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warning.
Warn me, Lila? Mirabelle clutched the cordless phone to her ear. About what?
She should have known the warm happy feeling that she had been feeling all day could
not last. What was it Isaac Newton said? For every action there is an equal and
opposite reaction? It was amazing she had actually been awake enough in high school
science class to remember that but she had. Mirabelle was happy and in love with Flynn
so naturally the universe just had to screw with that.
You re in big trouble.
Okay. Not a hell of a lot was going to surprise Mirabelle at the moment what
with burning houses, people who were pretending to be who they were not and falling in
love with Flynn. She could handle anything at this moment. Bring it on.
Alistair is alive and he is pretending to be Charlie.
That Lila was shocked and frightened was only too evident in the tone of her
voice. Mirabelle did not want to add to her panic and give her another heart attack.
Flynn worked that out last night, Mirabelle responded calmly. Although they still
could not work out what benefit Alistair was going to achieve in this ruse. It was more
than likely he killed Charlie. Why come back now after all this time to get caught? It did
not make sense.
Alistair killed Charlie twenty-four years ago and buried him under my house.
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Mirabelle was certainly having third and fourth thoughts about her neighbor. Her
initial thoughts about Lila being the sweet friendly lady across the fence were clearly
wrong and Mirabelle was beginning to wonder about her own judgement. What other
secrets was she hiding? Or like most people was she only going to reveal them when
pushed?
We sort of worked that out as well, Lila, when they found a body under your
house and a man claiming to be Charlie turned up. Flynn is talking to the police about it
now.
Oh no& Lila gasped as if it was the worst possible news for her to hear.
Alistair needs to be caught, Lila. Why didn t you ever say anything about this
before? How the hell could you have lived with a body buried under your house? In the
scheme of things that could be considered vaguely normal this wasn t even on the list.
You wouldn t understand, Lila muttered tiredly as if it was all too much for her.
Alistair is a cruel, brutal man. I have always been terrified of him. If I had said anything
about him killing Charlie all those years ago he would have killed me.
Mirabelle ran her hand through her hair as she tried to take in what Lila was
saying. That she had been scared for her safety Mirabelle understood completely.
There were some violent and abusive men out there who a needed a good ass kicking
to understand how being on the receiving end of violence felt. But not to report a crime
was just wrong no matter how scared you were. And what about the rights of the victim?
Charlie should have been allowed justice and not buried and forgotten.
You should have said something, Lila, as this is going to make it look worse for
you.
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Lila sighed in frustration.
It s complicated, Mirabelle.
I have never known a situation that wasn t. Like most people Mirabelle didn t
expect that would change any time soon. So you got sent a letter from the dead Charlie
and you realized the disappearing Alistair was coming back into your life. How panic
stricken would you be after twenty-four years of being on your own to have an abusive
husband reappear in your life?
How do you know about the letter? Lila asked in amazement.
I found it in your storage shed.
You should not have been snooping, Mirabelle. Lila s voice was very upset.
Well, you shouldn t have had a body buried under your house. If Lila thought
she could guilt Mirabelle she was sadly mistaken. Snooping was an art. Burying bodies
was just wrong.
Okay, so you know about the Charlie letter. When it arrived out of the blue I
knew Alistair was back for revenge.
What for?
I was in love with his brother Charlie.
Score a correct guess for Mirabelle.
That can t be it surely? I can understand Alistair wouldn t have been happy to
have found his wife sleeping around with his brother but there has to be more of a
reason for revenge than that. Although if Flynn even looked sideways at another
woman Mirabelle would rethink the whole lovers revenge thing.
It s that and the money.
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Yes! I knew it! Mirabelle hissed out in triumph. She was on a roll. She could
hardly wait to tell Flynn.
What? Lila asked in confusion.
Nothing what money?
From the bank job the boys pulled twenty-four years ago.
Good God! Lila was a gangster moll. It s always the quiet ones you have to watch
out for.
So Charlie and Alistair were bank robbers? Mirabelle was pleased at how
calmly she was taking all this. It was not every day that someone confessed to knowing
about some major crimes like murder and robbery. This had been a damn interesting
vacation so far.
So they robbed a bank and undoubtedly scored a large sum of money. The
reasons for revenge were starting to become clearer by the second. Money was a huge
motivator for all things vengeful.
They robbed several banks actually. They were very good at it.
Bully for them. The pride in Lila s voice made Mirabelle shake her head. She
loved and adored money but other than the elusive dream of a lotto win, Mirabelle knew
the only way to make money was through hard work.
We split the money three ways.
Three ways? Was Lila a bank robber as well as a liar?
I kept my mouth shut so I deserved a cut.
Sweet old lady my ass!
I can only assume that Alistair is back for the money.
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He s had and spent his share. He now wants mine.
How much are we talking about?
I have two hundred thousand dollars left.
Holy frigging hell! Mirabelle gasped and sat down hard on the floor. She could
pay off her mortgage and her car with that money.
The money was in the shed, Lila informed her.
Right again. If only Flynn was there so she could gloat.
Where is it now?
That s what I wanted to warn you about. The money is close by you.
What, in the rubble? Is that why everyone is picking around in it? Most of the
rubble had been cleared away from next door. If anyone had found any money no one
was saying.
No, it wasn t in my house.
Where then? Even as Mirabelle said the words an uneasy feeling invaded her
bones. Was this an answer she wanted to hear?
It s under your house.
Mirabelle almost dropped the phone in shock.
My house! She was sitting on a fortune!
I had it moved there when I got the Charlie letter.
I don t recall seeing it. A huge sum of money stacked in nice neat piles would
naturally be something Mirabelle would have questioned.
You have a lot of junk under there, Mirabelle. It was the perfect place to hide it.
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That was true. The Hope diamond could be under her house and she would not
know.
Why my house? Like most neighbors Lila and Mirabelle had swapped house
keys in case of an emergency. However, stashing stolen loot, as far as Mirabelle was
concerned, was not considered one.
I wanted it close by me. It is my money after all.
Her money? Thieves obviously had a logic all of their own.
Okay, correct me if am wrong& A sudden thought had come to Mirabelle. But
if the bank robbery was twenty-four years ago then the money you would have would be
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