Suddenly Psychic (Glimmer Lake #1)(53)

“Hey, Robin.” He sounded tired. “So, we haven’t gotten anything formal from state medical examiner’s office. They as much told us that even though it’s suspicious, it’s a cold case, so we go to the bottom of the priority pile.”

“But there must be something,” Robin said. “Or you wouldn’t have called.

“You could say that.” He sighed deeply. “I don’t know why, but I figured you might want to know that he—it’s a male—was definitely murdered.”

“The chains kind of gave that away, don’t you think?”

“Well, whoever killed him definitely didn’t want his body found, but that’s not what killed him.”

“Really?” Robin motioned Val and Monica closer. “He didn’t drown?”

“If he did, he did it after surviving a pretty vicious slice to the neck.”

Robin cringed. “He was stabbed?”

“More like his throat was cut. The initial visual exam just came back, and there’s a cut right across his throat that went so deep it cut the bone.”

Robin closed her eyes. It was so much worse than she’d imagined. “Horrible way to die.”

“But they did determine the age of the bones is well over fifty years, so you and your friends are officially in the clear on that. This guy died long before you or I were born.”

“I’ll let them know. Thanks.”

“See ya, Robin. Say hi to Mark.”

“Will do.” She tapped on the phone to end the call. “Did you guys hear that?”

“Not all of it,” Monica said.

“Billy Grimmer’s throat was cut. Whoever put him in that mine shaft must have come back to make sure he hadn’t escaped and he—”

“Or she.” Val shrugged. “What? It’s possible.”

“He or she didn’t want to wait to let the water do its job. Billy’s throat was cut so deep with a knife it left marks on the bones.” Robin flipped to her sketchbook and stared at Billy Grimmer’s face. “I think it’s time that Grandma Helen and I had another talk. And this time I’m going to get some answers.”

“Good luck with that,” Val muttered. “She may be ninety-five, but she’s cagey.”

“I know.” Robin looked at Monica. “We’re going to need enchiladas.”





Chapter 19





Grandma Helen was sitting outside in a wooden lawn chair, staring at the sun setting over the lake, when Robin, Monica, and Val arrived. Bright red autumn leaves were scattered across the lush green lawn, and the roses were eking out their last blooms before the frost came and forced them to settle down for winter.

Robin was reminded as she stared at the old woman sitting on the giant lawn, bundled in a fluffy coat, that her grandmother was ninety-five.

Ninety-five years had seen a lot. Ninety-five years had seen a Depression, a World War, atomic bombs, and nuclear scares. It had seen the transition from agriculture to manufacturing to technology. Grandma Helen had been born into radio and was ending with the internet.

Without a word, she and her friends went into the kitchen and dragged chairs outside to join Helen. They sat in the late-afternoon sun in silence. No one spoke, though Helen reached across the table and took Robin’s hand.

Robin looked at her grandmother’s profile. “Are you happy here?”

“I love this spot. I love the view.” Helen glanced over her shoulder. “The house is too big. I told Gordon that, but he never listened. If we were going to have a house so big, we needed more children in it. But he didn’t want more children.”

Robin leaned closer to Helen. “One was enough for him?”

Helen didn’t look shocked. She just smiled. “I always wondered if Grace suspected. Does Raymond know?”

“Yes.”

“I never wanted him to.”

“Debby gave him a DNA test for his birthday.”

Helen frowned. “What is that?”

Val moved closer. “You can spit in a cup and send it in, and they’ll tell you what your DNA profile is.”

“Heavens,” Helen said. “Why would anyone want to do that?”

“One of the Grimmer cousins did it to find out what happened to Billy and his family.”

Helen finally looked at Robin. “Don’t they know?”

“No.” She shook her head. “They don’t know what happened to him either.”

The long, sad look returned to Helen’s eyes. “I suppose no one did.”

“Grandma—”

“I don’t want to talk about sad things, Robin. What is the point of talking about sad things like this? I was poor and I had a baby on the way. No one was going to help me.” She glanced over her shoulder. “And then Gordon came along. He found me when I was sick. I was waiting in our cabin, crying over Billy, and he found me.”

Robin made a mental note to look for a cabin—maybe the one Monica had seen in her dream—but she didn’t interrupt her grandmother.

“I don’t know how,” Helen continued, “but he did. I hardly knew him, except to know he had a hard reputation. He was a businessman. Other men didn’t like him much, but he was kind to me. And he said he’d marry me. Just like that. That very day. He said, ‘I know your condition, Helen, but I don’t much care. Marry me and no one will say a word against you. I’ll build you a big house and you’ll be a lady.’”