“Beth is dead,” Beth blurted. “I’m not … I can’t … Mack, can you … ?”
“Oh Lord,” Mack said his eyes wide. He took off his sweat stained hat. “I’m real sorry, Ellie.” He swallowed hard and looked away, then back at Beth. “Don’t worry about a thing. Like I said before, I’ll take care of everything. The ranch will be fine.”
Beth nodded and let Toby take her inside, Ollie staying close on her left. Maria met them at the door. “What has happened?”
Beth held her breath. Toby and Mack had bought her as Ell, but Maria knew her sister better. She’d seen them leave the house. They’d both been wearing Ellie’s clothes. Would Maria remember which one of them had worn the yellow shirt, and which one the white?
“There was an accident,” Toby said again. “Her sister was killed.”
“Dios mio! Oh no! The poor woman! Oh, I am so sorry. Are you all right? Should you not be at the hospital?”
“Yes, she should,” Toby said, “but she refused. Will you make sure she gets to a doctor?”
“Of course! I will call Señora Ellie’s own doctor for her.”
Beth tensed and Toby looked at Maria oddly, then huffed a small humorless laugh. “This is the Señora, Maria. It was Beth who didn’t make it.”
Maria looked at her, startled, frowning, then glanced at the rings on her left hand. “Of course! It is this terrible news. I have lost my wits. Come, sit down. I will make you some warm milk. You always like that.”
Beth suppressed a grimace. Ellie liked warm milk; Beth grew nauseous at the thought of where it came from.
“Señor Toby, would you like some coffee?”
“No, I have to be going.” Then he left, leaving Beth alone with Maria.
The older woman gave Beth a hug then tried to shoo her into the kitchen. “You sit, and I’ll heat the milk.”
Beth held back at the door. “Actually, I think I’d rather just take a couple aspirin and lie down for a while.”
Maria eyes widened. “Oh no, mí’ja! You cannot take the aspirin. Not unless the doctor tells you it is safe for the baby. You lie down. I will bring you the milk.”
Shit. She had to start thinking like a pregnant woman. No coffee, no wine, no painkillers not okayed by a doc. At least not when anyone can see.
“Thanks. I wasn’t thinking.”
Beth walked down the hall to Ell’s bedroom and pushed open the heavy wood door. The suite was spacious and full of light. A thick blue patterned area rug covered the cool rust-colored Saltillo tile floor. The yellow comforter was smooth and tucked under a pile of blue and green pillows. This didn’t look like any room Ellie slept in. Beth smiled, remembering how Ell’s side of their shared room had always been messy. Now that she has Maria, Ellie never has to pick up her clothes again—not that she ever did before.
Beth closed her eyes as the truth slapped her. Ellie wouldn’t throw her clothes on this floor ever again.
Beth pushed the pile of pillows aside until she reached the one that Ellie slept on. Ollie put his paws on the bed. Beth said, “No,” and gave him the signal for down. The dog sighed, turned three times and curled up on the carpet.
Beth curled around the pillow, inhaling the scent of her sister. Her throat ached as tears stung her eyes. It couldn’t be true. How could Ell be gone, just like that? Here one minute, an awful empty void the next? Beth’s tears fell faster and her breath came in ragged gasps. When their mother had died, and later their father, she and Ell had gotten through their grief together. Now she was alone.
Ollie whined and nudged her hand with his nose. She didn’t want to be drawn out of her pain and misery. “Go away,” she croaked, and pulled back her hand. But Ollie pushed the cold dampness of his nose under her palm again. This time Beth allowed it, and ran her fingers over the dome of his skull. “She’s gone, Ollie,” she said in a tear clogged whisper. “What are we going to do without her?” Ollie just licked her wrist and settled his head on the edge of the bed with a sigh.
Exhaustion dulled her mind. The ache remained, but her tears and breathing slowed, and finally oblivion claimed her.
THE BED DIPPED AS someone sat down on it. Beth’s eyes opened. Ell sat there next to her, looking just like she always had, not covered in blood as Beth had last seen her. Beth shook her head, trying to make sense of what she saw. Ell was dressed in the purple satin prom dress she’d worked six months to afford when they were sixteen.
“Oh good! I wasn’t sure this would work. Are you okay?”
Beth pushed herself up against the headboard. “Yeah, I’m fine.”
Ell leaned forward. “You’ve been crying. I’m sorry, Bethie. You don’t have to be sad, I’m still here.”
“No you’re not. You’re dead.” How could she be having this conversation? “Have I lost it?”
Ell shook her head, the glitter in her prom-night up-do sparkling in the sunlight. “No, you’re not crazy. I’m really here. In your dream. I promised I’d stick around to help didn’t I?” She held up her little finger. “I pinkie swore.”
“Yeah, but …”
“I’m dead?” Ell smoothed a hand over the shiny fabric of her gown. She looked up and caught Beth watching. “I loved this dress, and it’s not like I have to worry about getting it dirty. I don’t have to worry about pantyhose pinching anymore, either.”
“Now that you’re dead.”
“Now that I’m dead.” Ell leaned forward again. “But I’m not gone, Bethie. I’ll be here with you as long as you need my help to find out who murdered us.” She lifted her gold necklace. It was the other half of one Beth wore, and bore the letters “SHAZ.” Beth’s half said, “ZAN!”
This was surreal, but then it was a dream. And now that she thought about it, that feeling that she’d always taken for granted, that gentle thrum of connection, was there again. “Are Mom and Dad there? Is Chris?”
Sadness flitted across Ell’s face. “No. They’ve gone on already. I’m still here because we have work to do.”
A warm little flame kindled in Beth’s heart. She wasn’t alone. Ell was still with her. “Where do we start?”
“Well, the detectives in the movies always say, ‘follow the money.’”
“So who stands to inherit?”
“Now that there’s no baby, Chris’s cousin will get everything. It’s all because of this weird trust Chris’s great-grandfather set up. Only blood relatives can inherit.”
“Uh, Ell?”
“What?”
“There is a baby, still. Sort of. I told everyone I was you. So I could get answers.” She held up her left hand. “I’m sorry, I had to take your ring.”
Ell jumped off the bed. “Are you nuts?”
Beth tugged at the ring. “Don’t be mad—”
“I don’t care about the ring! It’s only a symbol.” Ellie threw her arms wide, and Beth saw red and gold flash on her sister’s left hand. She still had the essence of Chris’s vow of love with her. “You’ve made yourself a target! You have to set this straight,right away!”
“No. Not until I find out what happened to you and Chris.”
“But—”
Beth overrode her. “And I’ll need your help if I’m going to convince everyone I’m you.”
“But—”
“You want to find out who murdered your baby, don’t you?”
A fierce light came into Ell’s eyes. “What do you need to know?”
BETH AWOKE AS MARIA brought a large mug of warm milk into Ell’s bedroom. Ollie sat down next to the bed. Beth blinked, confused. She’d talked to Ell for what seemed like hours, but the light streaming in the windows was still bright, as if she’d hardly slept any time at all. She glanced at the spot where Ell had sat on the bed. The dream had been so vivid she expected to see an indentation, as if her twin had actually been there. Of course there wasn’t.
Beth shook her head. She had to face the truth. Ell was dead. But even if the dream was just her mind playing tricks on her, she didn’t feel so a
lone. Even if this feeling of still being connected was just a delusion, she’d take it.
She sat up, groaning as her body protested. She was probably going to be in real pain tomorrow. Maria would insist on her seeing the doctor then. Somehow she’d have to put her off without raising suspicion.
“Here you are, mí’ja. Just as you like it.” Maria handed Beth the mug.
Beth forced herself to take a sip. “Thanks, Maria.”
The older woman nodded. “Now I will draw a bath for you. You must clean those scrapes.”
Beth looked at her arms and legs. She hadn’t even noticed before, but they were covered with smeared blood and shallow cuts. She followed Maria into the bathroom. “You don’t have to do that.”
“But I want to,” she said, testing the water that flowed into an oversized white marble tub. “Now, let’s get those nasty clothes off you.” And she began unbuckling Beth’s belt as if she were a child.
Beth stood still, unresisting, feeling steam-rolled. Ellie wouldn’t let herself be pushed around like this. Or did Ell enjoy the extra attention? Or maybe Maria is only doing all this because of Chris and the accident. She hoped that if she wasn’t acting like Ellie, Maria would attribute her mistakes to shock and grief.
Maria took the mug out of her hand and set it on the counter so she could peel Beth’s blood spattered shirt over her head. “Oh no!” She exclaimed and made distressed tsking noises.
Beth looked in the mirror and saw that a stripe angling across her chest and waist was already purpling. Toby was right, she was going to have one hell of a bruise from the seat belt. “It looks worse than it is.” But when she reached back to unfasten her bra, her chest hurt so bad she wasn’t sure that was true.
Maria helped her remove the rest of her clothing, tested the water again, then turned off the flow. “Into the bath with you. Your muscles will thank you for it.”
Maria steadied her as Beth stepped into the tub and sank up to her neck into water that was the perfect temperature. A moan escaped her lips. She hadn’t realized how much she needed this.
“I will get you fresh towels,” Maria said as she left the room.
The tension in Beth’s shoulders slowly released and the knot in her stomach started to unravel. She sighed. She might never move again.
Then her eye fell on the mug of warm milk, waiting for her beside the sink and her lips curled in disgust. How can Ell drink that stuff? And Maria would foist it on her again when she came back—unless Beth got rid of it now.
Carefully she pulled herself up and out of the wonderful warmth, trying not to drip too much on the floor, and flushed the milk down the toilet.
Then she looked up. Maria stood in the doorway. Her arms were full of apricot colored towels and her face was stiff with anger.
Oops.
“Uh, it must be the baby, Maria. My tastes must be changing—”
“Do you think you can steal the Pontifore money so easily? You are not the Señora! What do you mean to do? Pass off some bastardo as Señor Chris’s blood? I have worked for this family for over twenty years. I will not allow it!”
CHAPTER SIX
Beth froze, dripping on the bathroom rug. Ell hadn’t confided anything that would help her talk her way out of this.
Maria looked her up and down. “Your breasts are not swollen. You are not pregnant. You have not the legs of a horse-woman. You are not Señora Ellie.” Her tone was firm. She seemed to harbor no doubt on the subject.
“No, I’m not.”
Maria’s eyes widened, apparently surprised at the quick admission.
Beth couldn’t see trying to change the older woman’s mind, not when she was so fiercely loyal, not when she was right. “I don’t care about the money, Maria. I don’t want it. Ell believed, no, she knew that Chris was murdered. And before she died, she told me she thought the crash wasn’t an accident either.” Beth felt her throat tightening but she pushed on, forcing the words out. “Someone killed them, Maria. Chris and Ell and their baby. I promised her I’d find out who.”
Maria huffed in disbelief. “But why this charade if you do not want the money?”
Beth’s heart beat faster with panic and frustration. “Because no one but Ellie believes Chris was murdered! The sheriff thinks these were accidents. He isn’t looking for a killer. I’ll need every bit of help I can get, and no one will listen to me if I’m just Beth Hart. Some information is only open to immediate family. I have a better chance of finding out what happened if my name is Pontifore.” Beth suddenly felt cold. She shivered, and Maria held out a towel to her.
Maria remained silent while Beth wrapped the fluffy terry cloth around her. Then she asked, “Do you believe Señor Chris was murdered?”
“I don’t know.” She felt as if she was somehow betraying her twin by admitting she wasn’t as sure as Ell, but it was the truth. “But it doesn’t matter what I believe. I promised Ellie.” Beth paused, trying to read Maria’s face. “Will you help me?”
“What if you do not find this killer? What if he does not exist? You cannot pretend to be the Señora forever. She is pregnant.” Tears welled in Maria’s eyes.
Beth nodded, tears filling her own eyes. She would have no niece or nephew to spoil now. Would the medical examiner check dental records? She didn’t know. And if he did, how long would it take to get them? Because when he did, he’d know that it wasn’t Beth Hart’s body he was looking at.
“I don’t know. Two weeks? A month?” She hoped it wouldn’t take that long. She had a job she had to get back to, but if she hadn’t found the killer by then, could she give up and go back to her old life?
The phone rang and Beth jumped. Maria hesitated for a moment then turned and went into the bedroom to take the call.
“Bueno … ”
Beth bit her lip.
“Sí Señor, lo siento. It is a terrible thing.”
Another condolence call.
“She is …” Maria was silent for a moment and glanced at Beth.
Beth held her breath. Would Maria out her, or keep her secret?
“She is not well, Señor. There has been an accident. Señorita Beth was killed.”
Beth let out her breath and sagged against the doorframe. Relief made her light-headed. Maria would help her.
“I do not know … Only a few hours ago … No, she is home, but it is good that you come.”
Come? Who’s coming? Palmer? He’d said he was busy with his missionary work. Beth gestured at Maria, shaking her head urgently. The fewer people she had to convince she was Ellie, the better.
Maria ignored her. “No, no! You must stay here. Señor Chris would want it. The Señora will insist.”
JASON ENDED THE CALL and put his hand over his eyes. Dead. Beth was dead too.
A horn honked. The light had changed. Jason accelerated the rented Ford Taurus with a jerk and turned onto the access ramp for I-10 East. In less than two hours he’d be at Ellie’s door, trying to offer sympathy for her double loss. What could he possibly say that would help? Especially when his own heart felt like it had been flattened by a semi. Again.
He hadn’t talked to Beth for months. Her death shouldn’t hit him this hard, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that he’d missed out on something important.
They’d connected instantly seven months ago at the rehearsal dinner, but it was at the reception that they’d begun to really talk. After the toasts and the cake, Chris and Ellie’s party had really started to rock. He and Beth had danced, but when they stopped to catch their breath, they both realized that the music was too loud for real conversation.
“Come on,” Beth said, and Jason grabbed a couple beers from a passing waiter before following her. The music faded as she led him into the house and down a tiled hallway.
She pushed the door to the library open and looked inside. “Good. No one’s here,” she said, pulling him inside and pushing the door closed behind him. The desk lamp was on, casting a soft glow over the room. “This is my fa
vorite room in the house.”
He was glad she made no move to turn on the brighter overhead lights. Jason looked around at the floor-to-ceiling bookcases, the overstuffed sofa and chairs, the inlaid chess table where Chris had frequently trounced him, the stone fireplace, the heavy wood desk with Chris’s laptop. It was everything a married man’s home should be: solid, stable, permanent. And a perfect place for snuggling in front of the fire. This room had potential. “Mine too.”
“I love having all this potential around me.”
Jason blinked. Had she been reading his mind? “Potential?”
“The books. Who knows where they could take you if you only had the time to read them all.”
Jason hid his disappointment. She wasn’t thinking about getting physical. She shivered and rubbed her hands over her bare upper arms.
“Are you cold? Would you like me to start a fire?” Maybe they would be doing some snuggling after all.
“That would be great.” Beth kicked off her shoes and curled up in one of the chairs rather than on the sofa, tucking her feet underneath her. Damn.
“I never thought of books like that before,” Jason said as he knelt to light the kindling that was already laid. “I was a pretty good student, but I guess I just see books as a means to an end, tools for learning what I need to know.”
Beth snorted delicately. “I’d say you were more than just a ‘pretty good student’ if you got a full academic scholarship to USC.”
He shrugged. “Yeah, well.” But he was pleased that she was impressed. “I just did what I had to do.”
“What you had to do?”
“My mom raised me on her own. We didn’t have much money. If I was going to get into college I had to do it by myself. And she made it clear that I was going to go.” Oh man, that sounded pathetic. “I didn’t mean that the way it sounded. My mom is great and I liked school.”
Beth smiled. “I understood what you meant. She sounds like a strong woman.”
“She sure kept me in line.” Jason spared a glance at Beth’s bare shoulders, and appreciated how the growing firelight caressed the skin revealed by the dipping neckline of her burgundy dress before he settled into the couch. “I remember one time I came home with ‘C’s in English and Social Studies. I think it was my freshman year in high school. I was feeling pretty full of myself and didn’t even flinch when she came home from her second job and picked up my report card. Then she sat down at the kitchen table and studied it. When she finished she set it down carefully and started massaging her feet. She worked as a receptionist during the day, and waited tables at night. She knew I could do better, but she didn’t lecture me. She just looked at me while she rubbed her toes. Man, I felt about that tall.” He held his thumb and finger about an inch apart. “Finally she said, ‘Are you happy with this?’”
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