by Maris Soule
“I then proceeded to forget about the crow until today. Last night my neighbor here at the trailer park called and said he saw two guys come out of my trailer. They took off when he yelled at them, so he came over and looked inside. He said they were definitely searching for something. Closets, cupboards, and drawers were all opened, contents pulled out. As soon as I finished up work today, I came over. Besides cleaning up the mess, I started gathering Jerry’s things to donate to the Goodwill. I was looking for something to put his clothes and shoes in when I remembered I had a bunch of those plastic bags from the grocery store in my trunk. The moment I saw the crow, I had a feeling I knew what those guys were looking for and what the phone calls were about.”
“What phone calls?” Ken hadn’t mentioned phone calls.
“Twice this week I’ve gotten a call from someone disguising his or her voice. The person sounded really angry, said the diamonds weren’t mine, and if I knew what was good for me, I would return them. The first time I got a call, I thought it was a wrong number, but last night the caller said my name. I think he, or she, has an accent, but I really can’t tell.”
“What kind of accent?” I asked, though I had a feeling I knew what he would say.
“Spanish, maybe. Mexican. It’s not pronounced, but it’s there.”
“A couple Mexicans work at Patterson’s.”
“More than a couple, I think,” Ken said. “As I told your husband, Jerry was sure the store is run by a Mexican cartel.”
“So, the crow was in the trunk of your car. How did you find the diamonds?”
“I dropped it. When I went to get the grocery bags out, I accidentally pulled the crow out, too. It fell on the pavement and broke. And when I picked up the pieces, I saw the bubble-wrap bag. Inside it were the diamonds.”
“Wow.” I didn’t know what else to say.
“Wow is right. I brought everything into the trailer, shattered crow statue and the bag of diamonds. I’ll call your husband in a while and turn the diamonds over, but you should see them. One is huge. Can you get away from doing taxes and come over here?”
“Darn it, Ken, I can’t. I have no car and Jason is home.”
“Jason’s home? Is he sick?”
“No, he’s suspended. He got into a fight yesterday.”
“Jason?” Ken chuckled. “Xbox Jason?”
The two of them had met at my wedding and had bonded over video games. I quickly explained the situation, and Ken said, “Good for him. I was picked on as a kid. Being a nerd isn’t easy. ‘Course now, half those kids are paying me big bucks to fix their computers.” He paused, then went on. “Well, I’d love to drive over and show you these pretty stones, but now that I know why I was getting those calls and what those men were looking for when they broke in here, I think I’d better give your husband a call and see what he—”
Whatever Ken hoped to see was drowned out by Baraka’s loud barking as he dashed by me, heading for the kitchen. These were warning barks, not welcoming ones. “Just a minute,” I told Ken. Phone in hand, I hurried after my dog.
Baraka was at the window that looked out on the driveway, his body rigid and the hairs from the top of his head to the base of his tail actually standing on end. I could see why. Or, rather, I saw a black truck with rusted fenders that looked like the one I’d seen both at Patterson’s Furniture Wednesday and in my driveway yesterday. The driver’s side window was rolled up, but I was pretty sure the driver was Miguel. He was looking my way, and for a moment neither of us moved. And then the truck jerked backwards, scattering gravel as its tires spun in reverse.
I watched the truck back onto the road, give a slight shudder, then speed forward. Still barking, Baraka ran for the front door, and I followed, but by the time I could see the road, the truck was too far away for me to read a license plate.
Heart racing, I sagged onto the nearest dining room chair. It took me a moment to remember I was still holding my phone. I brought it back up to my ear. “Ken? Are you still there?”
There was no response.
What I did hear were footsteps thumping down the stairs. “What’s going on?” Jason shouted the moment he came into view. “Why’s Baraka barking? Is someone here?”
“No, he’s left,” I said and set my phone on the table. I needed to quiet my dog, and I needed to find a way to explain to Jason why I couldn’t stop my legs from shaking.
Chapter Twenty-Four
As soon as my heart stopped racing and my legs stopped shaking, I called Wade and told him about the truck. “I was talking to Ken when it happened,” I explained. “All at once Baraka started barking and there it was.”
“This truck simply pulled into the yard and then backed out?”
“Not like he’d made a mistake and pulled into the wrong yard.” That occasionally happened. “More like he didn’t think anyone was home, but then he saw me and got away as quickly as he could.”
“With your car gone, could be.” For a second, Wade said nothing, then asked, “Why did Ken call you?”
He sounded suspicious. I think Wade worries about my relationship with Ken the same way I worry about his relationship with Marge. Since in my mind there is nothing to worry about, I hurried to explain Ken’s call. Wade still sounded suspicious when I finished. “You say he found diamonds in a crow?”
“A ceramic crow, He’d just said he was going to call you and turn them in when that truck pulled into the yard and Baraka started barking.”
“Well, he didn’t call.”
That surprised me.
“And he’s at the trailer?”
“He was when I talked to him.”
I heard the rustle of papers and guessed Wade was at his desk. His next statement confirmed that. “I’m almost through here. I’ll swing by the trailer on my way home, see what’s up. I thought we got everything connected to Mr. Herman’s death or we wouldn’t have released the trailer.”
After talking with Wade, I called Ken. I was going to tell him Wade would be stopping by. What I got was Ken’s voicemail. “Call me,” I said.
The adrenaline rush of the truck incident countered my need for sleep, so I went back to my office to work on our taxes. I’m not sure how much time passed, but I was finishing Wade’s 1040 when Jason came back downstairs. “Can I go outside for a while?” he begged. “Kinda like recess?”
“Sure.” I hated to admit it, but I’d forgotten he was even upstairs. When I am working, I forget time and everything else. That’s going to have to change once Paige Joy arrives.
I was sitting at the table paying bills when Jason came back inside. The way he scooted by, heading for the stairs seemed odd. Usually he’s talkative, eager to describe something he saw or found outside. Today he didn’t even look my way.
“Everything all right?” I asked before he made it to the stairway.
He stopped, looked at me, then away. “Yeah, sure,” he said and dashed up the stairs.
Something was wrong.
For a moment I thought about following him, then I gave up the idea. In the few months Jason has lived here, I’ve learned that sometimes it’s best to give him a little time before asking for an explanation. Plus, going up those stairs in my condition was becoming more and more difficult.
The reason for his behavior would have to wait until he came back downstairs.
* * *
When Wade arrived home, Ken became my concern rather than Jason. “I didn’t get away from the station as quickly as I’d hoped,” Wade said as he changed out of his work clothes into jeans and a sweatshirt. “I stopped by the trailer, but your buddy wasn’t there, and it was locked up. If he found diamonds, he needs to turn them in.”
“Which he said he was going to do.”
“I hope he didn’t also find more of those pills his buddy had. Those small blue tablets stamped ‘M30’ contained fentanyl as well as oxycodone. The combination totally shut down Herman’s brain function.”
“Ken didn’t say anything about pills.
Just diamonds.” With Wade standing in front of me, I tried calling Ken again, and again my call went into voicemail. Since Wade had brought up the subject of pills, I relayed the message to Ken. “Stay away from blue pills stamped ‘M30.’ ”
That was all I could do.
Chapter Twenty-Five
By Saturday morning, whatever had bothered Jason seemed to have passed, and he was back to his normal self—arguing that he’d finished all of his homework Friday and had written an essay on why fighting was bad, so why couldn’t he play video games? I could tell Wade was getting irritated with his son’s whining, but I hoped he wouldn’t give in. In my opinion, Jason spent too much time watching TV and playing video games.
Wade’s sister Ginny came to the rescue.
“Skiing?” I heard Wade say over the phone. “Skiing is fun. He’s being punished for fighting.”
I’m not sure what Ginny said to Wade, but by the time he ended the call, she’d convinced him that having Jason spend the weekend with her up north skiing would be better than having him stay here. One hour later she was at our front door.
Ginny is tall, blond, and has one of those willowy figures that looks great in everything from sweats to cocktail dresses. Whereas her brother tends to be reserved, she is warm and congenial, which—along with her low, seductive voice—I’m sure has helped make her interior design business a huge success. She and I hit it off from the first time we met.
After hugs and assurances that I was doing fine, Ginny sent Jason upstairs to get his clothes, while she and I did a little catching up on what we’d been doing since we’d last talked. Wade latched his son’s skis onto Ginny’s car, and by ten o’clock, aunt and nephew were in her BMW heading north for Cadillac, Michigan. Ginny promised they’d be back before Jason’s bedtime Sunday evening.
Wade and I watched her car disappear from view, then Wade turn me toward him. “Okay, it’s Saturday morning. I don’t have to go to work, Jason is away for two days, what would you like to do?”
“Hmm.” I cuddled against his side. “I don’t know. What would you like to do?”
“I know what I’d like to do,” he said and nibbled my earlobe. “But, considering your present condition, I think we’d better put that idea on hold.”
I pulled back from his side and looked down at my huge belly. “I’m sorry. I just don’t feel it’s a good idea.”
“And I agree,” he said, once again easing me close. “I can wait. But do you realize how beautiful you look right now? How much I love you?”
I didn’t have a chance to find out. My cell phone rang at that moment with the ringtone I’d assigned for calls from Grandma Carter. “Hold that thought,” I said and stepped away from Wade. “That’s Grandma. I’ve been waiting to hear what’s up with Mom.”
“They’re getting married,” Grandma said the moment I answered. “This afternoon, and they want you there. You, Wade, and Jason.”
“Married?” I looked at Wade, and he raised his eyebrows. “I thought they were already married.”
“This time it will be legal. That lawyer, Hicks, put it all together. Your mother and Ben will be married by a judge. So, can you come?”
“My mother and Ben are getting married,” I told Wade, “and they want us to come.”
“You sure she wants me there?”
I knew why he asked. Wade and my mother have never had a real good relationship. She thinks I’m crazy for marrying someone in law enforcement, after all, her interaction with the police has primarily been when they’ve arrested her; he thinks she’s crazy.
I posed the question to Grandma. She assured me Mom had included Wade in the invitation. When I relayed the message, he shrugged and grinned. “Sure, why not?”
I told Grandma that Jason wouldn’t be able to make it and why but that we would, and she gave me the time and place. “And afterwards,” she said, “we’ll all go out to dinner. My treat.”
* * *
We spent the morning making sure our bedroom was ready for Paige Joy’s arrival—and for Connie’s assistance in our daughter’s arrival. Although I was eager to shed this object that had inhabited my body for the last nine months, I was also nervous about her birth. Would she be all right? Healthy and normal? Would giving birth be painful or exhilarating? Would everything go as planned?
Wade tried to convince me I was worrying too much, but I could tell he had his own concerns. “Relax,” he told me, and to help me achieve that state of mind, after we showered, he gave me a backrub, and we stretched out on the bed until it was time to dress for my mother’s wedding.
I talked Wade into wearing a suit, and I wore the nicest maternity outfit I had that still fit. We were supposed to be at the courthouse by four-thirty, but for some reason Wade decided to make a phone call just before we were to leave, and I was afraid we might be late. Finally, he joined me in the Jeep, no explanation given, and we headed for Kalamazoo.
Grandma was standing outside the courthouse when we arrived. A heavy wool coat covered her wool dress, but she still looked cold. I didn’t waste any time getting out of the Jeep and hurrying the two of us into the building. Wade followed, once again talking on his cell phone. Cut the conversation, I signaled as we neared the security area. He, of the three of us, should know the protocol for getting into a courthouse. Since he always carried a weapon, it would take a while for him to show his badge and ID and satisfy the guards that he was no threat.
“Your mother and Ben are already inside, along with Arthur Hicks, talking to the judge,” Grandma said. “I was afraid you wouldn’t get here in time.”
I glanced at Wade. He was now talking with one of the security officers, chatting away. My husband clearly wasn’t eager to participate in my mother’s wedding. “Wade,” I called to him, then motioned for him to join us.
He lifted a finger, indicating he wanted me to wait, then nodded at something the officer said. Finally, he broke away and joined us. Grandma by then had looked up the courtroom where the ceremony was to take place, and she led the way down the hall.
I’d never been to a wedding ceremony held in a courtroom. It certainly wasn’t like stepping into a church. There were only eight of us in an area that was normally filled with a judge, jury, and everyone connected with a case. Even the décor, if you could call it that, was bland. Shades of brown made up the unadorned walls, stark furnishings, and plain flooring. The only touch of color was the American flag.
In contrast, my mother wore a yellow dress and carried a bouquet of red roses, and Ben had a red rosebud in the lapel of his brown suit jacket. They were talking to a man in a gray suit who was standing behind a wooden pedestal. The moment Arthur Hicks saw us enter the room, he took us up and introduced us to the judge. After a few words, the judge had us stand back, and the whole ceremony went by quickly. The judge spoke, then Mom, then Ben, and finally the judge proclaimed them man and wife. After that it was simply a case of the appropriate signatures being placed on the wedding license, including Wade’s and mine as witnesses. Arthur thanked the judge and promised to buy him a drink next time they played golf, and Grandma announced she’d made reservations at a restaurant only two blocks away, and that everyone was welcome, including the judge.
He turned down her invitation, but Arthur said he’d be glad to come. Mom, Ben, and Arthur chose to walk to the restaurant, but Grandma climbed into Wade’s Jeep with us, and by five-thirty we were all seated at a large round table near the back of the restaurant, everyone but me enjoying a glass of champagne.
In my opinion, club soda, even with a twist of lime, isn’t the same as champagne.
“I liked the other ceremony better,” Mom said, and looked over at me. “The one last Tuesday. It was so cool. The minister, or whatever he’s called, wore that tie-dye robe and wreath of flowers on his head. And his wife played a tambourine and sang. I mean, it was great. We laughed and drank wine.”
“And ate brownies,” Grandma said and harrumphed.
“And ate brownies,�
�� Mom repeated, grinning as she looked at Arthur. “I suppose there won’t be any brownies tonight.”
“Or swimming,” Hicks added, sipping his champagne and obviously enjoying himself. “Just wedded bliss.”
Ben laughed and slid an arm around Mom’s shoulders. “Wedded bliss every day,” he said and kissed her cheek.
Watching my mother and my, now, stepfather I wondered what their marriage would be like. Ben wasn’t what I would call handsome—his eyes were a little close-set and his nose rather long and narrow—but he had a nice smile and a deep, hearty laugh. Mom called him a sweetie. In the nine months they’d been together, they had a few fights and separations, but for some time now they’d been getting along quite well. Although Mom hadn’t actually moved in with him, Grandma said Mom spent most nights at his place. “As long as he makes sure she takes her pills, that’s fine with me,” Grandma told me.
As much as it was a surprise, I know Grandma was glad Mom and Ben were now married. Grandma was not getting any younger, and she has always worried about who would watch over Mom if she could no longer do so. I’ve told her I would, but I’m also glad Ben has taken on the role. I love my mother, but when she’s off her medicine, she can be a strain.
I heard Wade’s phone ding. He pulled it out of his pocket, gave it a glance, and pushed his chair back and stood. “Excuse me for a minute, I need to take this call.
“He came back?” I heard Wade say as he walked away from our table. I immediately wondered if he was talking about Ken.
Mom laughed, and I turned my attention back to her. In spite of her complaint that this wedding had not been as much fun as the one on Tuesday, she and Ben seemed to be having a good time laughing and telling jokes. Arthur was also laughing. The man was a gem. An expensive gem, from what Grandma told me he charged. She and I would probably be paying his bill, but, in my opinion, he was worth the money. He’d gotten the indecent exposure charges dropped. Mom and Ben wouldn’t be spending their honeymoon in jail or paying a big fine.
