Stolen Hearts

by Jane Tesh

“You quarreled with Albert, didn’t you? Maybe pushed him? Didn’t mean to kill him. But Melanie saw what happened. She threatened to go to the police unless you shared any money you might get from the sale of ‘Oh! Susanna’—if it was in the notebook.”

  “I knew it was.” Thomas’ voice trembled. “It had to be.”

  “Was all this worth it?”

  He kept his head down. “I didn’t mean to push him that hard.”

  “Mr. Thomas, you don’t have to say anything else.” Jordan read him the rest of his rights.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  “Two Hearts Singing”

  When I got back, Ellin was furious. “What was she trying to do? This isn’t Ashford. It’s Cam.”

  “Glad you can tell the difference.” Byron had all sorts of electronic gadgets in his kitchen, including a fancy coffeemaker. I brought one cup to Ellin, who set it on the table. I sat down in a chair, my hands around the other cup. “How’s he doing?”

  “I don’t think he got too cold,” she said. “He’s breathing all right, and I didn’t see any other injuries.”

  I leaned back in the chair. I was finally getting warm, myself. Thank God for mild October weather. If Melanie had dunked us in January, we’d be popsicles by now.

  “The paramedics said he’ll be okay. He was awake a while ago and knew what day it was.”

  “We’ll camp here for a while, then.”

  She was uncertain. “Randall, take a good look and tell me what’s going on. Is Ashford back?”

  I peered into Camden’s eyes and saw what she was talking about: he wasn’t there. “I don’t know what’s happened. Camden? Are you in there? Ashford, for God’s sake, let go.”

  But Ashford wasn’t there, either. Something had gone wrong. Maybe the shock of the water, or the constant leeching of his personality, or Ashford’s realization that Laura’s great-granddaughter could be capable of such violence. Camden seemed lost in some distant limbo land.

  Ellin grasped his hand. “Cam? Come back. Come on now, don’t do this.”

  But she wasn’t getting through. I hoped to God it had something to do with his sense of identity, because I was going in with the only ammunition I had.

  “Camden,” I said. “I know you’re in there. Listen to me. I’ve got important news. I found your mother. Her name is Denise. She lives in Richmond.”

  No reaction. Better step up the pace.

  “She’s about forty-five, real attractive, dark curly hair and dark eyes. She says you look exactly like your father. His name is Martin. She’s married, so you’ve got three half-sisters. Well, actually, you’ve got four, because there’s a woman named Daisy in Bell City who wants to see you. And get this: your mom’s a singer like you. Must be where you got your voice.”

  Nothing. Well, maybe I was on the wrong channel. I closed my eyes, concentrated, and repeated everything mentally. Then I added what I hoped would be the trump card. I found out something else. Your name isn’t John. It’s Michael. That’s what your real mother named you. So Michael, damn it, listen to me! You aren’t Ashford. You don’t need him. You aren’t John. You’re Michael.

  When I opened my eyes, Ellin was staring at me. “What were you doing?” Her voice was fierce.

  “It’s a little something we do now and then.”

  This took a few minutes to register. Then the heat went up a thousand degrees. “Are you trying to tell me you’re psychic?”

  “I’m not telling you anything. Sometimes when Camden sends a message, I pick it up.”

  “You’re lying. You’re just saying this to provoke me.”

  “Everything I say provokes you. This is the truth. Camden and I have a link, an open channel, a two-way brain connection, whatever you want to call it, and I was hoping to get through to him.”

  “I don’t believe this.”

  “Sad but true.”

  She shook her head in despair. “You, of all people!”

  “Yes, me. I’m not too happy about it, either, but if it’ll help Camden, I’ll try it, so if you’ll excuse me—”

  “Oh, no you don’t.” She’d reached her limit. We were about to witness an explosion. “You and the rest of the world may be psychic as hell, but you can’t do this.”

  She took Camden in her arms and gave him a long passionate kiss. Then another. Then a couple more. It must have been the first time she really gave in to her feelings for him, and Camden began to respond with equal fervor. It was like watching two semis loaded with dynamite crash head-on inside a volcano. Impressive.

  “You’re right,” I said, though she was beyond hearing. “I can’t do that. I’ll only take friendship so far.”

  Neither of them heard me. Ellin had her hands in Camden’s hair and he had a firm grip around her waist and they were kissing over and around every place they could reach and a few they couldn’t. When they came up for air, they looked glazed and happy.

  “Don’t mind me,” I waved. “Carry on.”

  ***

  Since he wasn’t using the house, we spent the night at Byron’s. I found a very comfortable bedroom down the hall, and the kids slept on the sofa, although from all the noises, I don’t think they slept much. In the morning, I found them all rolled up together, Ellin on top, sound asleep. Camden woke when I shuffled in with more coffee.

  “What the hell happened?” he wanted to know. “I was sinking in cold black water, and then—” he indicated Ellin asleep in his arms “—this. Not that I’m complaining.”

  “Melanie Gentry decided she’d had enough of Ashford.”

  “Is Ellie okay?”

  “Overwhelmed by your manly physique.”

  “Damn.” He sighed. “A golden opportunity to impress her, and I’ve been in a freezing lake.”

  “I don’t think that was a problem.”

  For the first time, Camden realized he and Ellin were pajama-less. Ellin murmured contentedly and snuggled closer. He stroked her hair. “That part wasn’t a dream?”

  “We should all have such dreams.”

  Ellin opened her eyes and gazed up at him with truly sickening adoration. “I love you so much.”

  Camden and I were both struck dumb. He recovered first. They were fairly well occupied for the next twenty minutes. I made some waffles and watched TV in the kitchen. Then it was time to head for home.

  Camden slept in the car. Ellin used this opportunity to attack. “You didn’t really find Cam’s mother, did you?”

  “Of course I did,” I said. “You think I made all that up? Camden knows the truth when he hears it, and it pulled him back from wherever he was.”

  “Oh, so now you’re going to take all the credit, is that it?”

  “You think a couple of sloppy kisses did the trick? Think again, Miss Sex Machine.”

  We argued all the way home. I enjoyed it. She was still chewing me out when I parked the car and kept on even when Camden got out and went into the house. I’m sure almost drowning wasn’t nearly as bad as having to listen to the two of us.

  “All that crap about having a link between your brains! You were just trying to goad me.”

  I finally gave up trying to convince her. I doubt I’d made any difference, anyway. If she wanted to believe all that high-powered lip action sucked him back from the abyss, who was I to argue?

  “Okay, okay, so I’m lying. Maybe you needed a little push to declare yourself. Don’t I at least get credit for that?”

  “I was going to, anyway.”

  “Well, you sure took your time.”

  She got out of the car and slammed the door, sending the birds from the feeder in a flurry of wings—and in that instant, I knew what had happened to Pamela Vincent’s locket.

  ***

  Pamela met me at the front door of her house
. A new gold heart-shaped locket rested in the hollow of her creamy throat.

  “You sounded so mysterious over the phone, David. What’s going on?”

  “I’ve figured it out,” I said. “Can we take a walk?”

  We crossed the back lawn and walked a short way into the surrounding woods until I heard the crows. It had been a while since I climbed a tree, but the nest wasn’t very high. Amid the jumble of leaves, feathers, string, and a foil wrapper from a stick of gum, there was a gold heart-shaped locket. I handed it down to Pamela. She gave a cry of delight.

  “How did you know?”

  I hopped down and brushed off my clothes. “Well, my guess is one of the crows peeked in and decided he liked that shiny object. The screen was off, so all he had to do was reach in the open window and pick it up. He couldn’t have flown far. The locket’s too heavy.”

  We walked back across the lawn. “Nick will be so pleased,” she said. “And relieved.”

  “Can’t blame this one on him.”

  She put the locket around her neck and fastened the clasp. “Now I have two hearts.” Her beautiful face glowed. “But this is my favorite. Thank you so much.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  She rearranged the chains of the two necklaces. “Two Hearts Entwined. That would make a nice title, wouldn’t it? Or Two Hearts Forever.”

  “Two Hearts Singing.”

  “Why, that’s lovely.”

  “It’s not original.”

  “It makes a nice story.” She smiled, her hand over the two hearts. “A story with a happy ending.”

  At least one of these stories had a happy ending.

  “What if I find the answer and you don’t like it?” I’d asked Melanie Gentry. She’d ended up under water and into jail.

  “Do you have anything of Camden’s?” I’d asked Denise Wellborn.

  “That part of my life is over,” she’d replied.

  And “Is that what you want?” I’d asked Kary when Donnie offered her a ring and a new life, a life far away from the holier- than-thou parents she still loved?

  Kary, repairing the lace on her gown, slowly stitching her life back together. “Once I get a good job, I’m going to adopt a baby. I really want a family.”

  How could this be a happy ending for me?

  ***

  Camden was pretty well blissed out. I found him on the porch swing the next morning, working his way through a carton of Bryer’s All Natural Vanilla and humming something cheerful. I sat down in a rocking chair and told him to hand it over.

  “I’ve got an idea about that copy of ‘Oh! Susanna,’” I said. “Why not let Ellin present it to Kendal Robertson? That’ll make them both happy. All these murders connected with the folk songs will give that documentary an exciting edge and maybe some extra screen time for Ellin.”

  “That’s a great idea. Thanks.”

  “Just trying to keep the peace.”

  “Is it still in its hiding place?”

  “Still in volume ‘D.’”

  “‘Dear hearts and gentle friends.’”

  “That’s the one.”

  We ate in silence for a while, and then he said, “She doesn’t want to see me, does she?”

  I knew he wasn’t talking about Ellin. He was talking about his mother. I handed the carton back to him. “For what it’s worth, she kept your picture.”

  “My picture?”

  “I took that one of you and Kary and Rufus on the porch.”

  “Hope it shows my good side.”

  “She said you looked exactly like your father.”

  “Martin,” he said, as if trying out the word.

  “That’s what she said. I’ll keep looking, if you want me to.”

  He didn’t jump on this offer, but he didn’t say no, either. “I don’t know about that. My mother was just a one-night stand for him.”

  “Maybe not. You’ll have to hear his side of the story.”

  He stayed quiet for a while and then said, “She didn’t give me up because she didn’t want me.”

  “No. She was very young. She knew she couldn’t take care of you.”

  He gazed off into the distance. I wondered if he was able to see the past, too, the young Denise struggling to make this difficult decision, the tiny baby bundled up and brought to the Green Valley Home, maybe one last kiss, one last touch of the baby’s hand. “But she cared enough to name me.” He came back to the present. “I think we’ll meet someday.”

  I recalled his mother’s wistful expression when I told her about Camden’s voice. “That’s a real possibility.”

  “And I have four sisters?”

  “Three little ones and one big one.”

  “Daisy.”

  “She’d like to see you. I can take you to Bell City whenever you’re ready.”

  His slight smile turned into a grin. “Thanks, Dave.”

  I returned the grin. “My pleasure, Mike.”

  Then he became serious. “Randall, I’m not going to say everything will be all right, that you can forget your tragedy and get on with your life as if nothing ever happened. I only want to tell you one thing.”

  “All right.” I faced him and those all-knowing eyes. “One thing.”

  “Try to remember your dream tonight.”

  My laugh didn’t quite work. “Oh, this is good. Now you can predict what people will be dreaming. You’re scaring me.”

  “You’ve been dreaming it for a long time, but you refuse to see it. Just this once, let go.”

  “Fine. I’ll let go. That doesn’t mean I’ll dream anything.”

  “Yes, you will.”

  “How can you be so damn sure?”

  His eyes were clearer than I’d ever seen them. “Because I’m going to make sure it reaches you.”

  ***

  That night, I had a dream.

  There was Lindsey in her Sunday dress, the white one with the ruffles and lace, long white ribbons in her brown curls. She was standing in a field of wildflowers, soft white light glowing around her. Just beyond the field was a playground. I could see other children on the swings and going down the sliding board.

  She shook her finger. “Now why didn’t you listen to Cam? I have something to tell you. I’ve been trying and trying.”

  Because I didn’t want to hear it, I answered, but now I do.

  My voice didn’t actually come out in the dream, but she heard me.

  She smiled that sweet innocent smile I thought I’d never see again. “That’s good.”

  What did you want to tell me? I asked, although I knew now in my heart what she was going to say. How could I have been so mistaken? How could I have denied myself this for so long? She was my baby, my daughter. I knew what was coming, and I wanted to hear it.

  “There was nothing you could’ve done, Daddy. It was an accident.”

  If only I could live that day over. But I broke a promise, Lindsey. I promised to look after you.

  “No, you didn’t. Look.”

  The scene appeared, faint and distorted. I saw the car flip and crash. I saw the hillside, thick with smoke. I saw myself frantically searching. Then I saw that same soft white light flow over the wreckage and the vision rippled until I was gazing into Lindsey’s eyes. Then she told me something I didn’t know.

  “You couldn’t find me because I was already gone, see? I was in the light.”

  In the light.

  A light that folded around her and carried her to the safety of this place filled with flowers and the laughter of children. A light that radiated from her like the glow of a little star and filled me with a growing sense of peace.

  “You would have kept that promise if you could.”

  Ye
s. Yes, I would have.

  “You did your best, Daddy. I’m all right.”

  But will I be all right? I miss you so much.

  She blew me a kiss. “You’ll see me again. I won’t be far away.”

  She waved and skipped across the field toward the playground. The light around her became too bright for me to see.

  The dream faded. Lindsey had forgiven me.

  I had to find a way to forgive myself.

  ***

  It was still a few days till Halloween, but the next evening, we put candles in Buddy’s jack o’lanterns and had them grinning out into the night. The neighbors had theirs ready, too, so the whole street gleamed with jagged faces. Rufus, Buddy, Velmer, and Evelene had stopped by for a few minutes with the exciting news that Evelene’s dulcimer playing had been just the right touch for the Nasal Frogs, and they’d been invited to play for the Falling Leaves All-Night Pig Picking, the premiere event of the festival.

  They were in a hurry, but Evelene ran up the porch steps to give me a kiss on the cheek. “Thanks! This is the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”

  The best thing that’s ever happened to me. I’m making other people happy.

  Kary had been very quiet all day. Several times I’d caught her looking at me, her expression unreadable. A short while ago, she’d gone out with Donnie for a serious discussion, she’d said. Choosing a date, I thought. Picking out china patterns.

  I sat on the porch, listening to Camden sing “Two Hearts Singing” as he washed the supper dishes. I wondered how love could be so screwy. He loved Ellin. God knows why. And I loved Kary enough to let her go.

  Early this morning,

  Heard my heart singing,

  Heard your heart singing,

  Answering my own.

  A strange car pulled up in the drive. When I saw Kary get out, something jumped in my chest. She waved good-by to the driver and stood for a while, watching the car until it was out of sight. She came up the walk and stopped when she saw me.

  “Hi, David.”

  The little diamond ring was gone.

  Come let me love you,

  Come be my lady,

  Come to my arms, love,

  Here is your home.