Page 117 of Murder By the Millions

I’d tracked her down via her online presence and told her what had happened to Jason, unsure whether the news of his death would have reached California. She’d been shocked to hear. She hadn’t a clue where he’d gone. Never knew why he’d left. I’d confided what I believed to be true. Upon learning shewas pregnant, he’d abandoned his project and fled California. She’d cried, saying because he never wrote, she thought he might have died.

She was as pretty as she was in all her pictures. A natural beauty. Gorgeous blond curls. Her soft pink Empire dress matched the color of her cheeks. But her eyes were filled with sadness. She noticed me eyeing her pregnant belly and pressed a hand to it. “It’s a boy.”

“Congratulations.”

“We’re going to name him Jason.”

My eyes welled with tears.

“I’ve come for the funeral.”

Magda had decided to host the funeral, seeing as Jason had no family, and because she and his family had been friends with the Yeagers. It was to be a small affair at the cemetery. She had ordered the headstone and had told me it would read:Dreamer. Builder. Gone too soon from this world.

Delilah surveyed the room and returned her gaze to me. She clasped both of my hands. “Jason would have loved this party. He always appreciated the past.”

“Yes, but he was hopeful for the future.”