Page 69 of Let Sleeping Dogs Lie

Magnolia turned pensive. “When you said they were close, what exactly do you mean?”

I cocked my head in confusion. “My impression was that they were best friends.”

Magnolia was silent again, then turned to Belinda and nodded her head.

Belinda started to say something to the camera, then stopped. After a moment’s hesitation, she finally spoke, her voice lowered. “We would like to keep this quiet because it affects other people besides us and Lila’s memory, but we have reason to believe that Lila may have been a lesbian.”

“But Magnolia’s mother was married,” Dixie protested.

Belinda’s mouth twisted to the side. “Nevertheless, we believe that Lila was in a relationship before she died. So it stands to reason that perhaps she had a relationship before she left Sweet Briar. In fact…it’s occurred to me that perhaps that was the reason she left in the first place.”

“Because she was a lesbian?” Dixie asked doubtfully.

“Think about it,” I said, turning to face her. “That was over forty years ago. I’m sure Sweet Briar wasn’t very progressive back then, and if Lila was in a relationship, she would have had to keep it a secret.”

Dixie knitted her brow. “So you’re sayin’ that you think that Lila had a relationship with Rachel Swan?”

“I don’t know,” I said, “but it’s definitely worth talking to Rachel about.” I turned back to the screen. “But Magnolia, the only way she’s ever going to talk to us is if you give us permission to tell her you hired us. We’ll ask her to keep it quiet, which I suspect she will, because it sounds like she’s protected Lila all these years. Surely she’s going to protect her daughter too.”

Magnolia took a moment and exchanged a glance with Belinda, then turned back to the screen. “Obviously I’d rather keep my name out of it, but if you think that you can get the truth from this Rachel, then you have my blessing to tell her that it’s for me.”

“All right,” I said with a nod. “I’ll try my best to keep your name out of it, and only use it if absolutely necessary.”

“Thank you,” Magnolia said, “and I’m sorry for my behavior yesterday. It was just…I just?—”

I held up my hand to stop her. “You’re under a lot of stress. You’ve been througha lotover the last six months, between your mother’s death and everything else. So don’t worry about our feelings, because trust me, I have a small understanding of what you’re going through, admittedly on a much lesser scale.Myjob is to make things easier for you by getting the answers you seek.But there’s one more thing I need to ask you before we go see Rachel.”

“What’s that?” Magnolia asked.

“If Rachel cared for Lila like I think she did, then I suspect she might want to see you at some point. Are you open to that?”

Magnolia’s mouth parted and her eyes widened in surprise. “What if she’s the one who killed my aunt Bethany?”

I frowned. “I don’t think she is. I think she might know the truth, but I doubt she’s the one who actually murdered her. And if sheisthe murderer, I wouldneverask you to meet with her. The only person I would introduce her to is Luke when I had her arrested. I’m just telling you that it’s a possibility that she might make the request. I need to know what to tell her, whether it’s a flat-out no or a maybe.”

“I need to think about it,” Magnolia said. “Get answers from her first and then I’ll decide.”

“That’s fair,” I said. “It may not come up at all, but if it does, I’ll just tell her that I can’t speak for you. Hopefully, we’ll have a report for you by tomorrow.”

“That quickly?” Belinda interjected.

“Like I said, with any luck at all. I think Rachel’s the key to this, and I plan to use all my tricks to get answers.” I gave her a wry smile. “Which is why I asked for permission to let her know I’m asking for you. I suspect your name is the magic word that will make her talk.”

“I’m anxious to hear what you find out,” Magnolia said. “And I think we’re going to swing back through Sweet Briar on our way back home tomorrow. I want to see the land one last time before I give the lawyers permission to sell it. We can meet if you have an update. We should be there around midafternoon.”

“Okay,” I said, “just let me know when you leave tomorrow, and we’ll figure out when and where to meet.”

We hung up and I glanced over at Dixie. “Let’s head back over to Rachel’s. Hopefully this time she’ll tell us the truth. But first, let’s see if Peter Petty is available for a chat.”

Chapter Twenty-Six

Summer

Dixie emailed Peter and asked if he had time to talk now, and he texted back that he could talk in fifteen minutes. Dixie sent him a video chat link, and we sat and waited for the clock to tick down.

“Do you know anything about him?” I asked.

“Not a thing,” she said. “Looks like we’re goin’ to find out together.”

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