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Chapter 16

When Liz came to pick up Avery at noon, she brought Charlotte with her. She also brought food—roast-beef sandwiches from McNamara’s. Since I had spent a big chunk of the morning priming the hutch, I was happy to see I didn’t have to figure out lunch. Avery was still working on the front window. “I’ll watch the store,” she said, “and the rest of you can go sit down and eat.”

Mac and I found a couple of small tables to push together, and then we carried over several chairs. Chairs were never a problem at the shop. It sometimes seemed as though they multiplied in the dark corners of the room.

Once we were all seated with sandwiches and tea—or coffee for Mac and me—Rose turned to Liz. “Tell us about the meeting last night.”

“It was just a lot of empty promises,” Liz said, making a dismissive gesture with one hand.

Charlotte nodded in agreement. “They seemed to have only two answers for any questions they were asked—we’re working on that and that’s something we’re still negotiating.”

“Do you think the project is dead?” Mr. P. asked.

“Yes,” Liz said, pulling the pickle out of her sandwich. “The only thing that’s left to do is order flowers and plan the wake. Jon West was talking about expropriation again. I don’t see how that’s going to happen.”

I didn’t say that maybe she was wrong. “What about you, Charlotte?” I asked instead.

“I’m not as certain as Liz is,” Charlotte said, playing with the teaspoon that was resting on her saucer. “Caroline was there. I talked to her for a minute.”

“I’m guessing Lily left the bakery to her,” I said, fishing an olive round from my sandwich and popping it in my mouth. “Did she say anything that made you think she might be willing to sell? Not that she’d be able to do that for a while.”

Charlotte shook her head. “No. But she didn’t say she’s not willing to sell, either. She is getting a lot of pressure from Jon West. At least that’s what she told me. You know that there are rumors someone with money has invested in the project?”

“I heard,” I said.

“Do you know who this mystery investor is?” Rose asked.

Charlotte picked up her tea. “All I can tell you is that I’ve heard the Wellington Group mentioned, but that could be just a rumor.”

“That’s somewhere to start,” Mr. P. said, glancing at Rose.

Rose leaned over and patted his arm. “Alfred will find something. Don’t worry.”

Mr. P. smiled back at her. He had the look of a love-struck teenager, and I had no doubt he would do whatever it took to justify Rose’s faith in him—which was not necessarily a good thing.

The conversation turned to other possibilities that had been floated over the years for development of the harbor front.

“You know what I don’t understand,” Liz said, shifting sideways in her seat. “What changed for Lily?”

“What do you mean, what changed?” I asked.

“Well, it must be close to five years ago now,” she said. “There was another plan for revitalizing the waterfront. It didn’t get as far as this one has, but I don’t remember Lily having any problem with that idea.”

I remembered Jess mentioning the other waterfront proposal. “Maybe that project was smaller,” I said.

Charlotte looked at Liz. “Are you talking about that development company out of Vermont?” she said.

Liz nodded over her teacup. “That’s the one.”

Charlotte shook her head. “Then no,” she said to me. “That plan for the harbor front was actually bigger than the North Landing project is. There was a problem with the development company. Their financing was a little too creative for some people. There was a lot of behind-the-scenes maneuvering, and suddenly the whole project was quashed.”

Liz brushed a few crumbs from the sleeve of her cashmere cardigan. “Lily definitely had no problem with that idea,” she said. She shrugged. “And there’s no reason to keep it a secret. The person doing what Charlotte so diplomatically called ‘behind-the-scenes maneuvering’ four years ago was me.”

“You, Elizabeth?” Charlotte said, her eyes widening with surprise.

“Why on earth would you do that?” Rose asked, her cup paused in midair.

“The Trinity Group were the main investors in that deal. I did a little digging into their finances,” she said. “Their portfolio was very shaky, not to mention they were being investigated by the IRS. They went bankrupt not long after.”

“Pyramid scheme,” Mac said quietly. “I remember the SEC investigation.”

“The whole thing was a house of cards,” Liz commented, looking around for the teapot.

“Maybe Lily just changed her mind about any kind of development,” Mr. P. said. “That kind of thing happens.”

Rose had gotten up to get the teapot, and she paused with it hovering over Liz’s cup. “Alfred, are you saying that women just change their minds on a whim?”

Mac caught my eye across the table, and the corners of his mouth twitched.

“Of course not,” Mr. P. said smoothly. “I’m saying that as some people mature, what’s important to them changes. Maybe that’s what happened to Lily.”

Rose smiled. “You could be right.” She turned to Charlotte. “Do you think you could sound out Caroline and see if she knows what changed Lily’s mind?”

“I can try,” Charlotte said. She folded her napkin and set it on her plate. “I just don’t want Caroline to feel like she’s getting the third degree. She’s Lily’s mother, remember.”

“You’re the most diplomatic person I know,” Rose said as she poured another cup of tea for Liz. “I know you can figure something out.”

“Are you going to give her a trowel along with that line, Rose?” Liz asked.

Charlotte turned her head to look at her friend. “Liz, what on earth are you talking about?”

“Rose is laying it on a little thick,” Liz said.

“Are you trying to tell me I’m not diplomatic?” Charlotte said. Her hackles were up.

Liz waved the question away with one hand. “Heavens, no. You’re far more diplomatic than I am.”

“Everyone’s more diplomatic than you are,” Rose retorted.

Avery burst into the room then. Her hair looked like something Elvis might have dragged around the parking lot. There was a smudge of dirt, or maybe it was makeup, on one cheek and a huge smile on her face.

“The window’s done, and you have to see it!” she exclaimed.

I got to my feet. “Okay, then. Let’s go.”

I took a step toward the shop doors, and Avery put up both hands to stop me.

“No,” she said. “You have to go around and see it from the front to get the full effect.”

“Then that’s what we’ll do,” Rose said. “I can’t wait to see what you’ve done.” She patted Avery on the cheek and started for the back door.

“Kiddo, do you know how cold it is outside?” Liz asked.

Avery’s face fell.

Mr. P. got to his feet. “A little cold can be very invigorating,” he said.

Mac smiled as he stood up as well. “Yes, it can, Alfred,” he said.

Liz pushed back her chair. “I like to be invigorated as much as the next guy.” She smiled at her granddaughter. “Let’s go.”

We all cut through the parking lot and went to stand on the sidewalk in front of the store.

“Oh. My” was the only thing I could think of to say.

“I like it,” Rose proclaimed. “Do you think Avery could do an Aerosmith window?”

Liz had her arms folded across her chest. “You’re not going to remind us about the time Steven Tyler’s mouth had two tongues and yours didn’t have any—are you?”

“You’re just jealous,” Rose said with a saucy grin.