Free 3 Mascara and Murder by Cindy Bell Page B

of paper towards her.
    "Can you read any of it yet?"
    "Dear Phillip, Do you remember Meghan?" she said, making out what words she could.
    "Meghan?" Nick asked with surprise. "Who is Meghan?"
    "I don't know," Bekki shrugged. "No one has ever mentioned a Meghan. There isn't one in the Windward family that I know of."
    While they finished piecing the letter together their bodies and fingertips kept gliding closer together. Bekki was finding it a little hard to concentrate, until she had placed the last piece of the torn up letter into the right spot.
    "Here it is," she said cheerfully.
    "Dear Phillip," Nick began reading. "Do you remember Meghan? I'm her daughter. I just want a chance to know you," he glanced down at the bottom of the letter. "It's signed Lucy," he said with a surprise. "So Lucy wrote this letter to Phillip. But who is Meghan?"
    Bekki frowned and shook her head. "I'm not sure, but maybe Phillip's alibi isn't as air tight as I thought. Maybe he sneaked out there, and then slipped back inside to get rid of Lucy."
    "But why would he do it then?" Nick asked with a slight shrug. "It doesn't make much sense to me."
    "Well, one thing is for sure, Katherine knew about the note. Otherwise she wouldn't have taken the garbage out herself. So, if we figure out who Meghan is, maybe we can figure out who's responsible for her daughter Lucy's death."
    “Good plan,” Nick agreed with a smile of admiration. “But how are we going to figure out who Meghan is?”
    “Well, she must be someone related to the family in some way, someone from the past, as Lucy asks if he remembers her. So, I guess we'll need to make a visit to the Windwards,” Bekki smiled bravely, awaiting his response.
    “You're not serious,” he began his lecture.
    “Look, Nick,” Bekki replied firmly. “I'm going to the Windwards, if you would like to join me, you're welcome to. If not, I'm still going.”
    He stared at her as if he had no way of comprehending her behavior, but only shook his head. “All right, then I guess I'm coming along.”

Chapter S even
     
    When Bekki and Nick arrived at the Windward Mansion both Katherine and Phillip were out, but their eldest daughter Elizabeth was home. She was not much younger than Bekki and didn't seem to share her parents’ distaste for the town or the people who lived in it.
    "Would you mind if we came in for just a minute?" Bekki asked in her most charming tone. But it was not Bekki's charm that got them invited in. It was a flash of Nick's smile, and a glimmer of his dark green eyes. Elizabeth led them to the sitting room.
    "How can I help you?" she asked politely. Bekki was sure she must not have been raised by her parents. "I know all of this is causing my parents such distress. They've never dealt with something so dark before."
    "Well , we're here to try to clear it all up," Nick explained. "Can you tell me if you've ever known anyone named Meghan?"
    Elizabeth laughed at that. "Of course I have. I grew up in boarding schools. I've met tons of Meghans. I even met a Meegan and Michigan, so yes. But , why do you need to know about that?"
    "Think about it," Bekki encouraged. "Was there ever someo ne in your past named Meghan, she would have been an adult. Maybe someone your family knew?"
    Elizabeth's eyes misted briefly and then she nodded. " Yes, that would be Meghan, our nanny," she said quietly. "She was our nanny until I was about ten, and then she left," she picked up a framed photograph from the table beside the couch. "This is Meghan," she said and showed them the picture. In the picture, Elizabeth and her younger sister were each perched on the knee of a woman who looked remarkably like Lucy. "She left suddenly. I think because she was pregnant. And after that it was boarding schools for me."
    "I'm sorry," Bekki said gently. "That must have been hard for you." It was clear that Meghan had made quite an impact on Elizabeth.
    "Yes well, it was a long time ago," she shrugged. "Is there a reason why