The Last of the Moon Girls

Lizzy is woken up by a feeling of danger, and she then smells smoke. Out the window, she sees that the apple orchard is on fire. She tells Evvie to call the fire department and then runs outside. Lizzy cries near the fire until the firefighters arrive and Evvie pulls her inside, saying that the fire was arson.

The next day, a firefighter named Guy visits. Two of his men inspect the orchard and its shed, collecting evidence. There is no wiring or chemicals that could’ve caused the fire, nor was there a lightning storm. There are two Molotov cocktails made out of milk bottles and kerosene on fabric. Lizzy doesn’t mention that she might have made enemies by asking questions about the murders. The firefighters hope to find prints on the bottles.

Lizzy tells Evvie what they found in the shed. Evvie is worried about their safety, and Lizzy assures her that the fire department is communicating with the police.

Lizzy takes a bath, opens a bottle of wine, and starts cooking ratatouille. Andrew comes over with Rhanna; he picked her up while she was hitchhiking. Rhanna saw Althea in a dream and smelled her perfume when she woke up. Realizing that Althea was dead, she hitchhiked into town. Lizzy doesn’t want Rhanna to stay but says that she can stick around for the night and introduces her to Evvie.

Lizzy goes back to cooking while Andrew and Evvie go out to the garden. Rhanna tells Lizzy that Andrew is handsome and asks about Evvie. Lizzy shares that Evvie is also on the Path. Rhanna apologizes for her mistakes while Lizzy was growing up. Andrew comes in with some lettuce for the salad and asks to talk with Lizzy privately after they eat.

Over dinner, Andrew asks Rhanna questions. She hitchhiked because she is broke. She earned her meager living in California by singing and reading tarot. Lizzy attacks Rhanna for humiliating the family and accuses her of coming back to the farm only to get money. Rhanna says that isn’t true, and Lizzy says she doesn’t know Rhanna because she’s never been around.

Andrew walks near the orchard, upset that someone would set it on fire. He finds Lizzy, who is upset that he brought Rhanna to the farm. He argues that Rhanna would have made it whether he picked her up or not and that Lizzy should give Rhanna another chance. He also admits that he talked to Althea about Lizzy and Rhanna.

Lizzy asks Andrew if he believes in ghosts. He says that he believes spirits can linger, needing to resolve their regrets before they can move on. Lizzy, with tears in her eyes, admits that she’s felt Althea’s presence. Andrew thinks that Althea could be here, invisible, but accessible through the sense of smell. Lizzy thanks Andrew for sharing his thoughts about the supernatural.

When Lizzy goes back into the house, Evvie and Rhanna are arguing about Rhanna’s room. It has been used for storage, and Evvie has been trying to clear it out. Rhanna refuses to wait for the bed to be made. They argue about Rhanna not helping them clean up after dinner. Evvie and Lizzy tell Rhanna about the fire. When Lizzy gets to bed, she is amazed at her conversation with Andrew and can’t sleep. She decides to read the Book of Remembrances.

The next entry begins with dried and pressed basil. It represents mending the rift between Lizzy and Rhanna. Althea wants Lizzy to repair her relationship with Rhanna, and she confides that Rhanna has visions but won’t talk about them.

Lizzy unpacks the supplies for the soap. She has been avoiding texts from Luc, not knowing how much longer she will be out of town. Lizzy recalls how Rhanna gave birth to her at 16 and gave her to Althea to raise. Rhanna comes into the shop with coffee. She avoids being touched because of a mental health condition called haphephobia. They talk about Evvie’s bees and honey and then about the fire. Rhanna asks if Lizzy definitely wants to sell the farm, and Lizzy points out that Rhanna left the farm before she did.

Rhanna reminisces about Lizzy making perfumes as a teenager. Lizzy says that her new position doesn’t involve working in the lab, and Rhanna guesses that Lizzy misses the creation part. Lizzy doesn’t admit that Rhanna is right, instead saying that she was lucky to get her new position. They talk about the perfume that Lizzy made for Rhanna: “Earth Song” (211). Rhanna hints that she is haunted but brightens up when she talks about painting the Moon Girls' barn. Lizzy says that part of the reason why she left was because of Rhanna’s humiliating public displays, and Rhanna apologizes.

Rhanna sees the soap ingredients and asks about them. Lizzy explains how she helped find the tea for Althea’s old customer, who asked for this soap. Rhanna asks to stay and help out with making the soap so that she can also help Althea’s customers. Lizzy reluctantly agrees.

Andrew struggles to work in his office while Dennis hangs drywall. He thinks about Rhanna hitchhiking and how the Moon family has been discriminated against. He decides to call Summers and check in about the fire investigation, as well as report the doll on a noose. Summers thinks that the doll dressed as a witch is funny and says that Lizzy has to be the one to report the threat. Andrew wants to make sure that Summers knows all the details in case there are future problems. Summers agrees to send someone to get a statement from Lizzy.

Andrew plans to arrive at the farm before the police officer. When he tells Dennis where he’s going, Dennis blames the Moon family for the murders. Andrew argues that neither Dennis nor the police have any proof of that. Then, Andrew tells Dennis to not to talk about the murders if he wants to keep his job.

Lizzy goes into the kitchen and tells Evvie about her conversation with Rhanna. Two police officers arrive to get Lizzy’s statement about the doll. Evvie brings the doll, with its note, into the room. They say that they’ll take it in as evidence. Lizzy tells them about her meetings with Fred and Louise, and they warn her against doing more detective work. Lizzy thinks about how they never solved the murders.

After they leave, Andrew arrives. He apologizes for calling the police and for not getting to the farm in time to warn her. They argue about whether involving the police was a good idea. Lizzy asks Andrew to be on her side and admits that she’s overwhelmed with everything and not sure how to handle it. He apologizes for being another person telling her that she’s doing it wrong. They hug, and he cups her chin. She wants closure about the murders. Andrew says that she wants the truth to come to light, not personal absolution.

After dinner, Lizzy and Rhanna start making the soap. They talk about how Rhanna can get on Evvie’s good side. Lizzy is impressed with Rhanna’s soap-making skills. Rhanna explains that she worked on a farm in Half Moon Bay and that this work helped her cope with her homesickness. Lizzy asks about Rhanna’s outburst in the coffeeshop. Rhanna says that she was angry that people kept blaming the Moons without proof, so she gave them something to talk about, but she regrets her actions. Lizzy says that she understands what Rhanna was feeling. Rhanna says that she doesn’t, but she won’t talk about her feelings and jerks away when Lizzy touches her.

Lizzy doesn’t press Rhanna because it looks like she is heading toward a “dark place” (233). Working on the soap seems to calm Rhanna. When they finish the molds, Rhanna leaves the shop. Lizzy sees Rhanna as a puzzle she needs to solve, but she feels that she can’t devote her attention to the puzzle at this particular time. Remembering that she has to bless the soap, Lizzie memorizes the words from Althea’s recipe book and chants them over the molds. After a few moments, she feels like the blessing has worked, and she goes to her room to read from the Book of Remembrances.

The next entry has a pressed lily, which represents reconciliation. Althea remembers how Lizzy always wanted to understand everything. However, some things can’t be understood. Althea admits that she helped convince Rhanna to leave the care of Lizzy to her because Rhanna was young and impulsive. Althea writes that Rhanna was haunted by something, but she wouldn’t talk to Althea about it. She says that everyone is wounded and that to heal, one must be vulnerable, indicating that Lizzy should open up to Rhanna.