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Tears stung my eyes. She’d been temperamental and unhinged, yes, but also capable of change. I’d started to see glimmers of it in the past few days.
But no more.
I glanced up to see Ray and Nana Pratt crowding the doorway.
“She wasn’t very tidy,” Nana Pratt commented.
“No need to speak ill of the dead, Ingrid,” Ray chastised her.
“What should I do with her belongings?”
Nana Pratt eyed a pair of thong underpants on the floor. “A bonfire seems like a good idea.”
“She didn’t die of scarlet fever. I’m not setting fire to her things.”
“Why not?” Nana Pratt asked. “Your friend Brody set fire to her.”
“It was her last request. We chose to honor it.”
I set the unicorn on the floor and stripped the sheets off the mattress to wash them. A sliver of white peeked out from underneath. I tugged the end and removed an envelope from its hiding spot.
“What is it? A journal?” Ray asked. “My daughter used to keep one underneath her mattress.”
“Not a journal.” I peered inside the envelope. “Holy Benjamins.” There had to be thousands of dollars tucked in here.
Ray whistled. “Definitely not a journal.”
“Let me see.” Nana Pratt drifted to the other side of me for a closer look. “Whoa. Good thing you didn’t throw that in the washing machine.”
I stared at the windfall. “I can’t keep it.”
“Don’t be silly,” Ray said. “Of course you can.”
It didn’t feel right. “It isn’t mine.”
“It isn’t hers anymore either. She had no friends or family. She came to you for help, remember? She’d want you to have it.” Ray leaned forward. “How much is it?”
“Enough to buy me more time.”
“And maybe some new ductwork?” he asked in a hopeful tone.
“At least buy a new air conditioning unit for the kitchen before summer arrives,” Nana Pratt said. “You almost melted in there last year.”
“I’ve been nearly broke for months and you’re already spending the money. You’re supposed to be my financial advisor.”
“Keep the money, Lorelei,” Ray insisted. “You’ve earned it.”
“I didn’t keep the treasures in Bruce Huang’s house,” I pointed out.
“Those would’ve been ill-gotten gains, but this money is different,” he said.
“How? This money still came from The Corporation.”
“She was paying you rent with that money, wasn’t she? And yet you accepted it.”
He had a point.
“Besides, now that The Corporation knows who you are and where you live, you’re going to need to upgrade that ward of yours again,” Nana Pratt advised. “Security doesn’t come cheap.”
