Chapter 6
Grace retrieved the funeral list from a place Victoria never thought to search.
Inside the old recipe box.
My mother had hidden it behind a card for lemon cake.
There were no legal instructions.
No formal plans.
Just names.
Capos.
Family allies.
Florists.
A priest.
Three musicians.
Even the order in which certain men should stand.
I read it twice.
Then I found the part that mattered.
At the bottom, in Victoria’s handwriting:
Caleb stays with Dominic until the end.
I looked at him.
He stared back.
“What does that mean?”
Nothing.
I stepped closer.
“What does it mean?”
Caleb finally spoke.
“It means I was supposed to be there.”
“Where?”
“When it happened.”
Victoria snapped, “Stop talking.”
He looked at her.
Something shifted.
Not loyalty breaking completely.
Fear becoming heavier than loyalty.
I waited.
Caleb swallowed.
“She didn’t want you dying alone.”
I almost smiled.
“How thoughtful.”
He flinched.
“What was your job?”
He looked at Victoria.
I grabbed his chin and turned his face back toward me.
“Look at me.”
His breathing changed.
“If the first attempt didn’t work, I was supposed to tell her.”
The multiple butter dishes.
Prepared in advance.
Failure anticipated.
I felt cold settle through me.
“How many attempts?”
Caleb said nothing.
Victoria laughed.
“You’re asking the wrong question.”
I turned toward her.
She smiled.
“You think breakfast was the beginning.”
That was exactly what she wanted.
Another mystery.
Another chance to control the room by deciding what I knew.
I refused.
“No.”
Her smile faded.
“I think breakfast is the first one Annie caught.”
Then I looked at Caleb.
“What happened before?”
He closed his eyes.
“The lake house.”
Memory hit.
Two months earlier, I had become violently ill after dinner at the Carter lake property.
Everyone blamed seafood.
Victoria stayed beside my bed all night.
I had thanked her for taking care of me.
Now I understood.
May you like
She had not been comforting me.
She had been watching to see whether the first attempt worked.
