Dead In The Water (Rebecca Schwartz Mystery #4) (The Rebecca Schwartz Series)

marriage.
    I couldn’t tell what his reaction was to Sadie’s death, busy as he was, attending to his daughter. But I thought it odd Esperanza should have been so upset. It was normal that the Whitehead kids had been—Sadie was their stepmother, in a de facto sense—but why this kid?
    I was exhausted. I needed to do Marty’s errand for her, but I didn’t dare leave Libby in the state she was in, and anyway, I needed to make sure she ate something. By this time the downstairs was filling up with the smell of grilled cheese sandwiches, which was apparently Keil’s idea of breakfast. Libby wasn’t the only one who needed to eat—it was getting close to noon, and Auntie was working up an appetite. I went into the kitchen.
    Keil was standing over the stove wolfing down a grilled cheese. The table was neatly set for one, and he was just pulling another sandwich from the skillet. He delivered it by spatula to the plate on the table. “That’s for you.”
    “Me? You made a sandwich for me?”
    “Yeah.”
    I couldn’t get over it. Here was a twelve-year-old whose mother was in jail, whose stepmother was dead, whose dad was God knows where, and he was taking care of
me
. To avoid falling at his feet in gratitude, I fell on the sandwich instead.
    Keil hollered, “Lib! You want a grilled cheese?” nearly pulverizing my tympana. I put my hands over my ears.
    Keil looked ashamed, caught being a kid. “Sorry.”
    Deep silence reigned from upstairs. I knew I should go up. I really should try again. But I couldn’t find the reserve strength right then.
    Keil seemed to be reading my thoughts. “She puts everybody through changes.”
    The doorbell rang, the front door opened, and someone with heavy footsteps trooped through the house. I hoped it was someone friendly.
    “Grandma.”
    “Hello, Keil. Come kiss your old grandma.”
    Reluctantly Keil stepped forward and would have given her a kiss on the cheek, but she engulfed him. She wasn’t particularly fat and she wasn’t particularly grandmotherly, but it was already obvious she was a strong presence.
    She turned to me. “Ava Langford. You must be the lawyer.”
    I took the hand she offered. “Rebecca Schwartz.”
    “How’s Marty?” The question was sympathetic, but the brown eyes were full of judgment; of whom, I didn’t know yet.
    “Doing very well,” I said. “Staying calm.”
    “Cool as a cucumber. Libby?”
    “Upstairs. She’s very upset.”
    “She’s just trying to get attention. That’s the way she is. Keil! This place smells like a fast-food joint.” She opened two windows over the sink as she asked, “Will you be staying?”
    She wasn’t tall, this woman, about five five or six, I’d say, and she was built strong. She was deep-bosomed and heavy-bellied, and she didn’t have much of a waist. Her hair was a rich brown—not a gray hair in sight—and it was a little wavy. She would have been a handsome woman if it hadn’t been for her eyes. They made me nervous.
    I made a quick decision. “Yes. Until I get Marty out of jail.”
    I didn’t want to stay. I wanted like hell to move to a quiet B&B, but something was holding me here—Libby. I had no idea why. She scared me. I didn’t know how to talk to her or how to help her. Keil could probably take care of half a dozen kids like her without even breaking a sweat. She didn’t need me and there probably wasn’t a damn thing I could do for her. I just thought I ought to stay, that was all.
    “I have to do an errand for Marty. I’d better go get dressed.”
    Ava followed me upstairs. “Is there food in the house for the weekend? If I know Marty, there’s not. I’d better go shopping and get things under control.”
    I went into my room and heard her go into Libby’s. “Libby? It’s Grandma! Aren’t you glad to see Grandma?”
    “No!”
    “Libby! I’m ashamed of you. Your mama’s in jail and you’re acting like a two-year-old. How’s that going to help your mom? After all she’s been through, I’d think you could act a little more grown-up.”
    “I’m playing with my Barbies now.”
    “Grandma came all the way from Walnut Creek and you won’t even give her a hug.”
    The shower into which I gratefully stepped drowned them out.
    As I was putting on my makeup, someone knocked softly at my door. “Come in.”
    Libby did, and made herself at home, sitting on my bed and bouncing. “Can you get Mommy out of jail?”
    “Yes, honey. Absolutely. It might not be today,