“Yes?” a woman’s hollow voice sounded through a grille in the stone wall next to the gate.

“I’m Cady Jordan. I’m here to see my grandmother.”

Inside the house, Mandy Ebersole, retired stuntwoman and lifelong companion to Lola Jor Dan, looked at Anthony Borellie, another lifelong friend of Lola’s, and grinned. “She’s here! That should perk Herself up a bit, don’t you think?”

The retired film director grinned and nodded. “Some young blood around here is just what we need. Let’s see what she’s made of.”

“Do you have an appointment?” the faceless voice asked.

“No. Do I need one?”

“Yes, you need an appointment. Miss Jor Dan does not receive callers. She’s retired and likes her privacy.” Cady thought she could hear the woman sniff.

“She’ll see me. Tell her if you don’t open these gates, I’ll plow them down. Now, hop to it. My dog is getting antsy,” Cady said with more bravado than she felt. It was the second most unorthodox, serendipitous thing she’d ever done.

“Dog?” Inside the house the two conspirators looked at one another. “She’s got some spit to her. Lola’s going to love this. She is, isn’t she, Anthony?” The director nodded uneasily.

“D-o-g! Dog. It rhymes with log or bog or hog. Take your pick. Please tell my grandmother I’m here. I’ll give you five minutes, or these gates are going to go down.”

Atlas woofed his agreement. “I sounded tough, didn’t I? I didn’t mean it, though,” Cady whispered. Atlas woofed again just as the gates swung open.

Cady drove a mile up a long winding road that was lined with poplar trees. The grounds were lush and well tended with what looked like acres of flowers and carefully pruned topiary. Her jaw dropped. Outside of a movie set, she’d never seen anything so beautiful. Off to her right she could see a tennis court and a grottolike swimming pool. Did her eighty-two-year-old grandmother play tennis and swim? Maybe in her younger years. So, who availed themselves of these sumptuous surroundings? Why did her grandmother need a six car garage? Who lived in the two Hansel-and-Gretel-looking cottages in the back? So many questions.

The car came to a grinding halt in front of the house. She craned her neck to stare at the imposing white columns and was reminded of pictures of Tara. Lola had a soft spot in her heart for anything concerning Gone With the Wind. She remembered her grandmother telling her how she’d missed out on playing Scarlett because her studio wouldn’t let her out of her contract. Lola had a story for everything.

Cady’s heartbeat quickened as she got out of the car. Surely her mother had notified Lola that she was on her way. On the other hand, Agnes Jordan might have felt it was her husband’s place to tell his mother she was on her way. If it had been left up to Asa Jordan, then this visit was going to come as a total surprise to her grandmother.