'Maybe your mom had someone lined up already. I'm not saying she knew she would be killed, or even was planning on retiring, but she always interviewed qualified candidates if they approached her. She called it succession planning.'
'Yeah, well, I don't like it. It's like he can hardly wait to remove every trace of her from the factory-and the town for that matter. And Michelle is just as bad. She's having an estate sale tomorrow. Did you know that?'
'I did see a notice at the market,” Mavis said.
'In another week, it'll be just like my mom never lived. I don't see why Michelle's in such a rush. I don't understand why she has to sell the house in the first place. I told her I would pay for things.'
'You know your sister. Once she gets something in her head she can't stop until it's done. She's always been like that. But this community will never forget your mother. There's a plaque in the high school thanking her for her scholarship program. The Community Church dedicated a whole pew to your parents when your mom paid for the children's nursery. Most importantly, there's your sister, your brother and yourself. You are her most important legacy.'
Harriet was moved by Mavis's speech. Maybe Aiden and his sister were just worried about money in the aftermath of their mother's death. But if not them, then who?
'Welcome back,” Aiden said, noticing she was awake. “I thought you were turning into Rip Van Winkle on us.'
'She needs her rest,” Mavis said. “How are you feeling, honey?'
'My headache is better. It's weird-even though I've just slept for hours, I feel like I could lie down and sleep for hours more.'
'Too much sleep isn't good when you've had a bump on the head,” Mavis said. She looked at Aiden. “I read that somewhere.'
'That's true when someone has just been hit in the head and you're waiting for help. You don't want them to go to sleep. But after someone is released from the hospital, rest is the best thing you can do. In this case, though, I think if Harriet's up for it, a walk outside might be just what the doctor ordered.'
'Would you two please stop talking about me as if I weren't in the room?'
'We're just trying to take care of you, honey,” Mavis said.
'Come on, let's give Mavis some peace and quiet. Randy's out in the car. I picked her up while you were sleeping, and by now, I'm sure she's ready to get out and run.'
Harriet didn't want to spend time alone with Aiden. She hadn't had time to sort out her feelings about him. And besides, her life was complicated enough without him in it. Mavis's steadfast belief in him was hard to resist, but there was still the age problem. Here in Foggy Point, women young and old alike seemed to worship the ground he walked on, but life existed beyond the confines of this peninsula. Was she ready to introduce a man almost eleven years her junior to Steve's friends in California, or her college roommate?
She felt guilty just thinking about her embarrassment, and realized the age issue was her hang-up, not his. Still, it wouldn't be fair to him to enter into a relationship she was only willing to acknowledge within the confines of Foggy Point.
She also wondered if Aiden's easy acceptance of their age difference would stand the test of time. Sure, he might find her attractive while she was not yet forty, but would he feel the same when she was fifty or sixty? Not that he had suggested a long-term relationship, but she'd already loved one man who'd promised her a future he didn't provide. She wasn't anxious to set herself up only to end up alone again. Her heart couldn't take it.
She looked back at Mavis. She did look like she could use a little rest. Harriet had brought a lot of excitement into her life in the last few days.
'Okay, I guess a little fresh air wouldn't hurt,” she said.
'Randy will be happy to hear that. Do you have a coat?'
Harriet picked up her purple sweatshirt and put it back on.
'Let's go then.'
He led the way to his rental car. Randy was curled up on the backseat next to the box of personal items Aiden had removed from Avanell's office at the Vitamin Factory. The dog bounded out of the car when he opened the door and ran into the bushes to take care of personal business.
'Kind of sad when your whole career at a place can be reduced to two cardboard boxes,” he said, indicating them.
'Have you gone through the stuff to see if there's anything that could shed light on what happened to your mother?'
He looked at her long and hard. “I didn't fall off the turnip truck yesterday, you know.'
'I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be presumptuous.” She was silent for a moment. “Did you find anything?'
'My mother had very few personal items at the factory. She kept her awards and business gifts at her home office.'
'So, what did you find?” Harriet asked. She was pretty sure she knew the answer, but she wanted to hear what he said anyway.
He unfolded the flap on the first box. “We have a tissue box cover decorated with seashells.” He held it up then put it back. “Some sort of voodoo hat.” He displayed the small stuffed pincushion, glass-headed straight pins stabbed in its crown.
'It's her pincushion,” she explained.
He set it back in the box.
'Here we have a broken hand mirror and a hairbrush with glass fragments stuck in the rubber handle. I'm not sure why she kept a broken mirror, but it must have some significance.'
'Wait,” Harriet said. “Maybe she kept it because it wasn't broken. Maybe it only broke when whatever happened to her happened.'
Aiden turned the mirror and looked at it from all angles. “If it means something, I'm not sure what it would be.” He set it back in the box and picked up the brush. “I can't imagine this brush being involved in anything sinister. I think it had the misfortune of being in close proximity to the mirror after it broke.” He replaced the brush and retrieved the mug with the faded casino logo on its side. “This is a mug Uncle Bertie and Aunt Sheryl brought Mom the first time they went to Las Vegas.” He returned it to the box. “There's not much else here. A bunch of pictures of us kids, some red fabric scraps, not much else. I left the bathroom supplies. Whoever Bertie hired to replace Mom…'
His voice trailed off, and his eyes filled with tears. Harriet took the framed picture he had been holding from his hand, put it in the box and shut the car door.
'I think Randy's ready now,” she said and took his hand.
She led him away from the car toward the edge of the woods. Randy was sniffing and pawing at the ground. When she saw Aiden moving toward her, she ran to him and danced around his feet, wagging her curved tail. He bent down, and she rapidly licked his face, wiping away the tears that had threatened to spill down his cheeks. He smiled and ruffled the hair on the dog's head.
'Let's follow this path down to the water. The founding fathers decided Foggy Point's beaches should have a buffer from civilization, so they created a long narrow green space that runs from Smugglers Cove all the way to the Point. We can connect up to a trail that goes to my mom's house.'
'How do you know so much about the secret paths around here?” Harriet asked, hoping to distract him.
'Four years of running cross-country at Foggy Point High School. I think we ran every road, trail or animal path on this peninsula. It comes in handy now. There are short cuts through almost every neighborhood if you just know where to look.'
Given recent events, she didn't find that fact very comforting.
'Follow me,” Aiden said and headed down the path, Randy hot on his heels.
They'd gone less than a thousand feet when the woods thinned out and the path joined the trail that circled the end of the peninsula. Harriet could now see the water. Randy ran through the remaining brush to the water's edge. In this area, there wasn't anything you could call a beach. A weedy area led to a strip of round rock that led directly into the saltwater of the lagoon.
They stood and watched Randy as she dashed into the water and out again, barking and biting mouthfuls of the salty liquid.
'Has anyone asked you about your mom's show quilt?” Harriet asked.
