by R A Wallace
“That’s so tiny. Are you sure it’s the right size?” Dan frowned.
Megan laughed as she put the mitten down and began knitting again. “I’m positive.”
Dan walked over and joined her on the couch.
“So, turns out Colin had three wives?” Dan asked as he picked up the mitten and examined it.
“Looks like it.” It had been difficult to calm the woman enough to speak with her. Once she had, Megan learned that the third wife was Nicole Boswell. She was in her late forties and lived in West Virginia. They’d been married for a year. Like Alaina, who was from Ohio, Nicole had learned of Colin’s death because someone had seen the photo published by Emmet, Daryl, and Vince.
“What else did you learn about her?” Dan asked, still turning the tiny mitten around in his hand.
“Not much. At that point, Alaina came into the room and the two women began arguing.” Megan shook her head at the memory. It had taken both Megan and Amos to separate them. Then a thought occurred to her.
“You couldn’t hear them out where you were, could you?”
“No.” Dan still held the mitten.
“That’s good. It means that Hilary didn’t either.” At least she was spared that, Megan thought.
She looked over to see what Dan was doing. He was gently fingering the tiny stitches that formed the cuff of the mitten. There was a look of awe on his face. Her breath caught at the sight. Dan caught her looking at him and sheepishly set the mitten down.
“What do you have planned for tomorrow?” Dan asked.
Megan picked up her knitting but couldn’t remember at first what she was supposed to do with it. She was still thinking of the look on Dan’s face.
“I’m going to take some of the things I’ve finished knitting to Lauren. I also want to talk to her about my parents.”
Chapter Eleven
The fact that they were watching Saturday morning cartoons wasn’t the important part. They were all snuggled up together as a family. That was the important part. Justin looked down at his hand currently resting on five year old Noah’s back. Spreading his fingers, he smiled when he realized that his hand no longer spanned Noah’s back and then some. His boy was getting bigger.
It hadn’t seemed that long ago when Noah was born. His wife, Lauren, shifted next to him. No doubt, baby number three was making her uncomfortable again. Either that, or the fact that seven year old Mia was sprawled across Lauren’s left leg on the other side of the couch.
“You okay?” Justin asked.
“I think my leg fell asleep.” Lauren reached down and gently pushed Mia’s hair from her eyes. Both children were enthralled with the cartoon.
“Mia, honey. Come and sit on Daddy’s lap.” Justin shifted a little to accommodate his daughter. It caused an eruption in Noah. Of course, Mia had to retaliate by flaunting her new position on Daddy’s lap. Noah’s bottom lip came out petulantly as he contemplated how to commandeer part of the lap for himself. In his frustration, he began to whine.
“Dad, I want to sit on your lap too.”
Justin heard Lauren chuckle next to him. “It’s okay, Buddy. You have something more important to do.”
Noah’s face looked mutinous.
“Seriously, Bud. I need your help.”
Noah narrowed his eyes at his father, suspicion etched on his face.
“I’ll help you, Daddy,” Mia said sweetly before turning her head to stick her tongue out at her brother.
Noah’s lower lip began to tremble.
Justin shifted Mia over to one leg and scooped Noah up with his other arm.
“You’ll both help me, okay?” He took turns nuzzling each of their necks until both of them were squealing with laughter.
“Daddy! Stop!” Mia laughed. “What do you want us to do?”
Justin rested his head back on the cushion behind him. “Well, we need to come up with a name.”
“For what?” Noah asked.
“The baby, stupid,” Mia answered as she began swinging her leg. She accidentally kicked Noah.
“Dad!”
“Mia, don’t call your brother stupid,” Lauren admonished gently.
Justin rested his hand on Mia’s leg to keep it still.
Noah shot a grin at his sister. She wisely chose to ignore him.
“Is it a boy name or a girl name?” Mia asked.
Justin glanced over at Lauren and smiled. “We don’t know yet.”
“Then how will we know what to name them?” Noah asked.
Mia rolled her eyes. Noah crossed his arms and glared at her.
“We’ll pick more than one name, just in case,” Justin said.
“How do you want us to pick them?” Mia asked as she glanced at the television. Maybe they could name the baby after one of the princesses in her favorite movies. She began rambling off possible names. She was enjoying herself so much, she began putting the names to song and squirmed back and forth as she sang.
Noah remained silent.
After several moments, the doorbell rang. Mia jumped from her father’s lap and ran for it.
“I’ll get it!”
Justin watched Mia leave the room, then looked down at Noah.
“Are you okay, Buddy?”
Noah buried his face in Justin’s neck. “Daddy, I don’t feel good.”
Justin jumped up when he heard the first gurgle down in Noah’s belly. He passed Megan entering the room as he rushed Noah down the hall.
Megan watched them leave then turned to Lauren. “That time of year?”
Lauren nodded. “I’m surprised we made it this long. Usually, they bring something home as soon as school starts.”
Mia rushed into the room. “Mom, that’s gross.”
Lauren held her hands out to her cousin. Megan pulled her out of the couch.
“Mia, sweetie. You stay in here and watch cartoons.” Lauren motioned for Megan to follow her to the kitchen.
“Decaf tea?”
Megan nodded as she set her bags down on the kitchen table. “I’ll make it. You sit.”
Lauren lowered herself into a chair by the kitchen table. “Did you hear from your parents?”
“Yeah, they’ll be here Monday.” Megan put the lid back on the decorative tin where Lauren kept her tea bags.
“Hey, maybe I’ll get lucky and baby number three can meet them while they’re here.”
Megan turned and smiled at Lauren as she waited for the water in the kettle to boil.
Justin came in a moment later and went to the fridge. “Hey, Megan.” He pulled out a bottle of water and leaned against a counter.
“How’s Noah doing?” Megan poured the hot water into the cups.
“He felt a lot better once he threw up. He’s taking a nap now.”
“I hope it won’t last long,” Megan said as she sat down at the table.
“Oh, he’ll be starving by dinner. He’s not running a fever. You probably won’t even be able to tell he was sick by bedtime.”
Megan pulled some presents from the bag. “I made these for you.”
Lauren’s face lit up as she reached for the wrapped presents.
“Oh, I can’t wait to see them.” She ripped open the first present. It was a sweater with a matching hat and booties. “These are so cute.”
Megan blew on her tea and watched Lauren rip open the rest of the presents.
“Oh, look at these blankets. They’re so soft.”
Justin smiled at her enthusiasm.
The last present held several tiny mittens. “Oh, thank you.” Lauren turned to Justin as she held up the mittens. “I need a pair of these in my to-go bag, some booties, and one of the little hats. I’ll put them on the baby at the hospital.”
“I made some for Erica too.”
Lauren turned back to Megan. “You’re going to need to explain to her what they’re for.”
Megan nodded her agreement. She’d already thought of that.
“How was the funeral yesterday?” Lau
ren asked.
Megan explained the situation with the three wives as she finished making the tea.
Lauren and Justin were staring at her when she finished.
“How is that even possible?” Justin asked.
Lauren looked over at Justin. “I know, right? How could he even get away with it?”
“You would think with Big Data, some system somewhere would have picked up on it,” Megan said. She’d been wondering the same thing.
“No,” Justin said. “I meant, how could he keep three women in three different states happy? I have trouble with one.”
Lauren pointed at him. “That is so not funny.”
“What happens now?” Justin asked Megan.
Megan shrugged. “I guess the three women are going to meet with each other and discuss the situation.”
Lauren made a face. “How well is that going to go?”
“It took two of us to keep them apart yesterday. I have no idea how many it will take to hold the three of them back.”
“You can’t really blame them though,” Lauren said. “I’d be devasted if Justin ever did that to me.”
“Daddy! Noah’s getting sick again.” Mia appeared in the doorway briefly then took off again.
Justin pushed away from the counter and looked at his wife in mock distress.
“Seriously? When would I have time?” He said before heading for Noah. He paused long enough to kiss the top of Lauren’s head.
“Ha, Ha,” Lauren said to his back then turned to Megan and picked up her tea cup. “How are you two doing?”
“Dan’s been working on secret projects for me for weeks. I don’t know what to get him for Christmas.” Megan frowned.
Lauren smiled enigmatically as she held up a tiny sweater and admired it. “Well, it’s not until next month. You still have time to figure it out.”
Chapter Twelve
The sheep in the field looked peaceful. Linda sat in her car and watched them for a few moments. They were the first quiet moments she’d had to herself since Colin’s third wife had arrived. Finally forcing herself to get out of her car, she walked up to Megan’s front door and pressed the doorbell. Megan opened the door so quickly, Linda realized she must have known she was there.
Linda took off her coat and hung it on the tree in the hall. She pointed in the general direction of her car before following Megan to the kitchen. “Sorry that I sat in your drive for a while. It was just so nice and quiet there. I’m beginning to realize that I didn’t choose to be a librarian. It chose me. I miss my library where I get to tell everyone to be quiet.”
“Tea?”
Linda sighed. “Please. Decaf if you have it. Something soothing would be nice.”
Megan busied herself making the tea as Linda stood and looked out the kitchen window. She could see more of the animals from there.
“Are those miniature donkeys?”
“A gift from Casey. He needed a new home for them.” Megan turned around and studied Linda. “How is Hilary holding up?”
“Better than I would have expected, actually. I envied her, you know. My own sister.” Linda glanced briefly at Megan then turned back to look out the window.
Megan remembered what Linda had told her when she’d been working on a puzzle about secrets. When she was younger, Linda had stolen her best friend’s boyfriend. She’d ended up losing both her friend and the guy in the end. She had yet to marry. The kettle began to whistle. Megan turned to finish making the tea.
“Hilary is about a decade younger than I am. She was thirty seven when she married Colin.” Linda walked over to take the mug of tea from Megan. “Here I am, in my mid-fifties and never married. Now we’re both alone.”
“Not completely. You have each other,” Megan pointed out.
Linda looked surprised for a moment, as though she hadn’t considered it. “You’re right, of course.”
“There’s a fire in the living room. We can sit in there.”
“That does sound nice. Then I can tell you why I was sent here.” Linda followed Megan into the other room.
“Sent here?” Megan asked as she gestured to the couch.
Linda watched Megan slip off her shoes and sit with her feet tucked underneath her. She tried to remember the last time she’d been able to do that. She leaned back on the other side of the couch and watched the fire as she held her mug between her hands.
Megan blew on her tea and waited for Linda to collect her thoughts.
“They are hoping that you’ll be able to help them unravel the current mystery they find themselves in.” Linda glanced over at Megan. “Though, I remember that you refer to them as puzzles. This is definitely an interesting puzzle.”
The fire crackled and a live spark flew out onto the stone in front of the fireplace. Megan set down her tea and went over to sweep it back into the fireplace as she considered the request. Once she straightened, she turned to Linda.
“They want me to figure out why Colin married them?” Megan wasn’t sure that was really possible. After all, there was no way to ask Colin.
“Not really,” Linda answered slowly. “Though, I have to admit, I’d like to know that. I mean, they’re all smart, accomplished, and attractive women so it’s no wonder that someone would want to marry them. In fact, their resemblance to each other is uncanny. For that matter, why did they marry him? He wasn’t exactly a handsome man. He was rarely home, claiming that he had to travel for his work. Of course, we now know he was traveling for more than work. But, no. That’s not what they want to know. According to the women, Colin was acting strangely just before he died.”
Megan walked back over to the couch and picked up her tea before taking her seat again. “How so?”
Linda shook her head. “That’s something you’d have to ask the women. It was total chaos trying to speak with them all together. I don’t recommend that. If you do agree to work on the puzzle, you should speak with them one at a time.”
“They’ve all agreed to speak with me?” Megan asked.
“Yes, though I have to confess that it may be my fault. I told them about some of the puzzles you’ve worked on in the past.” Linda smiled apologetically.
Megan smiled back. “Actually, you aren’t the first one to ask me to look into Colin’s recent behavior.”
Linda raised her brows as she took a sip of tea.
“Emmet, Daryl, and Vince were here the morning of the funeral. They said that Colin told them he was being followed,” Megan explained.
“Followed?” Linda frowned as she considered it. “Do you think it was one of the wives? Maybe they found out about the others? You don’t think this had anything to do with Colin’s death, do you?”
“Maybe if I talk with them, we can figure it out?” Megan suggested.
Linda sighed in relief. “Thank you. I’ll let them know that you’ll be in touch with them.” She set her tea mug down. “I should get back there. I don’t want to leave Hilary for too long. This has all been very stressful for her.”
Megan waved to Linda as she pulled out of the drive, then shut the front door. As she went into the kitchen to start working on dinner, she thought about the new puzzle. Linda was right. It was a really interesting puzzle. But if Colin’s death wasn’t an accident, what really happened?
***
When Dan arrived home from work, the house smelled amazing from whatever Megan was making for dinner and he could hear laughter in the living room. He left his coat on the back of a chair in the kitchen and followed the sound. He found Megan sitting in one of the chairs. Her parents were on the couch with their backs toward Dan.
Eric Miller was talking about the traffic on the drive up from Florida and gesturing wildly to emphasize his story. His brown hair looked like it was more liberally sprinkled with gray than the last time he’d seen him. Sharon Miller was intermittently interrupting her husband to add her own narrative about the trip. Dan looked over and met Megan’s gaze. He thought again that she didn’t really
resemble either parent. Although she was the same height as her mom, she didn’t closely resemble her. If anything, she was a mix of both, but the end result was somehow completely different.
“Hey, you’re home,” Megan said when her parents took a breath.
Dan came into the room and greeted Megan’s parents. Megan watched as her father leapt to his feet to shake Dan’s hand. He had made his fondness for Dan evident from the very beginning of their relationship. He often called Dan on his cell phone to talk about sports, something interesting he had read or heard, or just anything. He had never been that way with Josh. Megan thought now that she should have understood the significance of that at the time. While her father treated Dan like a son and could talk with him for hours, he and her first husband had barely been able to find any topic safe for conversation. Her mom also stood and hugged Dan tightly.
The two men stood close and continued talking while her mother returned to the couch. Dan had to bend slightly to hear something her father said. Megan wondered again what they found to discuss so often. Now that she thought about it, her father had been calling Dan more often lately.
Although she couldn’t catch every word they were saying, she thought she heard her dad mention the word project. She narrowed her eyes at the two men. Is that where Dan had been getting all of his ideas for Christmas presents? Finally, the two men rejoined them.
“How is Lauren doing with her pregnancy?” Sharon asked when they’d all settled back into their seats.
“She’s good. She’s hoping you’ll get to meet baby number three.”
“They haven’t settled on a name yet?” Sharon asked.
“No, but I hear Mia is hoping for a princess name.”
Sharon smiled briefly then grew serious. “And Erica? How is she?”
Megan frowned for a brief moment before answering. “She’s hoping the twins will come soon also.”
Sharon’s eyes shot over to her husband for just a moment. “And her parents? Have you seen Drew and Veronica?”
Megan stood up. “Maybe I should check on dinner. I’ll be right back.”
Sharon waited until Megan left the room then turned to Dan, her eyes full of question. Dan shook his head in response.