Seven Reasons Why

by Neesa Hart

  They looked at him skeptically, but no one argued. Zack exhaled a long, relieved breath. This time, they’d escaped unscathed, but unless he missed his guess, Odelia was behind Snopes’s sudden appearance. It was past time he found out what was going on, but tonight, the boys needed comfort. There’d be plenty of time to investigate tomorrow. “Now,” he said, as he stood, “what do you say we go out for pizza?”

  Josh looked at him in amazement. “All of us?” “All of us,” Zack said, and tried to ignore what the grateful look in August’s eyes did to his insides.

  By the time they returned home that night, Zack was seriously concerned about August. With typical resilience, the boys had rebounded from the afternoon’s events. Even Teddy had allowed Jeff to coax him into a pinball game at Manny Simmerman’s Pizza Palace.

  August, on the other hand, was tight as a drum. Without asking, he knew that she, too, suspected that Odelia was behind George Snopes’s appearance. Continental Motors or no Continental Motors, Odelia was after more than Enid Keegan’s property. She’d launched a personal war against August Trent.

  In the back of his mind, a missing piece of the convoluted story tickled his subconscious. While August watched the boys, he replayed each conversation he’d had with Jansen, trying to pin down the elusive bit of information. Nobody could hate as strongly as Odelia Keegan without having something to fuel the anger.

  On the way back to August’s house, they dropped an exhausted Jeff and Sam at their father’s. The afternoon’s events had exacted a physical toll on the boys. In the front seat of August’s truck, Zack held Teddy, who slept heavily against his shoulder. Chip’s head lay in his lap, where he’d toppled soon after crawling into the car. From what he could see in the rearview mirror, Lucas’s shoulders seemed to be the only thing that kept Bo and Josh from sliding onto the floorboards.

  August pulled into her driveway with a quiet sigh. “Home,” she whispered.

  Zack looked at her over Teddy’s head. “You all right?”

  “A little sore. That’s all.”

  He shook his head. “That’s not what I meant.”

  She turned to meet his gaze. He saw the fear in her eyes. “I wish I had some of your confidence.”

  With a soft laugh, he shifted Teddy into her arms so that he could lift Chip’s solid weight off the seat. “So do I.”

  Emma Prentiss awaited them inside. She’d begged off the pizza trip with an excuse that the afternoon’s events had given her a headache. The older woman had baked at least eighteen dozen cookies in their absence. She collected Josh, assured August that George Snopes hadn’t returned, then bid them a quiet good-night.

  Together, they made quick work of settling the kids in bed. Even Lucas surrendered without the usual skirmish. As they trudged down the stairs, August lifted worried eyes to his. “Would you like to stay for a while? Have some coffee?”

  He gathered her in his arms. “The time’s not right. I don’t want what happened today to cloud what’s between us.”

  “Me either.”

  Zack hugged her close. “Besides, I’m feeling a little agitated about something. Something doesn’t quite fit, and I can’t seem to puzzle it out. I think I need to go home and sleep on it. If I stay here with you, I’ll get distracted.”

  With a slight nod, she stood on her toes to give him a gentle kiss. “Thanks for what you did today.”

  “I’m sorry I couldn’t have prevented it.”

  “You couldn’t have known.”

  “Neither could you,” he told her sternly. “Don’t forget that.”

  “About—” Her gaze dropped to his throat. “About earlier. In my office.” She raised her eyes again. “I’m sorry for what I said.”

  “Don’t be.” With a tenderness he had thought long forgotten, he rubbed his mouth against her forehead. “I haven’t told anyone that story in a long time. Maybe I’d gotten too far away from it to remember what it felt like.”

  “I’m still sorry. I misjudged you.”

  “Not entirely.” He tipped her chin so that he could see her expression. “I’m not a hero, August. I’m here to do a job. Let’s not lose sight of that.”

  Even though she didn’t argue, he couldn’t forget the way she looked at him as she told him good-night.

  He limped his way to Jansen Riley’s house, cursing the insistent pain in his leg. The damned wound was beginning to feel more like a weakness than an inconvenience. Had the scar not been healing so well, he might have been inclined to worry, but the surgeon had specifically told him it could take months before the muscles regenerated enough to ease the pain. The worst part of it was, the insistent ache reminded him daily of Joey’s betrayal. Zack didn’t want to think about all the things that had led up ta that day in the courthouse, nor did he want to consider all the reasons why his life had felt so hollow. The pain, however, wouldn’t let him forget.

  When he finally reached the top of the stairs, he was breathing heavily from the exertion. The ache forced him to sit in the chair by the hall telephone instead of going on to his room. From this spot, the moonlight glinted off the coffee-can phone line that connected Jansen’s house with August’s. Zack studied the device, as he considered the charming innocence that had led two children to run it between the houses.

  Like the sun rising over a blackened sea, the sight of the coffee can worked its way into the puzzle. August had said something about the cans, something that he should have noticed and hadn’t. At the time, he remembered, it had seemed unimportant, but now it niggled at his consciousness with the insistence of a toothache. Slowly, he replayed the conversation he’d had with her regarding the phone line.

  Someone had strung the wire before she moved in. He remembered now. She’d specifically told him that the boys frequently used the cans, but the wire had already been in place when she took possession of the house. He frowned as he considered that bit of information. Jansen had told him that no one had permanently occupied the house since his family vacated it ten years earlier. Enid, Odelia’s first cousin, had lived in the house next door until her death just a few years ago.

  Yet the coffee-can phone line suggested children. Unless—He stared at the can. August had said the boys replaced the cans. He hadn’t thought to ask how old the existing cans had been when she occupied the house.

  He reached for the phone and punched out Jansen’s number. He answered on the second ring. In the background, Zack heard the crowd noises.

  “Jansen. It’s Zack. Did I catch you at a bad time?”

  “Zack. No, no. I just have a few people over. How are things in your neck of the woods?”

  “Getting worse by the hour.”

  He heard Jansen shift the phone to his other ear. “What do you mean?”

  “Long story. Look, I won’t keep you. I just need to know something. When you grew up in this house, was the tin-can phone line here that connected your house with Enid’s?”

  Jansen released a long breath. “You know, I’d forgotten all about that. Is it still there?”

  “Yeah. August’s kids play around with it. So it was here?”

  “Sure. I ran it between my bedroom and the guest bedroom in Enid’s house so I could talk to Katherine.”

  Zack stilled. “Katherine?”

  “Odelia’s youngest sister. She was closer to Enid’s age than Odelia’s. She spent the night there a lot.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me this before, Jansen?”

  “I don’t suppose I thought it had much to do with why Odelia wants my land. Katherine died a long time ago.”

  “How long?” Zack’s gaze found the warm glow of the light in August’s bedroom.

  “I was at Fort Bragg, in North Carolina, on my way to Vietnam. She had tuberculosis, and they sent her to live with some relatives in Tennessee so she could receive treatment at the University Clinic. She never recovered.”

  Zack’s stomach turned over. “How do you know that?”

  “My mother wrote and told me.
Everyone in town knew. Do you think this is important?”

  “Yeah. I think it might be.” In the distance, Zack heard someone call Jansen’s name. “One more question before you go.”

  “Sure.”

  “Were you in love with Katherine Keegan?”

  Jansen paused so long, Zack thought he might not answer. “She’s the reason I never married,” Jansen told him. “Katherine was the love of my life. We were going to be married as soon as I returned from the war.”

  “Did her family know?”

  “You said one more question.”

  “Humor me.”

  “Yes. They knew, and they didn’t like it. What are you driving at, Zack?”

  “I’m not sure yet. Give me a couple of days, and I’ll try to get an answer for you.” He hung up, then dialed a second number, this time for his sister.

  “Talk to me,” she said when she answered the phone.

  “Margarita. It’s Zack.”

  “Zack?” He heard the surprise in her voice. “Is something wrong?”

  “No. Why?”

  “Because you’re calling me. You never call me unless someone is dead or dying. Is your leg all right?”

  He had to fight an irrational surge of irritation. His sister Margarita was the reference librarian at Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee, where she lived alone in the college district, despite his persistent disapproval of her vulnerability. Of all his siblings, Margie was most like him. Her bluntness never ceased to unnerve him. The others generally padded around him, deferring naturally to his position as leader of the family. Not so with Margie. Headstrong and independent, she considered it her duty to keep him humble. “My leg is fine. I just called to talk.”

  “This is weird, Zack. Connie said you called her the other night to tell Carly and Beth a bedtime story.”

  “I did.”

  “Are you having a midlife crisis?”

  He managed a slight smile. “I’m only thirty-seven.”

  “Yeah, well, how many seventy-four-year-old men do you know?”

  “A lot. Now quit arguing with me.”

  “I live to argue with you.”

  “Don’t I know it! So how are things going?”

  “You’re serious. You called just to talk to me?”

  He winced. He wasn’t ready to admit that her accusations were true. Did he really ignore his family except in times of crisis? “Sort of,” he said, hedging. “I have something to ask you, but it can wait. How are you?”

  “I’m doing real good,” she told him. “I got a raise last month, but I’m still thinking of moving. I miss you guys a lot. I’d like to work somewhere closer.”

  “We’d like that, too.”

  “Rafe came by last week,” she told him.

  “He did?” Zack frowned at the mention of Rafael. “What did he want?”

  “Nothing, really. He’s still doing research on the Del Flores papers.”

  “He hasn’t found that ship yet?”

  “Nope. There was an archived report he wanted me to retrieve for him through the Library of Congress on-line, but he really just came by to visit. Can you believe it? I hear from both of you in two weeks, and nobody wants anything. My luck must be changing.”

  “Have I really neglected you that much, Margie?”

  “Don’t be silly, Zack.” Her tone turned serious. “You know I can never repay what you did for me, for all of us.”

  “You don’t have to.”

  “That’s not the point. You’ve never neglected any of us. No one should have to do what you did for this family. I’ll always appreciate you for that.”

  The words had a hollow ring to them. For the first time in a long time, he wanted more. He pictured Teddy clinging to August’s neck, and squirmed in his chair. The meltdown he’d begun to fear was now happening at an alarming rate. He was beginning to feel empty inside, where the ice was edging away. “You did a lot of it on your own. You all did. It’s not like I carried the burdens of the world on my shoulders.”

  “Close enough.” As if she sensed his discomfort, she changed the subject. “So what did you want to ask me?”

  “How’s your love life?” he blurted out.

  “You called to ask me that?”

  “No. I just want to know.”

  “It’s all right. I’m not seeing Steve anymore.”

  Zack exhaled a slow breath. He supposed he shouldn’t feel as relieved as he did, but he’d never trusted the young doctoral student Margie had dated for the past two years. “I’m sorry.”

  “You are not. You hated him.”

  “I didn’t hate him. I just didn’t trust him.”

  “Well, as usual, you were right. As it turned out, he had a thing for undergrad students.”

  The glib comment didn’t disguise the hurt in her voice. Zack wished he was more prepared to respond to it. Rafael, he reluctantly admitted, was more equipped for youngersister angst. Zack’s methodical, unemotional mind got in the way of offering the right amount of sympathy. Where Rafe would have volunteered to slug the guy, the best Zack could do was offer a few inane words. Cursing himself, he said quietly, “I’m sorry he hurt you.”

  “It’s okay. I had Rafe rough him up a little.” Zack’s breath came out on a muttered oath. Laughing, Margie said, “Kidding. Kidding. It’s a joke, hermano. I thought about it real hard, but I didn’t do it.”

  “I wish you’d told me.”

  “Why? So you could fly down here and sue him?”

  The sting her words caused surprised him. Margie had often bantered with him like this. It had never bothered him in the past. “I just wish you’d told me.”

  “Zack,” she said, her voice gentler, “are you sure you’re all right?”

  “Fine.”

  She seemed to hesitate. “Was there something else you wanted to ask me?”

  “Yes. Do you have access to state records there at the library?”

  “Sure. What are you looking for?”

  “Death certificates.”

  “No problem. I can access them on-line. Someone in particular?”

  “Her name is Katherine Keegan. I think she was a patient at the University Clinic.” He named the year of her death and that it had been supposedly due to tuberculosis.

  “Hold on,” Margie said, “Let me get a pencil. I’ll need to get some details from you.” He listened while she rustled through a couple of drawers. “Okay, shoot.”

  The following afternoon, August sat next to Zack, nervously clenching her hands in her lap while he handed copies of paperwork to Judge Fulton Cleese. That morning he’d asked her to accompany him to Hampton Roads, where he was actively trying to expedite the approval of her status as a foster parent. They’d spent the better part of the day dealing with the frustrating bureaucracy of social services. To make matters worse, Kaitlin Price was on vacation, and the caseworker filling in for her had not yet been briefed on the special circumstances of August’s boys. By the time they finally got in to see the judge, August’s nerves were stripped raw.

  “Fulton,” Zack told the judge, “the problem here is a bureaucratic tangle. Kaitlin Price was trying to expedite the boys’ position to a safe environment. She simply neglected to complete all the necessary paperwork. It’s been over eight months since the boys have been in Keegan’s Bend with August. There’s no foundational reason not to simply approve the paperwork and get the matter off the state’s docket.”

  Cleese studied Zack from across the desk. “Why the rush? You told me last week this was routine.”

  “It was. Until yesterday.”

  Cleese’s eyebrows rose. “Is there something I should be aware of?”

  August glanced from Zack to the judge. On the way into the city, Zack had explained his relationship with Cleese. They’d graduated together from Columbia Law School, and Zack had assured her that Cleese would understand the urgency of the case. “A man who claims to be the father of one of my kids showed up at my home yesterday after
noon. He threatened the boys. I’m afraid that if the paperwork isn’t settled, he might have cause to remove the child from my home.”

  “Which child?” Cleese asked.

  “Teddy Donalds,” Zack supplied.

  The judge referred to the papers on his desk. “Donalds.” He pulled a sheet from the center of the stack. “This is the one that doesn’t talk?”

  “He’s made significant improvements since he’s been with me, Your Honor,” August insisted. “He’s still not talking, but he’s showing signs of trust. He interacts well with the other children, and he seems to be adjusting to the environment”

  “Ms. Trent—” Cleese leaned back in his chair “—no one is questioning your commitment to these children. From what I’ve seen, and from what Zack’s told me, you’ve done an admirable job with them. The state of Virginia could use more foster parents who cared about kids the way you do.”

  “If I could,” she said, “I’d adopt them.”

  “You’re single?”

  “Yes.”

  “Hmm.” He studied the papers on his desk. “That would be difficult to manage. You’re employed?”

  “I’m self-employed. I’m a veterinarian.”

  Cleese’s gaze dropped to the papers once more. “And the mayor?”

  “Yes.”

  “Admirable.”

  “But not time consuming,” August insisted. “The boys get most of my attention.”

  “What do you do about child care when you aren’t with them?”

  “I have a sitter.”

  “Adult?”

  “Older woman,” Zack said. “She’s a combination nanny-housekeeper.”

  The judge nodded. “It certainly appears you’ve provided well for the children, Ms. Trent, but even though these kids, especially with their problems, are the kind who could easily fall through the cracks, the state’s adoption laws are antiquated. It’s tough for anyone other than a middle-class couple to get approval for a permanent location.”

  “I know that,” she told him. “But Kaitlin assured me that the boys couldn’t be taken from my home unless a suitable permanent location was found for them.”