Drawing The Line (Mistaken Identity Series)

by Sylvia Hubbard

  “I’m sorry for taking so long to call. With the store being so busy during this year and all the preparations for my family, I fell behind in dealing with my calls. Is there anything I can do to make it up to you?”

  “Really it’s no problem.”

  Michelle insisted. “I really hate for any of my valuable customers to be unhappy. Please let me make it up to you with a special presentation of my New Year line I’ll be debuting in January after my New York trip.”

  Shane was very interested in that since she loved the boutique’s style and it was a special opportunity to get first dibs on a great line of clothes and she just knew Paul wouldn’t deny her anything. “I’ll call you after the New Year hopefully if things aren’t too hectic.”

  “Call me for anything,” Michelle implored.

  When the stylist arrived, she did more than prep Shane's head. She was also a masseuse and gave Shane a wonderful relaxing body treatment.

  By the time Paul came home from another doctor's appointment and a meeting with his brother, Shane had personally cooked dinner for them. Afterwards, Paul gave her dancing instructions in the front white room. They talked about each other's day and then cuddled in the large white bed holding each other close.

  Shane thought about what Sadie had told her, but she decided to wait for tomorrow night to try to rock Paul's world.

  She couldn't wait.

  ***

  Shane awoke early the next morning, way before Paul, to do some work on her laptop. When Paul found her curled up in the breakfast nook, he kissed her cheek and poured himself a cup of coffee. They caught up on a lot of things.

  "You remind me so much of Andrew. I remember when he used to stay here before I had to practically throw him out because he was so concerned about me. He would do the same thing, except the curling up part," Paul said, sitting across from her.

  "Do you really think it's good for you to constantly remind me of what you believe to be your brother's superior qualities?"

  "If you two plan on trying to become closer for the child's sake, yes. You believe Andrew is a mean spirited bully."

  "He certainly tries to be," she mumbled under her breath.

  "You should get to know him, Shane. I'm sure with some understanding the two of you can become good friends," Paul insisted. “I’m not saying love or anything because I know my brother, but he can be tolerable and even funny and charming with a lot of pushing and prodding.”

  “What he does or acts like is only because you’re around Paul, but when you’re not around, Andrew’s a different person.” Worriedly, she said, “I don’t know how he’ll be when you’re not around, but I’m not worried about him disrespecting me because he’ll honor your wishes. I know in some kind of way he does hold some affection for me, but only because I’m helping you fulfill your last wish. We tolerate each other and for now, that's about all I can stand. He deliberately tries to provoke me and he couldn’t care less whether I lived or died. He doesn't have a purpose for himself when it comes to personal matters - Just his business and career."

  "Aren't you just like that?"

  She pursed her lips together knowing he was right. Until she had met Paul and agreed to give him a child, she had tunnel vision. She just wanted to become a success in her career and nothing else meant anything.

  Paul noticed her discomfort and changed the subject, "So the senator and Andrew took care of the Tyrex property?"

  She nodded. "My father thought it best I didn't know everything that was going on, and I agreed wholeheartedly. He assured me that everything would be taken care of and I really had nothing to worry about on that matter.” Shane was personally relieved to have the Tyrex situation taken off her hands.

  "And Evan? Why would he tell you not to go to the house?" Paul asked.

  "I don't know, but that look in his eyes terrified me. I haven't seen him look so lost before in my life. His parents were always domineering, but Evan didn't seem like the type who would allow others to boss him around. He knew the Meadows ways and I’m shocked that he’s allowed this to go so far with them."

  "Can you leave those insurance papers here tomorrow when you go to the wake?" Paul asked. "I want to look into them and then get in touch with your forensic friend."

  She agreed to this.

  “Do you want me to come with you?” he asked concerned.

  “I’m not ashamed of you, Paul, but I really don’t want Evan to know about you. He’s keeping so many secrets from me; I need to keep something from him. Every time I’ve allowed others to know about my joys in life, they’ve been taken away. I’m now under the impression that it was Evan all along in the background, doing this. Maybe he thought he was helping me. Maybe he’s now feeling real guilty for all the hurt he helped them do to me. Either way it goes, I really don’t want them to take away my joy anymore. I don’t want them to take you away from me.”

  He kissed her passionately. “You’re pretty good at saying the most amazing things, Shane.”

  “I’m only saying what’s in my heart, Paul. In the short time we’ve known each other; you’ve come to mean a lot to me.”

  “I’ll respect your wishes, but you’ll call me if you need me.”

  She promised.

  After dressing for the funeral in a dark blue Donna Karen two-piece pantsuit, she tucked her phone in her purse, and left for the James Cole Funeral Home located on West Grand Boulevard in Detroit.

  On the way there, she contacted Jeremiah to let him know Paul would be contacting him for any in any information he had gathered about the poisons and so forth.

  “Where are you headed?” he asked after he let her know he would be on the look out for Paul’s phone call.

  “To see Derrick.” She let him know what happened at the hospital.

  “You’re going alone?”

  “Yes,” she said obviously.

  “And you must not have told your lover about the wariness you feel toward your family?”

  “What’s that supposed to mean? Evan is a friend and he’s giving me a private viewing. They won’t be there yet.”

  “Shane, my innocent and too trusting friend, don’t you think it’s strange that he’s helping. You’ve told me yourself in the past that this aunt of yours is out to ruin you, so you shouldn’t trust anyone who is helping her out,” Jeremiah reprimanded. “I’m out and about now. Which funeral home? I’ll meet you there.”

  The funeral home had been there for a long time in the city, sitting right next to the famous blue and white Motown Museum. Sometimes one couldn't tell why all the traffic was in the area. Some were there for funerals and others were there to go to the museum. With Detroit's New Center Area being so close by and also a hub for insurance companies and hospitals, the only disadvantage in the area was the parking.

  Other than the hospital, the James Cole's Funeral had its own parking lot and with it being early in the morning, traffic was easy to maneuver through once she jumped off the busy freeway. The parking lot was empty, except for a couple of limousines, four employee's vehicle, and the gold Maverick. A maintenance worker gave her a curious nod.

  Shane looked around the outside for Jeremiah’s vehicle before entering, but she did not see him and she was almost tempted to go back to her car to wait. Yet, she wanted to have private words with Evan before Jeremiah arrived and even though it was a stupid decision, she entered to find him standing near the entrance of the room that led to where Derrick lay.

  Evan was dressed in a dark suit looking spaced out. She had to nudge him to grant his attention, but once he saw her he looked very glad to see her.

  Shane allowed him to hug her, but she remained distant allowing him to hold her for as long as he wanted to, yet glad when he pulled away.

  "I've missed you.” Evan looked tired and older. He looked extremely regretful. “I've missed our walks at night from McDonalds. I've missed everything about our friendship."

  Those days from when they use to walk home seemed like decad
es to Shane. She couldn’t believe since meeting Paul that night how her life had changed and she had grown so much on the inside.

  "Was it worth it?" she asked stiffly.

  "What?" he questioned.

  "The sacrifice you made for our friendship, for my trust?" she asked harshly.

  Shame was all over his face because he knew what she was talking about. She had just revealed she knew more than what they all thought she knew, but there were still secrets he was keeping from her. Even though she couldn’t read minds, Shane’s gut told her Evan had things going on that he couldn’t even confess to the Lord.

  Before he could answer Jeremiah appeared in the doorway as if he had popped out of thin air. Shane was relieved to see him there so quickly.

  Getting over her shock, she introduced Jeremiah as a good friend from school to Evan.

  "I see you make friends quickly," Evan said with a little jealousy in his eyes.

  Jeremiah crooked a brow at Shane. "Do you have this effect on all men?"

  She sighed her annoyance at Jeremiah, and then asked Evan, "Can we see Derrick?"

  Reluctantly, Evan led them into a room where a small casket was laid out.

  "Do you need a moment alone?" Evan asked. “I want to look out for them in case they may arrive early.”

  "Yes, please," Shane said, without taking her eyes off the casket.

  Jeremiah stayed by her side as she slowly approached the casket. She couldn't believe how little Derrick looked and the angelic expression on his face was too much to bear for her. Tears welled in her eyes and soon flowed rapidly down her cheek as she wept for the innocent life taken out of greed.

  “We’ve got to do something.”

  Jeremiah picked up the boy's hand and frowned. "Look out for me, Shane, please. I want to get a sample of his hair," he said.

  Shane found her handkerchief and wiped her eyes as he pulled strands from Derrick's hair with tweezers and put them in a bag.

  "Are you sure it's legal?" she asked.

  "Whether it is or isn't, you want to know if they poisoned the kid, don't you?" he asked.

  "Yes, but this is disrespectful, isn't it?"

  He nudged her to turn around. "Look at his nails. That caked up white crap indicates that there was something else in his system. That's residue of some chemical that's trying to get out."

  She looked closely at Derrick's hands and saw what she had seen the night she went to the hospital. "Do you think you can get the hospital records?" she asked him.

  "Oh sure. I'll just ask my cousin who works there in the morgue to hook me up." Jeremiah put the bag in his pocket just as the door opened and Evan came in looking worried.

  "You've got to go. They're here."

  "I thought they weren't coming for a couple of hours," Shane said as she walked toward the front door of the funeral home.

  Jeremiah yanked her hand back and pointed down a different hallway. "We'll take the back exit."

  Evan held her hand for one moment and said, "Remember my door is always open. We should be here all day."

  "Come on!" Jeremiah urged impatiently as the front door opened.

  She caught up with him and ducked around a corner. The back door was unlocked and led them out in the parking lot.

  "What do you think he meant by that?" Jeremiah said.

  Shane didn't get it. "Yesterday he warns me not to go by the house, now he's saying his door is always open."

  "You ever thought about going by the house when they're not there?" Jeremiah asked.

  That thought had never occurred to her with all the mess going on, but as she drove away with the promise to call Jeremiah later, she decided to take a detour over to her mother's house.

  Chapter 32

  The locks to her home had been changed. She walked around the whole house looking to see maybe a window could have been opened, but it was the end of the December and going into the coldest winter Detroit had ever experienced. There was no way the Meadows would be stupid enough to have a window open.

  Even by right she could knock a window out, she didn’t want the Meadows to know she had been there.

  Shane was sadly disappointed and got back in her SUV to warm up. She had carefully parked over in front of Evan's home just in case they decided to come home early for some reason. Being a true believer of Murphy's Law the look in Evan's eyes had clearly discomforted her. Evan had wanted her to be over here in this neighborhood when the Meadows were not around.

  After she felt her hands become warm, she sat back and wondered why Evan had told her that strange statement this morning. Deep in thought, her eyes wandered over to Evan's home and she frowned as she zeroed in on the front door.

  Getting out her vehicle, she went up the steps, keeping her eyes on the crack she had noticed. Checking the security gate, she was surprised to feel the knob turn easily in her hands, and when she pushed on the large steel door, it easily opened for her to gain easy entry into Evan's home. Had he left the door like that on purpose? Of course, he wanted her to come over, while everyone was busy. He was trying to help her!

  Stepping into the home, the heat was still on and it was quite warm inside of the home. She went over to his mail station and sorted through there, but didn't find anything suspicious. Not even a regular letter from his mother was in there and that worried Shane a bit.

  This bothered her until she reached the end of the pile and noticed there was an official certified letter from The Great American Casualty Company already opened.

  She read the letter slowly not believing what she was reading. Evan's parents had died in a mysterious mudslide in South American. His father had lost control of the vehicle they were driving and ended up in the bottom of a cavern with their neck broken from trauma. Since no one had suspected their death to be mysterious or suspicious, the residents of a town nearby buried the bodies in the unmarked graves. The writer of the letter was very disturbed that Evan had not gone to the site and had the bodies shipped, but opted to just allow them to stay there unrecognized.

  The letter was dated two days ago, so Evan had to have received this just recently, even today. Putting the mail down, she looked around for anything else suspicious, but the normal junk was in the house piled even higher than she last remembered. It was a fire hazard, but she didn't think she could get Evan to change right about now even if she wanted him too. He was a pack rack and he never denied it. If anyone came into the home, they would never suspect anything out of the ordinary even if there were something there suspicious.

  Checking out the first and second floor, she found nothing had changed since she had last been there, so she decided to check in the basement. Walking through the kitchen, she remembered he kept important papers stashed in a large ceramic jar on the top shelf of the kitchen. She used a chair to get to the shelf and pull down the jar. There were a lot of papers stuffed inside tattered torn and old, but there were some recent papers as well. Plane tickets as a matter of fact, but they didn't belong to Evan. They were made out to Budrick for a one day flight back and forth to South America dated a couple of months ago. The tickets were partially torn up, but she could only suspect they had been dug out from somewhere and Evan had placed them in here for safekeeping. The only reason Shane knew about this spot was because she had once seen him go in there a long time ago looking for his birth certificate.

  She couldn't believe what she was finding out. Had Budrick flew down to South America and committed murder? It was easy to imagine Budrick driving them off the road, and with Budrick knowing so much about the ground with his construction, he could have easily caused a small mudslide on the back roads of the country where Evan's parents had been traveling.

  Now Evan was entitled to money. A lot of money because Shane knew there was policies on both parents, plus it was made to look like an accident, which doubled the payment clause.

  Evan was in so deep with the Meadows, he would never be able to leave or get away from them.

  Yet, if Bethany
knew this money was coming, why would she need more? Why would hurting Shane financially benefit Bethany?

  Because her aunt was greedy and thought she deserved that money when Shane didn't feel Bethany deserved one red cent!

  Going down in the basement, she remembered coming down there a while ago. There were lights still on and the place was a large mess, but she could follow a trail that was made to the newly constructed rooms in the back. Going into the sewing room, she picked up the vest that was hand made. It was thick with pockets on the inside and a specially made rubber pack on the back. It was very unattractive, but if one was out in the rough maybe it served its purpose in some kind of way. Yet why would Evan make something like this? Was he planning on running away? Going into the wild?

  She could tell the pack was waterproof and she wondered what that for was, but since Evan wasn't around for her to question it she walked away, going into the second larger room where the furnace was. It was working just great, but it was back to its large size.

  Touching one side where she knew the motor was, Shane could tell the unit was still small like she remembered it from feeling all round it. Tapping on the unit where she knew the furnace wasn't she could hear the hollowness and wondered what could be inside that he needed to hide?

  Again unanswered questions entered her head and she didn't know how to go about getting them answered. Obviously Evan thought with her coming here, she would be able to find out something without him telling her, but now she was even more confused about Bethany's plans for her.

  Going out of the house, she drove over to Paul's home. Since it wasn't required that she go into work, she was glad for the rest. Paul had stepped out for a moment, and had left a nice message on her voicemail explaining when he would return. He had the home decorated, while she had been gone for Christmas and she waited for the stylist to come back over to finish her hair.

  She ate light that day all the while thinking about tonight. The events of the morning were pushed out her head as she prepared for her engagement party, wondering what look was going to be on Rachel's face when Paul announced their engagement.