“I can’t believe anyone ignores you when you walk in a room.”
“They notice, but in the way you notice a new piece of furniture. They look and then comment about you to someone else, like you’re deaf, and then you’re just part of the background.”
Harriet dispensed pet food to Fred and Scooter.
“Interesting. I’d never thought about it, but now that you mention it, you don’t hear models talk very often.”
Sharon smiled. “Watch, you’ll see.”
“We should probably get to the church a half-hour early. Meantime, I’ve got to put a client’s quilt on my big machine and get started stitching.”
“Would it bother you if I worked on my blocks while you’re doing that?”
Harriet smiled. “Not at all. I’ll enjoy the company.”
The Loose Threads gathered in the foyer of the Methodist church thirty minutes before the service was to begin. Beth entered carrying a large vase of flowers.
“Harriet, will you unload the rest of the flowers? I parked right in front.” She set her vase on a large table to the right of the double doors that opened into the sanctuary. Someone else had placed a sign-in book on the same table.
“Sure, how much have you got?”
“There are two big baskets that go on either side up front and a long flat piece that goes on the table in front of the choir area. And a small arrangement that goes by the piano.”
Lauren came over.
“I’ll help. I’m surprised they were able to rustle up the choir on such short notice.”
Beth turned to her. “It’s not the full choir. Several of the Small Stitches sing, so they volunteered. And Glynnis’s youngest daughter is a soloist, so she’s going to do a few songs. Mavis’s hairdresser plays piano, and he’s going to come from Angel Harbor,” She paused. “I think it’s going to be a nice service.”
Harriet didn’t know what to say to that. It would have helped Marine more if all these people had taken this much interest in her when she was alive. Still, she had to admit, if she’d known her before and knew she was involved in drugs, she would have thought twice before attempting to help her. She decided she’d have to reflect on that a little more when she was back at home.
Sharon helped carry flowers in, too, and when they brought them into the sanctuary, they found Jessica helping a woman Harriet didn’t know attach large black bows to the end of each pew.
Lauren moved up behind Harriet.
“Okay, the bows are a bit over the top, if you ask me.”
“Yeah, I was just thinking about how much effort we’re putting out for Marine now that she’s dead. You wonder what would have happened if the same amount of attention had been paid to her when she was still alive.”
Jessica was close enough to hear the last comment.
“It wouldn’t have made a difference. Probably. When people are fighting an addiction, they have to want to change. Usually as a result of hitting bottom. Only when they themselves get so tired of being an addict that they’re willing to do the work will they get better.”
“Do you think she might have been trying to set Aiden up herself? Could she have been trying to do some sort of ‘if you don’t help me, I’ll kill myself’ scam?” Lauren asked Jessica.
“I suppose it’s possible.”
Harriet moved a couple of the flowers in the basket to the right of the podium.
“Aiden says he hadn’t talked to Marine. If she were going to do something like that, it seems like she would have talked to him.” She squeezed her eyes shut then opened them. “It’s just so impossible. Aiden is going to end up in jail for something he had nothing to do with, and we’re never going to know why.”
“Come on,” Lauren said and led the way back to the foyer. “We’ll figure it out. We’re missing something, but her family is going to reveal something to us that will get us on the right path.”
“They better.”
“Oh, my goodness,” Jessica said and pointed to the parking area through the front window, effectively cutting off Harriet’s negative spiral downward. “Lainie is coming to the funeral.”
Lauren looked out the window, too.
“That’s Michelle for you. She probably didn’t want to come alone, so she brought the kids—never mind how stressful it might be for them.”
Aunt Beth and Mavis came back into the foyer from the office hallway.
“Let’s go ahead in and save a couple of pews for the rest of our group.”
Mr. Max played “Just As I Am” on the piano when everyone was seated, and the service began. Pastor Hafer delivered a sermon around a passage from First Corinthians and led the group in prayer. Mr. Max played “Rock of Ages” and Glynnis’s daughter Trista sang “Amazing Grace” and there wasn’t a dry eye in the house.
Max finished with “When the Saints Go Marching In” and “Shall We Gather at the River?”
Given the circumstance, Glynnis decided asking the quilt group to do a eulogy would be insincere and asking her family would be too unpredictable. So, they left the speaking to Pastor Hafer and told the family remembrances could be done at the reception in the fellowship hall after the main service.
Marine’s family, followed by the quilters and then a group of church members who attended all funerals held at the church, left the sanctuary pew by pew. Francine was wearing the black dress the groups had paid for. The dress was a classic cut, but it was a little too tight through the hips and much too short. The overall effect was more barfly than grieving mother.
“I thought that went well, all things considered,” Lauren said as she and Harriet walked down the aisle. “Now the fun begins.”
“Can we postpone it for just a few minutes and swing by the ladies room?”
Jessica was behind them with Sharon.
“We’ll meet you downstairs in the cookie room. I want to get up close and personal with the family and see what we see.”
Lauren turned on the faucet at the sink and was washing her hands when Harriet came out of her stall and joined her.
“Do you want to work the family together?”
“I know that’s what Jane Morse said to do, but I’d rather take them one-on-one. I’m afraid they’ll become defensive if two of us gang up on them. If we stay in the same room, we should be okay.”
“I think you’re right. Just don’t go out of the fellowship hall.”
Harriet held her three fingers up beside her face.
“Scout’s honor.”
“Okay, let’s do this.”
Aunt Beth and Mavis were standing with Marine’s college-student sister by the coffee urn when Lauren and Harriet arrived. Glynnis was talking to Marine’s mother, so she was out of play for now. Harriet surveyed the room for the brother. He was on the opposite side of the room, eating cookies and scanning all around, much as she and Lauren were. He was clearly weighing options.
Their eyes met, and he set his plate of cookies down on the table.
“I got brother,” she said to Lauren and crossed the room. “Hi, my name is Harriet Truman,” she said when she’d reached her target. “I’m very sorry for your loss.”
“I know who you are. You’re that chick that sticks her nose in police business. I read about you in the paper.”
Harriet didn’t know what to say to that, so she kept her mouth shut.
The man stuck his hand out.
“I’m Jules, nice to meet you.” He had the same dark good looks as his sister but, like her, looked older than she knew him to be.
She shook his hand.
“Were you and your sister close?”
Jules laughed.
“Not how you’re probably thinking. I guess you know we weren’t your conventional family. We called each other when we needed something, but that’s about all. Foggy Point’s a small enough town that we shared the same ‘contacts,’ if you know what I mean.”
Harriet guessed he was referring to drug dealers but could only imagine.
> “I had heard your sister was trying to clean up her act.” She was fishing but felt no obligation to be completely honest.
Jules laughed again, but the humor didn’t reach his eyes.
“Is that what she was telling people? She was in a court-ordered diversion program that made her to go to rehab a couple of months ago. I talked to her when she got out. She was looking for drugs. She did what she had to do to avoid jail.”
“That’s sad.”
“No, that’s genetics. You can’t fight science. We come from bad stock. All of us were born to be addicts. When both of your parents are druggies, you’re pretty much doomed. Nature or nurture, take your pick. My mom started doing drugs with us boys when my brother was thirteen and I was twelve. I’m pretty sure she slipped something into our food when we were even younger than that.”
“What about your sister who’s in college?”
“She’s a different story. We all have different dads. Aimee’s dad hooked up with our mother when he was young and she was turning tricks. His buddies took him down to the docks for his birthday. He was in a rebellious phase—or as rebellious as rich kids ever get. He had money, so she didn’t have to work the streets and that amused her for a while.
“He was naive, thought she loved him, realized she was using him for his money. The old, sad story. She got pregnant, and when a paternity test proved he was the baby-daddy, his family took over. They kept us in a nice apartment with a nice companion who made sure Mom stayed off drugs and even got her GED. We went to school and had clean clothes.
“As soon as Aimee was born, they took the baby, gave Mom a fat envelope of cash and six additional months in the apartment, minus the companion. She chose not to take the opportunity. She went back to her old life, and we went with her.”
“I’m sorry.”
He attempted a smile.
“Don’t be. I learned a long time ago this is my lot in life. Things got a lot easier when I quit trying to be something I’m not and will never be.”
“Do you have children?”
This time he really did laugh.
“As soon as I was physically mature enough for the procedure, I went to a doctor and had that possibility eliminated. It’s kind of funny, but when I asked how much money I had to have, and I told him why I wanted the surgery, he told me he’d do it for free, and he did. My life may not amount to much, but my one gift to the world is pruning this branch of our family tree. There will never be another me.”
Harriet didn’t know what to say. Jules wasn’t at all what she’d expected.
“Huh,” he said, more to himself than her. “I hadn’t thought about it, but now Marine can’t have kids. My older brother Alex will be in jail long enough that he probably won’t have kids. Maybe there is hope for our family after all.”
“It’s sad that Marine didn’t have a choice in the matter. Do you have any idea what happened to her?”
“I can tell you what didn’t happen. The animal doctor didn’t kill her.”
“Do you know who did?”
Jules leaned in and whispered in her ear.
“What’s in it for me?”
She stepped back away from him.
“Really? Your sister is dead, and my boyfriend is wrongly accused, and you want to know what’s in it for you?” Her voice got louder as she spoke.
He looked around to see if anyone had overheard.
“Hey, keep it down. There are cops here.”
Harriet started to walk away, but Jules grabbed her arm.
“Hey, if you mistook me for a guy with a conscience or something just because I know how I got where I am, that’s your problem. I’m a user in every way. Are you going to let a good man go to jail because you can’t accept that?”
She removed his hand from her arm with her free hand, but she didn’t move away. She looked at the floor.
“I don’t believe you.”
He leaned back and looked at her.
“Have I misjudged you? Are you not willing to do anything it takes to save the young doctor?”
“I’m willing to help Aiden. I’m not willing to negotiate with a con man. If you really had information that would solve your sister’s murder, I think you’d tell somebody. The fact that you’re trying to con me tells me you don’t really know anything. When you’re ready to tell me whatever it is you think you know, come find me.”
Now it was Jules who looked down at the floor. It was clear he was used to women being so charmed by his good looks and apparent honesty they gave him whatever he asked for.
“Okay, you got me,” he finally said. “What I really want—”
Harriet didn’t get to hear what Jules wanted. Not then, anyway.
“Get away from me!” Sharon screamed from across the room.
He brushed past Harriet and pushed through the crowd to reach the action. She looked in time to see Marine’s mother standing toe-to-toe with Sharon and screaming back at her.
“Oh, should I just tell all your new friends who the high-and-mighty Sharon really is? Is that what you want? They all think you’re this tragic figure, but I know who you really are. You’re no better than me. You just have nicer threads and a better car.”
Jules reached the two women and forced himself between them.
“Come on, Mom. Time for you to go home. Let’s not make a scene. Marine wouldn’t have wanted that.”
He stayed behind her, his arms wrapped around her, frog-marching her toward the exit doors.
She tried to break free.
“Wait, we didn’t get the money. They told me they took up a collection for us. We need our money.”
“Not now, Mom.”
Francine looked back over her shoulder, searching the crowd to find Sharon.
“We’re not done here.”
“I’m sorry,” Jules said, a look of embarrassment on his face. Harriet almost believed him—except for the extortion scheme he’d just tried on her moments ago.
The Loose Threads quickly gathered around Sharon, preventing any onlookers from approaching her.
“Are you okay?” Harriet asked.
Sharon shuddered.
“I’m fine.” She looked at Harriet as she spoke, challenging her to argue. “I have no idea what that woman wanted from me.”
Francine clearly had something on Sharon, and after Sharon’s earlier revelation, Harriet felt sure she knew what it was.
Marine’s mom knew about Sharon’s pregnancy.
“I think we’ll go powder our noses,” she told the group.
Jessica started to follow them.
“I got this,” Harriet told her and led Sharon out into the hall.
She bypassed the restrooms just outside the fellowship hall and continued on upstairs to the ladies room next to the sanctuary, where there would be less chance of funeral goers eavesdropping on their conversation. When the door was shut behind them, she turned to Sharon.
“You don’t have to say anything, but based on my interaction with Marine’s brother, I’m guessing Mom just tried to blackmail you.”
Sharon hung her head.
“This is a nightmare that won’t end.”
“If you don’t want to talk about it, we can leave. There’s a door at the end of the hall, and my car is outside.”
“I think it’s a little late for that, don’t you?” She sighed. “That family has been onto me since I got here. Marine must have told her mother my name, or maybe her mom saw the class list. We all received a list of class members before we got here, so people who lived within driving distance could carpool if they wanted.”
“I didn’t think she was that close to her mom. She was staying with Aiden’s sister, after all.”
“She couldn’t stay with her mom, but that doesn’t mean they didn’t talk. In the end, it doesn’t matter. Somehow, Francine found out I was coming, and she was ready.”
Harriet leaned against the sink.
“How does Francine know who you are, much les
s have any information to blackmail you with?”
“One giant stroke of bad luck. That small town I retreated to, where my aunt lived, it also contained the rock Francine crawled out from under. I don’t know how she ended up there, since I now know her parents were in Foggy Point, but it doesn’t matter.
“My aunt took me to a small clinic in town. They also ran a free clinic, and Francine was a regular customer. When a pregnant teen shows up in a town like that, only to leave seven months later, it doesn’t take a genius to figure out what’s going on. I assume she saw my modeling work in an ad somewhere after that and filed it away as a future opportunity.”
“Do you think she’s that bright?” Harriet asked.
“Clever is more like it. People like her can be really stupid in most facets of life, but when money’s involved suddenly they’re Einstein.”
“So, she saw your name, remembered you as an unwed teen turned successful model, and guessed you wouldn’t want the world to know about your past.”
“That’s it in a nutshell. She told Marine and had her approach me. Foolishly, I gave them some money, thinking that would be the end of it.”
“And of course, it wasn’t?”
“Not even a little. Once Marine was gone, mommy dearest contacted me directly.”
“That was her, yesterday morning?”
“I thought I saw your car, down in the industrial area yesterday morning. Yes, that was her, and I gave her more money and told her that was it.”
“For someone like her, no amount is ever enough.”
“I know that. I do. I don’t care anymore if people know I had a child. My career is virtually over. My fear is...and I realize it’s irrational...is that Francine knows who my baby is and where it is.”
Harriet stood up straight.
“Has she said that?”
“No. She’s taunting me with her threats to tell the world I had a baby. I just can’t be sure she doesn’t know more.”
“But you’ve no reason to believe she does.”
Sharon turned to look directly into Harriet’s eyes.
“I can’t have my child find out about me from some horrible drug addict.”
Harriet put her hands on Sharon’s upper arms.
“It won’t come to that. We’ll figure something out.”
Crazy as a Quilt (A Harriet Turman/Loose Threads Mystery Book 8) Page 17
