“Nope, it certainly wasn’t,” Elle said cheerfully, “and again you couldn’t talk to Gloria about it. You couldn’t say anything against Lionel to her. He would always be the best thing in her life.”

  “And yet she wouldn’t let him have a partner.”

  “Honestly, I don’t think he wanted one. I think he liked the way things were. Something was very odd about him.”

  She nodded. “Let’s hope that everybody’s memories are kind to her.”

  “Yeah, and I don’t quite understand that either.” Elle shook her head. “You can go two ways. You can completely forget about who they truly were and make them to be something that they weren’t, so that everybody is happy, or you can finally come out with the truth, as to what they were really like.”

  “And that’s what you would like to have happen, I presume?”

  “I don’t know. It sounds mean, doesn’t it? But honestly, after a lifetime of keeping it all hidden inside, you wonder.”

  “Anything you’d care to share?” She motioned for Mugs to come to her side. He did so immediately and sprawled on the floor at her feet.

  Elle laughed and shook her head. “Oh no,” she said, “I’m so not ready for that.”

  “Okay,” she said, “as long as it doesn’t have anything to do with murder, then you’re probably totally fine.”

  “Probably?” she asked, her head tilted. “Do you really think that I could change the outcome of any murder in my family?”

  “Oh, absolutely,” she said, “because I think you already know in your heart of hearts what happened.”

  “Ah.” Elle looked at Doreen with a narrow gaze. “You’re dangerous.”

  “No,” she said, “I’m not dangerous at all. I’m just somebody who understands people.”

  “Well, that can make you very dangerous.” Looking around, Elle added, “I’d really hate to lose all of this.”

  “No reason why you should. I’m sure Gloria is taking care of you.”

  “I don’t know about that,” she said. “As much as I’d hate to lose it, I’m back to thinking it still would be a good thing if I did.”

  “Yeah, some of these life lessons can be very hard, but that doesn’t mean that the outcome isn’t what we should have had in the first place.”

  “Exactly, but getting through those life lessons is often painful.”

  Doreen chuckled. “I’m going through a few of those myself.”

  Elle nodded. “So, what do you think I could possibly know that would make a difference in any of these murders?”

  “Well,” she said, “how long was it from the time you called Gloria, before she showed up at the parking lot, where your cousin was killed?”

  She looked at Doreen in amazement. “I don’t know,” she said. “Maybe an hour.”

  “And where was she coming from?”

  “She couldn’t have been very far away, if she arrived in about an hour,” she said. “She told me that she’d gotten worried and came down after him but pulled off on the side of the road for a nap.”

  “And did you believe her?”

  Elle nodded slowly, staring at Doreen in surprise. “You don’t really think that Aunt Gloria had something to do with it, do you?”

  “What did the police say about that?”

  She looked at her, nonplussed. “I don’t know,” she said. “I don’t think I ever heard any thoughts on that.”

  “Interesting,” Doreen murmured, “because, if you think about it, all kinds of motives could be involved in something like this, but I highly suspect that it was very personal.”

  “He was stabbed about thirty times,” Elle said. “Several were around the face and the neck.”

  “Very personal.” Doreen nodded. Thaddeus muttered ominously in her hair.

  “Oh, I don’t know. I don’t see why or what her motive would be.”

  “Maybe he was planning on moving in with somebody and finally leaving her,” Doreen murmured. “Maybe he found out something about Stranden, and he was determined to not let Gloria go off and have a happy life. I don’t know either.”

  “See? That’s the trouble. We can talk until we’re blue in the face, but we’ll never know.”

  “Not necessarily,” she said. “The vehicle could be still in the impound lot here or in Vancouver.”

  “So what? It’ll have her DNA anyway because she drove it a lot. It’ll have the normal things that every vehicle has. And, yes, it’s got Lionel’s blood from his death. But big deal. They never did find any other DNA, as far as I know.”

  And that just accented what Doreen was considering. “And I guess that’s partly why I’m wondering,” she said, “because, when you think about it, when there is nothing else, what remains is the truth.”

  Elle stared at Doreen, walked over a few steps, and half sagged into a nearby chair, sitting beside one of the garden beds. “That would be a lousy thought,” she murmured, “and a definitely lousy idea, leaving me with something like that to think about.”

  “But you’ve already thought about it, I’m sure,” Doreen said.

  “No,” she said honestly, “I hadn’t. You have to understand what their relationship was like. It was almost a love-hate thing.”

  “Of course, plus a dependency between them,” Doreen said.

  “Yes, but I think the dependency was because they cared too much,” Elle replied.

  “That would make sense too,” Doreen murmured. “When you think about it, it’s a hard thing to care, and, if you care too much, you don’t want to lose somebody. But, at the same time, you know that it’s a bad deal to care to that point, so you need to lose the relationship. Like what you were saying about losing this place.”

  “And that sounds lousy too.”

  Doreen shook her head, disturbing Thaddeus’s cozy slump against her neck. “I think you’re wrong.” When she didn’t get a response from Elle, Doreen added, “If you think about it and if anything pops into your mind, let me know.”

  “Okay,” she said.

  Doreen took one last look at the orchid, and then, as she went to leave, Goliath raced forward, as if he couldn’t get out fast enough. Doreen turned back to Elle. “I understand that most orchids are named. What’s the name of this one?”

  She smiled. “Gloria named it My Deepest Love, which makes sense.”

  “Ah, now that’s lovely,” Doreen said, “especially if it is named after Stranden.”

  Elle shook her head. “It was always because of her son.”

  “Well, okay then. I guess that’s lovely too.” And, with that, she turned and walked out, tugging Mugs with her. He raced out to join Goliath on the grass.

  Elle followed her to the front door. “There wasn’t anything inappropriate about their relationship, if that’s what you’re thinking.” She sounded almost defiant about it.

  “I wasn’t thinking that at all,” Doreen replied, looking at her. “Honestly, I just think the interdependency of the relationship was probably pretty rough on everybody.”

  Relief filled Elle’s expression, as she studied Doreen. Then Elle smiled and nodded. “I just wouldn’t want any of those kinds of rumors to go around.”

  “I have better things to do than spread rumors,” she said. “Besides, you know that, once the police release their evidence, I’m sure things will get settled.”

  “Evidence?” Fear seeped through her voice.

  “Oh, I don’t mean that she’s been murdered or anything, but I know that an autopsy was done.”

  “I tried to stop it,” she said. “I couldn’t understand why on earth they would want to have an autopsy, but they said that some concerns had been raised. And I didn’t know what to do, so I just let them do it.”

  “It’s probably for the best,” Doreen said comfortably. “When you think about it, the police are a force unto themselves. So it’s often much better if you just let them do what they need to do.”

  “Maybe,” she said, “but it felt like a betrayal to me.”

  “I’m sorry,” Doreen said. “I don’t think they would have liked that either. I know Mack was a good friend of Gloria’s. I’m sure he would have done everything he could have to avoid unnecessary pain. But he also would want to get to the truth.”

  “You really trust him, don’t you?”

  She turned and looked at her. “Mack? Oh, I definitely do.”

  Elle nodded. “I think what started to break down Gloria’s relationship with Lionel was the lack of trust.”

  “In what way?”

  “He started lying,” she said, “and my aunt could never pin him down. I know they had several big fights about it. He was lying about money, lying about the women, just lying about everything, and it was driving her nuts.”

  “Ouch,” Doreen said. “You know what? I can understand why that would get her fired up.”

  “Me too, but I still don’t think that she would have killed him.”

  “Maybe not,” she said, “but, after his death, she didn’t have anything to do with Stranden anymore, did she?”

  “No, and I was pretty sure that was because she suspected him, so she couldn’t ever be with him. But with what you’re saying—” Then Elle stopped, shook her head. “No. I refuse to believe that my aunt killed him.”

  “No, it doesn’t mean that she did it. It would be nice to know for sure, but, if we don’t have the luxury of getting the truth, we may never know.”

  “What would you need for truth?” she asked.

  “I still come back to the fact that Gloria was down there in Vancouver, when she wasn’t supposed to be.”

  “And I explained that,” she said patiently. “She had a terrible feeling.”

  “Yes, and did she ever say anything about it?”

  “Only that it was the worst day of her life. But she was always very sorry that she never got there in time.”

  “She said that?”

  “Yes, she did.”

  Doreen frowned. “Well then, maybe it’s something completely innocent then.”

  “You could always ask Stranden,” Elle said, “not that he’ll tell you. But he’s the only other person who would know. She contacted him almost right away, and they talked about it for a long time.”

  “Ah,” Doreen said, “and that could be my next step then—if you really think it’ll do any good.”

  “I don’t know why he would talk to you though,” Elle said.

  “Because I think he misses Gloria terribly.”

  “Sure, but for how long? She’s gone, and he’s so old. I don’t think he’ll care either.”

  “Maybe not.” Doreen smiled. “Thank you. I will go talk to him.”

  Elle shrugged. “Let me know what you find out, will you?”

  “Of course I will,” she said, and, with a wave, she headed out with the animals, happy to see Mugs taking care of business in the grass.

  By the time she got into her vehicle and headed toward home, she decided to do a bypass and turned toward Stranden’s. As she pulled into his driveway, he came out and glared at her. She hopped out of her car and smiled. “Hey,” she said. “I’m just checking to see how you’re doing.”

  “No, you’re not,” he said crossly. “You’re checking for information because you’re a nosy busybody.”

  Stunned at his very correct assumption, Doreen winced. “Wow, I must have come across really badly to you.”

  “I know people like you,” he said. “You’re just out to make trouble.”

  “What is trouble to you?” she asked. “Is finding the truth trouble?”

  “Oh, don’t go playing games,” he said. “That’s what everybody always does.”

  “Is that what Gloria did?”

  He nodded. “Oh, she did, indeed. That was the thing she loved the most, games.”

  “With you?”

  “With her son. That’s what the two of them did all the time. It was just enough to drive you crazy.”

  “I have a question for you,” she said, “and I would like the answer.”

  “Doesn’t mean I’ll give it to you,” he said, “particularly if it involves Gloria. I don’t want to see her name besmirched.”

  “No, but what about getting justice for your orchid?”

  “That little bastard is already dead,” he said calmly.

  “And everybody thinks you did it.”

  He shrugged. “They can think it all they want. The police never came and never checked. The police don’t give a crap.”

  “I think they do care, but they didn’t have any proof, so they couldn’t do anything about it.”

  “I didn’t do it, so there is no proof of that,” he said in a testy voice, “and, if that’s all you’re here for, you can leave anytime.”

  “Well,” she said, “I believe you’ll protect her, right?”

  “Of course,” he said. “Why wouldn’t I?” And his eyes dared her to say it.

  “Because I think you know the truth of what happened to Lionel, and I don’t think you killed him.”

  He took a step back. “You’re barking up the wrong tree. Some things are meant to be left alone.”

  “No,” she said, “the truth still needs to come out.”

  “No, it doesn’t,” he yelled at her. “No way any of this needs to happen. She’s dead, and no good will come of it.”

  “I’m assuming that’s because you know that she’s the one who killed her son.”

  He stared at her, the color draining from his face. “I don’t know any such thing,” he said, his voice chilly, “and now you need to leave.”

  She nodded slowly. “And I get that,” she said. “You protected her secret all these years—because you loved her.”

  Tears came to his eyes, as he shifted his gaze to somewhere behind her. “I don’t know what trouble you’ve caused,” he said, “but absolutely no good will come of it.”

  “No, of course not,” she said, “but what about the woman left behind?”

  He looked at her. “Her niece?”

  “Yes, the woman who’s never had a home of her own, the woman who’s always been on the outside, the one who’s never really had a family, except what others doled out to her.”

  He frowned at that. “She’s a nice lady,” he said, “and she was really good to Gloria.”

  “True, so don’t you think she deserves some truth?”

  He snorted. “You know what? The trouble with truth is that it doesn’t always end up being what you expect it to be.”

  “So, does that mean you don’t know what happened?”

  “Oh, I know what happened,” he said, “but it’ll go to the grave with me.”

  And, with that, he turned, stormed back into his house, and slammed the door.

  Chapter 25

  Doreen sat in her car outside Stranden’s place, the animals restless beside her. Finally she pulled out her phone and called Mack.

  “What?” he asked, his voice distracted.

  “I just wonder what happened to the son’s vehicle,” she said. “I was talking to Stranden, and he definitely knows what happened back then, but he’s not talking. Out of his love for Gloria.”

  “Right, and it’s been long enough that Lionel’s truck would have been released to the family a long time ago,” he said, “and, of course, in Stranden’s mind, he’ll think it doesn’t matter anymore after all these years.”

  “Of course not,” she said, “but somehow it does seem to matter.”

  “Why is that?” he asked.

  “Don’t you like closing cold cases?”

  “Sure,” he said, “but not a whole lot of family left in that case.”

  “But the niece is still here,” she said gently.

  He sighed. “No, you’re right. Even if it is a cold case, and everybody is gone, we still need to know the answers. I’ll make a call.” He hung up.

  She quickly started her engine and slowly backed out of the driveway. As she got to the far side of Stranden’s fence, she noted big garages off to the left. The property was huge, and she hadn’t seen these buildings for the trees before, but the driveway split, one side going here, the other to the main house. On impulse, she parked up at the edge, and, moving the animals out with her, she walked down to the garages.

  Now she was technically trespassing, since Stranden hadn’t given her permission to be here, but somehow her instincts took her in that direction. And, if she needed anything else to confirm how interesting this was, Mugs himself was pulling on his leash, dragging her closer and closer to the garages. Thaddeus was on her shoulder, but Goliath was free to walk and run along as he pleased.

  When she got there, she stopped and took a look. The buildings were old, but a good newish lock was on one of the doors, so it was safe from any unwanted visitors, like Doreen. Yet nothing appeared to be suspicious about any of it. Except … didn’t Mack mention all the vehicles that Stranden had? What if Lionel’s truck was here? He could be safekeeping it, all to protect Gloria. Maybe behind the door with the newish lock? But then what did she know and what could she prove?

  Doreen shook her head. Apparently this case was a little bit convoluted. The fact was, Lionel’s death wasn’t even local, and that really bothered her. How was she supposed to talk to anybody if nobody was around there to talk to? Mack had the arresting officer on his radar, Doreen knew Mack would talk to him. It just didn’t seem like anybody else was left on this case to get answers from because everybody could be dead and gone now, some twenty-five years later.

  She really would like to go back to Gloria’s house and take another look, a closer look, at those photos on the walls in the living room of Gloria’s house. Doreen had only a long-distance glance at them, and she didn’t understand the full relationship between Gloria and Lionel but knew something was going on. Maybe they each knew a dirty little secret about the other? Doreen knew that would be hard to decipher now. Sometimes a shared action joined two people together, like when people are in a drowning ship or in a burning house—or when committing a crime. Unfortunately, she might never find the truth.

  Surely the relationship between Gloria and Lionel appeared odd to others as well. It must have been noticeable to others, and surely there would have been talk about it. Yet Gloria maintained a good reputation in town. Doreen had really enjoyed the little bit of time she had shared with Gloria. But that didn’t mean anything other than the fact that the woman herself was quite nice.