Girl in the Shadows (Shadows 2)

"Exactly. She'd get much better help from people who do that for a living.'

"Your mother is actually arranging for that soon and she has the information and--"

"Oh, she does? How convenient," She thought a moment. "How expensive is the school?"

"I don't know."

"Well, it doesn't matter what you know and what you don't. Soon,I'll be making all those decisions anyway. The writings on the wall, as my mother would tell you. That goes for you. too. Trevor. I don't know why you remained here since the vineyard went out. All these freeloaders," she told Skeeter, who was attacking the food as though he had been starving on an island for weeks. He nodded.

"Ain't no worse freeloader than an ungrateful, irresponsible daughter coming around for money," Trevor replied.

"I would watch my tongue if I were you, man." Skeeter said.

"Would you?" Trevor responded, his eyes fixed so hard and coldly on Skeeter. "That's good, only you ain't me, man."

"Right," Skeeter said, smiling and looking at Echo. "Add that to the thank-you's you're giving God. Echo." he told her. Of course, she didn't understand. Both he and Rhona laughed.

I could see the muscles in Trevor's neck tighten. He looked poised to leap over the table at Skeeter at any moment. It was only Echo's frightened eyes that kept him from doing anything more than just glaring back and then beginning to eat. They grew bored with us anyway and started their own conversation about some of their friends and their own plans. Rhona talked as if Mrs. Westington was already dead and buried and she had inherited everything.

"There isn't much point in keeping this property any longer. It's not being used as it should be. There's probably a winery nearby that would love it and would pay a lot for it so they could expand."

"Absolutely." Skeeter said as if he was a real estate expert.

"You'd better start thinking about a retirement home for yourself," Rhona told Trevor.

He ignored her, chewed his food, and looked ahead as though they weren't there.

"So what are you trying to do here anyway?" she asked me. "And what have you already taken from my mother? You'd better let me know or eventually I'll have you arrested for stealing."

"All I've taken from her is the love you never accepted," I said. Trevor smiled.

Her smile evaporated. "What things did she want at the hospital? I'll be bringing them to her, not you."

"She asked me to do it and I'll be doing it," I replied firmly.

Echo was signing to me, asking why her mother looked so angry.

"God, does she ever stop that?" Rhona asked, looking at her. "Looks like my mother never taught her dinner manners. All I used to hear from her was that children should be seen and not heard at the table."

"Maybe she just meant you and not all children," I suggested. Again. Trevor smiled. Even Skeeter smiled.

"Oh, you're so smart." She leaned toward me. "I don't care what my mother told you. This isn't your family and this isn't your home and the law will be on my side when it comes down to it. You'll see." She pushed her dish away and stood up. "You'll both see," she said, turning to Trevor. "C'mon, Skeeter. I want to go to the hospital and see what exactly is happening to my mother." She stressed the "my."

"What about the apple pie'? That looks good," Skeeter said, nodding at it.

"Take a piece with you, damn it," she told him.

He shrugged, cut a piece, and rose with it in his palm.

"Hey." he said to me, "if you can cook like this, you can stay," He laughed.

She glared at him and they walked out of the dining room. I saw how lost Echo was with all this. I smiled at her and told her after we cleaned up, we'd go see her grandmother.

Trevor sat back. troubled. "I told you," he said. "I knew things were not going to be good when I saw that bird fly into the building. But don't worry," he added quickly. "I'll fix it."

He was going with us to the hospital, too. We wouldn't be far behind Rhona and Skeeter. I went upstairs to change into something nicer and brush my hair. After that I went into Mrs. Westington's room to get her personal things. The moment I walked through the doorway, I stopped and gasped.

Rhona and Skeeter had practically ripped the bedroom apart in their search for money and valuables. The dresser drawers were still open, clothes sprawled. The closet was open and clothing on the floor. Every box, every cabinet had been rifled. They had even searched her bathroom and her linen closet, not bothering to put the towels and sheets back on their shelves. Echo came up behind me and pulled my arm so she could ask what had happened.