Don't Close Your Eyes Part 21

"You and your friends?" He flashed the smile that at first had struck Natalie as open. Now it seemed studied. "Would that be Lily and Tamara Peyton?"

"Well, yes. How did you know?"

"When I was in Curious Things I could tell you were a good friend of Lily. Tamara was her twin. Simple deduction." The smile. "It really is terrible about Tamara. People in town have told me the details of her murder. She was found on this road, wasn't she?"

"Yes."

"By Lily and you." She nodded. "h.e.l.l of a thing. Who do you suppose would want to kill a lovely young woman like Tamara?"

"That's what the police are wondering."

"Then her husband and that Bishop woman. They must have been involved. Did Tamara know?"

"I have no idea," Natalie said faintly. She was growing alarmed. He was asking too many questions, watching her too intently. "I really have to be getting back."

"Why were you running? You looked like you were scared to death."

"Did I?" She forced a smile. "What you saw was strain, not fear. I haven't run for a long time."

"That wasn't a simple jog I saw. Tell me. What's wrong?"

You're scaring the h.e.l.l out of me, that's what's wrong, Natalie thought. She wouldn't show it, though. "Nothing is wrong. I just ran too far too fast and I started to feel sick. I'm fine now.".

"You don't look fine." He moved one step closer. "You're very pale."

Blaine emitted a low growl. Jeff barely looked at her. His gaze held Natalie's.

"I am fine." Turn around and walk, part of her said. Another part told her not to turn her back on this man. It would be easy for him to grab her and pull a knife neatly across her throat. "Did you drive out here? I didn't see a car."

"It's parked over there." He motioned vaguely toward the end of Tamara's street. "I've been around here for hours."

"Then you must be ready to go back. Walk with us."

"Wouldn't you like to see the Saunders house? You said you haven't been there for a long time."

No, dammit! she screamed inwardly. Should she chance it and turn away? He certainly didn't seem intimidated by Blaine and she couldn't stand here forever.

"Hi! How're you doin'?"

A kid's voice. Jeff looked past Natalie. She turned her head. A black-haired boy rode a bike toward them. "Hi!" she called gaily as if she knew him. He looked familiar. Wasn't he the boy who'd hung around the day they found Tamara's body?

"I saw you come out the road, Natalie," he said, grinding to a halt beside her and hopping off his bike. "You brought Blaine. Hi, girl."

Natalie? Blaine? How did he know their names? "She looks a lot better than the first time you saw her, doesn't she?" Natalie asked.

"She sure does." He looked at Jeff. "I'm Jimmy Jenkins. I live in that big blue house across from the Hunts."

"Jeff Lindstrom." Tight voice. Tight smile. "Nice to meet you, Jimmy."

"Do you live around here?"

"No. Just visiting. Natalie and I were headed back. Are you going to the Saunders house?"

Jimmy shook his head. "I don't care about that old house. I just came out to see Natalie and Blaine. I'll walk with you guys."

Bless you, Natalie thought. Jimmy grinned at her. He'd known something was wrong and he'd come to her rescue. She felt like throwing her arms around him.

When they reached the paved street, Jeff gave them an overly hearty farewell and began striding east. Natalie looked at Jimmy. "Thanks."

He shrugged. "No big deal. I saw him hanging around here eyeing the Hunts' house. Then he went out Hyacinth Lane. Then you came and I saw you take off running. I thought something was wrong."

"I was supposed to meet Lily here. When she didn't show up I got scared. I saw vultures flying around and... well, I thought of Tamara, but it was only a dead opossum."

"I've been around here all day and I haven't seen Lily."

Natalie frowned. "You couldn't have missed her?"

He flashed that grin again. In a few years he'd be a heartbreaker. "The way she drives her 'Vette? I couldn't have missed her screeching into the driveway."

"I don't understand," Natalie muttered. Then: "Jimmy, how did you know my name and the dog's?"

"Paige Meredith told me. We're friends."

"Oh, I see." Natalie remembered Paige mentioning a "Jimmy" four or five times last night. She obviously had a crush on him. "I'm certainly glad you came after me."

"I had to. There's something creepy about that guy." Jimmy looked at the ground and frowned. "I thought I saw something drop out of his pocket. There it is."

He pointed. Natalie bent and picked up an object. It sparkled in spite of the overcast day.

"What is it?" Jimmy asked.

"A silver and amethyst earring," Natalie said thinly. "It belonged to Tamara."

"You sure?"

"Yes. I gave these earrings to her for her birthday." Natalie frowned and asked slowly, "Could he have just found this on Hyacinth Lane?"

"Maybe." Jimmy looked at her solemnly. "Or else he's been carrying it around since the night Tamara got murdered."

12.

WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON.

The red Corvette sat in front of Lily's apartment. Natalie, Blaine standing beside her, knocked on the door. In a minute Lily appeared. She wore a robe and her eyes were red and slightly swollen. "Natalie," she said without inflection. "I didn't know you were coming."

"May I bring in the dog?"

"Of course. I love dogs." She shut the door. The draperies were pulled. The only light in the room came from a television. A soap opera played with the sound turned low. "Do you want something to drink? Juice? Soda? Coffee?"

"Wine."

Lily raised an eyebrow, a ghost of a smile playing around her mouth. 'It's just past noon, Natalie St. John. What would your father say?"

"The same thing he'd say if it were ten p.m." She deepened her voice. "My darling girl, alcohol is not good for you."

"You obviously disagree," Lily said, pulling a bottle of wine from the refrigerator.

"At the moment it's exactly what I need. I've had quite a nerve-wracking morning, thanks to you."

"Thanks to me?" Lily poured white wine in a gla.s.s, then ran water into a bowl and set it on the floor. Blaine lapped loudly. "What did I do?"

"You called me," Natalie said, walking back into the living room and sitting down on the couch.

"I didn't call you this morning."

"Lily, your voice is on the answering machine. You said something like, 'Natalie, it's Lily. I'm at Tamara's. Meet me. It's urgent.' "

Lily stared at her for a moment. "Natalie, I did not call you. And I don't ever remember using the word urgent. And why would I be at Tam's? Why would I want you to meet me? What time did the call come?"

"Around ten."

"And it sounded like my voice?"

"Yes, but rushed and breathless."

"So it wasn't exactly like my voice."

"Well, no." Natalie paused. "And you said Tamara instead of Tam."

"I didn't say anything. I'm telling you, it wasn't me. Don't you believe me?"

"Yes, but I don't understand why someone wanted me to go to Tam's."

"Did you go?"

Natalie nodded. "You weren't there so I wandered around a bit. Then I..." She hesitated. She didn't want to remind Lily of the vultures. "I thought you might have gone down Hyacinth Lane to the Saunders house. On the way I ran into Jeff Lindstrom."

"Jeff Lindstrom?" Lily looked blank.

"The guy who was in your store yesterday morning. Lily, he was weird."

"He didn't seem weird in the store."

"Today he was like a different person. He asked me questions about Tamara and Warren and Charlotte."

Lily closed her eyes. "I suppose everyone is talking about them."

"These weren't the questions of someone expressing normal curiosity. He was so intense. He kept looking right into my eyes and coming closer. He asked if Tamara knew Warren was having an affair with Charlotte."

"The son of a b.i.t.c.h." Lily's tired eyes filled with tears. "My poor sister was pregnant at last and Warren was s.c.r.e.w.i.n.g around with Charlotte."

"Pregnant?" Natalie echoed. "You didn't tell me."

"Sheriff Meredith just told Dad and me after the autopsy. She was eight weeks along. Do you know how badly Tam wanted a baby?"

"Yes." Natalie reached out and touched her hand. "Lily, I'm so sorry. I know that doesn't help."

"Nothing can help. Tam is gone. The baby is gone." Lily shuddered. "Oh, G.o.d."

"Lily-"

She held up a silencing hand. "No. Don't indulge me. I have to pull myself together. I was doing better yesterday until I heard about the baby. I need to be strong, though. There's the visitation tonight and the funeral tomorrow." She drew a deep breath. "Tell me more about Jeff."

"Well, obviously he made me uncomfortable with all those questions. I said I had to go, but he wouldn't move. I was getting scared, when Jimmy Jenkins came flying up on his bike. After Jeff left, Jimmy told me he'd been hanging around Tam's house earlier."

"What do you suppose he's up to?"

"I don't know. I'm going to call Nick Meredith this afternoon and ask him to check out this guy."

"Good idea. He's not Tam's murderer, though."

"You don't know that."

"Oh yes I do," Lily said vehemently. " Warren killed Tamara. I know it."

"And left that note saying something about tombs?" Natalie said, careful to sound vague about the quotation. She had not told Lily about the anonymous phone call or the voice in The Blue Lady. As far as Lily knew, Natalie had only seen the quotation once, briefly, on a blood-stained note. "Why would Warren do that?"

Lily's attention quickened. "I think he left the note to throw off the police, to make them think some nut killed my sister. He was a psychologist-it's the kind of thing he would think of."

Natalie was taken aback. She hadn't liked Warren, but she knew he was extremely bright. If he were capable of killing Tamara to get rid of her, the murder would be care fully plotted. He'd already lied about his alibi for the night of the murder. He'd even somehow coerced someone into verifying the alibi. But why had he invented an alibi in the first place? Simply because he had no alibi and he was afraid he would be the number-one suspect? Or because he was guilty?

"If Warren killed Tamara, then who killed Warren and Charlotte?" Natalie asked evenly as the simmering hatred in Lily's eyes alarmed her.

"I don't know. I don't care. If I'd had any idea what Warren had been doing to my sister..."

"You'd have killed him yourself?"

Lily blinked and her expression grew guarded. "Now you think I'm a murderer? Natalie, I would have felt like killing him, but feeling and doing are different things."

For the first time in their long friends.h.i.+p Natalie felt a flicker of doubt about Lily. She hated the feeling. Would she be having it if Nick Meredith hadn't raised the possibility that Lily had killed Warren and Charlotte? Lily looked at her questioningly, and she realized she hadn't responded.

"I understand how you must have felt about Warren," Natalie said quickly. Then she thought of the other possible killer she had discussed with Nick. "How is Alison doing now that her beloved is dead?"