Elizabeth Basque - Medium Mysteries 02 - Silver Lake (12 page)

Chapter Twenty-one

There seemed to be nothing we could do for the moment, only wait for Mack to come back. Julie and I set about cleaning up my potted plants. We plucked dead leaves from them and I was unraveling the hose, getting the kinks out of it, when we heard a great thump in the living room.

Mack was back.

“Come on,” I said to her.

I barely got inside when Mack was in my face, nervous as a racehorse. “You’ve got to stop them,” he puffed as if he was out of breath.

“Mack, what’s wrong?” Julie asked when she saw his anxiety.

“
Oh, she’s got her claws into him,” Mack burst out. “Come on, there’s no time to waste!”

He rushed to the door, and it opened. Mack hardly ever did that.

“Stop him from what?” I asked. I knew he was talking about Garrett.

“
Get your cah keys!” Mack rushed back to the coffee table where my car keys lay and shoved them at me. They landed at my feet.

“
All right, all right,” I said, bending to pick them up. Whatever it was, Mack seemed desperate about it. “Where are we going?”

“
You go to Garrett’s house. I’m going ahead to see where they’re headed and I’ll meet you when you get there.”

He was behind us now, herding us like a couple of cows. I snatched up my purse, and Julie did likewise. I set down my margarita, and handed the keys to Julie. I wasn’t drunk, but she hadn’t even finished her first one.

“Come on, quit dilly-dallying,” Mack urged as I closed my apartment door from the outside.

“
We’re not,” I argued. “And could you please tell me what is so urgent?”

“
She’s a sly one, that Lana,” Mack growled as we descended the front steps to my car. “Smaht little hussy. No time to waste.”

Julie hurried to the car and unlocked it.

“For Pete’s sake, Mack, what’s going on?”

“
They’re getting married,” Mack spat out.

“
Yeah, that was in the newspaper. They’re engaged. There’s going to be a big fancy wedding.”

“
No, they’re eloping.
Now!
She talked him into it. She’s got the whole thing planned. I don’t know where, but when I got there, she was talking him into it. I tried to scare them out of it. I shook the walls, but they thought it was an earthquake.”

“
What? Married? Today?”

He nodded. “She surprised him. She talked him into it. A limousine is coming. I’ve got to go, see where it takes them. I’ll meet you at his house.”

Julie started the car.

“
Hurry!” Mack shouted, and then he was gone.

We made record time. Julie took some chances, speeding through yellow-almost-red lights, cutting into parking lots to turn corners faster.

“What are we going to do?” she whined. Julie whined when she was scared, like a child.

“
We’ll think of something,” I said as calmly as I could.

The truth was, I didn’t know. I understood that Garrett loved Lana, or rather, he loved who he
thought
she was. Most importantly, I knew it was nearly impossible to talk reason into someone young and in love. They never listened.

Julie rounded the curves and narrow winding roads up to Garrett’s house, and I forced myself not to grip the door handle. She would do anything for Mack, I knew.

“Turn around!”

We both jumped at Mack’s voice. He’d appeared from nowhere in my back seat.

“Jesus, you scared me,” Julie uttered. She hit the brakes and pulled into a driveway to turn around.

“
Where to?” I asked him. No point in berating him for almost giving me a heart attack.

“
Up that way,” Mack leaned forward, and pointed a shimmering finger upward. “They’re at one of those big homes you rent out for parties and filming.”

“
I’m not sure what you want me to do when we get there,” I told the agitated ghost.

“
I’ll handle Garrett,” he said. “They’re getting dressed there. I heard Lana tell him his tux was there, and her gown, too.”

“
That primping session will buy us a little time.” Julie was always trying to point out the bright side.

“
Hope so,” Mack said. “See it? It’s up there.”

We gazed up to the top of a huge hill to see one lone house looming amid spacious grounds. There were trees surrounding the place; a single weeping willow silhouetted against the sky lent a certain romantic air.

The house itself was massive and old, much like the tree. Three chimneys reached up into the sky. The house had been there for a long time, overlooking Silver Lake. It was built of wood with large windows that would have lent a gorgeous view if they hadn’t been blinded shut. A porch encircled the entirety of the house.

On any other day, it would have been a beautiful sight. But not today.

And at the base of the driveway, wouldn’t you know, there were security guards.

Chapter Twenty-two

“
Damn,” I muttered as Julie slowed to a stop. I looked behind me. There was a small side street that led around the base of the hill. “Turn there.”

Julie backed up the car and turned onto the little street, which was lined with houses sloping down on the right. To the left was a hill with wild brush that led up to the huge old house.

“We’re going to have to go up that way,” I told Julie. “And hoof it.”

“
Well, park the blasted car,” Mack barked.

Julie looked a little hurt as she eased my car to the side of the curb. She was doing her best; neither of us had been prepared for this.

We got out, with Mack right alongside of us. “I’ll be up there,” he said. He was almost invisible in the daylight. “I’ll delay them. You,” he pointed at me, “think of something. And get a move on!”

He was gone again before I had a chance to reply.

We crossed over to the hilly side of the road.

“
I’m not dressed for a hike,” Julie muttered as she stepped up off the asphalt to the dirt and bushes.

“
At least you have shoes,” I told her. I was wearing flip-flops along with my comfy loose drawstring pants. I had a tank top on; hardly the attire in which to show up at a wedding.

But I was more concerned with climbing the hill for the moment. I let Julie take the lead, following in her footsteps. The ground was rocky, and we held hands. I wished I was younger. I wasn’t in shape for this, but I didn’t complain.

It seemed to take forever, but it probably only took about ten minutes to reach the top. I slipped a couple of times, and though I wasn’t really hurt, I stood there, huffing and puffing, sweating. My hair was a mess and I had a couple of scratches on my face and arms. I wanted to catch my breath, but Mack’s sense of urgency forced me to waste no time.

We found ourselves facing an old but strong iron fence that surrounded the place. I took the lead now, around to the right, the back of the house. There had to be a gate somewhere. We clung close to the metal fencing as the ground sloped steeply. If we’d had time, we might have admired a rare view of Los Angeles.

But we didn’t have time, and we hurried until we finally found a gate. It was locked, but it was also old and loose. Julie and I shook it back and forth, and it finally came unhinged enough for Julie to slip through. Then she pulled it open wider for me and my girlish figure.

“
You okay?” Julie looked at me with concern. “You’re awfully red.”

“
I can imagine. I’m fine. Let’s go.”

In contrast to the wild hillside we’d just climbed, the lawn and grounds were gorgeous. The trees rustled in the breeze, their branches swaying gently. There was an old pathway from the gate to a back door of the house. I tried to slow down a little and be quieter. We mounted some steps, reached the door and peered through the glass panes.

Inside was a short hallway that I could see led to a kitchen.

I tried the door. It was unlocked, thank God. Out here were trashcans, and I figured that the household staff had unlocked the door to access them.

We slipped inside. It was quieter without the wind. I could hear voices from somewhere toward the front of the house and I pointed to the hardwood floors for Julie. They were old and probably creaked. I put a finger to my lips and she nodded.

At the end of the short hallway, which doubled as an old laundry room, the kitchen lay to the right. The conversations came from that direction. To our left, there was another short hall and a doorway.

We headed to the left, and quietly opened the door.

This kind of home was built with all kinds of anterooms. The one we’d entered was small, perhaps a large closet or changing room. At the far side was another door, and I could hear women talking from within.

One of the voices was Lana’s. At least one other woman was in the room. From the compliments I heard, Lana was donning her wedding dress.

“
What should we
do
?” Julie whispered in my ear, and I jumped. My irritation must have showed, because she mouthed, “I’m sorry.”

I was thinking fast. There was no time to convince Garrett he was making a huge mistake, even if I could find him. Chances were, he was on the other side of the great home, putting on his tux.

Well, desperate times called for desperate measures.

I drew myself up to my full height and took a deep breath. I reminded myself that I was a strong soul, and that I had a mission before me. I took a look at Julie, who was biting her lip in anxiety.

“This is no time for weakness,” I told her. She stopped chewing off her lipstick. “Come on. Just have my back.”

The glint in her eye surprised and relieved me. “You got it,” she said.

With a purposeful stride, I crossed the room to the other door, with Julie just behind me. I didn’t bother knocking. I slung it open and stepped inside. There were four women in that room.

Lana was admiring herself in a large oval antique mirror and an older woman wearing a corsage was just about to help her with her veil. As her focus shifted from herself to me in back of her, she froze.

But just for a second. She wheeled around, almost knocking down the older woman right next to her. “You!” Her voice was low and full of malice. “How did you get here?” She took in my clothing, my flushed face, wind-whipped hair and scratches with utter disdain.

“
I’ve got my resources,” I said calmly. “The game’s over, Lana. You’re not going to get your man. I know everything.”

“
You’re a crazy old woman,” she spat. “Get out, now, or I’ll have you removed.”

The two other women backed away from Lana. Whether they were confused at my presence or Lana’s sudden change to Ice Queen, I wasn’t sure. It didn’t matter. They moved their heads from her to me like they were watching a ping-pong game.

“I know you’re connected with Bella,” I announced, “probably related. And I can prove it.”

Lana gave a harsh laugh, but I could see an aura of defense building up around her. “Bella?” she asked. “What has
she
got to do with anything?”

The older woman looked at her sharply.

“I’ve got photos of that bracelet.” I gestured to the beautiful Celtic jewelry on her wrist. “Several photos.” This wasn’t quite true, but I didn’t care. It only mattered that she believed me.

Apparently, she did. She shifted her head slightly to the other two women, but kept her eyes on me and Julie. “Leave us,” she commanded.

“Should we call for Garrett?” one of the women asked timidly.

“
No. Go wait out back. Until I call for you again. I’ll text you.
Go
.”

One of them scooped up things into a professional makeup kit that looked like a tackle box and closed it. The other one swept hairbrushes, hairspray and bobby pins into a pile. She unplugged the curling iron and left it on the dressing table.

As the two women passed us, I stared them down. Julie managed to follow my lead nicely.

Okay, so now the makeup artist and hairdresser were gone. It was just Lana and, I assumed, her matron of honor. And
us.

Once they closed the door and the four of us were alone, Lana’s demeanor changed. “Why do you want to hurt him?” she asked, almost pleading. “Filling his mind with thoughts of his father, and of me betraying him? All I want is for us to be happy. Why would you want to destroy that? What have I ever done to you?”

“You don’t want his happiness,” I countered. “You’re just like Bella. And what you’ve done is hurt a good friend of mine.”

“
A friend? What friend?”

“
Garrett’s father. He loved his son, he still does. And I won’t let what happened to him happen to Garrett.”