by Mary Monroe
“I hope it’s a nice surprise and you’re glad to see me,” Shirelle replied with a woeful look on her face. “Lola, I . . .” She stopped and began to fidget.
I could tell she was having a hard time talking, so I jumped in and said, “I’m so happy to see you after all these years! I thought you’d forgotten all about me.”
“I could never forget you, Lola.” She cleared her throat, and the look on her face intensified. “I’m sorry I didn’t reach out to you when all that serial killer mess was going on. But my family and friends were making so many ugly comments about you and Joan, I just couldn’t get caught up in it and risk losing their respect again. I don’t care what people say or think about me now. My life has been so wonderful these past few years, I can afford to have a few setbacks.” Shirelle laughed and then she suddenly gave me a serious look. “I felt so guilty about not reaching out to you when I first heard about Calvin Ramsey. It bothered me so much, last week I decided to do something about it. None of the folks I contacted knew where you lived or worked. I got so desperate, I finally gave Libby a call and . . . uh, I stopped using profanity when I found Jesus, so I can’t repeat what she said about you.”
I held up my hand and shook my head. “You don’t need to go there. I have no contact whatsoever with her and her brother. I hear all the gossip about how bad off they are now, but I haven’t even seen them in public since the day of Bertha’s funeral.”
“I even tried to get in touch with Joan and Jeffrey, but they have unlisted telephone numbers too. I got lucky yesterday when I ran into Jeffrey at the gas station. He shared all kinds of information with me. He told me everything about Bertha leaving you out of her will and Libby kicking you out of the house and giving your stuff to the junkman! I couldn’t believe my ears when he told me Libby and Marshall had had you chased out of the church during Bertha’s funeral! Poor Jeffrey. I was happy to hear that he’d divorced Libby. He’s such a good man and deserves a much better woman. The best piece of information I got from him was that he told me where to find you.”
“What about your husband? I thought you didn’t want him to know about me.”
“Right after I heard about you and Calvin, I told my husband about my past. I told him everything. He wasn’t happy to hear that I’d lived under the same roof with my married lover and his family, and it caused a little tension between us, but he got over it. If I had known years ago how he’d react, I would have told him a long time ago. And you and I could have resumed our relationship before now.”
I gave Shirelle a pensive look. “I’m glad to hear that. It would have been nice if I could have called or visited you from time to time.”
She nodded. “I was happy when I heard about you and Elbert. I never got to know him well, but from what I’ve heard, he sounds a lot like the wonderful man I married.”
“Elbert is a wonderful man. It took me a long time to realize that, and I’m glad I finally did. He is a great father and we are very happy. I finally have another family of my own again.”
“Well, if it’s not too late, I’d like to be part of your family.”
There was nothing Shirelle could have said that would have made me happier. “I’d love that,” I replied with my voice cracking.
“My husband is doing so well, last month we sold our house in San Diego and bought a new one in San Francisco. We moved in last month. I’m so happy to be living in the Bay Area again! I’m hosting my family’s annual reunion next week. Would you like to come?”
“You know I would! Thank you!” I squealed. It was hard to hold back my tears. I had attended several of Joan’s family reunions. Even though I’d always enjoyed myself, I had still felt like an outsider because so many of her relatives made me feel like one. I knew I wouldn’t feel like that at a reunion with Shirelle around.
She gave me one of her dramatic neck rolls and then she slapped her hand on her hip. “You won’t have to worry about any of my folks bombarding you with questions and comments about that serial killer. I know you’re sick and tired of that subject by now.”
“I hope I never hear Calvin Ramsey’s name again as long as I live,” I said, choking on a sob.
“I’ll pray that you won’t.” Shirelle took a pen and a small scratch pad out of her huge leather purse, scribbled down her telephone number and address, and handed the page to me. And I gave my contact information to her.
I felt so much love for this woman, I could barely contain myself. Tears rolled down my face. I was happy that “my other mother” was back in my life. This time she was my only mother.
READING GROUP GUIDE
THE DEVIL YOU KNOW
Mary Monroe
ABOUT THIS GUIDE
The suggested questions that follow are included to enhance your group’s reading of this book.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. Lola barely knew Calvin, but he was such a good liar and she was so in love with him, she believed everything he told her. Do you think she was a little too gullible for a woman in her thirties?
2. Joan’s relatives knew she was miserable and wanted to end her marriage. But they didn’t want her to divorce Reed, because they cared more about the money and gifts he gave them than her feelings. Do you know people as greedy and trifling as Joan’s family?
3. Reed kept Joan under his thumb by behaving like a love-struck fool and threatening to commit suicide if she divorced him. Were you surprised when he left her for another woman? Did you suspect that he had been fooling around all along?
4. Joan had numerous online lovers and was desperate to end her marriage. Did you expect her violent reaction to Reed’s betrayal, or did you think she’d be happy that she was finally going to be rid of him?
5. Do you think the argument between Lola and Bertha caused Bertha’s fatal heart attack?
6. Do you think Bertha’s daughter Libby crossed the line when she accused Lola of “killing” her mother and then slapped her in front of Bertha’s doctor and preacher? Lola didn’t want to make matters worse, so she didn’t hit Libby back. Do you think Libby treated Lola the way she did because Lola was so passive?
7. Libby had the locks changed so Lola could not return to Bertha’s house. Then she hired a junkman to haul away some of Lola’s property before she could retrieve it. Did Libby’s actions surprise you?
8. How did you feel when Libby and Marshall had Lola kicked out of the church during Bertha’s funeral?
9. Despite Lola’s devotion, Bertha left her house and everything else to Libby and Marshall. Neither one had ever shown Bertha any love or respect, not even in death. To keep from paying for her funeral, they wanted to donate her body to science! Lola felt slighted, but she took it all in stride. Would you react the same way?
10. Calvin was anxious to marry Sylvia, but he wanted to find and kill Lola first. She unknowingly made it easy by revealing enough information for him to locate her residence and that the lock on the back door was broken. Would you ever give out this much personal information to anybody other than family and close friends?
11. If Calvin had succeeded with his plan to murder Lola, do you think he would have finally stopped killing women who reminded him of his ex?
12. Were you shocked when Lola finally accepted super-straitlaced Elbert’s marriage proposal? Did she do the right thing by telling him that she had been leading a double life as a member of the online sex club where she’d met Calvin?
13. Lola was stunned when Elbert told her that he had also once led a double life as a drug addict, a womanizer, and an alcoholic. Do you think he did the right thing by telling her?
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