Page 105 of Fatal Witness

They rounded a curve, and the house she’d just seen in her memory stood to her left in a clearing. “It looks freshly painted,” she said, surprised.

“Your grandmother keeps this place up,” Mark replied. He parked in the drive and the other two vehicles pulled in behindthem. “She used to mow the grass herself, and then hired Toby Mitchell to do the job, but that didn’t work out too well. Now she hires one of the teenage boys in town. He keeps the shrubs trimmed and the woods from encroaching on the yard, as well.”

“Why go to all this trouble? Why not just sell it?”

“I asked her that very thing one time after someone offered her a really good price for it. She let me know she didn’t need the money. It belongs to you, and to get a clear deed, the court would’ve had to declare you legally dead. Mae never gave up hope that you might come back one day.” He sighed. “But I think the real reason is this house is her last link to her daughter. Mae told me one time that Neva had poured her heart and soul into this house.”

Part of her brain understood that. She was finding it hard to think about selling Keith’s house. She cocked her head. “How do you know all of this?”

He smiled. “She told me. Your grandmother and I are pretty good friends.”

She’d noticed the bond between the two but hadn’t realized just how much Nonny confided in Mark. “How far is her place from here?”

“As the crow flies, less than a mile. The road is another matter—all uphill and about fifteen minutes away by car.”

Dani stared at the plank building. She’d hoped when she saw the house, it would trigger a tsunami of memories. But so far, nothing.

He nodded toward the two vehicles behind them. “The others are going to wait until you walk through before they join us.”

“Good.” That lessened the pressure a little, plus she could concentrate better. With a deep breath, she opened the SUV door. “Will we need a key?”

He pulled one from his pocket. “Mae gave me one before we left.”

Mark released Gem from the harness, and Dani laughed as the dog hopped out and shook herself. “I’d like to do that myself.”

As Dani climbed the steps to the porch, she tried to imagine herself playing on it, maybe sitting in the swing to the right, but no ... Mark unlocked the door. It creaked as he pushed it open.

An image flashed in her mind but was gone before she could pin it down.

“You remembered something,” Mark said.

“Only a fragment.” A familiar scent wrapped around her as she stepped over the threshold into a large room. She couldn’t identify the scent, only that it was one she’d smelled before.

She turned toward the window, where dust motes swirled in a narrow beam of light. That, too, was familiar. Dani glanced around the room. Sheets covered a sofa and several chairs and tables. Small roses on cream-colored paper covered the walls. Dani touched them.

The image of a man and woman hanging wallpaper popped into her mind. She knew what the scent was now. “This paper covers up cedar walls,” she said. “My mother wanted Daddy to get rid of them, but he wouldn’t do it. So she made him paper over the wood.”

Mark beamed at her. “You’re starting to remember!”

Dani nodded and pointed down the hallway. “Their bedroom was at the end on the right.” She walked through the doorway to the hall with Gem following. Dani stopped at the first room they came to. “Mine was here.”

“Do you want to go in?”

She stood rooted to the floor. “Not yet.”

“How about the kitchen?”

Dread filled her stomach. That was where her parents’ bodies had been found.How do I know that?She couldn’t remember Mark or Alex discussing the crime scene.

“You okay? We can come back later if you want.”

What she wanted was to leave and never come here again.“You are madeof sterner stuff than that.”Nonny’s voice echoed in her head. Another memory! But when had she told her that?

Dani stood stock-still with her eyes closed while a movie played out in her head. Alex’s sixth birthday party ...

There was a girl in a pretty black-and-white-checkered dress... Dani didn’t know who she was.

“Where did you get your dress?” the girl said to Dani. “I wouldn’t let my dolly wear anything that yucky!”

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