Page 67 of Ghostlighted
Had he intended for Ricky to be accused? Maybe. Maybe not. I didn’t like the guy, but I could give him the benefit ofthatdoubt, as well as the one that whispered he’d intended to actually kill Sofia. I think this was just another way for him to gaslight her.
But why here? Why now? Had Sofia’s impending trip to Cambridge been the catalyst? If so, Ricky had been right. The guy was a total asshole. Also, it meant that this wasn’t Ricky’s fault, whatever he thought.
It was mine.
Kamillashouldhave arrested me, after all.
No, screw that. If Liam had done this, it was his fault, and he needed to answer for it. Now.
“I’m sorry. I need to make a phone call. The kitchen’s down that way, through the family room. Go ahead and take a look. I’ll join you shortly.”
I waited for them to disappear into the kitchen, accompanied by oohs and aahs from Jillie, then called Felicia.
“Hey, Maz. What’s up? I hope you convinced Ricky to eat.”
Gah!Obviously she didn’t know about the arrest, and no way was I breaking that bit of news. “As a matter of fact, I did. I wanted to ask you a question, though.”
“Shoot.”
“Do you know who called Liam to tell him about Sofia?”
“Ricky.”
“You sure?”
“Uh huh. When I told Mami and Papi that I’d seen him at your house, they weren’t happy, since Tia told them not to tell him. They thought Antonio might have done it from the hospital, but Mami is Tia’s emergency contact, so he didn’t. Besides, Antonio thinks Guillermo is a tool.” She chortled. “His words, not mine. He said he was glad he didn’t have to deal with him in the ward.”
“And nobody else is likely to have done it?”
“No. Besides, Guill—Liamsaid Ricky called him when we saw him on the lawn. Remember?”
“Ah. That’s right. Thanks.”
“No problem. Anything else?”
“No. That’s it.”
“Okay. Bye!”
Yep. Totally my fault. The only reason Liam was in town was because Sofia told him about the trip. She’d told us he kept trying to talk her out of it. In fact, we’d heard it ourselves on the first call.
Was he really that ashamed of his family that he’d go to these lengths to hide them from his Harvard friends? I remembered Liam’s rant on my front lawn, and Jillie’s tales of his behavior in Richdale.
Who was I kidding? “It’s all about him, the entitled, narcissistic asshole. Ofcoursehe’d go to these lengths.”
Dominik poked his head out of the kitchen. “Did you say something, Maz?”
“Sorry. Just talking to myself.” I tried to arrange my face into a less disgusted expression. “Will the kitchen meet Bernadette’s needs?”
He grinned. “A six-burner gas range and an acre of end-grain cutting board? You may never pry her out of it.”
Jillie joined him in the doorway. “Uncle Dom, Jenkins House has almost the same thing, except it hastwosix-burner ranges.”
“I suppose that makes sense,” I said. “Oren did design both kitchens.”
Jillie held up a flat copper pan that ordinarily hung in the butler’s pantry. “Is it okay if I take this to Mom? She was planning to make paella, and if she can prep it in the pan before we come over, she can just pop the whole thing in the oven and we can eat sooner.” She hugged the pan to her middle. “Trust me. You totally want to eat sooner. Mom’s paella isawesome.”
“By all means, take it with you.” I shifted from foot to foot, the urgency of needing to contact Kamilla and tell her mysuspicions probably making me look like I needed to duck into one of the house’s many bathrooms,stat.
