When She Dreams (Burning Cove #6)(88)

“Eleanor Nevins did, too,” Maggie said.

“I was in L.A. the night Virginia died,” Lillian continued. “I was to join her here at the beach house the next day. I arrived early and found her body.”

“You suspected Arthur Ellis had murdered her, but you couldn’t prove it,” Maggie said.

“Of course I blamed him,” Lillian said. “I despised that man. But even then I wasn’t sure he was the one who had carried out the murder. He was certainly capable of drugging her. He used Oxlade’s enhancer on us while pretending to teach us how to open our psychic pathways. I hated the stuff. That’s why I dropped out of the Society. But if he was the one who had killed Virginia, it seemed more likely he would have strangled her or pushed her off a cliff.”

“Because he’s the impulsive type,” Sam said.

“Yes,” Lillian said. “The drowning struck me as more . . . complicated, if you know what I mean.”

“I know exactly what you mean,” Sam said.

“You knew you could never prove Virginia had been murdered,” Maggie said. “When did you realize the Guilfoyles were the same people who had set up the Dream Master operation in Keeley Point?”

“When the photo of them appeared in the Adelina Beach Courier I recognized them as the same con artists I had known as Dolores Johnson and Arthur Ellis,” Lillian said. “It was obvious they were launching an even bigger con with the Guilfoyle Method. And then they announced that Oxlade would be giving a guest lecture during the opening conference at the Institute.”

“You realized the three of them were working together again,” Sam said. “And for a few days they would be in one place in Burning Cove.”

“All I could think of was that I finally had the opportunity to punish all three of them for what they had done to Virginia. I pretended to book the ocean voyage so that Maggie wouldn’t find out what I was going to do.” Lillian looked at Maggie. “I didn’t want you involved in any way. You made it easy for me because you had already decided not to attend the conference.”

“Because I found out Emerson Oxlade would be there,” Maggie said.

Lillian shut her eyes briefly. When she opened them, there was a sheen of tears. “I didn’t have any intention of getting anyone killed. I just wanted to punish those three dreadful people. I wasn’t at all sure my plan would work, but I had to try.”

“It occurred to you that Aunt Cornelia might have the power to label the Guilfoyle Method a fraud,” Sam said.

“If Aunt Cornelia advised her thousands of loyal readers not to allow themselves to be fooled by the Guilfoyles, it would do a lot of damage to the Institute,” Maggie said. “If she moved fast and struck at the very beginning, there was a chance the business could be destroyed before it got up and running, before it attracted the attention of celebrities. Oxlade’s reputation would have gone down along with that of the Guilfoyles.”

“I still don’t know if it would have worked,” Lillian said. Her mouth twisted in a humorless smile. “They were in the dreams-and-drugs business, and nothing sells better. Nevertheless, I decided to try.”

“You had a problem, though, because you knew Oxlade and the Guilfoyles would recognize you if you showed up at the conference in Burning Cove,” Maggie said. “So you hired Phyllis Gaines to play the part of Aunt Cornelia.”

“That turned out to be a mistake, obviously.” Lillian shook her head. “Actors.”

“Phyllis really got into her role, and the next thing you knew, the news that the famous Aunt Cornelia was seen partying at the hottest nightclub in Burning Cove was in the papers,” Sam said.

“I was stunned,” Lillian said. “I underestimated the public’s fascination with Aunt Cornelia. When the photo of Phyllis at the Paradise Club went national, all I could do was hope you wouldn’t notice, Maggie, or, if you did, trust that you wouldn’t try to confront her. After all, you knew you couldn’t prove she wasn’t Aunt Cornelia without revealing my real identity.”

“I couldn’t ignore the imposter or the blackmail threat,” Maggie said. “I had to do something.”

Lillian gave her a wry smile. “Because you’re Maggie.”

“Yep,” Sam said. He exchanged a knowing look with Lillian. “Because she’s Maggie.”

Maggie glared at him. He ignored her.

“I was following the news from Burning Cove as best I could in the Keeley Point paper,” Lillian continued. “When I read a woman had died at the conference, I didn’t know what to think. It was just a tiny headline, so I told myself it had nothing to do with my plan. Then the news that Aunt Cornelia had been exposed as an imposter and had left town hit. That made the front page here. It was on the radio, too. Phyllis was home by then. I called her and she told me she had been confronted by a private investigator from Adelina Beach. She said there was a woman with him. The description matched you, Maggie.”

“You realized I was in Burning Cove and I was not alone,” Maggie said. “I had brought a private detective with me.”

“I knew I had lost control of the situation,” Lillian said.

“Don’t feel bad,” Sam said. “That happens a lot around Maggie. You get used to it.”