Susan grabbed her wrist.
âI just have to share this with you. Before we sat down to dinner, Laird was telling me that when he died he wanted me to put a stake through his heart, so he couldnât rise again. At first I thought he was joking. But he wasnât. He wanted to protect his friends from himself. Wasnât that considerate ?â
âVery,â Libby said.
Bernie was signaling to her. She had to go, but for a small lady Susan Andrews had a powerful grip. She wondered if wrenching her arm away would be considered insufferably rude and decided it would be.
Susan shook her head. âHe believed. He did. The thought of becoming one of them terrified him. But his saying that.â Susan choked back a sob. âIt was as if he knew.â
Libby almost said, If he knew, then why the hell did he go ahead and drink the water? But she managed to restrain herself.
âWho would do something like that to him?â Susan asked as she released Libbyâs wrist.
âIâm sure the police will find out.â Libby held up her hand, indicating sheâd be with Bernie in a second. She had to get back behind the counter. More and more people were coming in the store, not that Susan seemed to notice as she dabbed at her eyes.
âI certainly hope so. Well, I can see how busy you are. So if you could just give me two of those wonderful strawberry scones of yours, that will be fine. Then tonight you can tell everyone all about everything and donât forget about the cooking lesson.â
âTonight?â Libby asked. âCooking lesson?â
A look of concern passed over Susanâs face.
âDear, donât tell me youâve forgotten,â she cried. âYouâre catering the dinner party Nigel Herron is throwing in my honor. Remember? Iâm having a private showing of my fiber art pieces.â
âOf course. How could I forget anything so special?â Libby lied. âItâs written on my calendar in big red letters.â
Susan fingered one of her earrings.
âAnd Iâm so excited about Julie Chang.â
âRight.â Now Libby remembered. Susan had arranged for a Chinese cooking lesson with Julie Chang at her house tomorrow. It had seemed like a good idea at the time. Now she wished she could cancel.
âEveryone will be there.â Susan sighed. âSuch a shame Lionel couldnât see my work. That was one of the reasons Nigel was having this get-together. Iâd like to think that he would have enjoyed them.â
âWho wouldnât?â Libby replied.
âIâm thinking of donating a piece to place in his coffin.â
âThatâs very generous of you.â
âWhy, thank you,â said Susan as she watched Libby put her scones in a white bag and hand them to her. âI think itâs important that a part of Bebe will be with Laird forever.â
âAh, yes,â Libby said. âHow is Bebe?â
âWonderful. I know you think sheâs just a dog. No . . .â Susan put her hand up. âDonât protest. But sheâs brought a great deal of comfort to me and I hope sheâll do the same for Lairdâs soul.â
Libby searched Susanâs face for a sign that she was joking and decided that she wasnât.
âDonât you believe in an afterlife?â Susan asked.
âIâm not even sure what this life is about,â Libby replied.
Susan patted Libby on the wrist again.
âDonât worry. You will. It took me a long time to see it too. You have to lose your sense of practicality, of the everydayness of life, and immerse yourself in the great beyond.â
Susan sighed.
âIt wasnât until after my darling husband died and I became involved in past life regression that I came to believe in reincarnation. I realized that we all circle endlessly around one another. No one is ever truly lost. We all come back in different forms. For example,