Free A Stillness of Chimes by Meg Moseley Page B

off. We love living there, but we can barely afford it even on two incomes.”
    “I’m sorry about your job. That stinks.”
    “Something will turn up.”
    Laura nodded, remembering Cassie’s old dream of being a stylist to the stars. Instead, she’d bounced from one job to another because she had an uncanny talent for finding work with businesses that were about to go under. Hairstylist—but not to the stars. Waitress. Admin. Day-care worker.Meanwhile, Drew’s techie start-up company wasn’t bringing in much money yet. He probably couldn’t take any time off, while Cassie had all the time in the world.
    “I hope you’ll have a nice visit with your folks,” Laura said.
    “It’s not exactly a pleasure trip,” Cassie said. “My dad asked me to come. He says there’s something wrong with my mom.”
    Laura’s heart plummeted as dire possibilities ran through her mind. Some debilitating disease like Parkinson’s or MS. Cancer. Alzheimer’s. “What do you mean?”
    “I wish I knew. She’s always been a neat freak, but Dad’s afraid she’s going all OCD on us. Or maybe she’s depressed. He can’t get anything out of her. So I’m here for a couple of weeks to help him figure out what’s going on. Without letting Mom know that’s why I’m here.” Cassie made a face. “It’s loads of fun.”
    “I’m sorry, Cass. When did your dad start noticing a change?”
    “Around the time of your mom’s funeral. Makes sense. They were best friends.”
    Only in Ardelle’s mind. Laura couldn’t say it out loud, but her mom had never seen Ardelle as a bosom buddy. Their longstanding friendship had been lopsided.
    “Do you see the same things that are worrying your dad?”
    Cassie shrugged. “So far, I don’t see much of a problem except the uber-neatness, but she’s always been that way. You know, wiping down the counters all the time and making sure the corners of the napkins match up exactly when she folds them. That’s nothing new. On the other hand, she’s all … fidgety, and she has this new habit of repeating herself.”
    “Like she can’t remember what she said already?”
    “No, she remembers. It’s more like she’ll start talking about something and then she just can’t leave it alone. She’ll come back to it over and over, using the same words. It’s like … like picking at a scab.”
    “I wonder if this is related,” Laura said slowly. “I noticed she went to extremes when she was watching the house for me. I only asked her to take care of the basics like the mail and the cat and the houseplants, but she vacuumed and dusted and straightened. All over the house. In rooms she didn’t need to go into.”
    “But is that OCD behavior, or is it just a bored grandma with too much time on her hands?” Cassie said, apparently asking herself as much as Laura. “Anyway, I’ll find a way to bring it up. Delicately.”
    “No, don’t. Now that I’m in town, it doesn’t matter anyway. She won’t need to pop in anymore.”
    “You’re right.” Cassie squirmed around in her seat to face Laura. “Okey-doke. My tough subject’s out of the way. Time for yours. Do you think your dad is at the cabin?”
    Hearing it spoken aloud made Laura’s heart lurch. “I can always count on you to be blunt.” She sighed. “I don’t know, but I have a few reasons to think there might be some truth to the rumors.”
    “Like what?”
    “For one thing, I’ve started wondering why my mom hung on to my grandparents’ property and paid taxes on it all these years. She should have sold it.”
    “You think she kept it so your dad would have a place to go?”
    “Maybe. Or she thought she’d get a better price if she waited. I don’t know.” Laura swung the car wide to give room to an old woman picking her way through the roadside weeds. Frail as a spider, the woman held a fadedblue parasol upright above her head. “Granny Colfax,” Laura said, glad for the distraction.
    “I can’t believe