We stood in line, not speaking until Rebecca insisted on buying my vanilla latte. She bought a double-shot mocha latte and ordered hot chocolate for Seth.
She said, “He’s not working nights anymore—all Rhett’s construction sites are shut down—and he’s trying to sleep regular hours again. No coffee for him.”
Her words suggested she was a tad concerned about his welfare, and certainly more than she was with Lindsey’s. Why?
Soon we headed to where Seth sat alone, voices surrounding us in the crowded café. Guitar music played from the overhead speaker. I took a chair next to Seth, and Rebecca sat across from us. We all put our hands around our cups to warm them. It had gotten really cold outside in a hurry.
“I should have talked with Lindsey,” Rebecca said. “I suppose you think I’m a terrible mother. In fact, I’m sure she’s even told you I’m a terrible mother.”
I kept my voice as quiet and even as possible, though I was a little put off that she actually believed that my opinion of her had anything to do with this. “Whatever has upset Lindsey is between you two.”
“Come on, Jillian. What exactly has she said?”
Was she wondering about the secret pregnancy or something else? I had no idea and remained silent. Women like Rebecca want to control everything, even conversations. I wasn’t about to become a middlewoman between her and her daughter.
Surprisingly Seth spoke up. “Mom can’t talk about Dad’s murder, Mrs. Hart.” His voice held a tremor. “She won’t talk about anything. That’s why she’s focusing on Lindsey.”
“Seth.” Rebecca’s eyes flashed at her son as she practically hissed his name.
“Mom, this lady is helping Lindsey. She can help you, too. Let her.”
“Sometimes,” I said, “a public place like this is just the right spot to say what’s unbearable to think about.”
Seth’s forearm touched mine, almost like a nudge for me to keep talking.
Rebecca leaned toward me and whispered, “And sometimes a public place is where every word is overheard and passed on.” She glanced around. “I had no idea it would be so crowded in here.”
“Would talking about the tragic death of the father of your kids be the worst thing that could happen?” I gave a sideways glance in Seth’s direction. “You love your children, right?”
“Of course.” The tightness around her mouth was beginning to crack, and for the first time I saw that she was actually fighting tears.
“They need you to teach them how to grieve. They don’t know how. They need their mom.”
She shook her head. “No, they don’t. No one needs me anymore.”
“Her boyfriend apparently needed her, though, and now he’s dead, too.” Seth said this so matter-of-factly I was at a loss for words. “She hasn’t cried about him.”
Rebecca spoke again, her whisper harsh now. “Seth, you need to stop talking. People will hear you.”
“Like Mrs. Hart said, would that really be so bad?” His gaze didn’t waver from his mother. Could this young man—who couldn’t be more than eighteen—be the most mature person sitting at the table?
Rebecca sat back. It was as if someone had touched her with a branding iron, the pain was that evident on her face. She hung her head as if to hide.
“He’s talking about Mike, isn’t he? You loved him.” If Seth could be honest, so could I.
She nodded, not lifting her head. It seemed so strange to see this confident and abrasive woman so vulnerable. “How did you know?”
“That’s not important. You need to talk to Tom about him, about what you know. They have to find out what happened. Candace, Tom, Morris—they all loved Mike, too.”
She jerked her head up, and the fire in her eyes had returned. “What I know? I don’t know anything about what happened to him. And that is extremely difficult to bear.”
I believed she was having an extremely difficult time. In a gentle tone, I said, “Sometimes you think there’s nothing important to share, nothing significant. But that’s because you’re blinded by grief and denial. You need to go straight to the police station and talk to them. Let them decide what’s important. You could have answers they need.”
“You know something I don’t. I can tell. What is it?” Rebecca asked.
“Talk to the police. Help them and they’ll help you.”
No one had touched their drinks, but my last sentence seemed to have a calming effect on everyone. Seth picked up his hot chocolate and sipped.
Rebecca put her bag over her shoulder, picked up her umbrella and coffee and stood. “Let’s go, Seth. I suppose I have to get this over with now that at least one person in town knows about Mike and me. Probably Lindsey said something—and who knows what else she’s told people?”
But Seth balked. “I don’t want to step inside that place ever again.” He turned to me. “Can you take me to see Lindsey?”
“That is not what you need to do, Seth,” Rebecca said. “She’ll say things you won’t want to hear.”
Seth smiled. “That’s what I’m hoping.”
I realized then that Rebecca was afraid Lindsey would tell him about the baby. But how could he not know already?
I rested a hand on Seth’s. “I’m not sure if she has class today, so—”
“She doesn’t. I texted her on the drive over here. She’s at your house right now.”
I looked at Rebecca, who in turn was staring at her son. “Go. Talk to her. But I want a full report.”
Leaving us sitting there, she stormed out of Belle’s Beans, wearing her shield of anger, the same one Lindsey had inherited. But unlike Lindsey, this woman seemed like . . . a bully.
“Thanks, Mrs. Hart.” Seth’s soft voice helped me let go of the confusion and distrust I felt toward his mother.
I smiled. “No problem. Come on. Let’s go see your sister.”
On the way out, I saw that because of the burgeoning number of customers, Belle had called in extra help. Lucy was busy behind the counter working with the other Belle of the Day. I caught her eye and waved hello, and she smiled briefly in return. I put two ten-dollar bills in the tip jar before we left, one for each of the baristas.
Twenty-four
Thank goodness the rain had been reduced to just a drizzle, but the cold lingered. I might have a winter rather than an autumn wedding if this kept up.
As soon as we got in my van, I took out my phone. But first I told Seth what I was about to do. “I’m texting Tom—he’s the new police chief. I want to tell him that your mom is coming in to talk.”
“If she shows up,” Seth said. “I wouldn’t count on it.”
“Are you saying she lied about heading over to talk to the police?” Why was I surprised?
“She lies all the time—even to herself. But I couldn’t say that in front of her. Then she’d be even more upset with me than she is right now. But I figured the stuff about Chief Baca would come out. The police aren’t dumb, even if she thinks they are.”
I sighed. “I’m texting him anyway—just in case she does show up.” And just in case Tom or Candace wanted to track her down. She’d admitted she and Mike were involved, and they needed any information she could offer.
After I was done with the rather lengthy text, we took off for my house. Seth mentioned how much Lindsey liked all my cats. “She wants to be a doctor, but she said after staying with you, she might want to become a vet. She really likes you, by the way. That’s why I figured you were the right person to talk to my mom.”
“You and your sister are close, I take it.” I recalled how upset he’d been when he feared Lindsey was missing.
“We are. She’s not as mean as most people think she is. Neither is my mom. I guess it’s complicated.”
“You go to school?” I asked.
“No. I didn’t get my admission papers in on t
ime. My bad. But I’ve been accepted to South Carolina starting the end of January.”
“And why is Lindsey at community college and not enjoying the big school experience?” I made the turn off Main onto the more rural road that led to the lake.
“She didn’t tell you? She missed a year of high school—got sick or something. No one told me what was wrong. I’m pretty much the last person to know anything, and Lindsey won’t talk about it. Anyway, her grades went south. She dropped out.”
“Wow. I had no idea.” But I did have an idea about the “sickness” that kept her out of school.
“When she finally got tired of my mom ordering her around the house like she was the maid, she got her GED. But man, is she bitter about losing out on going to Duke or Clemson. She’s sure smart enough to go to those schools.”
“You’re saying Lindsey’s attitude is about missing out on college? Do you truly believe that’s why she’s so angry all the time, Seth?” I asked.
“I’m not sure. It’s this love-hate thing with Mom. We both have it, but she shows it. I keep it inside and smile.”
I glanced at him and he was smiling.
He went on. “I can see why Lindsey likes you. You’re easy to talk to. Just direct and genuine.”
“I find that a lot of people have trouble being honest. Lindsey is spending a lot of time with Tom’s son, Finn. Tom is Police Chief Stewart now. It’s strange calling him that. Anyway, Finn tells it like it is, too, and he’s taken Lindsey under his wing. He’s helped her more than anyone.”
“She told me about him. Says he’s pretty cool.”
“And smart, like Lindsey. Like you.” I glanced at him.
“Thanks, Mrs. Hart. My dad was real smart. But he wasn’t a nice guy. I don’t want my sister to end up like him or like my mom.”
“What’s in your future, Seth? What will you major in?”
“I don’t know yet. I like to write. It helps me stay even-tempered rather than getting all nasty like Lindsey and my mom.”
I nodded. “Yup. You’re very smart.”
I turned into my driveway and Seth craned his neck in the direction of the lake.
“I’ll bet you like living by the water. Do you catch fish for your cats?”
We stopped right behind Lindsey’s car and I was recalling how Ed said he’d been fishing with Seth several times. “I never have enjoyed fishing. The hooks, dragging them out of the water—none of it appeals to me. I do like to sit on my dock and watch the fish swim by, though. There’s geese, and eagles and a big blue heron that like to hang around here, too.”
“Bet that’s a good time to be alone and think. Sometimes there’s so much noise around me it’s hard to think. Fishing helps me.”
Lindsey met us at the back door holding Magpie. Once we were inside, she handed the cat to me and hugged her brother tight, murmuring “I’m sorry” over and over.
Seth’s silent tears left wet patches on the shoulder of Lindsey’s T-shirt.
Meanwhile, my three amigos and Magpie sat waiting for their turn to meet Seth. Seconds later, he and Lindsey were sitting on the floor playing with them. I left them in the kitchen so they could have some private time to talk about their father’s death—or at least I hoped that was what they would talk about.
I took out my phone and decided to call Tom rather than text him, since I’d heard nothing back from him about Rebecca.
He answered right away with “We’ve got her in an interview room. How did you manage this, Wonder Woman?”
“Rebecca needs a friend. Not servants or volunteers she can order around, just a friend. I told her the truth, which is what friends do. I said she should talk to the police and tell them what she knows.”
“She’s still pretty arrogant, but at least she’s here.” Tom lowered his voice to a near whisper. “The gun that killed both men was registered to Rhett. I’ll ask Rebecca, but maybe you could see if Lindsey or Seth knew where the gun was kept. Rebecca Marner says Seth’s with you, right?”
“He’s in the other room. Nice kid.”
“Anyway, Rhett had a ton of money, two houses, site trailers and an office. Plenty of places to keep a weapon. Now Candace is chasing down a lead on another property he might own. Seems he just bought a house, but we’re thinking he planned to tear it down and build a strip mall or a parking lot. That’s the kind of thing Rhett Marner would do.”
“The family money could be motive, right? Do you know who inherits what?” I asked.
“Not yet. Getting our hands on a will that’s locked up in a bank—which seems to be the case—is not all that easy. We found that out the last time there was a suspicious death in Mercy. But we’ll see who gets what eventually.”
“I’ll let you get back to work. Seth was certain his mother wouldn’t show up to talk to you, and now I can tell him she kept her promise.”
I disconnected and Finn stumbled up the stairs sleepy-eyed just as I walked into the kitchen. Yoshi came up the stairs, too, tail wagging, ready to greet everyone.
“Get your twelve hours of sleep in?” I asked.
“I don’t sleep much when I’m at school, so last night was heaven.” He glanced at Seth and Lindsey. “Hey, man. You Lindsey’s brother?”
Seth stood and extended his hand to Finn. They did some kind of handshake that included a half hug and a shoulder bump. Being around young men was certainly an interesting cultural experience and I was pleased they had this neat greeting.
It was a grilled cheese and tomato soup kind of day, so everyone helped fix lunch. Finn had slept right through breakfast and was starving.
Cheese was a cat favorite at my house, and everyone took turns feeding one kitty or another small strings of cooled melted cheese, which they all gobbled up with gusto. Poor Yoshi only got leftover crusts of bread, but he didn’t seem to be unhappy.
As we were cleaning up, Finn told Seth how sorry he was about his father’s death. I also told him that his mother had shown up at the police station.
“Really?” He nodded his approval. “Glad she proved me wrong.”
I decided it was now or never to ask about the gun.
I looked at Lindsey. “Did your father own a gun?”
“Why?”
I knew that expression. Her guard was up.
“He did,” Seth answered. “More than one. He kept one at home and had others at his office or the trailers. They had a lot of thefts—tools, copper pipe they dug up doing jobs, wiring, cables and more. My dad fired a lot of guys over stealing stuff like that. Guess he thought he needed protection because some of them left the job pretty upset.”
This seemed to surprise Lindsey. “Really?”
“Yeah, really,” Seth replied. “Was he killed with his own gun?”
“He was,” I said solemnly. “What about your mother?”
“No guns for her.” Lindsey looked at her brother. “Unless you know something else I don’t.”
“She does have one. Keeps it locked up in the bedroom,” Seth said.
Lindsey looked shocked. “Whoa. Maybe I’ve been more absent from my own life than I thought.”
“I’ll pass this along to the police.” Maybe a gun that wasn’t where it was supposed to be would be helpful—but it would seem a lot of people had access. Even Seth.
Finn, who hated guns, apparently wanted this discussion to end. He suggested they all have coffee and they took their cups to the small table by the window. Finn and Seth sat in the chairs and Lindsey settled on the window seat. Yoshi curled by Finn’s feet. The cats, all except for Magpie, stayed close, hoping for as much attention as they could garner from these people.
Where had Magpie gotten to? My search didn’t take long. I found her in my closet in the hamper, ready to steal something, I was sure. But she apparently hadn’t taken anything yet. I removed her from my closet and, reali
zing my wedding dress was still in the box Martha had packed it in so carefully, I panicked. It had to be hung up, something I’d meant to do the minute I brought it home. I couldn’t show up in a massively wrinkled dress on the big day.
I shut Magpie out of the closet so I could do this and carefully slid the dress onto its satin-padded hanger. I then carefully opened the door, but only as wide as I needed. Sure enough, Magpie was waiting right at the crack to sneak back in. I thwarted her with my foot, slipped out and quickly shut the door.
This miffed her and she ran out of the bedroom and down the hall, no doubt to find another place where she could pilfer something.
I texted Tom about the guns and then decided I needed a little time alone, since we planned to each write something that we would read at the ceremony. I closed the door to my bedroom, something I hardly ever did, and settled on the bed with pencil and paper. I got lost in the words, in rewriting them so I would say exactly the right thing. I had just finished when someone knocked lightly on the door.
As soon as I answered, four cats raced in as if they were storming the Bastille. A closed door was unheard of, and completely unacceptable. Finn laughed as they all jumped on the bed and began to vie for space to curl up in. It was nap time.
Finn told me Lindsey took Seth home. “She’s hoping to talk a bit with her mother, but she’s not ready to stay home yet. Can she crash here for another night?”
“Of course. She and Seth are close, aren’t they?”
He nodded. “He misses her. But the time she’s spent here has helped her think about her situation more clearly. She needed the distance from her mom for a while.”
“I’m glad staying here has helped her. Did Lindsey by chance tell you her mother was involved with Mike?”
“She didn’t offer it, but Seth brought it up. We’ve been talking about it for the last half hour. Seth seems to think his mother feels guilty about Chief Baca’s death for some reason—but he’s sure she didn’t hurt anyone. Says she’s all bark.”
The Cat, the Sneak and the Secret Page 18
