The Obituary Society (21 page)

He stood tall, clamping his hand over his mouth, and shook.  The seconds ticked in slow motion.  When he pulled his hand away and spoke, his voice was soft and broken.  “I was his boy.”  He paused, and cleared his throat.  “I won't yell any more.  I'm sorry.  I'm not like him.  He couldn't help it, but I can.” 

He stroked Lila's knee with his finger, and she shuddered as a crawling sensation traveled up her spine. 

“
You see, Juniper, I know you're a brave girl.  You're right.  You're no princess.  You're a superhero.  And superheroes never let bad things happen to their friends.” 

He looked at Lila, the blackness in his expression seeped into her, settling in her stomach.  He smiled, then his hand flashed out and grabbed her wrist.  He pushed Juniper aside and tried to jerk Lila to her feet.

Lila's eye focused on a piece of railing hovering behind Asher's right shoulder.  A second later it had made impact with his head, and Asher howled.

Chapter 27

Like
him

“
Daddy!” Juniper squealed.

Asher stumbled sideways, both hands holding his head. 

“Run!”  Max pushed Juniper and Lila toward the door.

Lila hesitated at the doorway, not willing to leave Max.  She shielded Juniper behind her as Asher recovered and lunged at Max.  Max was wiry and strong, and had the advantage of being sober.  But Asher was larger, with muscles that bulged under his shirt. He was like an angry bull as he charged at Max, knocking his glasses off his face.  Lila cringed at the crunching and grinding of glass under Asher's heavy shoe.

She pulled Juniper into the hall, then crouched down and spoke quietly.  “Run to Ada's.  There's a key in the green pot by the kitchen door.  Go inside and lock the door.  We'll be there to get you soon.” 

Lila crept back to the bedroom in time to see Max throw a punch that launched Asher backward onto the bed, but Asher was quick enough to kick Max's legs out from under him.  She noticed the piece of railing she'd brought in earlier laying on the floor.  Before Asher was back on his feet Lila held her breath and rushed in to grab it. 

Asher was back on his feet in an instant, numb to the pain, but Max winced as he pulled himself off the floor.  Asher's eyes flashed to Lila, and he moved toward her, but Max jumped between them.  Asher threw a hard punch at the left side of Max's jaw that threw him several feet.  His head crashed against the wall before he fell to the floor.  This time he stayed there.  He lifted his head, then dropped it back, unresponsive.

There was a hint of a smile on Asher's lips as he turned to face her, but as he lunged toward her she swung the piece of wood, smashing it against his temple.  He stumbled back, reaching for the wall to steady himself.  She backed toward the door, her eyes flicking from Max to Asher and back again.  It was difficult to see with only the moon's eerie light illuminating the room, but she was sure she saw his chest rise and fall.  If she led Asher away from here, Max would be alright.   

Asher raised his gaze to Lila.  The darkness she'd seen as a flicker many times was there in full force.  She'd seen the vulnerable side of Asher, and even when she was afraid of what he might do, she knew it was still there, cowering beneath the surface.  She never truly believed Asher could kill her.  That vulnerability was not there now.  The Asher that glared calmly at her was capable of anything.

She rushed down the hall, glancing over her shoulder as he lumbered after her.  One hand caught hold of the railing as she flew down the stairs, ignoring the throbbing in her ankle.  The front door was open.  She ran for it, feeling his fingers graze her shoulder as she crossed the threshold. 

Not daring to look behind her, she focused on the wheat field across the street.  She didn't want to lead Asher toward Juniper's hiding place on her left, or turn right and head further out of town.  If she ran through the wheat and veered left, she would come to houses again, and maybe someone would help her. 

As she reached the edge of the field, a woman's voice called out behind her.  She turned around, feeling her lungs burn as she took a huge breath and let it out.  Asher wasn't behind her.

She squinted, trying to place the feminine figure blocking Asher in the street.  She moved to get a better view.  It was Erica.

“
Erica, run! Get help.  Max is hurt.”

Erica didn't so much as turn her head.  Asher stood a few feet away, his hands raised as if he was afraid of her.  Then Lila saw the gun in Erica's hand. 

“Using my daughter was never part of the plan,” Erica said.

“
Neither was killing an old man,” Asher snarled.  “Clint was the closest thing to family I had.”

Erica shrugged.  “You're right.  Plans change.  One of us had to stop him from telling her what was in the house.”

Lila gasped.  She knew she should run away, but she had to hear more.  Asher took a step closer, and Erica's arm stiffened in warning.

“
You only made a mess of things, got the nosiest people in town involved.  That made my situation very difficult.  I had to improvise, sweetie.”

“
Is that what you're going to call it?  It seems like you just tried to cut me out when you saw that Isaac's niece was a pretty little blonde thing.  Just marry her and have joint ownership of everything.  Never mind that she's your cousin.” 

Lila pressed her hands to her mouth.  It was true.  David had a son somewhere along his travel route.

“Not by blood,” he answered angrily.

Erica's mocking tone turned to anger.  She turned her head slightly as if she were talking to Lila, and raised her voice.  “He said it was best for me to leave town so no one saw us together, to avoid complications.  I could get a better settlement, he could get the house from you, and we could get out of here.

She lowered her voice, and Lila strained to make out the words.  “Good thing you're so transparent, Asher.  It wasn't hard to figure out what was going on.  I've been here watching you screw things up for a long time.  It was fun.  I knew she was playing you long before you figured it out.  She's got her eye on someone else.”  Erica raised her voice again.  “Someone who's wrapped around my finger.”  She laughed.  “Love triangles are getting so tired.”

Asher grunted angrily, and stepped forward again.  She pointed the gun at his chest and he stopped.  “Erica, I meant everything I said.  I would never have abandoned you.  I can get you out of this.” 

              Lila recognized his smooth tone, and apparently Erica had him figured out as well.  She held the gun firmly.  “
You
couldn't keep ahead of a bunch of old ladies.  Things fell apart quickly without me to help you along.  You didn't even use the drugs I sent until Lila turned you down.”  She laughed.  “That was embarrassing.  Wasn't that an Armani suit?”               

Lila's stomach sunk.  Clint's killer had been watching her after all.              

Asher leaped toward Erica.  A gunshot echoed through the streets, missing Asher, before he landed on her.  Lila cringed as Erica's head hit the concrete.  Asher reached for the gun, but Erica fired again.  Asher jolted backward, crying out in pain as he grabbed his shoulder.  He snatched the gun and knocked Erica in the head with it.  Lila gasped, backing into the brittle wheat, and Asher's eyes met hers.  He started toward her, his steps unsteady at first.  Then his pace quickened.

Lila turned and ran into the wheat, wishing it was tall enough to hide her.  She had a head start, and there was a small grove of trees ahead.  If she could make it that far she'd be out of the open.  There would be places to hide, and the houses were not far from there.

“Lila.”  Asher's voice was close.  She heard the swish of wheat behind her in between her own noisy steps.  “Turn around, or I'll shoot.”

She stopped and turned slowly.  He had the gun pointed at her.  “Truth be told, I'll shoot anyway.  This has all gotten very messy.  But if I'm not getting rich, I can still get something out of this.  I can take someone away from that old crone.  Someone who is important to her.  Just like she took my father from me.” 

“You're not
him
, Asher.” 

For a split second the vulnerable Asher showed through his eyes.  “I'm sorry, Lila.”  Then he blinked his eyes and the cruel Asher, the shadow of his father, was back.  He pulled the trigger.  Lila's breath caught in a moment that seemed to last forever.  Nothing happened.

Asher cursed and threw the gun.  Lila took her chance, and ran.  Her foot caught on a dirt clod and she fell face first into the wheat.  The hard ground knocked the wind out of her.  She heard him catch up with her, felt him standing over her.  She was so tired.  The adrenaline rush that kept her going had worn off.  She wrapped her arms around her head, squeezing tightly, and waited.

There was a sharp clang and a heavy thud.  After several seconds she rolled over, confused, and looked up.  Gladys stood over her, a shovel in hand.  A body lay crumpled at her feet.  Gladys shook her head slowly, tsking.  “I
had
hoped I'd never have to do that
again.”  She sighed.  “Better go round up the ladies.”

Chapter 28

Anything for Love

They stood in a circle around the body, heads bowed.  Lila wanted to fall beside Asher and check his vital signs to see if there was any life left in him.  But she'd seen death enough to know what it looked like, and had accepted that she was no match for it.  Besides, she was shaky and weak, and had the feeling if she and Ada weren't supporting each other, both of them might collapse. 

A deep ache in Ada's eyes told Lila she knew who lay on the ground before them, and that it was just part of a long and painful story.

“
We heard all of it,” Ada whispered, catching Lila's glance.  “We arrived just before you ran from the house.  We hid and waited for our chance.”  Tears welled up in her eyes, and Lila gripped her tighter.

Ada took a deep breath and tipped her chin, then called everyone to order.  “Where is Juniper?  Is she still in the house.”

Lila shook her head.  “She's at your house.  Safe.”  Her chest filled with panic as she remembered Max lying on the floor upstairs.  “But Max is still inside.  Upstairs.  He's hurt.”  She glanced back toward the house.

“
Gladys,” Ada began, “go to my house and find your June Bug.”  Ada took the shovel from Gladys and dropped it on the ground.  Then she wrapped her arms around her.  “Thank you, Gladys.  I'm sorry you got dragged into this again.”

Gladys put a soft palm on Ada's cheek, and one on Lila's.  “I'm sorry too.  At least I feel like I should be sorry.”  She dropped her head and shuffled off through the wheat. 

Ada wiped her eyes and surveyed the group.  “Matilda, you check on Max.”

Lila gasped.  “What about Erica?  Did you leave her alone?”

“She was out cold,” Ada said.  “Leona, go sit with her.  Don't let her leave.  We can't call the sheriff just yet.  We're out of get-out-of-jail-free cards.”  Leona saluted and followed Matilda.

“
Betsy, you and I will pull the body through the field.  Lila, you've been through enough.  You can't have much left in you.  And that ankle is in bad shape.”  Ada bent down and ran her fingers along it.  “You should go back to my house and join Gladys.”

“
No.  I'm staying until it's over.”

Ada nodded.  “I figured as much, but I'd rather you went and helped back at the house.  You'll be eager to check on Max anyway.”  She raised a brow at Lila, then she looked down, her face troubled.  “We'll have to find a way to  lay this boy to rest in the pond with his father.” 

A chill burrowed deep inside Lila.  “Why do we have to do that?  We should call Sheriff Larson.  He isn't going to put Gladys in jail over this.  Asher had a gun.”

“
Lila, the last time I was too proud to admit what I let David do to me.  He rarely left a mark, but he was cruel, and that night I knew he would kill me.”  Ada stared at Asher's face with glassy eyes, and Lila was certain her aunt was seeing someone else lying there. 

“
I was also afraid.  Can you imagine if Gladys landed in jail for protecting me?  Isaac took care of the body.  It devastated him, being involved it.  That's partly why he left.  But he knew it made him look guilty, too.  Especially since he and David fought so much.  If there was a search, he was determined to make a trail;  a trail away from Gladys and me.”

“
But they'll believe it this time. There's proof of what Asher was.”

“
I don't want Gladys, or any of them, to have to spend months testifying in court.  And what if something goes wrong?”  Ada shook her head stiffly.  “I'm not willing to take that chance.  Sheriff Larson knows about the last time.  He'll think we've been watching too much 'Arsenic and Old Lace'.  Besides, this seems right to me.  He should rest beside his father.  We have to keep it quiet.”  Ada set her face in the determined way that Lila knew so well. 

Lila looked down at Asher, the dimpled chin, the dark wavy hair.  She thought of the photo on Ada's wall.  With the moonlight shining on his pale skin, the comparison was so striking she wondered how no one had seen it before.  She knew Ada was right.  He would want to be with his father.  Looking at his slack face she was amazed by an unexpected feeling of compassion.  This man had just pointed a gun at her and pulled the trigger.  But she had seen inside of him, and she felt sorry for him. 

“Go on back to the house, honey,” Betsy said, her voice strained with the effort of picking up Asher's right leg.  “They might need your help with Max's crazy ex-wife.  Who would've thought?” 

At the mention of Max's name Lila turned and walked back through the field.  In her fight for survival she had pushed her fears about Max to the bottom of her stomach.  Now they were swelling and twisting there.  The image of him motionless on the floor kept flashing in her mind, but she shook it away, telling herself he had to be okay. 

As she neared the edge of the field she saw a group huddled in the street.  Relief washed through her at the sight of Max crouched down near Leona.  He was examining the back of Erica's head.  He probably didn't know what Erica had done.  Lila considered sneaking away so she wasn't the one who had to tell him.

Then Max looked up, and it was too late.  He left Erica with Leona and was across the street in seconds, wrapping his arms around her.  The horror of the evening came pouring out of her in sobs.  He stroked her hair like he had before until she calmed down.

She pulled back, wincing at his bruised, swollen face.  As he wiped her eyes with his flannel shirt, his brows lowered.  He glared, and she could see the tension in his jaw.  “Leona said he didn't get away.  Where is he?”

“
I'll take you to him.  There's no rush.”

“
I think I was out for a few minutes.  When I came to you were gone.  I'm sorry.” 

“
There's no need to be sorry.”

“
Thank you for helping Juniper.”

“
I owed her one . . . or two,” she answered.  “Did you check on her?”

“
Grandma called.  She's okay.” 

“
And Erica?”

“
She's talking a little.  That's good.  I'm not sure how she knew to come here.”

Lila bit her lip. 

“We didn't get to finish our conversation earlier,” Max said.

There was a dragging sound coming toward them through the wheat, accompanied by an occasional mumbled curse.

“Wait,” Lila said.  “There's something you should see.”

They walked toward the sound and found Ada and Betsy, who were groaning and stretching out their backs, Asher's body lying at their feet.

Max looked down, his eyes wide.  He pushed his finger against the bridge of his nose, as if trying to push up his glasses, which were probably still inside the house.  He shoved his fingers into his hair and stumbled backwards.  “Who—How did this happen?”

“
He hit his head,” Ada said.

“
On a shovel,” Betsy added.

“
We'll discuss the details later,” Ada said.  “Right now we need to take care of this, get him to the pond.  Think you can help us?”

“
Is that necessary?  I mean, can't we just get the Sheriff?” Max asked.

Ada sighed.  “Trust me.  This is in the best interest of all of us . . . particularly Gladys.  After the second time they take your shovel away, and you know how Gladys loves her garden.”

“What does my grandma have to do with this?” Max asked.

Ada took Max's hand, and looked at him with pleading eyes.  “We all need this to be behind us, once and for all, as quickly as possible.  Why don't you explain things to him, Lila.  We'll give you a few minutes.”

Max and Lila sat down, crunching the brittle wheat stalks.  Lila told him about Uncle's David's compromised mental state, his cruelty, and his certainty that Great Grandpa Phillip was hiding a fortune.  She revealed the secret that had been kept for so many years, how his grandma had killed David to protect her friend.  When she mentioned Asher being her cousin his jaw nearly became unhinged.  She left out the part about Erica.  That could wait. 

“
So will you help?” she asked.

“
Will I dispose a body for you?”  His voice rose, incredulous.

“
And for your grandma.”

“
For my sweet grandmother who's killed a man with a shovel on two separate occasions?”  He pressed a hand to his forehead and closed his eyes.

“
She's stronger than she looks.”

He blinked hard a few times.  “Sorry.  I've taken enough hits to the head tonight that I'm having a hard time processing all this.”  Max lowered his head, exhaling slowly before looking at Lila.  He took her hand.  “Assuming this is really happening, sure. I'd like nothing better than to throw the man who drugged you and kidnapped my daughter in a lake.  I'm at your service.”

“Thank you.”  Lila paused, afraid to ask the question.  “You won't leave will you, like Grandpa?”

“
I'm not going anywhere.  Lila, you have to listen to me now.  Erica stopped loving me years ago.  It took me longer.  But all there is between us now is Junie.  Then she showed up out of the blue.  She just brought all her bags in and insisted on staying.  She said it would just be a couple of days.  I couldn't throw her out, or make a big scene with Junie around.  I knew she had an agenda for being here.  All I could do was camp out on the couch and try to figure out what it was.” 

Lila squirmed, dreading having to tell Max what she knew, as he continued.  “But all I could think about was how to explain the situation to you, without knowing for sure how you felt about me.  Then Doug told me you went out with Asher, and I thought I was wrong.  I mean, I thought I'd misinterpreted things.  I'm not very good at this stuff.”  He looked at her, clearly flustered, as if he was hoping she'd save him from trying to explain any more.

“You weren't wrong.”

He sighed and grinned.  “Good.”  Max reached his hand out, touching her cheek.

Lila pulled back.  “Wait.”

“
I'm sorry.”  Max pulled his hand back.  “I misunderstood, then.”

“
No, it's just—”

Max's gaze followed hers to Asher's body.  “Oh.  I guess—”

“It seems . . . kind of inappropriate.”

Max took her hand and they stood.  He led her out of sight of Asher, then pulled her in close and kissed her.  It sent sparks clear to her toes, like when she stood up in that ferris wheel and looked down, only in a good way.       

“Mmm, I think I found out what your gypsy super-power is.”

“
Do you want me to do it again, to make sure?”

“
Yes.”  As he kissed her again, she reached her hands around his head and buried her fingers in his hair.

Max winced.  “Ouch.  That hurts.”

“Oh, I'm sorry.  I forgot.”

“
No, that's good.  I think it means this is really happening,” Max said.

“
We should get you to a doctor.”

“
Did I ever tell you I love your new haircut?”

“
No.”

“
I do.  You shouldn't be walking on that ankle.”  Max tried to scoop Lila into his arms, but as he began lifting her he swayed. 

Lila stopped him.  “And you probably have a concussion.”  She wrapped an arm around him and they supported each other as they walked through the wheat field.  As they joined the women in the street, red and blue lights flashed across the pavement.  Lila stiffened and squeezed Ada's hand.  “Why did you call the sheriff.  We're not ready.”

“It's fine,” Ada answered.  We need to get her out of here.” She motioned to Erica, who was sitting up, with Matilda and Leona on watch.  “Just make sure you tell Sheriff Larson that Asher got away.  Then we'll take care of the other thing.”             

“
But Max doesn't
know
,” Lila said, jerking her head toward Erica.

“
What don't I know,” Max asked, his eyebrows rising.  “There's
more
?”