Sadness crawled through Rachel all over again.

Lila was returning with the drinks and had caught Rachel’s gaze. Handing a short glass to Nate, she explained, “I felt I had to do something.” She touched the rim of her wineglass to Nate’s, then took a long drink of wine. “I couldn’t just ignore the fact that she’d died today.”