The Cradle Robber

by E. Joan Sims

  Cassie was right. I had lost a few pounds. My jeans sagged on my hips, and even my new Cole-Haan moccasins were loose. “Well,” I said to myself, “we’ll just have to stop at the Dairy Queen on the way home.”

  Mother decided to wait in the car and let me face my old nemesis alone. I argued with her, but it was no use. I trudged up to the back door and found a note. “I’m in the front parlor,” it read. “Come on inside.”

  The old lady was sitting in a dainty maple rocking chair by the big bay window. When I entered. she turned and gave me the benefit of an unexpected smile.

  “Don’t just stand there with your mouth open,” she said in a not so gruff voice. “Have a seat before you fall down, Paisley, child. You look like something the cat dragged in.”

  Oh, geez, I thought, here comes the Mr. Whiskers speech. I should have stayed home and cleaned the bathrooms.

  But I was wrong.

  “You know, Paisley, my papa took us to Louisville one year to see a play about three sisters. They were silly things, those young girls—always yearning for something they couldn’t have. I can’t remember their names because they were Russian, but they reminded me of Hannah and myself.”

  She stopped and smiled, remembering. “Just like the girls in the play, we were educated by the best tutors in French and German and taught things we would had no use for in this little town. We traveled with Papa to Paris and Rome and attended wonderful parties in London.”

  She looked at me and whispered in a wondering voice, “Did you know, we even met the Duke and Duchess of Windsor?”

  She turned back, her profile frail and delicate against the afternoon sun.

  “But just like the sisters in the play, we always had to come back home—to Rowan Springs, where according to Papa, no one was good enough for us. Nevertheless, Hannah fell in love with a young man who was the foreman of Papa’s lumberyard. They were planning to run away together when he had a tragic accident in the millrun. He lost his leg. When he was well, he moved away from Rowan Springs and bought a bar in another town with the ‘insurance money’ Papa gave him. Hannah never spoke to Papa after that. This old house was filled with angry silence until he died. Then at first, we thought we were free—that we could invite people over and make up for all the lost years of isolation—but we discovered there was no money left. The lumberyard was heavily mortgaged, and we owned nothing but our furniture and the house. There was no money for entertaining. Indeed, there was barely enough for us to survive.”

  She shifted her body in the rocker as though the hard wood was painful to her brittle bones, and continued her story. “We stayed to ourselves after that—only seeing Doctor Baxter occasionally when it couldn’t be helped, and after he passed away, no one except the delivery people from the grocery and the druggist. Our choice to remain secluded wasn’t challenged until your Cassandra came along.” She smiled sweetly at the memory, “That child wouldn’t take ‘no’ for an answer. She was determined that we rent the apartment over the garage to her young man. It was hard to refuse. She was so beautiful—it was a pleasure just to look at her.”

  “I know,” I smiled. “I say the same thing very often, myself.”

  Miss Lolly ignored me and went on, “She was so sweet. So fond of that young man. The two of them reminded us of what we could have had. Hannah and I were quite lovely, too, once upon a time—not as beautiful as Cassandra, but lovely—pale and lovely in our own way, like pearls.”

  She sighed, “Now, Hannah, my dearest sister is gone, and I am truly all alone.”

  “We’re…” I began half-heartedly.

  “I am all alone,” she repeated. “For the rest of my days I will be taking up space in someone else’s bed and infringing on someone else’s time. I dread that. But while it is still mine to give, I want your Cassandra to have all that I have left—the house and all of its contents. If the law insists that I am too dangerous to the community to live on my own, then let the state pay for my keep. I’ll leave this house with nothing but the clothes on my back.”

  She saw the surprised look on my face. I was struggling to find the right words to argue without offending her, when she held her hand up to quiet me.

  “Don’t argue with me, my girl. I’ve thought quite long and hard about this, and I will have my way. I’ve already taken care of the legal necessities with young Hawkins. There will be no loopholes or unanswered questions. He’s quite competent, that young man. I have you to thank for that, Paisley Sterling. I guess you turned out to be good for something, after all. Now be on your way. The afternoon sun doesn’t stay long on the parlor window at this time of day, and I want to sit in my rocker and soak up the warmth in my old bones while I still can.”

  I was closing the door behind me when I heard her whisper, “Tell Cassandra I’ve loved knowing her more than I can say.”

  Chapter Thirty-seven

  After I left Miss Lolly’s, I realized that I was still on an emotional roller coaster. One minute I was crying over the generosity of the old woman’s gift to Cassie, and the next I was in a rage because the Dairy Queen was out of hot caramel sauce.

  “Paisley, darling,” soothed Mother. “Try to get hold of yourself. Perhaps you should rethink your decision not to fill that prescription.”

  “Tranquilizers? Hah! What’s wrong with me is perfectly natural. The only way to get over it is to find a perfectly natural solution.”

  “But, how, dear? The problems seem to be insurmountable: a pitiful old woman who’s committed a foolish act and four young Mexican girls without visas? The only good news is that the baby can stay. She’s an American citizen. She can be adopted by a nice family. But the others — there’s really nothing we can do. You must face up to it sooner or later.” She smiled and patted my hand. “Are you sure you don’t want to go by the drug store and…?”

  “Mother!”

  “Very well, dear. I haven’t said a thing.”

  I was quiet for a moment, engrossed in thought. Something Mother had said was the answer to everything. For the first time in days, I felt my body relax. The answer was there, and it would come to me sooner or later. Everything was going to be fine, after all.

  That afternoon I moved my pillow and blankets back to the bedroom. The library was back to normal—just like me, I thought happily.

  “Why don’t we invite some people over?” I suggested to Mother. “I’m sure you have something on hand we can serve.”

  “Why, of course, I do. That lovely country ham from Broadbent’s, and those beautiful ripe pears Billy picked this morning—we could have a cheese platter, ham and biscuits, and fresh fruit.”

  “Great! Who’ll we invite?”

  The Joiner girls were practicing for the annual high school musical and Connie had promised to play the piano during the rehearsals, but Andy said he would be here shortly after seven. Horatio was the only other person who could come on such short notice.

  I refused to be depressed by such a small turnout. “Next time we’ll give people fair notice. I think we should entertain more, Mother. Our social life is the pits.”

  Mother looked puzzled, and just a tiny bit worried. “Paisley, I went ahead and had that prescription filled. Don’t you think…?”

  “Hooray!” I interrupted, “Andy’s here, and there’s Horatio’s car, too. I’ll go out and say hello, then I’ll help you bring in the food.”

  Andy was leaning against his car speaking softly and earnestly to Horatio. They broke apart like two naughty little boys caught with their hands in the cookie jar when I approached.

  “Telling secrets, gentlemen? For shame!” I teased. “Well, we’ll just have to ply you with food and drink and make you tell all.”

  “Eh, good evening, Paisley,” mumbled Andy. “We’re not…”

  “Careful, my boy,” interjected Horatio with a chuckle. “The women in this family possess unusual powers. I’d think twice before I misspoke if I were you. They can make a rock sing.”

  “I promise
to go easy on you, Andy,” I laughed as I took Horatio’s arm and ushered the two men into the friendly confines of the library.

  “My, what smells so good?” inquired Horatio. “So sweet…it reminds of something long, long ago.”

  Mother pointed to a big vase of delicate white flowers in front of the empty fireplace.

  “Gardenias, Horatio, dear. They probably remind you of our high school tea dances. All the girls wore gardenias pinned to their party dresses. Billy had to cut down the rest of Paisley’s damaged moon garden today,” explained Mother. “These flowers are the only ones we’ll be able to enjoy for quite a while, I’m afraid.”

  “Damn tornado!” I groused.

  ”I’ll have to admit it sure stirred up a lot of trouble,” admitted Andy with a grin. “I was busier than a bucket of red ants there for a while.”

  “And I suppose my being kidnapped and nearly murdered was just all in a day’s work?”

  “Paisley, don’t be rude to our guest. Andy, dear, please forgive her…”

  “Forgive, hell! I was nearly a paragraph in the obituaries of yesterday’s Rowan Springs Times. I’d like to think I was at least item number one on Andy’s ‘things to do’ list!”

  “Paisley, “whispered Mother, “those little pills are in the kitchen…”

  ”Bother the stupid pills!”

  “Country ham biscuit anyone?” interrupted Cassie, with a pointedly wicked look in my direction.

  “Sorry, everybody,” I mumbled with a wan smile. “I guess I’m not quite house trained, yet. What would you like to drink?”

  “Eh, do you have a beer?” asked Andy, blushing slightly.

  “Why, of course, Andy, dear,” said Mother graciously. “Beer goes so well with ham. I think I’ll have one, too. How about you, Horatio?”

  Horatio smiled and nodded.

  “Beer all around, it is then. Paisley, will you be all right…?”

  “Of course, Mother. I’ll behave while you’re gone. And Cassie will help you bring the drinks back,” I said casting my own wicked grin back at my daughter.

  Mother left the room, glancing uneasily over her shoulder. I gave her a big reassuring smile, and then focused it on my two friends.

  “Fess up, you two! I want to know everything! After all, I think I deserve it—if for nothing more than saving the county the cost of a murder trial.”

  Andy grinned and scratched his head. He had lost some hair in the past year and was self-conscious when not wearing his uniform hat. “I guess you’re right, Paisley. What do you think, Mr. Raleigh? Think she’s up to it?”

  “In my considered opinion…”

  “For Pete’s sake, you two! Mother’s going to be back in a minute, and she’ll end this conversation in a heartbeat.” I made a face. “And maybe even hide one of these killer pills in my sandwich for good measure.”

  “Very well,” began Horatio. “For a start, James Hershey had absolutely nothing to do with this unfortunate affair—except perhaps when he made the mistake of taking Frank Newton’s references and resume on face value when he hired him.”

  “Is that right, Andy? Hershey’s as clean as a whistle?”

  “Yes, Paisley, cleaner, even. Of course, he doesn’t think so. Blames himself for the whole thing. By the way, he wants to see you sometime tomorrow afternoon.”

  “Whatever for?”

  “To apologize, I should imagine,” answered Horatio. “I do know this whole affair has hit James very hard. He was a great admirer of your father, and if he feels responsible for everything that happened, including what happened to you. He will want to make amends.”

  “Oh, geez! Just what I need, another blubber fest!”

  Horatio threw back his head and laughed. “Oh, my dear! You are quite something. Does anyone ever really please you?”

  I grinned back. “You and Andy will, if you fill me in on the rest of the picture. I have a million questions, and I want answers to them all.”

  “Paisley,” warned Mother as she entered with Cassie, who was carrying a tray loaded with frosty mugs of Heinekens, “Not now.”

  I winked at Horatio, and smiled at Andy. “I’ll save it for dessert, gentlemen. Answers always go better with coffee and Cointreau.”

  I behaved myself impeccably throughout our jolly repast. Even Mother finally relaxed when she saw that I was being good.

  Andy decided he would have another beer instead of Cointreau. I kept him company, but poured for Mother and Horatio while Cassie brought our coffee and dessert.

  “Now, Mother,” I began soothingly. “If you don’t want me to embarrass you, you’d better let Horatio and Andy finish the story they started earlier.

  “Yeah, Gran,” seconded Cassie as she set down the heavy silver tray. “I haven’t figured this out either. I’d like to know what was behind it all. For instance, why did Rudolfo come looking for Newton in the first place?”

  Andy took a deep breath and started telling his story. “Rudolfo Ramirez and Captain Louis Arledge, the man you called Fatty, were on the trail of one Francisco Villanueva who was wanted for murder in Mexico, Arizona, and Texas. He was also charged with kidnapping, statutory rape, transporting illegal immigrants, impersonating an officer of the court, and a half a dozen other charges—including soliciting for prostitution.”

  “Wow! He looked so self-satisfied and innocent in that picture with his family. It’s hard to believe he was such a bad ass.”

  “Cassandra, please,” reprimanded Mother.

  “Wait a minute! What picture is that, Cassie?”

  “The one stuffed in the towel rack, Mom. I found it under the seat of the car the day after you disappeared.” She hopped up and retrieved the tattered photograph from the bookshelf and handed it over. A stouter, mustachioed Frank Newton stared backed at me. Surrounded by a smiling family—his wife Isabel and their two children—he looked for all the world like any proud and loving papa.

  “Mom, you look a little green. Are you sure you’re…”

  “Fine, fine, I’m fine!” I insisted impatiently. “Please go on, Andy.”

  “Arledge and his Mexican counterpart got wind of Newton’s possible whereabouts earlier this year. That’s the only picture they had to go by,” explained Andy. “They decided to blend in with the immigrant workers here in Lakeland County— Rudolfo as a tobacco picker and Arledge as a foreman—to make sure Newton really was Villanueva.” Andy took a sip of beer and continued with a wry little grin. “At first they didn’t know who to trust, including the local law. After all, their quarry was chummy with some of the most respected people in Rowan Springs. They made the decision to work on their own, but when push came to shove, and Arledge was found out and murdered, Rudolfo came to the only person he could trust for help.”

  “Me?” asked Cassie in a very small voice.”

  “Yes, you, my dear,” smiled Horatio. “And you took quite a chance when you went off with him. Nevertheless, I’m very proud of you.”

  “What about the body in our back field? Didn’t that raise any red flags? I mean, even to my untrained eye, he looked a bit squashed.”

  “Paisley, dear, must you?”

  “She’s quite right, Anna. The gentleman’s body in question did appear to be somewhat distorted.”

  “That was my fault,” admitted Andy. “With the tornado and all, I just assumed he had been picked up by the force of the wind after his throat was slashed. I had no idea Newton had made him jump from his plane.”

  “It’s ironic, isn’t it?” mused Horatio. “Newton sought to cover his crime by disfiguring the corpse, when it would have gone completely unnoticed if he had left well enough alone.”

  We were all quiet for a moment, thinking.

  “Poor Ruby Dawn,” said Mother shaking her head. “She was completely taken in by that monster.”

  “Poor Ruby nothing! She wasn’t exactly an innocent bystander. I still have a knot on my head where she whacked me with that rifle butt!”

  “I have to ag
ree with Paisley, Miz Sterling,” said Andy. “After reading Ruby Dawn Coleman’s journal…”

  “Journal? She kept a journal? Wow! What did it say?” asked Cassie, her eyes shining with excitement.

  I forgave her for forgetting to sympathize with my bump and seconded her question. I was as excited as she was.

  “Well, I really shouldn’t be talking about police evidence…”

  “Evidence against whom, for what? Everybody’s dead! Ruby Dawn can’t be tried for anything now,” I argued.

  “Neither can Frank Newton,” added Cassie. “You saw to that, Mom,” she added with a pat on the back.

  I swallowed hard, forcing my mouthful of beer down a second time, and grinned weakly. I didn’t want Mother to bring up the subject of those damned little white pills again. “That’s right,” I acknowledged in a steadier voice. “Newton’s gone, too. As a matter-of-fact, nobody’s left, so you might as well tell us what Ruby said in her diary.”

  “Well, she hated you, for one thing,” admitted Andy, with an embarrassed laugh. “She was jealous. She was convinced you got to be a famous writer because you came from what she called ‘a good family.’ She was determined to become as famous as you, and Newton fed that desire. He made all kind’a promises I’m sure he never would have kept. Ruby Dawn was probably just one in a long line of women he used and then discarded.”

  “You’ve got that right,” I agreed, remembering Isabel and Carmencita.

  “Anyway, according to her journal, Newton brought a kind of dirty excitement into Ruby’s life. When he found out she was thrilled by tales of his less than perfect past, he let her take part in some of his activities. He even told her she would make a fortune one day by publishing his life’s story. What he didn’t know was that she was already putting pen to paper and recording everything he said and did. That was ultimately her undoing. When he found out she had compromised him, he killed her. But she had the last word, because she left the journal in her safe deposit box with instructions to give it to Judge Hershey in the event of her death.”