The Last of the Moon Girls(30)

“You don’t think I feel awful about what they went through? I was there to see Susan Gilman’s face the day they pulled her daughters from our pond. I watched her die inside as the coroner’s van drove away. But Althea’s dead too. And I’m all that’s left, the only one still here to care about her memory. Is that wrong?”

“No. It’s not. I’m just saying give it some thought. And if you do decide to talk to them, try to remember that their grief is different from yours. Maybe not as fresh, but every bit as raw.”

Lizzy nodded, grabbing for the door handle, then paused. “Thank you for making today happen, and for going with me. Even if nothing comes of it, it was kind of you to help.”

“You’re welcome.”

She watched from the top of the drive as Andrew pulled away. Maybe he was right. Maybe she should leave the Gilmans alone. What right did she have to tear the scab from a wound that was barely healed? Salem Creek had moved on. Perhaps it was time she did the same, just put the farm on the market and let it all go.

Evvie was in the kitchen when she came in, pulling something golden and fragrant from the oven. The smell of warm blueberries hung in the air. Lizzy looked at the pan on the stove and thought of Althea. No one made blueberry cobbler like Althea, but this one looked—and smelled—awfully close.

“You made cobbler,” she said, smiling at Evvie. “I love cobbler.”

“Your gran told me.”

“We used to pick our own blueberries, then come home and make a big mess. By the time we finished, my fingers and lips were blue. It’s my absolute favorite dessert.”

“She told me that too.”

She looked at the pan of gooey, browned goodness, then back at Evvie. “Did you . . . you made this for me?”

“Thought you might need a little pick-me-up after talking to that detective. There’s ice cream in the freezer.”

“Vanilla?”

“What else?”

Lizzy blinked back an unexpected rush of tears. It had been an emotional day, and her nerves were raw. “Thank you, Evvie. This was so kind of you.”

Evvie nodded, acknowledging the thank-you, but her expression was all business. “You going to tell me what happened?”

Lizzy went to the freezer and pulled out a half gallon of Hood vanilla, then grabbed two bowls from the cupboard. “He wasn’t what I expected. He’s . . . sincere.”

“There’s a word you don’t hear much anymore.”

“No, but it fits. He cares about the truth. Which is more than I can say for Summers.”

Evvie dished up the cobbler and handed the bowls to Lizzy, who added a healthy scoop of ice cream to each before heading for the kitchen table.

“He agreed to help,” she said, dropping into a chair. “He’s got two boxes of notes from the investigation in his spare room, and he promised to go through them again, in case he missed something. In the meantime, I’m thinking of talking to the Gilmans.”

Lizzy had expected a look of disapproval, but Evvie simply nodded. “You’ll have to settle for the daddy,” she said through a mouthful of cobbler. “The mama took off a few years back, and no one’s heard a peep from her since.”

“Andrew told me.”

“Can’t blame her. Word is Mr. Gilman’s no prize. Can’t imagine he’d be any better after what happened. And who’d want to live in a place where everything you looked at reminded you of what you’d lost? Not me, I know that. He’s still here, though. Lives over in Meadow Park now, the trailer park out by the fairgrounds. And I’m pretty sure he still works at Mason Electric.”

Lizzy spooned up a bite of cobbler, but paused before putting it in her mouth. “The detective doesn’t think I’ll get very far. Neither does Andrew. And I’m starting to think they’re right. Fred Gilman will take one look at me and see Althea—the woman he thinks murdered his little girls.”

“He might just. And he’ll probably be mad. But you knew you were going to make folks mad when you decided to do this. Are you having second thoughts?”

“I don’t know. Maybe. I think about how I’d feel if I were in the Gilmans’ shoes, and someone came along and made me relive it all. It seems cruel, especially when it’s not likely to amount to anything. I’m just wondering if it’s worth it.”

Evvie lifted her apron and dabbed the corner of her mouth. “You might be right. It might come to nothing. But what if you’re wrong? What if there was something somebody forgot to tell the police? Something that could have made a difference? Neither of them was in a good place back then. But time’s passed. They can look at it now, through clearer eyes. Maybe there’s something, some tiny bit of a memory stuck way down deep, and you showing up could shake it loose.”

“That’s a lot of maybes, Evvie. What if I’m just stirring up trouble for trouble’s sake?”

“Trouble.” Evvie scowled at her. “That’s what you’re worried about? Stirring up trouble?”

“I’m trying to do the right thing. To be compassionate.”

“You want to do the right thing? Help those little girls move on.”

Lizzy tipped her head to the side, eyes narrowed. “What did you say?”