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“He died?” she asked, her eyes round.
“Not the last I heard, but I haven’t turned on the news . . .” Because I didn’t want to see some media person speculating on the woman who’d predicted the crash. “But you also said that you thought . . . we’d killed Daddy . . . and though that’s not true, I want to know why you said it. And why you said, ‘He said he loved you, but I think he did some bad things.’ I thought you meant Daddy, but now I don’t know.” Elizabeth was rambling. Doing exactly what she’d warned herself not to do, asking question after question. Fear seemed to have a grip on her tongue, making it wag and wag and wag.
Chloe stared at her with that frown on her face that Elizabeth knew meant she was concentrating very hard. “It’s not Daddy. He’s somebody else that I sometimes hear.”
Elizabeth expelled a pent-up breath. “Where do you hear him?” She felt chilled as she shot a fearful look down the hall toward the front door. She wanted to shut all the blinds, sweep Chloe up, run to the bedroom, and hide under the covers.
Solemnly, Chloe pointed to her head and Elizabeth didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. She’d meant where as in what locality, like at school or at the house. “You hear him in your head?”
“I think he wants to talk to you.” One of the bees found a clue to their missing friend and was buzzing in figure eights on the screen. Chloe’s attention was divided and she went immediately back to watching the program.
It was all Elizabeth could do to keep from switching off the television and dragging Chloe’s attention back, but she knew it wouldn’t work. She didn’t know what to make of what Chloe said, but she had other issues to worry about. A half sister . . . or charlatan? Coming her way? She’d always known she was adopted, but she’d also gotten the impression from her mother that both of her birth parents were dead and there were no siblings. Whoever this Ravinia was, she was a fraud . . . or worse.
Ravinia could scarcely contain herself on the drive back from Dana Point, but the closer they got to Costa Mesa and Irvine, the slower Rex seemed to be driving. “What’s the problem?” she demanded.
“What’s your plan upon meeting your cousin? You’re not going to call her your sister.”
“I don’t know. I want to be more important than a cousin so she’ll listen to me.”
“It’s still a lie, and people don’t like to be lied to. It doesn’t exactly inspire trust, and you need her to trust you or she’ll slam the door in your face.”
“I’ll just keep going back,” Ravinia said stubbornly.
“Until she calls the police and you’re arrested for stalking.”
“Okay, I’ll tell her I’m her cousin,” Ravinia snapped.
“Let’s think on this a bit.”
“To hell with that. I want you to take me right to her house.”
“When are you going to tell your aunt Catherine that you’ve found her?”
“When I actually find her.” Ravinia glared at him. “What’s going on with you?”
He shook his head. Meeting Lendel Gaines and listening to the words beneath the words, he’d recognized there was a deep
divide between him and his daughter, a chasm. He had a feeling if they just barged in on Elizabeth Gaines Ellis, their reception would be unwelcome to the extreme.
Chloe moved from the television to playing in her room. Hearing different voices from within, Elizabeth pressed an ear to the panels of the bedroom door but realized that Chloe was just play-acting several parts.
Elizabeth returned to the kitchen and finished her salad, still thinking about how she wanted to approach her daughter when a call came through. Sweeping up her cell phone, she saw it was Tara. She tucked it against her shoulder, a precarious position as she rinsed off the end of the dishes and put them into the dishwasher. “Hello, there,” Elizabeth answered.
“Elizabeth, don’t freak out, but everyone wants to talk to you about what happened last night,” Tara said.
“Oh, God. Please, don’t make this a bigger deal than it is.” She slammed the dishwasher door closed and switched it on.
“You knew. How did you know?”
“I can’t really talk tonight.”
“We want to see you. Please. We’re all going out for drinks tonight and want you to join us.”
“Tara . . . I’m in for the night. We just finished dinner and Chloe’s beat.”
“No, I’m not!” Chloe suddenly appeared in the kitchen, having burst out of her room when she heard Elizabeth’s cell ringing. “Is Bibi there? Are we going somewhere?”
“No,” Elizabeth told her. Into the phone, she said, “I’ve been out too many nights and it’s time to stay home.”
