Kate’s head churned with questions as she and Aurelio walked up the path to Ollie’s house. Aunt Lorna was supposed to be on her honeymoon right now.
Everyone stood in the foyer, surrounding the oversized dining table, scowling at one another, watched over by the tall bear in the corner wearing a Three Musketeers hat.
Aunt Lorna stood closest to the door, in the pose Kate knew so well: one hand on her hip, chin elevated. Ollie stood on the left side of the table, looking like an angry child in his green plaid pajamas, his hair sticking up. Reuben stood on the far side, his arms crossed, his scarred face cast into evil shadows by the lantern overhead. Aurelio moved to the remaining side of the table, his eyes wide and curious.
Hugo wasn’t there.
Aunt Lorna turned, her expression softening at the sight of Kate, her arms opening. “Darling! I came as soon as we reached port and saw the newspapers. I can’t imagine what you’ve been going through.” She squeezed Kate’s shoulders, touching their cheeks together with the scent of face powder and perfume.
“What about your honeymoon?” Kate asked.
“Well, I couldn’t leave you here with people getting murdered in the kitchen. How are you holding up?” She leaned back and took in the pink dress. “Why—you look lovely! I’m always saying you should wear more pink.” Ironically, Aunt Lorna’s ivory-and-green plaid jacket—the latest fashion with its pleated shoulders—matched Ollie’s rumpled pajamas. Her hat was stiff and oddly shaped, topped by two large poufs of black and green.
Kate looked at Reuben across the table. “Where’s Hugo?”
“Borrowed my car,” he said gruffly. “Didn’t say where he was going, but he seemed upset. You two have a fight or something?”
She didn’t reply, wondering where Hugo had gone so late. And why borrow Reuben’s car when he had his motorcycle? Was he out thieving for Reuben and needed a place to stash his loot? She hated thinking that way, but she’d just seen him stealing with her own eyes.
“I’ve got us a suite at the Huntington Hotel,” Aunt Lorna said. “Such a relief after the horrible place I had to stay last night. I’ve had a grueling journey, Kate, in the most terrifying little planes. But I’m here now, and we’ll go home tomorrow.”
Home. Away from all the mistakes she’d made here. “What about Mr. Norton?”
“Oh, he’s in complete agreement. We can’t have you on the front page, finding murder victims. The two of you can manage to get along until you leave for college. We both just want you safe and sound.”
On the other side of Aunt Lorna, Ollie scowled. “She’s perfectly safe here.”
“Oh, yes,” Aunt Lorna clipped, turning to face him. “Perfectly safe. Your accountant stabbed in the kitchen. Living with boarders. It’s a wonder she wasn’t murdered in her bed.”
“Lemmy wasn’t Ollie’s accountant,” Kate said, as if that mattered. “Really, Aunt Lorna, I’ve been fine here.”
“You don’t have to be brave for me, darling. If I’d known it was this bad, I would never have sent you here. We’ll catch the first train in the morning.”
“She’s old enough to make her own decisions now,” Ollie said. “So you can stop keeping us apart and filling her head with lies about me.”
“Ollie, she didn’t,” Kate said.
His voice rose. “Did she tell you I tried to see you after the funeral? Came to the house three times, and she wouldn’t let me inside. Called me a flashy embarrassment!”
Kate looked at her aunt, appalled. “You did?”
Aunt Lorna pursed her lips. “You weren’t ready for visitors, and he kept banging on the front door. His career was over, and he wanted the attention of the reporters. It was pathetic.”
“I wanted to see my granddaughter!” he thundered. “For four years, you’ve kept me away from her! Told that housekeeper to say she wasn’t home if I called—oh, yes, I figured out that little trick! Probably hid my letters too! Thought you could turn her into a high society snob like the rest of you Hildebrands, but she’s got my blood in her too!”
“Really!” Aunt Lorna fumed.
“Ollie—” Kate began, but she didn’t want to admit she’d been the one who’d told Hattie to say she wasn’t home, not wanting to talk to an old man she didn’t know.
“I’ll tell you why she kept us apart, Kate. Because I called her a hoity-toity bitch with her nose in the air—said it to her face! And her brother, putting on his posh airs when he was nothing but a common—”
“Ollie, stop!” Kate cried. Aunt Lorna’s face had paled. “It’s not Aunt Lorna’s fault I never visited. I never…” She drew a breath. “I never wanted to come. I’m sorry, but I didn’t know you back then, and I didn’t know it would be this … nice,” she finished lamely.
He still glared at Aunt Lorna. “She poisoned your mind against me, the way they poisoned Evie’s mind. Made her think I wasn’t classy enough for their lifestyle. I wasn’t even invited to the wedding!”
Aunt Lorna said loftily, “You told Evelyn you were shooting a movie in Hawaii.”
“I told her what day I’d be back! And next thing I know, I’m reading about her wedding in the newspaper—with a picture of your father in his fancy top hat!”
Aunt Lorna settled both hands on her hips. “Evelyn didn’t want you turning her wedding into a Hollywood spectacle, like you did her birthday parties.”
“Her birthday parties?” Ollie looked taken aback.
“Ponies and magicians and a hundred guests. Everyone knew Evelyn preferred small gatherings. I mean, really. And that childhood you gave her—dragged from town to town as you made a fool of yourself on stage, and then leaving her alone in this big house while you played with your movie star friends. She couldn’t wait to escape.”
Ollie’s face reddened. “Well—I did my best,” he sputtered. “And it wasn’t until your brother—”
“Stop!” Kate cried, spreading her arms between them. “Ollie, I’m sorry I didn’t visit sooner. I should have. And Aunt Lorna, I do like living here. It’s been wonderful, actually.” Until tonight.
“Don’t be absurd, Kate. This is no place for a well-bred girl.” Aunt Lorna’s gaze shifted to Reuben, who looked dangerous with his scowling, scarred face. “We’ll take the morning train and stay at the Fairmont until the house is done with the remodel.”
The anger in Ollie’s face collapsed. “But she likes it here. She’s working in the movie business now.”
Aunt Lorna raised a skeptical brow. “Sounds like I arrived just in time. Go pack a few things, darling, and we’ll return for the rest in the morning.”
“Kate,” Ollie said in a hollow voice.
She didn’t know what to do, her stomach knotting. Last night, the decision would have been easy—a hundred reasons to stay. Tonight, a hundred reasons to escape.
Reuben said darkly, “Go ahead and leave, then. I warned him you would.”
She might never see Hugo again if she left right now. Never have a chance to ask her questions and hear his reasonable explanations.
Or his lies.
Maybe it was better this way. She could hold on to that one lovely kiss in the moonlight, without tarnishing it with an argument. Without having to call the police and see Hugo arrested for robbery and murder.
She forced herself to look into her grandfather’s pleading eyes. “I’m sorry, Ollie, but I’m going to spend the night at the hotel.”
He still looked hopeful. “And tomorrow?”
“I think it’s best—” Her voice caught. “If I go back to my school. But I’ll return for visits.”
Aurelio asked, “What about the movie? What should I tell Tad?”
Somehow, she’d forgotten about that. Tomorrow was the first big day of filming with the entire cast, including two musical numbers. Kate looked at her aunt. “I have to go to work tomorrow.”
Aunt Lorna gave a short laugh of surprise. “You really do work at a movie studio? I thought he made that up.”
Ollie made an indignant sound. “She’s a producer.”
“Assistant,” Kate corrected. “But tomorrow’s a big day, and I need to show up. I’ll get things in order there, and we can leave the next day. Aurelio, I’ll pick you up at five thirty in the morning.” She walked around the table, feeling Ollie’s wounded eyes on her as she made her way through the back archway.
She pulled out the small suitcase she’d stored under the bed and filled it with essentials while Aunt Lorna lamented the butcher knife on the nightstand and criticized the ridiculous mermaid lamp. “Honestly, Kate, I had no idea his house would be in such a state.”
Kate gathered her alarm clock and math textbook. “I sent you a telegram the first night I arrived, and you pretended you didn’t receive it.”
“I thought it was just a little homesickness and you needed to adjust. I didn’t know about the murder.”
“I’m sorry you had to leave in the middle of your honeymoon.”
Aunt Lorna waved a hand. “Oh, the ship was fun, but once we landed, it was nothing but talk about gold mines and dinners with the roughest people. I was relieved to flee.”
The house felt empty as they walked to the front door, everyone gone to bed. Kate glanced up the staircase but knew nothing she could say to Ollie would make it any better. Tomorrow night, she would give him a proper goodbye and make plans to visit over her Christmas holiday.
In a few days, she would be back at Blakely Academy, sitting at a desk.
Aunt Lorna prattled in the taxi about turning the downstairs study into a bedroom for Kate. “It’s small, but Donald insists on having your old room upstairs with its view of the street. Would you mind terribly if we decorated in mauve, so it matches the rest of the downstairs rooms?”
“Mauve is fine.”
The Huntington was the grandest hotel Kate had ever seen, but Aunt Lorna still complained about the slow elevator and color of the carpet. They entered a lavish, two-bedroom suite. “I don’t feel a bit tired,” Aunt Lorna said, trailing Kate into her room. “Shall I order room service? I want to hear all about this movie thing you’ve gotten yourself involved with. You’re not acting, I hope.”
Kate dropped her suitcase on the large bed. “I’m exhausted.” The room looked like her old room in San Francisco, done in pale blue.
“Well, you can’t leave me on my own all day. Do your movie thing in the morning, and we’ll go sightseeing in the afternoon. Have you found any good food in the area?”
Hugo’s cooking.
“I can’t leave work midday,” Kate said. “But you can come to Falcon Pictures and watch the movie being filmed. I’ll leave your name at the front gate.”
“Oh! Now that might be interesting.”
“Good night, Aunt Lorna.” Kate gave her aunt a gentle nudge out the door and closed it.
The tears, suddenly, felt perilously close.
Kate got ready for bed in a sumptuous bathroom, and then stood at the window to look down at an enormous swimming pool several floors below.
This was her real life. Not swimming pools with green water and a violinist on the diving board. Not hunting a killer on her own and dropping out of school to work at a movie studio. Not falling for a penniless actor with a head full of dreams.
She looked up at the moon, wondering if Hugo had come home yet and noticed her empty room.
What a fool she’d been. Lists and more lists, but they couldn’t protect her from herself.
The world thought Kitty Hildebrand was so smart and sensible. A brave survivor. All those awards at school. Even Stella Nixon seemed impressed.
The moon knew the truth.
The kidnapping had been Kate’s fault. She’d lied to the police, so they wouldn’t know her part in it. But Kate knew, and the moon knew.
And her mother was dead because of it.