“Lacey was so hysterical after Lindy’s murder that...he had to have her institutionalized for her own safety. He blamed me of course for all of it. If I’d left Lindy with him...”
“That shouldn’t have come as surprise, given what you did,” Charlie said.
“When did you speak to him?” Shep asked.
“I was still in the hospital after the accident. Don’t you see? I’d lost everything, both daughters, my husband, everything.” She looked up, meeting Charlie’s gaze. “I couldn’t help myself, let alone you.”
Charlie knew that wasn’t the reason Kat hadn’t reached out to her, but she let it go. Kat looked as if she might break down again.
“You said he institutionalized Lacey?” Shep said. “Like in a mental hospital?”
Kat nodded.
“But now she’s out? She has to be out if she’s the one who is terrorizing Charlie again.”
It took Kat a moment to answer. “I heard a few weeks ago that Matt had been killed in an accident on a construction job. Apparently Lacey had been doing better so she was allowed to attend her father’s funeral with an attendant. The attendant was found unconscious with a head injury and Lacey was gone.”
“And we know where she turned up, don’t we?” Charlie shuddered at what the young woman was capable of doing. “Why me? Why wouldn’t she haunt you and your new daughter?”
But she didn’t wait for an answer because it came to her like a bolt of lightning. Her eyes filled with tears as she swung her gaze to Shep. “Because she blames me for her sister’s death. Which means she was there that night.”
“Clearly, all this hatred has little to do with you, Charlie,” Shep said quickly. “It’s misdirected.”
Kat clutched her purse. “I know what you both think of me. But I can’t change the past. If I could...” She rose again. “I have to go.”
“Not yet. What happened to Charlie’s doll? The one her father bought her?” Shep asked.
The woman blinked. “The doll? Oh, that doll. I forgot all about it. It was such a beautiful, valuable doll, I couldn’t leave it in that old house since I knew you wouldn’t be back for it, Charlie.”
“You couldn’t have gotten it to Charlie anytime over the years,” Shep asked.
“If it makes you feel any better,” Kat said, clearly ignoring him, “you aren’t the only one who’s been terrorized by my daughter. When you told me about the doll, I knew Lacey had been in my house. I’d noticed other things that had gone missing. Mostly money, jewelry, favorite things of mine. I thought I’d imagined it at first—just like that lingering scent of Lindy’s favorite perfume.” Kat bit her lip as if to hold back more tears. “It was Lindy’s favorite so of course Lacey would wear it.”
“She destroyed the doll and left it on my doorstep.”
Kat’s expression crumpled for a moment. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know the doll was missing from my room. But you’re not the only one she wants to hurt. It’s why after the band concert tonight I’m taking Cara and leaving town.” She looked pointedly at Charlie. “I would suggest you do the same.”
“I’m not running,” Charlie said as she rose to her feet. “I’ve been running for too long.”
Shep joined her and put his arm around her.
“You do realize, Kat, that the police will now be involved,” Shep said. “They’re going to want to talk to you.”
“I have to think of Cara. I’d hoped to keep all of this from her until she was older. She is so sweet and innocent. I don’t know what effect this will have on her, so I’m not waiting around to see what Lacey will do next. I can’t for Cara’s sake.”
“I think it’s too late for that,” Charlie said. “I’m betting Cara already knows about Lacey. Otherwise, how has Lacey been getting in and out of your house without you noticing?”
“Also there was a second set of fingerprints on Charlie’s doll,” Shep said. “Not Lacey’s which would be so similar to Lindy’s. I’d wager they’re Cara’s.”
Kat’s face froze for a moment. She seemed to stagger and looked down at the floor as if it had opened and she’d gotten a glimpse of hell. She appeared to shrink before their eyes.
As she turned to leave, her face taut with fear, Charlie saw the woman’s world crumbling around her.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
CHARLIE WAS STILL in shock after Kat’s visit. Shep had gotten on the phone to the judge, filling him in. It was clear that WT agreed. It was time to call in the law. The judge must have asked if she was up to being questioned by the police.
She saw Shep look over at her and smile before he said, “She can handle it. She’s a lot stronger than she looks.”
“You really think Lacey killed her twin?” Charlie asked after he finished his call.
“Mulvane said it was a crime of passion. I’m betting Lacey was there that night and knows what happened. If she was involved, it would explain her breakdown.”
“Then she also knows that I locked Lindy out of the house. That could explain why she wanted to make me think I was losing my mind.”
“Kat said Lacey had had problems before,” he said. “If she was mentally unstable, who knows what could have gone down between the twins. You heard what Kat said. I got the impression she’s afraid of her daughter.” He sat down next to her. “The judge is contacting someone he knows in the police department. They are going to want to talk to us, especially you, about all of this.”
She nodded. “Why didn’t I see it? I thought Lindy’s strange mood swings were just her being an unhappy teenager. Now looking back, she was often like two completely different people. If Lacey was the one who was so cruel to me, why didn’t she confront Kat?”
“Maybe Lindy wouldn’t let her,” Shep suggested. “Lindy wasn’t happy with her mother’s marriage, but she was smart enough to know that if Lacey blew the whistle on Kat, things could get a whole lot worse.”
That made sense, Charlie thought. So Lindy would have allowed her sister into her life, letting her play a role to keep her quiet until... Until Lacey got sick of it and wanted more? She worried that they might never know.
But Lacey was still out there. What would she do next?
The person she really couldn’t get her head around was their mother. “How could Kat have done what she did?” she said, curling up in her spot on the couch to face Shep. “How could any mother do that?”