“They offed him, did they?” Connor said.
“Yes,” Sheila said. “And if we can speak to the spirit of Jeff, he can tell us what happened to Helena.”
“Why would he want to do that?” Connor asked.
“I don’t see that whatever happened—or didn’t—to Jeff has anything to do with Helena Sanchez,” I said. “We’ve found no connection between Helena, and Jeff and the necklace.”
“That,” Sheila said triumphantly, “is what we’re trying to determine.” She put her hand on my shoulder. “Now that you’re here, Lucy, we need to try again. Louise Jane was about to make contact when you disturbed us with your chatter.”
“Sorry about that,” Connor muttered.
“I had made contact,” Louise Jane said. “‘Appearances can be deceiving.’ That’s what the spirits told me. I’m sure of it.”
“This is all so exciting,” Sheila said. “I have no psychic powers of my own, but I’ve been searching for someone who does, and Helena’s death and the mystery around it is perfect for Louise Jane’s abilities.”
Louise Jane preened.
“I knew we had to act. Quickly now! Let’s form a circle. Four people are more powerful than two.” Sheila reached for Connor’s hand. He jerked it away.
“I want no part of this. Lucy?” He held out his hand to me.
I took it. “Have a nice night,” I called to Louise Jane and Sheila.
“Okay,” Sheila said as we walked away. “Let them go. We don’t need them.”
“Once the link has been made and abruptly broken,” Louise Jane told her, “it can be awful hard to get it back.”
“We have to try!” Sheila insisted.
“Did you want to say something before we were interrupted?” I asked Connor once we were out of earshot.
He sighed. “It’ll keep, Lucy. It’ll keep.”
Chapter Sixteen
“Appearances can be deceiving.”
I tossed and turned most of the night, the phrase running through my mind.
Why on earth I was letting Louise Jane’s crazy fantasies interrupt a good night’s sleep, I didn’t know.
Leaving Louise Jane and Sheila chasing ghosts, Connor and I had walked back to his car. He’d kissed me long and hard before breaking away and studying my face, his expression dark and serious.
“What?” I said.
“There’s never a dull moment with you, Lucy Richardson, is there?”
“Sometimes I think that’s not necessarily a good thing.”
He wrapped one of my curls around his index finger, gave it a gentle tug, and then he laughed. “Let’s keep it interesting, shall we?”
“Yeah. Okay. I guess.”
“Good night, Lucy.”
“Good night.”
He opened the car door, hesitated for a moment, and said, “How about we go away on Saturday evening? I mean really away. Someplace nice and quiet and secluded. My cousin has a vacation house in Rodanthe—nothing fancy, just an old weather-worn cabin near the beach. She’s away at the moment, and anyone in the family’s welcome to use it when she’s not there. We can go up Saturday after you finish work, spend Sunday doing nothing much at all, and have you back Monday morning in time for opening.”
“Sounds perfect,” I said. “I’d like that a lot.”
“Great.” He kissed the top of my head and got in the car.
I walked up the path, knowing he’d be watching until I was safely inside. I hesitated before stepping into the circle of light cast by the lamp over the front door, and looked out over the marsh. I could see no trace of Louise Jane and Sheila’s lights. I’d turned and waved to Connor and let myself into the lighthouse.
The idea of the quick little romantic getaway sounded marvelous. Rodanthe’s a tiny, perfect seaside town of weathered houses on stilts, waves washing over the highway, sand blowing onto everything, and people who truly want to get away from it all. It’s not far from Nags Head, but it seems as though it’s in another world. I love living in the Lighthouse Aerie, but it does sometimes seem as though my personal life and my work life blend into each other more than can be good for me. I couldn’t even go for an evening stroll with my boyfriend without tripping over library business. If the death of Helena Sanchez could be considered library business. And I suppose it could, as she died in the vicinity of the library, in the company of library staff and visitors, after an event at the library.
“Appearances can be deceiving.”
A short break would be nice. Connor, I thought, could probably use it. He’d seemed on edge tonight. His mind had been elsewhere at dinner, and he’d kept patting his suit jacket pocket as if needing to confirm something was there. Important notes or the outline for a speech maybe. When Louise Jane interrupted us on our walk, he’d seemed genuinely angry rather than mildly amused, as he usually was by her antics.
Charles was curled against the small of my back, breathing softly, and I enjoyed his warmth through the sheet and light comforter. But I still couldn’t sleep.
“Appearances can be deceiving.”
They certainly could. I’d had a shock when I’d first seen Tina Ledbetter, thinking for a moment Helena had come back to life.
My eyes flew open and I sat up. Charles protested at being disturbed.
Was it possible Tina had pretended to be Helena the night of the party at the library? I’d mistaken her for her twin when I first saw her. The resemblance to her sister was so strong that when Tina had been watching Bertie’s crowd at the hotel bar, she’d hidden her face under dark glasses and a ball cap so as not to be recognized.
I’d believed Tina couldn’t have killed her sister because Helena had (as far as I knew) been killed by the letter opener, and the letter opener had been in the library alcove during the party. Charlene and I found it in the town hall in the dust-covered boxes of cast-off library supplies. I’d placed it on the table in the alcove as
