“Let’s read her final entry again,” Piper said.
Kiersten read the last sentence. “But if Dickie succeeds in killing me, I will leave a clue, buried in the past, leading to the truth.”
“A metaphor?” Rosamund asked.
Kiersten shook her head. “I think it’s literal.”
“Literal how?” Rosamund asked.
“Lillian told me a lot of the fallout shelters had dirt floors because it was cheaper. I think Dottie buried something in the floor,” Kiersten said.
“So we just have to find the nuclear-fallout shelter under Richard and Margaret’s garage,” Piper said.
“Right.” Kiersten nodded.
“And then we just have to get inside and dig up the floor,” Rosamund said.
Kiersten’s face fell. “Well. Yes.”
“And we have to do that without letting them know we’re doing it,” Piper added.
Kiersten looked crestfallen. “Look, I didn’t say it would be easy. I just said this is what we need to do next.”
Piper sighed, then froze, arms in midair. She was about to run her fingers through her hair, as she always did when frustrated. But she couldn’t do that today, because Caitlin had fixed her hair with hairspray. She wasn’t allowed to touch it.
Instead, she lowered her arms and ran her sweating palms down the side of her blue shantung silk sheath dress. This was her baby shower, bridal shower, dance-recital, and kindergarten-graduation dress, because these were the only occasions that caused her to pull it reluctantly from her closet. But those were spring events. It was November now. Shouldn’t her outfit be more autumnal?
“I think you look lovely,” Kiersten said, as though these wardrobe insecurities were written across her forehead in lipstick.
“That’s because you’ve never seen me in anything but yoga pants and a sweatshirt.” She curled her toes inside her taupe pumps. “Ihatewearing clothes like this.”
But it wasn’t just the outfit making her uncomfortable. It was her conscience too. She did dangerous things for a living. It was part of the job description. But she’d never forgive herself if something happened to Kiersten and Rosamund.
Piper glanced at Rosamund, who looked stunning in a full-skirted, knee-length purple dress.
Then she double-checked the safety and tucked her Glock, and a knife, into her purse. “You both look fantastic ... but ... I think you guys should stay here. I’ll go snoop around and report back.”
“Absolutely not,” Rosamund said emphatically.
“Look,” Piper said. “They know we have the diaries. They know we’ve read to the end. They know we’ve probably figured out what happened to Dottie. They have to be getting desperate. And desperate people do ... dangerous ... things.”
Kiersten shook her head vehemently. “One of us needs to distract Richard and Margaret while the other person searches their basement. One of us needs to question Aspen and be a lookout. You can’t do this alone.”
“I don’t know.” Piper frowned as they moved from the dining room into the kitchen. “I really think you guys should stay home with the kids.”
“No!” eight kids shouted with one voice as they turned to look at their mothers with mutinous expressions.
“Youpromisedthat Matthew and Guinevere and Caitlin could be in charge of us for awhole hour,” Bella said in a deeply aggrieved voice.
“And we promise not to leave the cul-de-sac, no matter what,” Olivia said.
“And we won’t turn on the stove,” Johnny added.
“And we won’t fight,” Caitlin promised.
“And in case of a catastrophic injury, we will start the breathing, stop the bleeding, protect the wound, and treat for shock,” Guinevere recited.
Guinevere had paid very close attention to Kiersten’s first aid demonstrations. Piper suspected she wanted to be prepared should she ever be called upon to compete in the Hunger Games, play Quidditch, or enter a military academy for dragon riders.
