“Lying and impersonating your mother is a lot lamer,” Liz said. She turned to me then. “Sarah, when was the last time your garage floor was cleaned—really cleaned?”
“I don’t know,” I said. “A month maybe. Before Mac left, for sure.”
To my surprise Liz walked over to her granddaughter, wrapped her arms around Avery and kissed the top of her head. “Get going, missy,” she said. “I want that floor clean enough to eat off of.”
“Why do people always say that when they want something really clean?” Avery asked. “It’s not like anyone would actually ever eat off the floor.”
“Avery this would probably be a good time to stop talking,” Greg said.
She shrugged and headed for the garage. “I’m doing this under protest,” she called over her shoulder.
“I’ll make a note in your permanent record,” Liz said dryly.
“I’m helping her because she was trying to help me,” Greg said. He hiked his backpack a little higher on his shoulder and followed Avery.
“I like that boy,” Liz said. “Don’t tell Avery I said that.”
“That’s a big space,” Rose said eyeing the garage.
I came up behind her and wrapped my arms around hers. “Don’t go there,” I whispered. I watched the kids wrestle both big doors open and head inside. Rose was right. That was a lot of floor to clean. But Avery had been wrong to lie and impersonate her mother. It was wrong for a lot of reasons, but a small part of me admired her resourcefulness. Liz was the one who dealt with Avery’s school. As she’d pointed out they didn’t know her mother’s voice so it was easy to pretend to be her.
Easy to pretend. I realized that I was standing next to the car by myself. Rose and Liz were at the back door. I hurried after them.
I caught up with Liz just inside the door and put a hand on her arm. “Don’t even think about pleading that child’s case,” she said.
“I’m not going to,” I said. “Tell me what Mike Pearson looks like.”
“I haven’t seen him for years,” Liz said. “I can tell you that he wasn’t very tall.”
“I could get Alfred to find a photo for you,” Rose offered.
Charlotte came into the workroom just then. “You’re back,” she said. “Did you learn anything from Mr. Pace?”
“Just that he’s a glass bowl,” Rose said.
“And we already knew that,” Liz added. She looked at me. “Charlotte could probably tell you what Mike looks like now.”
“Can you describe him?” I asked. “Liz said he’s not very tall.”
“No, he’s not,” Charlotte said. “He’s maybe two or three inches taller than you are.”
That made him five eight or five nine. Just under average for a man in this country.
“Greg has his coloring,” she continued.
“So dark hair and dark eyes.”
She nodded.
“Heavy? Skinny? Muscular?”
Charlotte thought for a moment. “I guess I’d describe Mike as wiry.”
Wiry. “Like a runner?” I asked.
She nodded. “Yes. Although I don’t know if he was one.”
“That doesn’t matter,” I said.
“Why do you suddenly care what Mike Pearson looks like?” Liz asked.
“Because if Avery can impersonate her mother, why couldn’t someone have impersonated Mike the night of the fire?” They were all looking at me now. “We’ve been trying to show that Judge Halloran was mistaken. That he didn’t see Mike. But maybe he did.”
“He saw someone pretending to be Mike,” Rose finished.
“Exactly.”
“But who?” Charlotte asked.
“Someone who isn’t very tall,” Rose said, holding up one finger.
“And a lean build,” Charlotte added.
Rose nodded and held up a second finger. “And he has to have short, dark hair.” She had three fingers in the air now.
“The hair could have been dyed,” Liz interjected.
“The man Neill Halloran saw was wearing a hat,” Rose said. “I think height and build are what we should focus on.”
The man Neill Halloran saw.
Man.
Jia Allison was a couple of inches taller than I was. She had the wiry build of a runner. She even had short, dark hair. And she had a reason to hate Gina Pearson.
The man Neill Halloran saw.
Had it been a man, I wondered?
Chapter 16
I hated the idea that Jia Allison could be responsible for Gina Pearson’s death. I should have gone and talked to her, one-on-one, I realized. Until I did, I didn’t feel I could share my suspicions with anyone.
Rose and Charlotte had already gone into the shop. I put my arm around Liz’s shoulders. “How about a cup of tea?”
“That does sound good,” she said. She glanced over her shoulder. “I can’t believe that child actually thought she could get away with pretending to be her mother.”
“I’m not excusing what she did,” I said. “But you have to admit she was pretty creative.”
“I don’t have to admit anything,” Liz said, but a hint of a smile played on her lips.
I made the tea. Elvis watched me, whiskers twitching when I found one lone oatmeal cookie in the can on the counter. I broke off a tiny piece and fed it to him. “You are so spoiled,” I told him, giving the top of his head a scratch.
“Mrr,” he said. It seemed he didn’t care.
Mallory Pearson was in the shop talking to Liz when I went back downstairs. Katy was with her. I walked over to them. It turned out that Greg had texted his sister to tell her he was helping Avery with her “punishment.”
“I’m sorry, Mrs. French,” she was saying. “This is my fault.”
“No, it isn’t,” Katy said. She looked at Liz. “It’s your fault. Please just stop this. I know you mean well but you’re just making things worse, not better, for Mallory and her brothers.”
Mallory put a hand on the woman’s arm. “Thank you for the ride over here,” she said. “You can go now. I can handle this.”
“We can just get your brother and leave,” Katy said. “You don’t have to stay here.”
Mallory forced a smile. She put her arms around Katy and gave her a hug. “Thank you for caring. But everything’s okay. Go home. I’ll call you later.”
She was very mature for her age, probably because life had forced her to be.
Katy looked from Mallory to Liz. “If you need me, you call me.”
Mallory nodded. “I promise.” She kept the smile on her face until Katy was gone then she turned to Liz. “I’m sorry about that,” she said. “Katy just doesn’t know when to let go.”
“Gina was her best friend,” I said. “It’s understandable that she’d worry about you and your brothers.”
She gave me a wry smile. “She drives Greg crazy, but I kind of feel sad for her.” She played with a strand of hair, twisting it around one finger. “A couple of months before the fire Katy was set to adopt a baby and it didn’t happen because the birth mother changed her mind.”
“That had to be very painful,” Liz said.
Mallory nodded. “The night of the fire, the night Dad took us to her house, I slept in the living room because the baby’s room was, well, still the baby’s room with a crib and everything.”
Katy’s overprotectiveness toward her best friend’s children made a little more sense now.
Mallory looked at Liz. “Would it be all right if I talked to Greg for a sec?” she asked.
“Of course,” Liz said.
“They’re out in the garage,” Charlotte said. She put an arm around Mallory’s shoulders. “I’ll show you.”
“I’ll come with you,” I said. I looked at Liz. “Go get some hot for your cup. I’ll be right back.”
Greg was moving things and Avery was wielding the shop vac when we got to the garage work space.
“They’re doing a good job,” I whispered to Charlotte. “This space hasn’t been this clean in I don’t know how long.”