McCann's Manor (2 page)

Liz sipped the last of her cocoa, eyed Kim's curly dark brown hair, felt the usual twinge of envy as she thought of how the bouncy, natural-curly mane always looked good, even when Kim had been jarred into wakefulness in the middle of the night. “Then, of course, there is also the possibility that I saw something that
didn't,
and
isn't
going to happen at all in this reality—ever! And if it hasn't happened, what are we going to do, scour the countryside for girls from Iowa named Missy?"

"Okay, I will admit that as a possibility, but why would you have been shown it, if not to try to help in some way, even if it was only to bring her killers to justice?"

Liz had no answer for that question. It was one she asked herself often enough as she pondered the responsibility of
knowing
things others didn't. What good was the knowledge if she didn't use it to try to help in some way? Then again, what could she do to help in a case like this? If Missy
were
dead, nothing she could do would bring her back. If her vision had been of an event to come, there was little she could do to change it, given the small amount of knowledge she had about where Missy was and when her demise would occur. Besides,
Missy
was probably a nickname; how could they find out her full name? How could they learn where she was, if the case hadn't occurred?

Liz stood, took her mug to the sink and rinsed it. “Thanks for the talk and the cocoa, Kimberly Dawn,” she said. “I think I'm going to try to go back to sleep now. We have to start packing in a few hours for the big move."

Kim smiled, walked to the sink and rinsed her own mug. The big move ... their landlady had given them two weeks to move out or start paying more rent—
lots
more rent. This house was in the middle of a booming resort area and she could get more money for weekend rentals than they wanted to pay by the month. Never mind they had no place else to live; just get out of there. Oh, they'd be okay; they always were somehow, but where were they going this time? The thought made Kim feel tired. She watched Liz close her bedroom door before turning off the kitchen light and heading back to her own room.

Packing and moving their things into storage went well, except for the sudden cloud bursts that seemed to come every time they started carrying boxes out of the house. Kim procured a used, but sound, twenty-seven-foot travel trailer and they put all the things they would need right away in it; the rest went into a climate-controlled storage unit. Liz fought the idea of pulling a travel trailer behind Kim's Jaguar, even if the car was an older model, and in the end, they made arrangements with a friend to tow the trailer behind his pickup truck to the KOA campground. It made more sense than renting a motel room, if for no other reason than for the sake of their two pets, a semi-tame black barn cat named Spooky and their finicky champagne and white Pekingese, Ghost.

The two animals were last to be loaded and placed in the back seat of the shiny white Jag with Spooky, in a snit in his cat carrier, and Ghost, left to his own devices loose, although a tiny leash six feet long hung from his collar, giving them a fair chance of nabbing him if he took off. The stocky little dog liked traveling and had been on many journeys with them. The sleek cat was newer to the family and also a novice to the ritual of being thrown in the car for the latest adventure. He set his claws around the bars of the carrier door and began cat-yodeling as soon as the car started to move. Liz grimaced, but Kim put a hand behind the seat and tried to calm the unhappy little feline as she drove down the road, followed by Charles’ pickup and the trailer.

Liz sat silent and watched the house by the lake, their residence for the last thirty-six months, disappear from view. Funny, she hadn't known how much she would miss it until she glimpsed the last sight of it as they rounded the corner. There had been some good times in the simple cabin; despite the few not-so-good times, she would miss it. Located in the Hill Country west of Austin, it sat across a country lane from Lake Travis and was surrounded by oak trees, limestone outcrops and abundant wildlife. Liz got her first real taste of country living at that house, and she adored being there more than she had ever thought possible. She had always thought of herself as a city girl, but the lake cabin had forever erased her preference for the city.

"What are you thinking?” Kim asked after the cat settled in, the car grew quiet and they had traveled several miles along the road to town.

Liz sighed, “Oh, nothing, really; missing it already, that's all."

"I thought you didn't want to stay there when Cora decided to up the rent. We
could
have stayed, you know."

Liz smiled. “Yes, I know. I'm okay about leaving, but I'll miss it, especially the lake. You know how I am about water."

Kim shook her head. Yes, she knew how Liz was about the water, but she never understood how anyone who loved the water so much could have lived her entire life without ever learning to swim. To Kim, the most fun thing about it was the water sports; all Liz ever wanted to do was stare at it; one of the many ways she and Liz were different.

"What about you? Won't you miss it?” Liz asked, looking at her friend, who changed residences so often.

Kim shrugged, “There are some things about it I'll miss a lot, I guess, but also some things I'm glad to be leaving, like our prying landlady. I feel we did what we were supposed to do here and it is time to be moving on."

"Yeah, three years
is
a long time for you to stay in one spot!” Liz teased.

"Hey, what is that supposed to mean, that I'm a gypsy?"

"A proud title you've earned and one which you carry with you everywhere you go,” Liz said. “I have to admit, it
is
more interesting than staying in one place all your life."

Kim smiled. Since she graduated from David Crockett High School, she
had
moved a lot, but she knew Liz, an only child, had lived with her parents in one house in West Texas until she went to UT. After college, she had lived with her husband and kids in one home until her children were teens. “Has it been interesting for you? I mean, you used to be a home body kind of gal."

Liz grinned, shook her head and said, “You mean a stick-in-the-mud, don't you?"

"Certainly not!” Kim replied, “Stick-in-the-mud has never been what I would call you. You stayed close to home, that's all."

"Yeah, I stayed home with the kids until they were old enough to have some input about moving somewhere else. You were always the adventuress. I wasn't brave enough to take off into the distance."

"You
are
the brave one; you took care of your family after Chuck died and you did it alone. I wouldn't have been able to do what you did,” Kim contradicted.

"Nonsense, you got married again after what Danny did to you. That takes guts,” Liz argued, remembering how her friend had come to her door in the middle of the night, devastated.

"I'm not sure how much guts it took, but it did prove I wasn't always as good at listening to my inner guidance as I am now. Frank was no prize either, and if I had listened, I would never have gone for that second marriage, I'll tell you that much,” Kim stated, disgusted at the memory.

Liz giggled, asked, “What? Gosh, Kimberly Dawn, you mean to tell me you would have missed the chance to have this wonderful vintage Jag?"

"Oh, ha-ha, very funny! Repeat after me: Never marry for a Jaguar; it's cheaper, and
easier
, to buy one, even if you have to take out a loan.” She grinned, “The car
was
the best thing to come out of the marriage, but it isn't old enough to be considered vintage."

"He did take good care of it,” Liz said, running her hand over the comfortable pristine leather seat.

"
I'll
say. If he'd taken half as good care of me I would still be with him!” Kim shrugged, adding, “I guess
things
are more important to some people than people are."

"You know, I always thought you and Frank were the perfect couple,” Liz cooed. “Rich, beautiful, unloving...."

"Oh,
is that so?
Then you aren't as psychic as I think you are! I'd have thought you'd have
known
Frank and his ego were the perfect couple,” she said, lips pursed. “No one had better try to put
that
relationship asunder, or woe be unto them."

Liz shook her head and laughed. “Oh, how could I have forgotten about
that
relationship? Must be the first signs of ‘old-timers’ disease setting in."

Kim stifled a chuckle as she slowed the car and turned into the KOA driveway. “What is it with you about old age? Ever since you hit forty-five, you've been talking about being old."

"I don't know—maybe I'm just feeling it more now that I'm a grandmother. Who knows?"

Kim shrugged as she pulled up in front of the office building, parking close to the tiny swimming pool. As she got out of the car she said, “I'll be right back. I'm going to tell Pam we're here."

Liz nodded, watching her friend's easy gait as Kim bounded into the office. Her curly-haired buddy always knew people by their first names soon after making the acquaintance. Casual relationships were her specialty. Liz had begun to look around at the trees, other trailers and recreational vehicles when Kim reappeared a couple of minutes later, a smile on her face.

"Well, Miss Grandmother, I'm too young to be old, and I won't have you trying to push me into feeling old just because
you
think you should be
feeling it more!
” Kim said as she tossed her head and let the car idle while they watched Charles pull the trailer into the space she had rented. She swung the car into the parking area by the little picnic table and small flower garden full of Mexican heather and alyssum and switched off the engine. “He may need a little help unhooking this thing,
Grandma.
"

"Okay, forget I said anything about it, all right? I was trying to be funny. But you know, not all of us are eternally youthful like
some
people."

Kim sighed and opened her door. “Jokes about old age are not funny to me somehow. Joke about something else."

Liz rolled her eyes, opened her own door. “Stay Ghost. Good dog. You thought it was funny, didn't you, boy?"

"Hey, you, don't be looking for support from the mutt! You know he always takes my side!” Kim closed the door, headed toward the back of the truck.

"Did you hear that? She called you a mutt! You still gonna side with her?” The dog plopped down on the seat, head resting on his front paws. She closed the door. “So much for loyalty,” she complained.

"He's loyal—loyal to
me
,” Kim said with a smile.

Liz walked to the back of the truck, her bottom lip jutting out in her best pout as she whined, “All the animals always love you better."

Kim ignored Liz's statement, started to hook the trailer up to the water and electricity. “Do you think you can level the trailer while I connect everything?"

Liz smiled as Charles rolled down the support on the front hitch. “Yeah, sure—does this one work the same as the one we rented last summer, or is it one of those older,
unimproved
models?” She was being facetious; the trailer they had rented for their vacation the year before was ancient.

"Need any help with that, Kim?” Charles asked.

"I think I can handle it. Thanks Charles. You've done enough. The instructions looked pretty much the same, Liz. The man at the sales place said everything has been renovated and works just like a new one,” Kim said, walking over to stand beside her friend and giving him an appreciative hug.

Liz took a deep breath, said more to herself than anyone else, “Sure, if you can believe a travel trailer salesman."

"I guess I had better get to work, then. Talk to you girls later,” Charles said, getting into his truck. Kim and Liz thanked him again, waved goodbye and watched him drive off.

Kim walked around the trailer to where Liz was pulling the leveling jacks out of the side compartment. “What was that you were saying?” she asked.

Liz straightened, smiled at her friend, “Hmm? Oh, nothing; just talking to myself, which, of course—as you know—is another sign of aging."

Kim slumped, sighed. “Will you knock it off!"

Liz shoved her tongue into her cheek, grinned, “Gotcha'!"

The trailer set-up went well and the two women got their pets oriented, then showered and passed an uneventful afternoon sorting things, putting everything in place and getting their new habitat in order. The afternoon rolled on, and it was time for them to get ready for the party they were invited to that evening. To Liz's delight, everything did indeed work the way it was supposed to and with two pullout sections, the trailer was roomy enough to be almost comfortable.

She smiled, hands on her hips to signal she was finished with her homemaker's duties. “Ah, home, sweet home!"

"Ah, nut, sweet nut! It takes so little for you to feel at home,” Kim teased.

Liz shook her head and sighed, “I know. Anyone would think
I
was the professional nomad, not you!” She laughed at Kim's grimace.

"Yeah, right! I can remember when you fought any kind of change, especially change of address.” Kim chuckled, leaning down to straighten one of the pillows on the tiny couch.

"Well, sure, but then you got me trained and now I'm almost as adaptable as you. I'm a champion vagabond, just like you!"

"Uh-huh, sure you are. Tell me, Miss Champion Vagabond
Grandma
, what are you going to wear tonight? Do you think this black body suit and my flowered wraparound will be too outrageous, or just right?” She held them up in front of her and looked at Liz.

Liz paused, considered the apparel Kim held out for her inspection, an impish grin on her face, said, “Oh, I think those clothes look just like..."

"Yes? Like what?” Kim asked, her expression defensive.

"Why, like you, of course; they are cool, comfortable, a bit suggestive and colorful. I definitely think you should wear them,” she said, putting on a look of innocence.