Chapter Twenty-Two

Meredith rested up enough so that she was able to put on her best façade as Cara at supper. She noticed the other boarders were significantly older than her. There were two older women and a man. She offered a polite greeting as she sat down to eat, hoping the wig with its bangs and its waves resting against the sides of her face were enough to dissuade them from looking at her too closely. Also, being older would probably give them less of a reason to worry about how people looked.

After Molly said grace, she began passing the dishes around. “This is Cara Templeton. She’s only staying for a couple of days.”

Meredith smiled but avoided eye contact so no one would get a good look at her eye color. “Yes. I’m resting up before I head back out.”

Molly motioned to the old woman next to her. “This is Constance.” Then she pointed to the old man and woman across from her. “They are Joshua and Maybelle.”

“How do you do?” Meredith greeted, keeping her eyes on the mashed potatoes she was spooning onto her plate.

“Aren’t you too young to be traveling by yourself?” Joshua asked.

Forcing a pleasant tone since she couldn’t tell the old coot to mind his own business, Meredith said, “My sole remaining relative lives in Oregon, and I have no husband.”

“Oh my, what a shame,” Constance replied. “Is this relative in Oregon someone you know well?”

Meredith handed her the bowl of potatoes. “She’s my grandmother. In fact, she looks a lot like you. She’s a pretty woman.”

Constance flushed and patted her hair before taking the bowl. “Oh, that’s a lovely sentiment. I’m sure she’s looking forward to seeing you.”

“As I am her.” Meredith took the bowl of peas and scooped out her share.

“Oregon?” Joshua asked. “Where have I heard that before?”

Molly laughed. “Well, it is a state.”

“No, it’s not that.” Joshua picked up his drink. After a loud swallow that made Meredith inwardly cringe, he added, “Didn’t someone else come here not too long ago who was on their way to Oregon?”

“You know,” Constance began as she took the bowl of peas from Meredith, “someone did come here. A young lady, wasn’t it?”

Molly nodded. “You’re right. The poor thing married a bigamist, and he dropped her here and ran off. A cold, unfeeling one, that fellow was. I hope they catch him. Bigamy is a crime, you know?” She glanced at Meredith with raised eyebrows.

“How awful!” Meredith exclaimed, pausing as she placed the spatula in her portion of the pot roast. “I hope they lock him behind bars—and soon!”

“We all do, dear,” Constance replied.

Now that they took the bait, all Meredith had to do was reel them in. Once she got her piece of pot roast onto her plate, she handed the platter to Constance. “What happened to her? The young lady you mentioned.”

“Fortunately, Brian Evans married her,” Molly said.

“She’s married?” Meredith asked, surprised. Lucy hadn’t attracted any of the men’s attention in Minnesota, except for Mark.

“That Brian’s a good man,” Constance said. “He did her good. Gave her a home and his name.”

“A woman can’t ask for more than that,” Joshua added before he dug into his meal.

“They just had a baby,” Molly added. “A cute little girl, from what I heard.”

Lucky again, Lucy, Meredith thought as she picked up a forkful of mashed potatoes. Lucy had more luck than a person had the right to have. So Mark “married” her and dumped her off in this town? Lucy was still happy anyway. It all worked out for her. Every single time. How nice it must be.

Constance smiled and pressed her hand over her heart. “It’s so nice when things work out like that, isn’t it?”

“It sure is,” Molly replied. “I saw Eliza and John—” she glanced at Meredith—“those are Brian’s parents, and they looked as proud as grandparents could be when I saw them in church. Eliza was one of my boarders years ago, before she married John. The poor thing looked miserable back then. I was glad when John came for her.”

“Oh yes,” Constance said. “I remember that. I’m in the room she used to occupy.”

“I remember when Eliza came to town,” Molly rambled.

Meredith tuned the rest of the discussion out as she thought over the implications of what she’d just learned. So Lucy was married and had a baby. Was the baby Mark’s or Brian’s? Maybe Lucy didn’t know. Even so, Lucy’s future was assured and she could rest easy. Meredith tightened her grip on the fork and stabbed it into the pot roast before she picked up a bite of it to chew. Perfect Lucy. Good husband. Cute baby. Perfect life. Perfect. Just simply perfect.

“John and Brian made this dining table for me,” Molly said at one point, catching Meredith’s attention. “They work out that way, along the edge of town.”

Meredith twirled the fork in her hand. Interesting. If Brian lived out there, then so did Lucy. Just how far out there were they? Far away so that if something were to happen to Lucy, no one might suspect it? Would it be easy enough for Cara to leave for Oregon while Lucy continued to live here?

As Meredith rolled over how she might make such a thing possible, the others rambled, and this time, she didn’t bother paying any attention to them. She had plans to make, and she better get moving on them before her brother arrived.

***

Lucy wrapped Charlotte in a blanket as tightly as she could and picked her up.

Charlotte gurgled and Eliza chuckled from where she stood in the kitchen of Lucy’s home. “She’s going to be a talker, you just wait and see.” Eliza went over to them and tapped Charlotte on the nose. “Yes, you’ll be a talker, won’t you?”

Lucy grinned. “She’s going to be a happy little girl.”

“That she will.” She picked up her purse and adjusted her hat. “Are you ready to go to town?”

“Almost. Will you hold her while I use the privy?”

“Certainly.”

She placed Charlotte in Eliza’s arms. “I’ll be right back.”

“We’ll be waiting.” Eliza sat down by the fire and rocked her granddaughter while humming an upbeat tune.

Smiling, Lucy headed out of the house. She stepped onto the porch and inhaled the brisk air. Good. It was warming up nicely, and the patches of snow on the property were starting to melt. Maybe when Brian returned home from work, they could go for a nice stroll along the creek. It’d been a long time since they’d been for a walk, and she missed it.

She made her way across the property and did her business. As she left the outhouse, something hissed at her. Surprised, she spun around but didn’t see anything unusual. A squirrel darted across the property and up one of the trees by the house. With another glance from where she heard the unfamiliar sound, she was assured nothing was there.

Taking a deep breath, she walked toward the well. Just before she reached it, someone clamped their hand firmly over her mouth. She brought her hands up to try to pry the hand away from her mouth, but the person jabbed something hard into her back, causing Lucy to let go so she could try to grab the hard object. As much as Lucy tried to scream and fight, the person succeeded in dragging her behind the outhouse and behind some trees lining the creek.

After the person let go, Lucy only had enough time to look over her shoulder when a bat made contact with her face. Lucy fell back, not sure who was attacking her and aware the side of her face throbbed in pain. She tried to move away, but the bat came down on her back and forced her on her stomach. Her hands went up to her head before the person hit her again with the bat. She tried to scream but no sound came out and though she made an effort to scramble away, the person kept hitting her with the bat. So she did the only thing she knew and protected her head as much as she could before everything went black.

Panting, Meredith stood and waited for Lucy to move. When she didn’t, Meredith glanced at the house, assured they were far out of anyone’s view. She quickly pulled off her coat and dress before she rolled a bruised Lucy onto her stomach. Pressing her fingers to Lucy’s neck, she felt her pulse. She reached for the bat when she heard someone call out Lucy’s name.

Stiffening, she stood, cleared her throat, and yelled, “I’ll be right there! I found something. Go back in!”

The shutting of the storm door notified Meredith that the woman, whom she suspected was Eliza, went back into the house. She breathed a sigh of relief. That was close. Too close. She turned to Lucy and gritted her teeth. She didn’t have time to kill Lucy now. She’d have to come back and do it later.

She quickly undressed Lucy until all Lucy had on were her undergarments and put on Lucy’s dress and coat. Then turning to the clothes she’d been wearing, Meredith ripped enough of the fabric to keep Lucy detained until she could return without anyone noticing. She rolled Lucy onto her stomach and tied her hands behind her back. Using another ribbon of fabric, she tied Lucy’s feet together and then finished by wrapping a gag around Lucy’s mouth, making sure to secure it to the back of her head.

Scanning the area, she caught a fallen log and dragged Lucy’s body to it. Nearly out of breath, her muscles strained as she shoved Lucy into it. She stepped back and inspected the area. Good. No one could tell Lucy was there. When she turned, she caught sight of the blood on the snow and quickly used her boots to smear the snow into the muddy ground.

There. No one would be the wiser.

“Lucy?” the woman called again.

Cursing the woman, Meredith hastened to the outhouse. She saw the redhead, who held a baby, looking out from the porch. After she grabbed her ripped clothes, Meredith shoved them behind the outhouse. She’d hide those later.

With a quick pat on the type of bun Lucy typically wore, she emerged from her hiding place and smiled. She hurried up to the house. “I’m sorry I took so long. I thought I heard something.”

Eliza nodded. “As long as you’re alright.” Chuckling, she added, “I had this strange feeling something was wrong, but here you are.”

Meredith stopped and laughed. “Yes. Here I am.”

Eliza walked down the porch steps. “Would you like to hold Charlotte on the way to town or drive the buggy?”

Her gaze fell to the sleeping child. So this was Lucy’s child. And the name was Charlotte. Meredith recalled how Lucy loved that name. It figured. Everything Lucy wanted, she got. First, the husband who was good to her and now the little girl she named Charlotte. Was there anything Lucy didn’t have?

Forcing aside her irritation, Meredith said, “I’ll hold her.” Once Eliza put her in her arms, she inspected the baby, feeling as though she had truly stepped into her sister’s place. She walked beside Eliza as they made their way around the house. “She’s quite the doll, isn’t she?”

“That’s what I tell everyone I come across,” Eliza said. “I’m excited to show her off to the townsfolk. I can’t help it. A grandmother has a right to brag, doesn’t she?”

“Of course,” Meredith replied, stroking the child’s fingers.

“First, we’ll pay a visit to Addy and then we’ll see Charity and her aunt.”

“Oh, good.” At least, Meredith assumed Lucy would think that was good. “It’ll be good to see them again.”

The baby wiggled in Meredith’s arms as they walked to the buggy, and by the time they made it there, the baby opened her eyes and started crying. Surprised, Meredith stared at the thing, her hand subconsciously tightening around its hand. When she noticed Eliza was watching her, she forced her grip on the baby’s hand to relax.

“She must be cold,” Meredith said with a smile.

“Probably.” Eliza took off her scarf and wrapped it around the baby, but the baby only cried louder.

Meredith gritted her teeth, wishing the thing would quiet down again. Children, after all, should be seen and not heard.

“Would you like me to try calming her down?” Eliza asked.

“Yes.” Meredith forced a pleasant tone even as she had the sudden urge the slap the thing into submission. “Here you go.”

Eliza took the child and bounced her in her arms.

To Meredith’s consternation, the child settled right down. That little brat is as spoiled as Lucy.

“Maybe you should drive the buggy this time,” Eliza said. “Do you feel up to it?”

“Sure. Why wouldn’t I?”

“Well, you gave birth two weeks ago.”

She shrugged. “What woman doesn’t give birth at one time or another? I can manage driving the gelding in a small buggy.” Lord knew she’d driven wagons. A buggy was nothing.

“You’re right.” Eliza chuckled and cuddled the baby closer to her chest before she got into the buggy. “Forgive me, Lucy. I didn’t mean to imply you couldn’t do this task.”

Meredith stared at Eliza for a moment and thought Lucy even had a good mother-in-law. Lucy’s good fortune was enough to make Meredith’s blood boil. How she wished she could get back to that log and finish what she started.

But since Eliza was waiting, she dutifully climbed into the buggy, picked up the reins, and undid the brake. She bit her lower lip. She’d have to figure out how to get to Addy’s place without being suspicious. She’d been so busy figuring out where Lucy lived and how her life was out here that she neglected to find out where the people lived in this town.

Meredith led the horse forward. It couldn’t be too hard. Eliza was doting over Charlotte in the most disgusting way. That was good. It meant she’d likely be so preoccupied she wouldn’t notice when Meredith asked where to go to get to Addy’s residence. People were so easy to fool. All they had to do was look at her, and they automatically assumed she was Lucy. It’d been no different when she was growing up. Her parents and brother were just as easy to fool, and they thought they could tell the difference. With a smirk, she turned her attention to the road in front of her. Soon enough, she’d return and kill Lucy. Then her plan would be complete.