The car pulled up to a huge, beautiful pink stucco villa surrounded by palm trees, wildflowers, and ponds. Olivia stepped out of the car quickly, and just as Deanne had promised, she was standing downstairs waiting for her.
Olivia stopped in her tracks when she got closer. Deanne resembled Todd so much, once again Olivia felt as if she were with him. Like Todd, Deanne was slender and attractive, with dark hair and deep eyes. Dressed in a print sundress with a beach bag thrown over her shoulder, she looked like part of the scenery, not someone who’d just lost a brother she’d loved.
“Thanks so much for coming. You have no idea what this means to me,” Deanne said. “We both miss Todd so much. We need to be together.”
“Yes, we do,” Olivia murmured, feeling a strange relief at being with someone who had been such a close part of Todd’s life.
“And we’re both also desperate to find out what happened,” Deanne continued.
There was no denying anything Deanne said. Although Deanne had seemed in terrible disarray on the phone, Olivia was surprised to see how pulled together she was now. Olivia remembered Todd mention in passing that his sister was a powerhouse, though you’d never know it at first sight.
Olivia looked around.
“Don’t worry,” Deanne said. “My family’s not here right now. It’s just me.”
Olivia felt a surge of relief. Maybe Deanne wouldn’t be so bad after all.
Deanne led her over to a set of outdoor couches, and Olivia sat on the far side of the L from her.
“Todd told me you were beautiful,” Deanne went on, “and I’ve been looking forward to meeting you for a while.”
Tears stung Olivia’s eyes again. “Thank you,” she whispered. “I’m glad he mentioned me to someone.”
“Todd was happy with you.” Deanne’s voice got lower too.
That meant the world to Olivia. “What else did he say about our relationship?” She desperately needed to know.
“Not much else.” Deanne grew quiet then.
Olivia looked around. The villa was beautiful, soothing, lined with palm trees. Light reflected off of a small pool beside them.
“I can see why Todd loved it here,” Olivia proclaimed.
“Me, too,” said Deanne, “but you need a special taste for a place like this. Most of the family doesn’t like it. They used to think it was strange that Todd came here again and again. There was so much about him they didn’t understand. He was an unusual guy, nobody really understood him except me.”
Olivia immediately wondered what Deanne meant. She decided to let her say more about it in her own time.
“You’re close to your family?” Olivia asked.
“At times I am, other times, not,” Deanne replied. “Why?”
“Just curious,” said Olivia. “I’m curious about everything I never got the chance to know about Todd.”
“Did Todd ever bring you here?” Deanne asked.
“No, not yet,” said Olivia. “We didn’t have time.”
The thought that time had run out on them hit Olivia painfully. She looked down at the pebbles that Todd had loved and ran her foot along them. It was good being near Todd’s sister, but unnerving as well. Obviously Deanne was also trying to recapture whatever she could of Todd’s life. Being near Olivia seemed to be important to her.
“I’m sorry my family is on this spin,” Deanne said suddenly. “It’s just that Todd never mentioned you to them. I was the only one he really said anything to.”
“It’s understandable,” Olivia mumbled.
“No, it isn’t,” Deanne said, shaking her head. “None of this is understandable if we’re really being honest with ourselves.” Her face flushed brightly, startling Olivia. “And Todd wasn’t understandable. I’m sure you realized that.”
“I always felt as though I knew him completely,” Olivia replied, as the water lapped against the smooth pebbles.
Deanne threw her head back at that and smiled. “That’s how all the women Todd dated felt,” she quipped. “I’ve heard that over and over from his girlfriends. It’s actually amazing.”
Olivia was startled. “Which girlfriends? What did you hear?” she asked. Was Deanne about to answer the questions about Todd that had been lingering in the back of her mind?
“All his women fell in love with Todd immediately,” Deanne continued blithely, as the wind blew across their faces. “They all said they knew everything about him and felt destined to be together forever.”
Olivia began to feel colder. This was frightening but she had to go onward. “Todd had lots of girlfriends?” she managed to ask.
Deanne looked over at her directly. “That’s like asking if spiders have lots of legs,” she murmured, reaching into her bag and taking out a small photo.
“What’s that?” asked Olivia, her heart now fluttering.
Deanne held it out. “Do you know her? Have you ever seen her at all?” She handed the paper to Olivia with a quick flick of her wrist.
On the paper was a blurry photo of a young woman with bluntly cut short dark hair and green eyes, holding a tennis racquet.
“Who is she?” Olivia grew frightened.
“Listen, I don’t mean to upset you, but this is important.” Deanne tossed her head back abruptly. “Look at her again, carefully.”
“I never saw her before.” Now Olivia was becoming anxious. “Is she a suspect in the case?”
“Not exactly, not yet,” Deanne replied. “Her name is Mina. She and Todd dated for over two years.”
Olivia felt her heart sink.
“She was the one he brought home to the family for all sorts of parties and occasions. She was the one he talked to me about all the time! Not you,” said Deanne.
Olivia felt as though she were about to throw up. “No, I never saw her,” she repeated, “and Todd never mentioned her to me. We didn’t go over our past relationships.”
“Mina was not a past relationship,” said Deanne.