Chapter 42

 

They moved into the kitchen for coffee and snacks. They grabbed their chicken salad sandwiches and stood in a loose huddle, too shaken to mill about.

Hannah leaned close to Thea. “Did we help her at all?” she asked.

Kate answered. “We know for sure that somebody’s using that poor girl.” She scowled at Thea. “You’re the weaver. It’s your job to find the creep who’s torturing her and let him know what wrath is all about.”

“He’s blackmailing her somehow, isn’t he?”

“With someone she loves,” Kate snapped. “The bastard.”

“Have any of you met someone from Emerald Hills named Lacey?” Thea asked.

Cynthia shook her head. “You’d think among us, we’d meet just about everybody, but I’ve never heard of her.”

“Maybe she was a tourist,” Hannah said.

“How could someone from here have any power over a tourist?” Thea asked. “Lacey’s tied to someone here, someone she loves. She must have lived around here, but I’ve never heard of her. There are lots of people that I don’t meet, though.”

“Especially the people north of town,” Hannah said.

“The rich people on Vineyard Lane?” Kate asked.

“They come to most of my gallery events,” Cynthia said.

Kate grimaced. “Does Randall come, too? Isn’t that uncomfortable?”

“We’ve learned to be polite and civil, but ice forms if we stand too close to each other.”

“What about Toby?” Kate asked. “Does he spend weekends with his dad?”

“Off and on, it depends on whether or not he fits in Randall’s schedule.”

“Does that bother Toby?” Rachel asked.

Hannah grinned. “We make bets if his dad will show up or not. Toby always bets against him.”

Cynthia nodded. “Toby’s usually relieved when Randall can’t make it.”

“Why?” Kate asked. “Doesn’t Randall make any effort at all?”

“Even when Randall’s trying to be fun, it’s too much of a strain. All the man knows is money and mergers.”

“I hope he has to pay a big chunk for child support,” Kate said.

“His money costs me too much,” Cynthia said. “I’d rather do without it and be without him, but it won’t happen. He has an image to maintain.”

Thea poured herself another cup of coffee. It was late, and it would make her lose sleep, but she craved its bitter taste and warmth. “We have to find out who Lacey was and who she knew here. People from here must marry girls from out of town. Maybe she’s one of those.”

“We help cater weddings and desserts at the country club for their big parties,” Rachel said, “and there are a lot of young girls in their late teens and early twenties who I don’t recognize.”

Thea thought about that. She knew most of the kids who went to school with Josh and Rachel, and she knew the kids who went to school with Hannah, but there was a big gap in between them. The kids who lived and worked in town, she still met. But the rich kids on the fringes, she wouldn’t know. Then another thought struck her. “The last time I talked to Les, he was telling me that he could take a vacation because he had a new girl running the winery who was so good, he didn’t have to worry about anything. Her name is Lindsay. Has anyone met her?”

“I have,” Rachel said. “Les was right. She’s wonderful.”

“What does she look like?” Kate asked.

Rachel frowned. “Every time I see her, she reminds me of someone, but I can’t figure out who.”

“Hair? Eyes?” Kate asked.

“She’s short and sturdy, with sandy hair and lots of freckles. She has a round face, and she just makes you feel comfortable.”

“Hmm, maybe I’ll have to visit the winery and look her over, see if she reminds me of someone,” Kate said. “Have you met her, Cynthia?”

“She bought one of Thea’s wall hangings when she redecorated the tasting area at the winery. Rachel’s right. She’s easy to work with, a natural.”

“How long has she been here?” Thea asked. “Where did she come from?”

“She grew up around Nashville,” Cynthia said. “She’s been in Emerald Hills about a year. She came to manage the winery. She met Les when he was at a business convention. She’d spent a few years representing a wine company and traveling around the Midwest to convince stores and restaurants to stock their product, so she’s a natural for Les’s vineyard.”

“She told me that Les’s job offer came at the right time in her life,” Rachel said. “She was tired of traveling and liked the idea of building a career in one place.”

“Does she have any family?” Thea asked.

Cynthia and Rachel both shrugged.

“I don’t know her that well,” Rachel said.

That, Thea decided, was something that she had to remedy. There were people in Emerald Hills that she had to keep track of. The sooner she started, the better.

Kate looked at her watch. “It’s late. Your dad’s going to wonder what happened to me. I’d better get home.”

“Me, too,” Cynthia said. “Amy’s babysitting for Toby, and I told Nancy that I wouldn’t keep her too late. She helps in the restaurant in the morning.”

Hannah was still wound up when the others left, so she and Thea made popcorn and started a movie. An hour later, Thea tucked Hannah under the blankets on the air mattress in her own room, then she went to the barn to see Gabe.

“How’d it go?” he asked, coming to hover near.

“I need a hug.”

He smiled. “I can manage that.”

She gave a small moan of pleasure as his arms slid around her. “You feel good, almost real.” She moved a little away from him. “You look almost real, not as see-through.”

He blinked with surprise. “I was ghostly just a minute ago. Maybe I’m getting better at the materializing thing.”

“Mmm.” She snuggled against his chest. “You always were a perfect fit. How good can you get at being solid?”

He laughed. “You’re talking flesh-like, not just hard?”

“I wasn’t talking about just one part of you. I like the whole package.”

“I’ll settle for what I can get.” He pressed her closer. “I’m awfully turned-on for a ghost.”

She tipped her head and tried to kiss his face. “Some parts are firmer than others.”

“It works for me.”

“The séance was scarier than I thought it would be.”

“Really?” He sighed. “Guess you could use some TLC. Tell me about it. Did our ghost girl show up?”

As Thea told him about her evening, he listened and asked questions. When she finished, she gave a big sigh. “You’re mist again.”

“I must have to concentrate on one thing and only one thing to materialize. Sorry, hon. I don’t have a headache, but I seem to be done for the night.”

She smiled. “I feel better anyway. You always make me feel better.”

He wrapped himself around her. “You’re one of the best, do you know that?”

“Thanks, but you’re freezing me.” She shivered and stepped away. “I’m going to bed. I’m whipped. Thanks for lifting my mood.”

“Any time.” He grinned. “Thanks for lifting parts of me I didn’t think worked any more.”

She started for the stairs. “Maybe that’s the hell of it. They work, but you can’t do anything about it.”

His laugh followed her out of the barn.