“Why are you letting her get into danger?” Sean asked David.
“I’m not letting her into danger-I’m trying to stay with her as much as I can to make sure that she’s not alone,” David said.
“Well, I’m home now,” Sean said.
“Hey!” Katie protested. “Hey, I did fine on my own without either of you, so don’t you two go getting the testosterone thing going and try to manage me, either of you!”
She stared at the two of them.
Sean looked at David.
“I’ll make sure I’m with her when you’re not,” he said.
“She shouldn’t be alone. And there will be times…when I might be worried about her,” David admitted.
“Hey!” Katie protested.
David’s phone started to ring again. He snapped it open. “David?”
The voice was sweet and feminine. And old.
“Aunt Alice!” he said, his heart sinking.
“David, you are here. And you haven’t been by.”
Alice and Esther were actually his great-aunts. They had never been anything but patient and kind, and he knew that they loved him, that his leaving had hurt them and that he had been a selfish ass not to have taken the time yet to see them. They were both octogenarians now, with Esther closing in on ninety.
He loved them both.
They were incredible storytellers; they knew the island far better than any teacher he had ever had in high school.
“David?”
“I know. I know. I’m so sorry,” he said.
“Well,” Alice told him, “we’ve heard all about that dreadful business with another poor woman murdered. Your cousin Liam has been terribly busy, and he’s said you’ve helped out with talking to folks, but…we were hoping you could stop by for some lunch.”
Katie and Sean were staring at him, curious. As he looked at them, they looked away, embarrassed at inadvertently eavesdropping.
“May I bring a few old friends?” he asked.
“Well, of course, David! When haven’t we welcomed your friends?” Alice asked.
Katie had thought that Sean was going to refuse the invitation to David’s aunts’ house, but he was determined at the moment to stay close to her, she realized. It was good that her brother cared, she thought.
And irritating.
He had rented a two-seater convertible in Miami.
“I didn’t know I could possibly need more than two seats,” he said.
“My car is in the drive-just move your rental, mine is the obvious choice,” Katie told him.
“We can walk,” David said.
“They’re past the cemetery-it’s almost a mile. Let’s just drive,” Sean said. He was coming with them, but it was obvious that he was tired.
So they drove, Katie at the wheel. She slowed down as they passed the cemetery, trying to drive and see what spirits might be about in the bright light.
As ever, the beautiful, spectral figure of Elena de Hoyos moved among the graves.
She saw no one else.
“What are you doing?” Sean asked her sharply.
“Driving,” she replied.
She pressed harder on the gas pedal. Past the cemetery two blocks, she turned the corner and came to the beautiful old Victorian where Alice and Esther Beckett, spinster sisters, had lived most of their lives. As she pulled into the drive, the two came hurrying out the door and down the porch steps.
She recognized them; they were known throughout Key West and the islands. They had been born rich, and they had used their money wisely and well all their lives, helping with every cause in the world. They gave money to several churches-Alice was quite certain that God didn’t discriminate between minor differences in worship-as well as animal-rescue leagues and all the medical charities for every organ in the human body. They were truly loved.
They both rushed to David as he exited the car, fawning over him with hugs and kisses. They knew Sean as well, chiding him for not coming by when he was in town. Sean, perhaps feeling a bit of guilt, flushed and told them that he was seldom in town-he and David did similar work.
At last it was Katie’s turn, and she received an abundance of love as well, even if she had never visited the house at all.
“My Lord! Sean’s sister! Oh, my goodness, well, Jamie O’Hara’s niece, of course. What a beauty!” Alice gushed. “Even more so than your mother, and oh, my, Esther, remember how lovely and sweet she was. I understand your parents have moved from the house, but when they’re home, you must beg them to stop by, too. Sadly, we tend to be such hermits these days.”
“We’re just horrible,” Esther said. “And, oh, how I miss your grandfather, David. The world is a far sadder place with Craig gone.”
“He was certainly the best and finest man,” David agreed.
“Well, well, we’re standing around here outside when lunch is waiting!” Alice chastised.