Page 70 of Unburied

“Those flowers.” She nodded toward the lilies. “I helped her plant those.”

“Right...” Though she didn't look directly at him, she imagined him nodding, processing her words.

“That's not what I mean.” She shook her head and met his gaze. “I mean, she waited until years after Christine's death to plant the flowers supposedly in her memory. Why would she do that?”

Realization dawned in his eyes. Though she didn’t dream as often anymore, those visions still weren’t entirely clear. They altered from night to night, almost as if her brain was trying to pull memories free a little at a time. Though she never actually reached the end of the dream, there was no doubt in her mind that the two things were somehow interconnected.

“What if…” she tried again. “What if he hurt Christine, then tried the same thing with me? What would Ellen do if she found out?”

“I'd have killed him,” Mason said quietly.

She drew in a sharp breath before continuing. “And if you killed someone spur of the moment and were afraid to go to the police…”

“You would need to hide the body,” Mason supplied, his gaze sweeping across the yard and over the lilies. “And what better way to do that than bury him in her own backyard?”

He pushed to his feet and strode toward the calla lilies. “Elijah could have helped her hide the body and get rid of his things.”

“Could have.” But something still didn't fit. “Why don't I remember any of this?”

Mason shrugged. “I have no idea. Maybe you weren't there that night.”

“Maybe,” she conceded as she stared up at him. “I know this sounds totally crazy.”

“Desperate people do desperate things all the time. I think anything is worth looking into.”

Mason turned and headed for the shed, and she moved toward the flowerbed. A moment later, he appeared by her side and passed her a shovel. A twinge of guilt assailed her as she sank the tip of the spade into the earth and uprooted a half dozen bulbs. If they were wrong, she was going to feel absolutely terrible about this. But she needed to know for sure.

An hour later, hot and sweaty, they had made decent progress. The hole they’d dug was about ten feet long and a foot deep. The deeper they went, the thicker and heavier the dirt was.

“I'm going to grab a water.” She set her shovel aside and looked at Mason. “Do you want one?”

He wiped the back of his wrist across his forehead. “Please. I'll keep going.”

She headed into the kitchen and poured two glasses of ice water for Mason and herself. Just as she was getting ready to take them back outside, a knock from the front door drew her attention. Her entire body went rigid as she froze. It was rare for anyone to show up unannounced, and she knew that Mason and she weren't expecting anyone.

Quietly she headed through the living room, making her way toward the front door at an angle, taking care to stay away from all of the windows. She peeked through the little sliver of glass between the curtain and the window frame, and a man's form came into view. As he turned around, Harrison Grant’s profile came into view.

She let out the breath she'd been holding and opened the door. “Harrison.”

He turned toward her, a smile on his face. “Virginia. So good to see you. I saw the vehicle in the driveway, but I thought I’d missed you.”

“We’re here,” she said, keeping her body in the open doorway. “What brings you by?”

“I felt so terrible after that encounter in our office. I just wanted to make sure everything was okay.”

“It's funny you said that. Elijah actually stopped by a couple of weeks ago and apologized. We both put it behind us and have moved on.”

“Good,” he said, his voice full of relief. “I'm glad to hear that.”

His icy blue eyes landed on her hand where it rested along the doorjamb, and his head tipped slightly to the side. She followed his gaze to the dirt beneath her fingernails and fought the urge to curl her hand into a fist to hide them from view.

“Looks like I caught you in the middle of something.” He chuckled.

“Just doing some landscaping,” she said, keeping her voice light.

“I hope you've been taking care of the flowers. Ellen loves them.”

“I know.” She swallowed hard, unease slithering down her spine.