TWENTY-EIGHT AND A HALF WISHES (A ROSE GARDNER MYSTERY, BOOK 1)

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Chapter Sixteen

Aunt Bessie left after Violet and I went to bed, but not before she told Mike she had all the papers for everything left to me in the will.

And that I was a millionaire.

The next morning I sipped hot coffee trying to clear the fogginess in my head when Mike announced I had more money than God. That’s not what he actually said, and technically it wasn’t true since I only had $1.5 million, but it might as well have been a trillion. I didn't understand how it could be possible, but Mike said Uncle Earl and Aunt Bessie were the executors of Dora’s estate. Daddy didn’t want to deal with it, so Uncle Earl took over and had a knack for investing. He had cashed in the oil stock, made some smart investments, and more than quadrupled my worth over the years. That amount didn't even include Dora’s parents’ farm. And to imagine I’d been worrying I’d be homeless when Momma left everything to Violet. I supposed the right thing to do would be to give half to Violet. She planned to do the same with Momma’s possessions. But why waste time on the details of half when I’d leave everything to her anyway?

I hadn’t brought dog food for Muffy and eggs had turned out to be a fiasco the other night. I really didn’t want to be alone and it turned out, neither did Violet. We agreed I’d leave Muffy there and run home, shower then come back to spend the day with Violet and the kids.

A few blocks from my house, the convertible sputtered and coughed such thick plumes of black smoke into the air I worried the EPA would swoop in and contain me and the car at any moment. Instead, it died, right there on the curb.

So today wasn’t my lucky day, either.

I walked the last few blocks, hot and sweaty by the time I got home. It was only midmorning and already burning up outside. I nearly drained a glass of ice water before calling the rental company to let them know where the car had died. I told them I’d be in later to pick up my old one. I’d had my fun. I didn't need it anymore.

Violet fed Muffy some hotdogs before I left (after I told her the consequenting results were her full responsibility) but it meant I didn’t have to hurry back. I had planned on a shower but decided a bath sounded better, especially since I needed some time to mull over the events of the previous night. After I refilled my glass with more ice and water, I set it on the bathroom counter and climbed into the steaming bath. I leaned my head against the porcelain edge, hoping my pain would seep into the warm water. I knew that was too much to expect, so for now, I’d settle for skimming some off the top.

I lay there, dozing off, when I heard a noise in the kitchen. I jerked upright and sloshed the water in the bathtub. The sounds stopped.

Someone was in my house. And heard me.

I climbed out of the tub, shaking with fear, unsure what to do, but trying not to splash any more water. I was naked in my bathroom and my clothes were in the bedroom. Should I lock the door? The doors were thin; it wouldn’t take much to break it in. Whatever I decided to do, I needed to do it fast.

I grabbed the towel lying on the toilet seat, wiped the water off the floor, and closed the shower curtain halfway, hoping to hide the water in the tub. The door to the hall stood slightly ajar. Footsteps were moving my direction.

Fighting my rising hysteria, I opened the linen closet door and slipped in, carefully closing the door. I clutched the wet towel to my chest and over my mouth, trying to stifle my gasps for air. The bathroom door creaked open and footsteps thudded on the tile floor. Then stopped. The person could open the closet door at any moment. I tried to hold my breath, scared of being heard. Then I remember the glass of water. If they saw the ice, they would know I was somewhere in the house.