An’gel quickly disrobed and slipped on her nightgown, then lay down on the bed. She prayed for several minutes for her cousin, and then dropped off to sleep not long after.
She jerked awake several hours later, thanks to the crash of thunder. Moments later, lightning flashed, and she counted the seconds until the next boom. Four seconds. The storm was about four miles away.
She dressed quickly and left the bedroom. She found Dickce in the living room, sitting in a chair with its back to the inside wall.
“I was going to wake you up in a minute if the storm didn’t,” Dickce said. She, like An’gel, hated thunderstorms. Their mother had been terrified of weather like this and would hide herself and her daughters in a first-floor closet at Riverhill whenever storms threatened. The sisters had conquered the worst of their fears of bad weather, but their mother’s legacy lingered.
An’gel retrieved a chair from the kitchen area and brought it to sit beside Dickce. For a few minutes, An’gel shared with Dickce the events of the morning at Willowbank, while Dickce was at the hospital in Baton Rouge. Once the storm was overhead, however, neither of them spoke. For the longest time, it seemed to stall right above them. They huddled together, their breathing ragged, until after an eternity the storm began to move away.
An’gel got up, intent on fetching a bottle of water for each of them from the fridge, but a knock on the door halted her. She opened the door to find Benjy, with Endora on his shoulder and Peanut at his side, standing there. Peanut looked frightened, and Endora had her head against the side of Benjy’s face.
An’gel motioned them in and shut the door behind them. “Is everything okay?” she asked.
Peanut loped over to Dickce, woofing happily, but Endora remained on Benjy’s shoulder.
“We’re okay,” Benjy said with a faint smile. “But the guys were really spooked by the weather. Peanut spent the whole time under the bed with Endora.” He chuckled. “A couple of times I was tempted to join them.”
“Poor babies,” Dickce said as she rubbed the Labradoodle’s head. “I don’t blame them. It was a pretty fierce storm.”
“It certainly was,” An’gel said.
“The bad thing is,” Benjy said, his face darkening, “it’s not over. I checked the forecast, and there’s another wave of it moving right at us. Should be here within the next hour.”
An’gel shuddered. She wasn’t sure her nerves, or Dickce’s, could take much more of this scary weather.
“From what I could see, there are a lot of limbs down, and the ditches are overflowing,” Benjy said. “I guess Willowbank is high enough up it’s not in danger of flooding, but we’re considerably lower here.”
“Do you think we should move up to Willowbank then?” An’gel asked. Benjy’s evident uneasiness made her even more nervous.
Benjy nodded. “Yes, ma’am. The radar showed a big system, and it’s probably packing a lot of rain and high winds. I think we’d be safer up there.”
“All right then.” An’gel nodded decisively. “Let’s pack up quickly what we need for the night, and put it in the car. We’ll drive up there. I don’t want to leave the car here and have it washed away.”
“I’ve got my stuff and the guys’ food and everything ready,” Benjy said. “Just need to load it.”
An’gel found her handbag and dug out her keys. She gave them to Benjy. “We’ll be out right away.”
Twenty minutes later they were all safely inside Willowbank, with the Lexus stowed in the old stables that had been transformed decades ago into a multicar garage. Estelle was grumpy but grudgingly agreed to get a couple of bedrooms ready for them.
“I don’t want those animals on the bed, though.” She shot a dark look at Benjy. “You make sure they stay on the floor.”
“Yes, ma’am,” he said.
An’gel, Dickce, along with Benjy and the animals, trooped upstairs after Estelle. She showed the sisters to a bedroom on the second floor, then led Benjy up to the third floor. When she returned to the sisters’ room, she carried fresh linens.
“We’ll make up the bed,” Dickce told her. “I’m sure you have enough to do.”
“And we certainly appreciate the hospitality,” An’gel said. “We’re concerned about the storm that’s coming, and we thought Willowbank would be safer than the cottages.”
Estelle shrugged. “Don’t expect much in the way of dinner. We’ll be lucky if the electricity stays on. It was flickering on and off earlier.” She walked out of the room.
An’gel and Dickce exchanged glances, then Dickce shrugged. “Even if the lights do go out, I’d rather be here,” she said.
“Me, too.” An’gel started stripping the bed.
The storm reached Willowbank about an hour later, and the old house shook from the force of it. An’gel and Dickce, along with Benjy, Endora, and Peanut, sought refuge downstairs in a small interior room that served as a den. Once part of a larger space that had been divided in two to allow an extension of the kitchen on the outer side, it was cozy and furnished with overstuffed chairs and two small sofas. The sisters planned to ride out the storm there. They were too nervous to eat anything, but Estelle popped in at one point to tell them food was available in the dining room.
They did not see anyone else, though from Jackson they learned that Horace and Trey were in residence, along with Sondra and Tippy. Richmond Thurston had come back and then had been caught by the storm, and he would be staying the night as well.
Benjy huddled with Peanut and Endora on one sofa while the storm raged, with An’gel and Dickce sitting close together on the other. Conversation was ragged.
The fury of the weather seemed to have chosen Willowbank as its target, or so it seemed to An’gel. The system must have stalled in the area, because the wind and rain lashed the mansion for nearly two hours. Finally, though, the noise began to lessen, the house stopped shivering, and An’gel breathed more easily.
“Thank the Lord, I think it’s finally gone,” she said.
Dickce nodded weakly. “About time.”
“I’m going to check out front,” Benjy said. “If the rain really has slacked off, I’m going to let Peanut do his business.”
“Good idea,” An’gel said. “I’m actually hungry now. Let’s go see if there’s anything edible in the kitchen, Sister.” She got up and motioned for Dickce to join her.
“I’ll take Endora with me,” Dickce said. “I’m sure she doesn’t want to go out and get her paws wet.” She took the cat from Benjy, and Endora promptly climbed on Dickce’s shoulder.
They all trooped out into the hall. An’gel and Dickce made for the kitchen while Benjy headed to the front door. An’gel and Dickce found the kitchen deserted. An’gel opened the refrigerator door to survey the contents.
“There are some cold cuts here,” she said. “A bit of leftover chicken. Guess we can make sandwiches, if there’s bread.”
Before Dickce could respond, they were both startled by the sudden entrance of Benjy and Peanut. Benjy’s face was pale.
“There’s a body on the ground in front of the house.” His voice quavered. “I think it’s Sondra.”
CHAPTER 14
Dickce stared at Benjy, uncertain whether she had heard him correctly. “Sondra? Lying out there in the rain?”
Benjy nodded. “Yes, ma’am. It is her. Wearing a blue dress.”
Dickce felt a chill run down her spine. Sondra had threatened to wear a blue dress for her bridal gown. Was that the dress she had on?
“Did you check to see if she was alive?” An’gel spoke harshly.
“Yes, ma’am. I checked for a pulse, but there wasn’t any.” He grimaced. “She’s soaking wet. She must have been out there awhile during the storm.”
A sudden shriek ripped the air, startling them all. The screaming continued. Endora dug her claws into Dickce’s shoulders, then launched herself onto a nearby shelf. Peanut tried to worm his way under the sofa, but it was too low to the floor to allow him. Dickce, An’gel, and Benjy hurried from the room, but Benjy paused long enough to shut the door to keep the animals securely inside. The screaming had begun to diminish in volume, and as they neared the front door, Dickce caught a glimpse of Estelle in the dim light on the verandah, hands over her eyes.