“No one can know about me,” he’d told her. “You have to pretend you still hate me.”
“Got it covered,” she’d said succinctly. The prospect of helping track down her granddaughter’s killer had revitalized her. Steel wasn’t sure if he believed she could keep a secret, but there wasn’t much he could do about it now.
“I always knew it wasn’t an accident,” she’d told him several more times since then. “I knew someone had it in for her.”
Now that someone else had bought into his theory, his own doubts were creeping in. If he was wrong, he’d given Marion false hope and was wasting everyone’s time—including his own.
“Where did Liz get to? She’s still not back,” Mary asked. She and Stella were in the Top Spot Café, much to Stella’s chagrin, where they’d met for a quick lunch with the twins. Mary had been taking them everywhere she could think of, trying to entertain them during the summer holidays since they hadn’t made any friends here yet. Stella had suggested they check out Runaway Lake.
Now that Olivia had taken on the responsibility for the fundraiser, she had taken a backup role. Monica had accepted the change with equanimity and seemed to find the whole Turner/Cooper feud over the Founder’s Prize funny. After a couple of days had passed, and Olivia’s cheerful questions and praise over the work she’d already done had smoothed Stella’s feathers, she found it possible to participate and enjoy herself again. In fact, she was enjoying herself more now that all the responsibility for the event wasn’t on her shoulders.
She had to admit Olivia had a knack for organizing things. For her part, Stella was enjoying contacting school teachers, church groups and more to come up with a list of teenagers who might volunteer on the day of the Olympics. She hoped Liz and Justin might get involved, and Monica had been more than happy to have Mary bring them to visit and take a dip, and she’d even let the twins take out a canoe for a paddle. Even Liz seemed slightly more cheerful when they met to eat. Justin was over the moon about the treehouse cabins and the idea that one day they’d be fixed up enough for him to explore.
“I guess Liz is still at the corner store,” Stella told her mother now. Justin was out on the sidewalk waiting for them. She had just settled the bill, and as they made their way out of the restaurant, she looked up and down the street but didn’t see any sign of her stepsister, who’d asked to run and grab a bag of chips for later. “Let’s go meet her. She’s certainly taking her time.”
“Maybe she can’t decide what kind to get,” Mary said. “Don’t you have to get back to work?”
“I still have a minute or two.” Stella glanced at her phone.
“I’ll go find Liz.” Justin loped off down the road. Two minutes later he was back—without his sister. “She’s not there,” he said and shrugged.
Mary sighed. “Where could she have gotten to?”
“I’ll try texting her.” Justin was already fumbling with his phone. They were waiting for a reply when Stella spotted Steel rounding the corner.
He saw her about the same time and slowed his steps. She had a feeling he was deciding whether to approach or walk the other way, which she understood completely given recent circumstances. After all, she’d seen him chatting with Sue and her friends just days before her death. He’d hinted he was trying to fix things in Silver Falls, but she had no way of knowing if he was lying. Still, Steel was her neighbor growing up. She’d known him all her life, and she’d never seen him hurt anyone. She took matters into her own hands. “Steel—have you seen a teenage girl with dyed blonde hair? I’m looking for my stepsister.”
He hesitated. “About five foot five?” he guessed. “Blue shirt?”
“That’s right.” Stella’s heart thumped in relief. “Where is she?”
He shook his head. “I’d better take you to her. Come on.” He took off in a half jog similar to Justin’s gait when he’d headed to the corner store to find Liz. Stella followed suit, glad she was dressed casually. She kept up easily with the pace he’d set, and soon she spotted Liz ahead of them.
“Liz,” she shouted.
Her stepsister stopped and reluctantly waited for them to catch up.
“Mom’s about frantic waiting for you. Why’d you take off like that?” She ushered Liz back the way they’d come, Steel following behind them.
“Just looking around.”
“Thank goodness Steel saw you.”
“Whatever.”
They reached Mary and Justin a few minutes later.
“Where’d you go, Liz?” Mary asked. “You gave us a scare.”
“Thought these small towns were supposed to be so safe. That’s what you told the judge in Ohio,” Liz retorted.
“For the most part, they are,” Stella said, “but you’re new here. You don’t know your way around. What if you got lost?”
“I’m not going to get lost in a town with one stoplight.”
“You need to worry about more than getting lost,” Steel put in. “There’s a serial killer working these parts, and more than one teenage girl has wound up dead.”
“A serial killer?” Liz repeated. “You’re putting me on.”
“No, I’m not.”
She waved him off. “Grown-ups always try to scare you when they want to control you.”
“You want to head down to the morgue for a look at the last victim?”
“Steel!” Stella caught his gaze and held it. She couldn’t believe he’d even brought it up. He shook his head.
“Sorry. I’d better go. Glad your sister turned up safe.”
They all watched him walk away.
“What a loon,” Liz said, loud enough he probably heard, but he kept
