Her Last Letter Part 23

"And I promise I'll go too."

Chapter 16.

I was just finis.h.i.+ng my breakfast when the doorbell chimed, followed by a loud knock. I stepped into the foyer and glanced toward the snowy drive, but didn't see a car. Putting my nose to the beveled gla.s.s beside the door, I glimpsed a square ribboned box a foot or more high on the porch.

I opened the door a crack and cautiously stuck my head outside. My first thought was that it might be Caroline playing a joke. She was supposed to stop over later, but maybe she'd changed her mind and arrived early. I reached down to pick up the package and as soon as I touched it, it emitted a howl. I jumped back, then heard the whimpering cries of a puppy.

"Oh, for pity sakes," I said, lifting the box and bringing it inside. As I tore away the wrappings, I noticed round air holes cut into the back of the package. Inside was a floppy-eared puppy, a tiny bejeweled collar around its neck, a child's pink blanket beneath it. The puppy, a c.o.c.ker spaniel it appeared, eyed me quizzically, attempted to throw up, then stopped and panted. I bent down to read the gold tag at its neck. My name is Annabelle. I checked the box for a note, but didn't find anything, then stopped to pet the pup, who was feeling comfortable enough now to put its front paws on the edge of the box and gaze around.

My cell phone began to ring in the kitchen. I ran and picked it up off the table.

"h.e.l.lo?"

"Hi, Gwyn. Did you like your present?" It was Josh, laughing softly.

"Joshua Newbury," I said in mock anger, "you wrapped her in a box. She was scared."

"Sorry, but it was only for a minute. And I was watching. I wrapped her up in the car and walked her to the door. My sister's dog had a litter and I thought of you, remembered thinking you needed someone to protect you while your husband's away. But you don't have to keep her."

Back in the entrance with the puppy, I lifted her into my arms. She swiped at me with a wet tongue. "I'm not sure how much protection she'd be."

"Well, maybe not a lot, but she can make a lot of noise."

"Yes, I've noticed that."

"Could I come in?"

"Sure-umm, Caroline might drop over soon."

"Oh. Then maybe I should wait."

"No, don't be silly. Come on in."

This time, Josh didn't park in the drive, but arrived at the door on foot.

"Where's your car?" I asked as I let him in.

"Down the road. I felt like walking."

The puppy began to wiggle in my arms at the sight of Josh and I handed it over to him. "I guess she's forgiven you for the whole box thing."

"I guess." He smiled at me, but he looked tired. His eyes seemed dull and his complexion pale. "Well, Merry Christmas, Gwyn, though like I said, you don't have to keep her."

I was wondering what I would tell Trevor. Funny thing, Josh stopped over this morning and gave me a Christmas present, thought I might need a dog since you're away so much.

He must have guessed what I was thinking, because he added, "I don't expect you to tell Trevor I gave you the puppy. Maybe you could say Caroline brought it over or something."

"Yes, she'd probably agree to that."

I took Annabelle from Josh. "She's so cute. I could build a little fenced area for her to play in, until she's trained." The pup looked up at me with heart-melting brown eyes. "Are you hungry, Annabelle?" I asked, hugging her to my chest and kissing her on the head.

"Well," he said, "I guess I'll go back out and bring in the puppy chow I left in the car. It appears you've made your decision." He glanced at his watch. "And then I should get going. Wish I could stay longer."

"Are you sure? I could show you the studio. You missed it the last time. And Caroline probably won't be here for at least a half-hour."

"Well, maybe I could stay a few minutes more."

As soon as we walked into the studio, Josh noticed my portrait of Kelly. "When did you start to work on it again? You've accomplished a lot," he said, walking over to it. "Recently, since I saw you."

"It's beautiful. She would have liked this. It captures her perfectly, the subtle mystery in her eyes ..." He turned sharply to me, I suppose to see if he'd hurt me with his comment.

"Thanks," I said. "I think she would have liked it too."

He redirected his attention to my other works in progress, nature scenes and the like. "I can see why your work sells so well. Such fine detail, and your sense of color is inspired. Will you let me buy something? Please? I'd really like to."

"Sure, pick something out." I motioned to the finished paintings hanging on the walls. "And no, I won't let you buy anything."

"Gwyn."

"Consider it a Christmas present-from me."

"Then how about this one?" he said, moving across the room toward the far wall. I turned my head to see which one he meant. I'd forgotten about it, had painted it years ago.

"Yes, this is the one I want."

It was a small painting, a self-portrait-me-standing in my garden, arranging a vase of wild flowers, wearing a yellow sundress. I'd staged the shot, took it using a timer and tripod. I'd been trying out some new photographic equipment.

"Yes, this one," he said.

"That's so old. Look, there's even dust on the frame. You can pick a better one than this."

"No arguing. You said I could pick."

"Okay. It's yours." I lifted it from the wall and placed it in his hands.

He stared at the picture, then at me. "Well, I'm off. Tell Caroline I said hi. And good luck with the puppy. Hope it works out. If not, give me a call. Maybe give me a call anyway."

"I will. Thanks, Josh."

He placed his hand gently on my shoulder. "And thank you for my present. Have a great Christmas, Gwyn."

"You too."

I watched from the window as he trudged down the snowy driveway, then onto the road, the painting cupped in his hand.

By the time Caroline arrived, I'd carried Annabelle out to the drive twice to do her business, and the pup was quickly taking possession of the kitchen, sniffing every chair and table leg, puppy paws clicking as it ran in sudden bursts across the tile floor.

"What's this?" Caroline asked, standing in the foyer.

"This is Annabelle."

I tried to lift the pup from a spot near my feet, but she tore into the kitchen.

"When did this happen?"

"This morning, when you gave her to me."

"What?"

"Josh brought the pup by. His sister's dog had a litter. He thought I might like one. I'm hoping I can say you gave it to me so I don't have to explain to Trevor. Is that okay?"

"Sure, I guess. But are you sure you want to do that? Lies have a way of backfiring, you know."

"Don't try and sound like my shrink. Better to lie than to listen to Trevor not talk to me for hours."

"O-kay."

"You working today?"

"Nope. Nope. Nope. Today I am shopping. You can join me if you like, though one of the presents I was going to shop for is yours."

"No thanks. I don't feel like shopping, and I don't want to leave the pup alone right away."

We walked into the kitchen where I'd already brewed coffee and warmed a pound cake.

"You planning to go to Linda's party?" I asked, slicing a piece of cake and lifting it onto a plate for Caroline.

"I guess."

"Bringing anyone?"

"Okay, now I know why you wanted me over. Details."

"No, but I am curious."

"Nate and I have a date this weekend, and if it goes well, maybe I'll invite him to the party too."

"Sounds like you and Nate are doing a lot of laundry lately."

"Hah," Caroline said with a laugh. "I've got more clean clothes now than when my mom did my laundry."

"The couple that scrubs together.... Oh, I don't know. What rhymes? Rubs together?"

"We're not doing any rubbing yet. But I have to say I wouldn't mind. G.o.d, he's cute."

"What do you know about him?"

"Enough. He moved here four years ago, because they offered him a job. I guess he used to live in Crowley. He's not married. He let me know that right away. He doesn't have any kids either, and he's not moaning over some broken romance and boring me to death. He actually has some smarts."

"I like him already."

"Yeah, so do I. But I hate that giddy stuff, looking in the mirror every two seconds to see if I've left spinach in my teeth. I want to be past all that." Caroline brought a fork full of cake to her mouth, then glanced toward the floor. "Well, what's this? Annabelle wants to be one of the girls and eat too. She's chewing my shoelace."

"I hope Trevor is okay about the dog. Normally, I'd give him some notice. Actually, he might think it's a good idea, think it's better for me to have some company during the day."

"Yeah, he could. And she is a cutie." Caroline lifted the puppy into her lap, and it immediately brought its paws up and tried to leap onto the table. "No, no, Annabelle. Down you go. Bad Annabelle." She placed the puppy back on the floor. "She's a handful." Caroline's smile quickly dissolved into a frown. "Hey, what's that look you're giving me? What's wrong?"

"I've got something I need to show you. It's the real reason I asked you over here."

"What?"

"I should have told you before. But ... this is so bad, I wasn't sure I wanted to involve you. I'm still not sure."

"What is it? Is this about Sylvia?"

"No. Here." I handed her Kelly's letter.

She read it, then looked up at me.

"Where did you get this?"

"I found it taped inside Kelly's dresser-hidden. I've had it since Halloween. I think Kelly must have written it right before she died. No one knows about it except Linda, my shrink, and now you."

"G.o.d."

"We've hired a private investigator-well-Linda hired one. I didn't know of a good one."

"This is unbelievable. How did Linda react to it?"

"Not good. She's in denial. She wants to believe Kelly made it up. I think if it were up to her, she'd destroy the letter and pretend she never saw it. And I still haven't told her the rest. I haven't told her about Trevor, that he might be cheating on me. She'd blame him, say he's a cheat and a murderer. But he's not. If anyone's a murderer, it's Wolfgang. So far, all we've done is a background check. And Linda won't show me the report on Wolfgang. Says there's nothing in it. She's treating this whole thing like it's all going to blow over. They're even planning a trip to Hawaii over Christmas and New Year's. I can't talk Linda out of it."

"Whoa. That doesn't sound like a good idea. Do you think Wolfgang suspects anything?"

"I don't know. G.o.d, you'd think Linda would have better sense than to tell him. But she's so stupidly in love with the guy, who knows what she'll do? I've warned her. I think she has an idea of how dangerous the man could be-for both of us."

"And-I have to ask this. But what makes you so certain it's Wolfgang?"

I could feel my face warm at the question. "Why? You don't think it's Trevor, do you?"

She shook her head. "I'm totally-I have no idea. Was there anything that could implicate him in the background check?"