Lillian strolled toward the bay window. “I’m sure you don’t want to discuss us, but I do. Think of it as a last request.”
Casey sat in the rocking chair and watched Mother.
“Have I caused you so much pain that you still can’t talk about the past, Casey?”
She rocked back and forth. “I’ve never felt I was important to you.” She couldn’t quite meet her mother’s eyes. “Now, well, you’re not someone I’d choose for a friend.”
“That’s a shame,” her voice faltered, “because I’d choose you.”
“I’m a hard friend to make. I ask for honesty and trust.”
Lillian perched on the arm of the sofa. “I was honest with you the other day, wasn’t I? It’s the only meaningful gift I have.”
Casey wasn’t sure she wanted this gift.
“You’ve gone to a lot of trouble to understand the past,” Lillian continued. “You’re entitled to the whole truth.”
“Speaking of which, have you been in touch with Darcy since late yesterday afternoon?”
“No, and I’ve dumped that maniac.” Anger flashed across her face. “I’m sorry your friend was shot. Theo told me what happened.”
Casey stopped rocking. “Did he also tell you that Darcy murdered Dad and that I heard him practically admit it on tape?”
Watching Mother’s complexion turn the color of chalk almost made Casey feel sorry for her. After she highlighted what she’d heard, Casey added, “And this is the piece of shit you chose for a lover?”
“Darcy may have acted on Theo’s orders.”
“Prove it.”
Lillian removed a cigarette and lighter from her purse. “Theo had Gustaf take Marcus’s place only days after the murder. Doesn’t that imply premeditation?”
It did.
“Gustaf was a perfect likeness and too well rehearsed. They’d planned this a long time.” Her hand trembled as she lit the cigarette. “He looked and acted so much like Marcus, on the surface anyway. At first it was easy to pretend . . .” The sentence dissolved as she dragged on the cigarette.
“And you went along with the charade.” Casey stood. “You’ve been playing Theo’s game for years.”
“I didn’t know much about Theo’s shadier deals for a long time. Remember, I was just the courier, the delivery person. Eventually, I learned more and wanted to leave, but he wouldn’t let me walk away.”
“Uh-huh. Rhonda thinks you’d do or say anything to protect yourself.”
“Rhonda’s not fit to judge me!”
Casey wouldn’t let the anger faze her. “You’ve been playing games yourself, and a really cruel one with Rhonda.”
Lillian’s appraising look lasted a long time. “Rhonda’s hung onto you all these years by making you feel sorry for her. When did you decide to compensate her for my mistakes?”
“Compensate?”
“By becoming the daughter she always wanted, until Summer came along, anyway. Rhonda latched onto your kindness, then brainwashed you.” As she took another drag on her cigarette, Lillian’s hands shook harder. “She’s been holding you emotional hostage ever since.”
“That’s not true.”
“The truth,” Lillian replied, her voice rising, “is that Rhonda fell in love with Marcus years ago and never stopped trying to drive a wedge between him and me.”
“You’re the one who had the affairs, Mother.”
“And Rhonda couldn’t wait to tell Marcus about them, but he knew she was trying to break us up. She was so smug and self-righteous from her perch until I forced her into the muck by seducing her husband.”
“That was disgusting.”
“And a mistake. It made destroying my marriage so much easier for her.”
“You expect me to believe that?”
“Do you think Rhonda wanted you to know that she planned to ruin my life? She’s been terrified of the truth for years, Casey. And the truth is she’d been obsessed with Marcus since you were a toddler.”
Memories of conversations began to surface: arguments between her mother and Rhonda; Mother warning Rhonda to keep her mouth shut; Rhonda threatening to ruin her.
“Did Rhonda actually tell you she was in love with Dad back then?”
“No, but I could see it in her face.”
Casey didn’t try to hide her contempt. “Why is it that when the conversation turns to men, you sound like a paranoid nut?” She returned Mother’s scowl. “Dad fell in love with her by choice.”
“Rhonda didn’t hang around me all those years without learning a thing or two about manipulation through emotional blackmail. She worked Marcus well; wore him down until he gave in.” Lillian blew a cloud of smoke into the air. “In some ways she was good for him. But once he met Gislinde, how long do you think his interest in Rhonda lasted?”
Casey turned away. She didn’t want to go down this road anymore.
“Rhonda did a marvellous job of keeping you ignorant. Offering you shelter when you were most vulnerable was especially effective.” Lillian stood. “It’s time you saw things for what they are, not for what you want them to be or were conditioned to believe.”
“What I see is two middle-aged women stuck on old issues. You can’t let go of Rhonda any more than you could Dad.”
Casey also saw a woman who’d spent so much time with people like Theo and Darcy that she would stoop to murder to get what she wanted. The woman had become one scary stranger.
“If I have trouble letting go,” Lillian said, “it’s because Rhonda has you and that is so wrong.”
“I live my own life, Mother.”
“How’s that possible when you live under her roof?”
“Staying here is only temporary.”
“You call two years temporary?”
“I call it none of your business.”
“You play the victim role too well, Casey. Marcus’s death and your husband’s infidelity made you weak. You wound up relying on anti-depressants and shrinks and Rhonda. That is not what I wanted for you. You should have lived more selfishly, my darling.”
“Like you?”
“Listen to me.” Lillian stepped closer. “I don’t want you to be controled or influenced by anyone, and I don’t want you to break down every time you suffer a major loss. Since we might not meet again, this is really what I wanted to tell you.”
Casey smelled her mother’s lavender scent and moved away. “Was your desire to say it here based on a need to hurt Rhonda again?”
“She’s already hurt herself more than I ever could. It’s over. There’s no point in staying to watch the end. The idea has no appeal.”
“What end?”
The door opened.
“The end of me and Lillian,” Rhonda said, entering the room.
The hatred on Rhonda’s face shocked Casey. She retreated to the window seat.
Ashes fell from Lillian’s cigarette as she glowered at Rhonda. “Still haven’t squashed those eavesdropping tendencies, I see.”
Rhonda sauntered up to her. “Coming here was stupid, Lillian, which is why I’m happy you did, but if you were hoping to turn my daughter against me—”
“Why is
“Because she wants to.”
No, Casey thought, not anymore.
“It’s only fair,” Rhonda added, “since you took my husband from me.”
