Beyond the Garden (Magnolia Series Book 2)

by Ashley Farley

  Charleston was a walking city, and pacing the streets of downtown calmed her restless soul. Temporarily, anyway. Her anticipation was mounting. She wouldn’t be able to control her excitement much longer.

  She spied on her sister from behind trees in the park across from her house and crouched between cars parked along the street she lived on. She peeped though the iron gate at the twins playing in the garden and hid in the foundation shrubs, listening to their squeals of laughter through the open kitchen window. Lia was certain that, as she’d intended, Bella and Mya had reported their encounter in the park to Ellie. She thought it priceless the way her sister looked over her shoulder on her way to her car and darted quick glances up and down the street when she went out for the newspaper. Resisting the temptation to jump out of her hiding place and yell, “Boo!” Lia forced herself to wait for the right opportunity instead. And that opportunity presented itself on Thursday evening. She stood by the garden gate eavesdropping on Ellie and Julian, who were, as best she could tell from the sound of their voices, seated at the umbrellaed table on the terrace. Lia propped herself against the brick wall, casually crossing her feet to give the impression to late-afternoon strollers that she was waiting for a friend.

  Her sister’s sugary sweet voice drifted toward her. “The twins would be so disappointed if we canceled the party.”

  Lia’s ears perked up. Party?

  “I think we’re probably in the clear,” Julian said. “If Lia is the woman the twins saw in the park on Wednesday, I feel certain she would’ve made herself known by now.”

  “I’m sure you’re right,” Ellie said. “The woman with the dog probably resembled Lia, and the twins’ wishful thinking convinced them it was their mother. Just in case, we’ll have plenty of help here on Sunday to be on the lookout for her.”

  Sunday! The party’s on Sunday.

  “I’ve asked Maddie and Cilla to help. Of course, Dad will be here and he’s bringing Lacey.”

  Who’s Cilla?

  “Hiring Cilla was a good move,” Julian said. “She’s a hard worker and pleasant to have around.”

  Another maid. I’m not surprised. Wouldn’t want Ellie Darling changing bed linens or cleaning toilets.

  Ellie’s voice again. “I think Maddie is secretly relieved to have some help. The housework was getting too much for her.”

  Maddie, that old cow. She should’ve retired years ago.

  “After most of the guests arrive, we’ll station Dad and Lacey at the front door, Becca at the activities stations, and Cilla in the kitchen, which will leave Maddie free to help out wherever she’s needed.”

  Bingo. Cilla doesn’t know me. Through the kitchen door I go.

  Lia pushed off the wall and headed uptown as a plan began to form in her mind.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  Ellie

  Ellie and Julian spoke with their attorney several times throughout the remainder of the week. He advised them to stay calm and let Lia make the next move.

  “Keep your doors locked and your eyes peeled,” Tyler told them repeatedly. “If she was concerned about her children, she wouldn’t have waited seven months to contact you. Let’s hope she came to town looking for money. That would play in our favor when we try to negotiate an adoption agreement.”

  Their last conference call with Tyler was late Friday afternoon. Ellie sat across from Julian at the table on the terrace with her iPhone on speaker between them.

  “There’s still no sign of her,” Ellie said about her sister. “Do you think we should go ahead with the party?”

  “I see no reason not to,” Tyler said. “Putting your lives on hold for her makes you a victim. Don’t give your sister that power.”

  “I keep wondering if maybe we should contact the Key West police,” Ellie said. “If for no other reason than to let them know she’s here.”

  “But you don’t know for certain she’s here,” Tyler argued.

  Ellie and Julian agreed. In the end, they decided to wait it out, at least until after the party.

  Cilla was a welcome addition to the Hagood household. Her wide smile on her plump face brightened Ellie’s days. She did everything anyone asked of her and more. She scented their bed linens and towels with lavender, organized the shoes in Ellie’s closet, and ironed crisp creases in Julian’s khaki slacks. The girls took to her right away as well—especially the twins, who loved it when she fussed over them. Only twenty-four years old, Cilla was still a child herself. She styled their hair in elaborate braids, played hide-and-seek with them all over the house, and helped them bake cupcakes for their real birthday on Thursday.

  Midafternoon on Sunday, the household was a flurry of activity as they prepared for the party. Julian and Ellie draped white linen tablecloths over rectangular tables on the terrace—one for the self-serve bar and the other for the food—while Katie and Ruby assisted Becca in setting up activity tables along the edge of the brick wall in the garden—bead stringing, face painting, and clay sculpting. Maddie shaped hamburger patties at the island in the kitchen while Cilla stood at the counter mixing ingredients for potato salad. Bella and Mya, who were beyond themselves with excitement, chased each other around, getting in everyone’s way.

  Promptly at four o’clock, Ellie and Julian moved to the front door to greet their first guests. Butterflies of nervousness fluttered around in Ellie’s belly. She’d been married to Julian for five months, and she’d only met the few close friends he’d invited to their wedding. A continuous stream of neighborhood families, with young children from ages two to ten, strolled through the door. Ellie plastered a smile on her face. She preferred mingling in smaller crowds. She would have to get used to playing hostess for the sake of her husband, who loved to entertain.

  Abbott and Lacey brought up the rear of the initial throng of people. Her father’s new romantic interest bore a natural appearance—golden tan, face free of makeup, and dark hair streaked with gray pulled back in a loose ponytail at the nape of her neck.

  “I’m so glad to finally meet you,” Ellie said, extending her hand to Lacey. “Dad tells me you might be in the market for a part-time job.”

  “I am,” Lacey said with a twinkle in her clear green eyes. “And I’d love to hear about your new venture.”

  Abbott hip-bumped Ellie out of the threshold. “You can talk about it later. Go entertain your guests. We’ll greet the stragglers.”

  All hosts, including Maddie and Cilla, had been warned to be on the lookout for Lia.

  For the next hour, Ellie mingled with her guests while keeping an eye on her girls. Her stepdaughter and foster child seemed to be adapting well to their new environment. Even so, Ellie sensed mild jealousy from Katie, who wasn’t used to sharing a bathroom—or her father—with siblings, and skepticism from Ruby, who was struggling to trust the new grown-ups in her life.

  As the party wore on, the guests feasted on the smorgasbord of food Maddie and Cilla set out. It was nearly six o’clock when Maddie deemed it time to cut the cake. Parents and children gathered around the twins to sing “Happy Birthday.” The crowd applauded as Bella and Mya blew out the candles, but one pair of hands continued to clap long after everyone else had stopped.

  Ellie searched the group for the enthusiastic guest. Her eyes fell on a woman who looked vaguely familiar standing beside the french doors leading to her studio. It took a minute for her mind to register that the face staring out at her with the condescending expression from beneath the blonde wig belonged to her sister.

  Ellie crossed the terrace in three strides. Lia saw her coming and said in a voice loud enough to attract their guests’ attention, “Ellie Darling, how nice of you to throw a birthday party for my children.”

  Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Bella and Mya cowering behind Maddie. “If you care about your children at all, you won’t dare cause a scene in the middle of their birthday party.”

  Lia stepped in front of her, planting herself inches from Ellie’s face. “So now you�
��re an expert on what’s best for my children?”

  Ellie drew herself to her full height. “Damn straight, I am. I’ve been raising them for the past seven months while you’ve been off gallivanting God knows where.”

  “You offered,” Lia said with an arrogant shrug of her shoulder.

  “Why, you little bit—”

  Julian and Abbott arrived on the scene at the same time. “Let’s talk about this in private,” Julian said. He held the door open for Abbott, who took Lia by the elbow and escorted her inside the house and down the hall to Julian’s study.

  Ellie slammed the heavy door when she entered, and the foursome stood awkwardly facing one another in the center of the room.

  “How’d you get in the house, Lia?” she asked, her eyes glued on her father, who was supposed to have been manning the front door.

  Abbott raised his hands in defense. “I didn’t let her in. She must’ve gotten in some other way.”

  “Your new maid let me in through the kitchen door. I believe she told me her name is Cilla. She didn’t recognize me in my disguise.” Lia pulled the blonde wig off her head. “You should be more careful, Eleanor. I’ve been snooping around your house for days, and you didn’t even know I was here.”

  Ellie’s stomach heaved, and bile rose in her throat. “You’re just saying that,” she said, although she suspected it was true.

  “How do you think I found out about your little birthday soirée for my girls? You really should watch what you say when your windows are open. I heard your naughty pillow talk. I know all about how Julian likes to—”

  Julian grabbed Lia’s wrist and twisted it behind her back. “Don’t you dare, you—”

  “Don’t waste your breath, Julian. She’s not worth it,” Ellie said. He dropped Lia’s arm.

  She noticed her sister was even thinner than she’d been the last time she’d seen her back in September—if that was even possible—but her skin was bronze from hours spent on the beach.

  Has she been in Key West this whole time?

  “In your letter, you claimed you needed some time to find your way,” Ellie said. “How does your husband’s murder factor into your pathway to discovery?”

  Lia jutted out her chin. “I had nothing to do with Ricky’s death.”

  “Then how do you explain why your fingerprints were all over the light switch?” Abbott asked.

  “I don’t owe you any explanations,” Lia said to Abbott, but her eyes remained on Ellie.

  “Maybe not,” Ellie said. “But you owe Detective Hamlin in Key West an explanation as to why your fingerprints were found at the scene.”

  “You’d like that, wouldn’t you, Eleanor? To have me tucked away in jail so you can claim my children as your own. Go ahead and call Detective Hamlin.” Lia thrust her cell phone at her. “What’re you waiting for?”

  “We’re waiting to hear your side of the story,” Julian said in a soft-but-firm voice.

  Lia turned her attention to Julian. “I’d forgotten how handsome you are,” she said, palming his cheek. “You poor, deprived man, being married to my sister, the prude. Why don’t you come home with me? I’ll show you a good time you won’t soon forget.”

  Anger pulsed through Ellie’s veins, and she had to work hard not to smack her sister’s face. Lia was goading her, but she would not dignify her insults with a response.

  Julian smacked Lia’s hand away. “Not that it’s any of your business, but Ellie and I are happily married. Even if we weren’t, I would never be attracted to a woman like you.”

  “Humph,” Lia said, waving her hand in dismissal. “Your loss.”

  Ellie crossed her arms and tapped the toe of her sandal on the carpet. “We’re still waiting for your side of the story.”

  “Ugh, Eleanor. You really are such a bore.” Lia turned her back on them and circled the room, running her hand along the marble mantel before moving to the window. “If you must know, it’s a very short story. I was framed.”

  “By whom? The loan sharks from Georgia?” Ellie asked.

  “Or Ricky’s lover,” Lia said, fingering the velvet on the floor-to-ceiling drapes. “You’re asking all the wrong questions, you know? You should be asking what it’s going to take to get rid of me.”

  Ellie looked at her husband, who gave her the nod. “Okay, then. I’ll bite. What’s it going to take to get rid of you?”

  “I want what’s rightfully mine.” Spinning around to face the room, she spread her arms wide. “Half of all of this.”

  “In other words, you’re broke. I figured as much. All of this wealth”—Ellie mocked her sister by spreading her arms—“has been in our family for generations. It’s our responsibility to be good stewards of that money for the generations of Pringle family members yet to come. Not to squander it as you’ve done. I gave you a very large sum of money, and you’ve blown through it in seven months.”

  Lia crossed the room to Ellie. Her face was so close that Ellie could smell her sister’s rank breath. “You asked what I want, and I’m telling you. I want half of your inheritance. In exchange, I’ll let you keep my children. That’s a fair deal, if you ask me.”

  Ellie pressed her hand against her belly as a wave of nausea hit her. “You’re selling your children to me, in other words.”

  “They’re worth it, don’t you think?” Lia walked to the door. “You have twenty-four hours to make the arrangements, or I’ll take my children away from here and you’ll never see them again.”

  Abbott rushed to open the door for her. “I’ll walk you back to your hotel.”

  “No thanks,” she said as she breezed past him. “My hotel is on the other side of town.”

  “Then I’ll drive you,” he called after her. “Ellie, where are your keys?”

  “In the dish on the hall table. Be careful, Dad.”

  Ellie recognized her father’s ulterior motive. While he was pretending to be a gentleman, a man concerned about his daughter’s well-being, what he really wanted was to find out where her sister was staying.

  #

  The party guests began to trickle out after Abbott left. By six thirty, all had gone home to their Sunday-night routines. Ruby and Katie had retired to their rooms, to the homework that awaited them, and Becca had whisked the now-grumpy birthday girls off to bed. Lacey helped Julian and Ellie clean up the yard while Maddie and Cilla tackled the kitchen.

  Ellie and Lacey were folding a tablecloth together when Lacey said, “You may not feel like talking about this right now, but I’d love to hear more about your art gallery sometime.”

  Ellie took Lacey’s ends of the tablecloth and folded it in half. “I was planning on talking about the gallery with you at some point. Might as well be now. I could use the diversion. I’ll be honest with you, Lacey. I’m in over my head with this project. I bought the warehouse on a whim. The upstairs is perfect for my studio. I have some ideas about the gallery downstairs, but I have no idea how to implement them.”

  “I have some time tomorrow morning if you’re free. You can show me the place and tell me your ideas.”

  Ellie had no idea what tomorrow held in terms of her sister. But the sooner she found someone else to worry about the gallery, the better off she’d be. “As of now, I’m free all morning. You name the time.”

  “How about late morning? Say around eleven.”

  “Eleven it is,” Ellie said. “Let’s go in the kitchen, and I’ll write down the address.”

  Maddie brewed a pot of coffee, and Julian, Ellie, and Lacey gathered around the kitchen table to wait for Abbott to return.

  “Took you long enough,” Ellie said to her father when he arrived an hour later. “Where’s her hotel, in Savannah?”

  “She’s staying at the Waterside Inn, which I can assure you is nowhere near the water. Roughest section of Charleston I’ve been in thus far.” Abbott pulled a barstool close to the table and accepted a cup of coffee from Maddie. “Something’s not right with her.”

  “That
much is obvious,” Ellie said. “Care to elaborate?”

  “I’m talking about something different than her hitting on Julian or selling her children. She seemed so agitated on the way over to her motel. She scratched at the skin on her neck and babbled on about who knows what. She was talking so fast I couldn’t understand her.”

  Ellie’s eyes narrowed. “I can’t say I’m surprised. We suspected she was unstable when we first met her in September. Louisa told us about her prior bouts with depression and attempted suicide.”

  “Who’s Louisa?” Lacey asked.

  “The woman who raised Lia,” Abbott explained. “She was an old friend of Ellie’s mother’s.”

  “I see,” Lacey said with a nod.

  “Do you think she’s in some kind of manic state?” Julian asked.

  “I think there’s a good chance, which is all the more reason to keep her away from the twins,” Abbott said. “We decided the other day to let Lia make the next move before we called the police, but now that she has, considering the behavior I just witnessed in the car, I’m more inclined than ever to turn her in. I’m sure I don’t need to remind you that you have four children living under your roof who need to be protected.”

  Julian locked eyes with Ellie. “I agree with your father on this.”

  She hesitated a long minute. “But if it backfires and Lia manages to escape the police, we’ll never see her again. Can we give it one more day? We all heard her state, in no uncertain terms, she wants half of my inheritance. I’ll pay her off in exchange for her signature on the adoption papers.”

  “Until the next time she runs out of money,” Julian said.