Angus glared at Callie. “You screwed him while you were screwing me?” He pointed at Ted.
“Whoa!” Janie said and then clamped a hand over her mouth. She lowered her head and glanced around the room at everyone.
“And Suzanne’s daughter,” Cal continued.
Janie mumbled something behind her hand.
Cal looked at Raven. She was the only one, besides Ted and Suzanne, who didn’t appear to be stunned at what he’d just revealed.
Angus looked beyond Ted at Callie. Her mouth was gaped, and she looked terrified.
“How did she get … ?” Angus pointed at Callie but looked at Suzanne. “We buried our baby.”
“I believe we buried yours and Callie’s baby, but you’d really have to ask her.” Suzanne turned her attention back to Callie.
Angus’ eyes bulged as he looked at Suzanne and Ted. Ted clenched his fists ready for the confrontation, but Angus leaped from his chair, flung himself in the air, and belly flopped on the table. He struggled to get on his hands and knees and then crawled over to Callie. He reached for her.
Callie knocked over her chair when she jumped up. Her eyes were wide with fear. She fell back against the wall, raised her hands in front of her face, and tried to inch her body behind Deputy Porter.
“You bitch! You blackmailed money from me for over twenty years.” Angus said as he tried to climb off the table to get to her.
While holding onto Callie’s arm, Porter placed her body between the two of them.
Cal and Hendrix had already crossed the room. They grabbed Angus and wrestled him off the table. After they had secured his arms behind him, Hendrix led him back.
“You named her Agnes. You named her after me!” Angus growled.
Hendrix shoved Angus toward his chair and pushed him into sitting position. “Don’t get up again.”
Porter reached over and set the overturned chair upright, steered Callie to it, and said, “Sit down.”
Cal walked back to where he’d been standing. He looked across the room at Raven. Her face was void of color.
“I think it’s time we all got some answers.” Cal nodded to Raven.
Raven stood up. She swallowed hard, took a deep breath, and looked at Callie. “Momma … I mean, Callie … ?” Her chin quivered and tears welled up in her eyes. She tried to speak but couldn’t form the words. Suzanne stood, stepped over, and put an arm around Raven’s waist. Raven leaned in to her.
Cal looked back at Callie. “Just spit it out, Callie. We all know you’ve been lying all of these years.”
Callie had composed herself, but terror was still in her eyes. She looked up at Cal and asked, “Will I go to prison?”
Cal tilted his head. “Well, after murdering Gaylene and stealing two million dollars, I’d say you’re already going to prison.”
Callie dropped her head into her hands and began sobbing. “Oh no! I can’t go to prison, I just can’t. I’ll die there.”
“If you make it to prison before I kill you, you’ll be lucky,” Angus said through clenched teeth.
“Enough!” Cal said. “Callie, start talking.”
She sniffed and wiped her nose on her arm. She straightened her posture and looked across the room at Angus. “I did have your baby. I named her Agnes after you.” She looked at Raven. “She was born two days before Agnes, I mean Raven, or whatever Suzanne named you.”
“Amelia,” Suzanne said.
Callie looked down at her cuffed hands in front of her on the table. “Whatever. Anyway, one morning I looked in on her. I was surprised that she had stopped crying long enough to go to sleep. Her lips were blue, and when I checked her breath, she wasn’t breathing. The first thing I thought of was the DHS was going to be on my ass for neglect. I swear that baby never slept.” She looked up at Raven. “I have to admit, Raven was the better baby. She slept through the night and didn’t keep me or Virgil awake.”
“Finish the story. What happened?” Cal asked.
“She was ten days old when she died. I panicked.” She looked at Angus. “I knew if you found out that she was dead you’d stop the monthly checks. I sat for hours, trying to figure out a plan and then it came to me. I had quit working for the Rayburns when I was four months pregnant with Angus’ baby. I remembered that Suzanne had just had a baby girl around the same time that I’d had mine. So I took my dead baby and drove over to your house.” She looked at Suzanne. “The front door was unlocked, and I snuck inside, carrying my dead baby. I heard the maid, who was my replacement, talking with the cook in the kitchen. I have no idea where Angus was, but I never saw him.
“Since I had worked there before, I knew the place inside and out. So I went upstairs to the nursery. I knew where that was, because while I was still working there, Suzanne was always doting over that room. Anyway, I heard the water running and knew Suzanne was in the shower. Agnes … , or whoever, was asleep in her crib. I was amazed at the resemblance of the two babies, same dark hair and the same size. So, I swapped their clothes, made the switch, and hurried out of the house. I couldn’t believe that I’d gotten away from there without being caught.” She looked off in thought. “It was such an adrenaline rush. I couldn’t believe such luck.”
Suzanne’s eyes were filled with tears as she pulled Raven closer to her.
Ted stood up, stepped beside Suzanne, and took Suzanne’s free hand. She smiled up at him.
He said, “Your eyes are just like Raven’s. She’s the spitting image of the woman I’ve loved for over thirty years.”
“Raven’s eyes are blue,” Callie said.
Ted looked at Callie. “Raven has the same smiling eyes as Suzanne’s, but you’re right, they are blue, just like mine.”
“A lot of people have blue eyes.” Callie smirked. “I just want you to know that the only reason I came to you and applied for a housekeeping job was because your wife had died. I knew you were a lonely old man, and having a trophy wife would be right up your alley.”
“Lonely, yes, but you are far from a trophy wife, Callie. And the only reason you married me was for the money.”
“And you were such a tight ass with your money too. After Raven left, I divorced Virgil. The money Angus put into my bank account every month was not near enough to pay for the house I wanted. I was stuck living at an apartment and listening to the neighbor’s screaming brats day and night.”
Callie turned her attention to Suzanne. “I’d think you’d be appreciative that I took care of your daughter and raised her. Why, just look at her, she a famous author.” She looked at Raven. “I’d say I did a good job even though she turned out to be an ungrateful bitch.”
“That’s enough,” Ted said.
Callie rolled her eyes.
“I’ve paid you to keep quiet about our dirty little secret,” Angus said, glowering at Callie. “Even put her through college.”
“College?” Raven said.
Angus looked at Raven.
“I have you to know,” Raven said, “I worked and put myself through college.”
Angus turned back toward Callie, leaped from the chair, and headed around the table.
Cal stepped in front of him and put his hands up. “Go sit down.” Cal said.
“You don’t understand,” Angus said through clenched teeth. “She swindled me.”
“And you swindled Suzanne,” Cal said.
Cal looked across the room at Raven. Her eyes were on him. A small crease formed between her brows and a pained look crossed her face. He had thought that she would be relieved to know the truth. He had been relieved, but the look on her face confused him. He looked down at the floor. They weren’t related. They never had been. He looked back across the room at her.
“Well, I still haven’t a clue why I was invited to this meeting,” Janie said, “but I got to say that this has been the most exciting occasion I’ve had in a long, long time.”
Cal walked over to Raven. “Is this the closure you were wanting?”
She looked
up at him. “It’s a good start. I think I’ll know more later.”
Cal turned. “Porter, take Callie back to her cell. Hendrix, place Angus under arrest.”
Angus’ head jerked around toward Cal. “What? Y’all don’t have anything on me. My attorney said that I was clear of the charges.”
“Well, your attorney is wrong.” Cal looked at Hendrix. “Get him out of here.” He looked around the room. “Everyone else can go. We’re done here.”
Janie was the first one out the door.
Cal turned to watch Porter lead Callie out and saw Raven hurry out ahead of her.
“Thanks,” Ted said.
Cal turned toward him and nodded.
Suzanne walked up beside Ted. “It’s going to take some time, but now, we’ve been given back what we’ve always wanted.”
Ted and Suzanne left the room.
Cal walked out and looked into the lobby for Raven. Ted and Suzanne had just walked out the front door, and the only ones in there were the dispatcher and Deputy Miller. Cal turned back toward his office.
“Can’t believe everything you read, huh?” Justin said as he walked down the hallway with a mug of coffee.
Cal shook his head.
“She may have to rewrite the ending. I’d like to read that,” Justin said.
Cal smiled and went into his office. He pushed the door to close it, but the door wouldn’t budge. He turned to see Raven pressing her hand against it.
“I thought you’d left,” he said.
“No, I was trying to catch Janie before she left.” She smiled. “She walks fast.”
“Years of waitressing.”
She nodded, and he noticed that she seemed troubled.
“Is something wrong?” he asked.
She shook her head and opened her lips as if to speak, but closed her mouth, and looked away.
He took her hand and pulled her inside out of the doorway and pushed the door closed behind her. He looked at her and thought to ask what was on her mind, but he just stared into her eyes and then did what he had wanted to do when he’d seen her in Ted’s den her first night back in town. He kissed her. Her arms went around his neck, and she pressed her body into him. When he deepened the kiss, she broke free.
She took a step back, caught her breath, and said, “I’m staying at Suzanne’s. She’s planning a small dinner party, and I was wondering if you would like to come to dinner?”
He watched her and wondered where this was going. Is this a date? Does she want to start at the beginning again? He nodded. “Okay, sounds good.”
She nodded too. “Seven?”
“Seven.”
She sidestepped him, opened the door, and hurried out.
82
Cal stood at Suzanne’s front door with a bottle of wine in his hand. He had dropped by the liquor store along the way. He didn’t know a thing about wine and had to depend on the owner’s expertise.
The door opened and Raven stood in front of him. Her eyes scanned him and then looked back up at his face.
“You’re not in uniform.”
He smiled. “Believe it or not, I get to dress like a civilian when I’m off duty.”
“It’s just that I haven’t seen you in jeans in … years.” She stepped aside.
He walked into the foyer. After she had closed the door, he handed her the bottle of wine.
“Thanks.” She took it from him.
Voices from the kitchen grabbed his attention. He looked toward the kitchen door.
“Cal?” she said.
He turned back toward her.
“Please, don’t hate me.”
He was confused but only for a moment.
“Mommy, Grandma Suzanne said this was hers when she was a little girl.”
Cal looked back toward the sound of the small voice. A little girl wearing an apron over a sundress stood in the kitchen doorway. She held up the hem of her apron. Her bright blue eyes twinkled as she smiled. Her black curly hair was secured in a ponytail by a pink ribbon.
“Is this him?” She eyed Cal.
“Yes,” Raven said in a shaky voice.
The little girl never took her eyes off of him as she walked across the room and stood in front of him. She clasped her hands in front of her. He couldn’t take his eyes off of her.
“Cal, this is Emma. Emma, this is your … daddy.” Her voice cracked.
Cal’s head made a slow turn toward Raven.
Her body trembled. “Please forgive me. I’m so sorry,” she whispered. Her face was wet with tears.
He looked back at Emma.
She smiled up at him, rocked on her heels, and said, “You’re tall.”
Cal looked back at Raven. “You said—”
“I know, but I didn’t lie to you.”
“A lie of omission is still a lie. Why didn’t you tell me?”
Raven turned to Emma. “Emma, why don’t you see if Grandma Suzanne and Miss Mavis need help in the kitchen? Your daddy and I need to talk.”
Emma glanced back and forth at them, and then with a downcast look on her face, she turned and walked back into the kitchen. When she had left the room, Cal turned toward Raven. Anger had replaced his surprise.
“Yes, we do, but by all means, you go first,” he said.
Raven set the wine bottle down on a side table. “I had to protect her. I couldn’t tell you.”
“What? Protect her from me?” He pointed toward his chest.
“Protect her from the world. If it had gotten out that she was a child from an incestuous relationship, what do you think that would have done to her?”
He was quiet for a moment as he considered what she had said. “I would have protected her.” He looked toward the kitchen door. “She’s five?” Before she could answer, he turned back with anger in his eyes. “I’ve missed out on five years. Her birth, five birthdays, five Christmas’s, five years, and all you can say is that you were protecting her?”
“Please, keep you voice down.” Raven stepped away from him. She still trembled. “I completely understand your anger over this.”
He gave a half laugh and shook his head. “No, you don’t. You have no idea how I feel.”
She dared to look at him, and what she saw scared her. His eyes were dark and his jaw was set. She wrapped her arms around her waist.
“You’re right. I don’t know.” She dropped her gaze to the floor. “If I had known that we didn’t share the same father, you would have known as soon as I had found out that I was pregnant with her.”
“You had no right to keep this from me.”
“You know now.”
“That doesn’t make up for the past five years.”
“No, it doesn’t.” She took a deep breath, dropped her arms to her sides, and looked at him. “Right or wrong, I did what I thought was best for her.”
“Her? Maybe for you.” He pointed a finger at her and then pointed toward the kitchen. “But she’s been without me in her life for five years.” He dropped his hand to his side. “Maybe you were more afraid of what people would say about you.”
She shook her head. She wiped away a tear from her cheek. “I could care less what people say about me, but I’d lay down my life to protect her. As an adult she might have been able to handle the ridicule, but as a child and then later a teenager? I didn’t want to take the chance of what that might do to her.”
“You stole from me. How can you expect me to forgive you for something like this?”
She squared her shoulders. “I don’t expect anything from you. I’ve explained why I did what I did. I’ve asked you to forgive me. Forgiveness is not to relieve my burden of guilt. It’s taken me years, but I’ve already forgiven myself. It’s for you. I don’t want you to carry the burden of animosity against me. This is all I can do. I’ve opened the door for you to have a relationship with your daughter. You’re welcome to come in.”
“So that’s it?”
She thinned her lips and held up her palms. “That�
��s it.”
“This is the best you can do to explain away five years?”
She nodded. “That’s all I’ve got.”
He nodded, turned on his heel, and left the house.
* * *
Cal wasn’t much of a drinker, and only on rare occasions did he drink at all, and even then, only in moderation. He had driven to the liquor store and bought a fifth of the South’s finest bourbon. He had downed several shots and then had given up on the glass. He sat on his sofa in front of his television set that was turned off and stared at the blank screen. He was still angry. The alcohol hadn’t done any good to make him feel better, but it did make him sleepy.
He kept going over and over in his mind how much of little Emma’s life he’d missed. Raven had taken that from him.
Someone knocked on the front door. He thought whoever it was would go away if he didn’t answer it. A moment later, he heard a key in the lock and the door open. He didn’t look up. The only person, other than himself, who had a key to his house was his mother.
Janie closed the door and walked over to stand in front of him. “You think that’s going to help?” Janie eyed the bottle in his hand.
“What else is there?”
“A person can’t think clearly with a gut full of that.”
“I don’t want to think clearly right now.”
“Well, if that was your goal, it’s working then.”
He eyed what she held in her hand. “What’s that?”
“Raven gave this to me. It’s copies of all the pictures of Emma.”
He looked up at her. “When did you see her?”
“Well, I guess you didn’t see my car in Suzanne’s driveway. I was there when you were. I was in the kitchen. They had invited me to supper, and I got the surprise of my life. I got to meet my grand-daughter.”
“I didn’t know you were there.” He looked back at the television and took a sip from the bottle. “So, how do you feel about being left out of her life for five years?”
She shrugged. “I really hadn’t thought about it in that way.”
“What?” He looked up at her.
She shook her head. “I’ve not been this happy in years. Emma is gorgeous and the smartest little thing.” She chuckled and placed her free hand on her chest. “I’m a grandmother.”
Diana Anderson - Entering Southern Country 01 - Famous in a Small Town Page 26
