As Max drove away, the EMTs emerged with Eden on a gurney, holding her baby. They’d cleaned them both up and cut the cord. Ash Crawford, that cowboy hat of his on his head, walked beside them, holding Eden’s hand. Maybe, missing his granddaughter, she reminded him of her. When we’d looked at the sketch, the girls looked similar in many ways. I thought about Amy, and how Ash had to be told, then I remembered that Max had said Ash had given a DNA sample to Doc Wiley, and I decided that it made more sense to wait until we were sure. While I was thinking it through, the EMTs loaded Eden into the ambulance.
“How is she?” I called out.
One of the women, a paramedic, waved at me. “Great, because of you. Baby looks good, too.”
“I’m going to ride in with them, come back later for my truck,” Crawford called out. “Keep her company until you get her parents to the hospital.”
I waved at him: “That’s great, Ash. Sure. Thank you.”
Eden’s parents. I thought of the Youngs and how the girl’s father had lied to us. Still, maybe there would be a chance that they’d do the right thing. At least this time I had good news to deliver.
As soon as the ambulance pulled away, I called the station. “Kellie, I have a phone number on file for a Sam Young.”
Kellie rattled it off and I punched in the call. It rang twice before Eden’s father answered. “Mr. Young, it’s Chief Jefferies. We’ve found Eden.”
I’d hoped for shouts of joy, at least an inkling of happiness in his voice. Instead, he cleared his throat and then in a monotone asked, “Is she all right?”
“I think so. It turns out that she was pregnant. I delivered your grandchild this afternoon.”
Silence. He knew she was pregnant, I thought. He’d known all along.
When he remained quiet, I said, “Eden and the baby, a little boy she named Josh, are in an ambulance on their way to the hospital in Pine City. You and your wives can meet them there. They should arrive in twenty minutes.”
Again, he didn’t respond. “Mr. Young? Did you hear me?”
“Yes.” He hesitated, then said, “I’m glad Eden is okay, and that the baby is all right. But we won’t be visiting her. And she’s not welcome at the house.”
“Mr. Young—”
“I’ll tell my wives that you found Eden. They will be relieved. But Eden isn’t to come home. We can’t have her and the child around our other children, to lead them astray. We follow our prophet’s teachings, and Eden is one of the fallen girls now.”
Furious, I didn’t hold back. “Are you going to tell your wives that they have a grandchild? Don’t they deserve to know and to decide for themselves if they want to see Eden and meet their grandson?”
The call went dead. Sam Young had hung up. I stared at my phone’s blank screen. I pictured that young girl, thought about how she’d nearly died, and her beautiful baby boy. How sad, how tragic that anyone would think of them as less, simply because of religious dictates. How could a loving God want that for his children? I didn’t believe it.
It’d been a long week, but both the cases we’d been working were wrapping up. With Clyde dead, he’d have no trial. All we had was Lori to contend with, and then I remembered Rachel. Where was she? I’d been so busy with Lori’s interrogation and the crime scene team that I’d lost track of her. I looked around upstairs, then went down in the cellar. I walked behind the shelves, then backtracked into the room with the bed. The armoire door was open. I looked down and saw Rachel’s work boots. Plodding toward her, I thought about what could have happened to me, to Eden and the baby, if Rachel hadn’t sided with us, if she hadn’t killed Clyde. I closed the armoire, and there she stood, her hands over her face, wet from tears. “Are they going to take me away now?”
I sighed. So much tragedy. Such sadness. And for what? Money. Greed. It felt so senseless. “Rachel, no one is going to take you away. I promise.”
After Rachel and I both gave statements, walked through what had happened with Lieutenant Mueller, Doc and the others, I looked at her and said, “Come with me. We’re going to get your children.”
At that, we began to walk out. But before we left, I asked her to wait for me outside. I stopped to talk to Doc alone. “Is the DNA in? Is the girl from the mountain Ash Crawford’s granddaughter?”
Doc frowned, and I knew this was news he hated to deliver. He didn’t say a word, just nodded.
“Have you told him?”
“I didn’t have time. I just found out before the call came in to come here, to the scene.”
I considered what Ash and his wife, his family, had been through. “I’ll tell him, Doc.”
“No, Clara, I will,” Doc said. “Hate to do it, but I’m the one who did the DNA match. And that’s my job. I’ll have the report to refer to if he has questions.”
I considered arguing with him, but then decided Ash might take it better coming from Doc. My relationship with the ex-marshal hadn’t been particularly warm. Maybe we could get past that, but it might take time. “I think you’ll find him at the hospital with Eden Young. He rode out with her in the ambulance.”
“Got it,” Doc said.
“Since you’ll be there…” I went on to tell him about Eden’s father, that her parents wouldn’t be coming to the hospital to claim her. More bad news to deliver. I would have done it myself, but I had Rachel and her kids to sort out. I needed to check them into the shelter.
Doc scowled and looked fighting mad. “Damn shame. Makes me sick that the girl’s parents would act like that. But don’t worry. I’ll break it as gently as possible to Eden.”
“Thanks. I know you will.”
“Oh, one more thing,” he said.
I’d already turned to leave, so I glanced back at him. “Your mother was released this afternoon. Your brother Aaron picked her up.”
I shouldn’t have asked. I mean, I had no reason to, and I knew the answer, but for some reason, I felt compelled: “Doc, did she ever ask about me? Does she know that I was there?”
Doc shook his head. “I’m sorry, Clara. No.”
Forty-Seven
It turned out that there were no rooms available at the shelter, so I packed my bags and moved out of mine to make space for Rachel and the Benson kids. I spent the night on a cot in Hannah’s room. As tired as I was, I didn’t sleep. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw that damp cellar, where for what felt like an eternity, I’d thought I would die. By morning, I’d decided that I’d made some serious mistakes in life. The primary one: I’d left too much unsaid, and I had regrets. None of us know if we’ll have tomorrow, and todays pass quickly. Gradually, I decided that life had given me a second chance, and I wouldn’t waste it.
A message waited for me when I walked into the police station: DA Hatfield had worked a plea deal with Lori Benson. She’d be spending her life in prison. After all she’d done, it seemed more than fitting. That settled, I cleaned up my paperwork, then told Kellie that I had personal business to attend to. After a stop at an office building on Main Street where I signed a stack of papers, I drove to see my mothers in their trailer under Samuel’s Peak.
On the way, I called Max at his office. He started out by telling me that Ash and Justine Crawford would be picking up their granddaughter’s bones, and those of Samantha. The crime scene folks had found what little remained of her in an oil drum in the woods. “We contacted Samantha’s parents from the information she gave the home, but they refused to claim her. Ash is going to bury the girls together in the church cemetery. He wants them in hallowed ground.”
It broke my heart thinking of the two girls and their open grave. “That’s kind of him,” I said. “Did you ask him about Eden and Josh?”
“They’re moving in with him and Justine. They’re going to give Eden a job on the ranch, tending the horses, help her finish her schooling. Ash said to tell you Josh is doing well. You know, Clara, I think this might work out. There’s a chance they’ll form a family.”
“I hope so. I think al
l four of them need each other.” Then I got to the reason for the call. “Max, are you and Brooke busy tonight?”
“What do you have in mind?”
“We never had our dinner this week.”
“Pizza?”
“I was thinking of something a bit fancier. Something to fit the occasion.”
Max sounded confused. “What occasion? Oh, gee, did I forget your birthday?”
“No.” I laughed. “I thought maybe that little place on the edge of town, the steak place? It’s quiet, and we won’t be interrupted when we explain things to Brooke.”
Max was silent for a moment, then his voice became soft, urging. “Clara, you need to tell me what this is about. I don’t want to guess.”
I slowed down at the entrance to the trailer park to let a tow truck hauling a broken-down pickup pull out. “I’m sorry I dragged my feet. I realize now that you’ve been right all along. We need to stop hiding.”
“You’re sure?” I heard doubt in his voice.
“I am. And the first person we need to tell that we’re dating is Brooke.”
Max sighed. I don’t know if he sounded happy, maybe more relieved. “I wasn’t sure I’d ever hear you say those words.”
We made plans for later that evening and hung up as I parked outside the run-down double-wide where my three mothers and a good number of my siblings and half-siblings lived. Two tractors worked in the cornfield behind the trailer, getting it ready for the spring planting. I passed the outhouse, sprinted up the cement steps and pounded on the rickety storm door. In the distance, I saw Delilah and Lily playing with a pack of the youngest children. They waved at me, and I waved back. My heart drummed hard in my chest. Nerves. Mother Naomi opened the door. She looked alarmed to see me.
“Clara, does your mother know you’re coming? No one told us that—”
“No. No one knows. But get Mother and Mother Sariah. We have something to discuss. I’ll be in the kitchen.”
I should have realized that it would take time to bring Mother. I wondered if I should be doing this, but I had fences to mend that couldn’t wait. What if Mother died? What if I did? One or the other of us would be left with regrets. I didn’t plan to spend the rest of my life without a family. I thought about what Doc had said, that Mother shouldn’t be upset, but life always has ups and downs. She couldn’t live cushioned by bubble wrap, nothing ever touching her. To be alive is to endure pain along with the joy. And I knew my mother. She’d had a rough road, but I knew not to underestimate her strength.
Mother Sariah wheeled her in. Mother appeared shriveled in her chair and she kept her head down, as if embarrassed. I saw that the right side of her mouth drooped just a touch from the stroke. Her hand was clasped around a tennis ball, I assumed to keep it from clenching into a fist.
They pushed her to the table, got her settled, and took their own chairs.
Mother held up her good hand, pointed it at me, and her mouth struggled, attempting to form words. Spittle drooled down her chin, and Mother Naomi wiped it away, as Mother pointed from me to the door. I understood what she wanted, but I stayed.
“Why are you here?” Mother Naomi asked.
“I have a proposition for all of you.” At that, I pulled the paperwork out of my bag and placed it on the table. “A little while ago, I made an offer on a house in Alber. The real estate agent contacted the buyers, and they’ve agreed to accept it.”
Mother shook her head. That good hand of hers went up again, and she struggled, tried hard to form her lips the right way. “N-n-n.” She pointed at the door again.
“I understand. You’re saying, ‘No.’ You want me to leave. But you don’t even know what you’re objecting to yet.” I put my hand over her paralyzed one, trying to calm her. “Mother, you need to hear me out.”
“Listen to Clara, Ardeth,” Mother Sariah urged. She appeared intrigued. “Please, let her talk.”
Mother’s good hand dropped onto her lap and she turned her head from me and toward the door, as if again trying to order me away. Her face swiveled back to me when I said, “Mother, the house I’m buying is our house, the home I grew up in.”
Mother Naomi raised her hand to her chest, as if in shock, while Mother Sariah reached over and grabbed the papers from me. She paged through them. “Is this true? It’s the right address. Look, Ardeth.” Mother Sariah held the paperwork in front of my mother.
“Are you planning to live in it, Clara?” Mother Naomi asked, staring at me as if trying to decipher my intentions.
“I’ll be moving into the room over the garage, refurbishing it and putting in a small kitchen.”
My three mothers glanced from one to the other. Then Mother Naomi asked the question I felt certain they were all thinking: “Who will live in the main house?”
“I’m hoping all of you will,” I said. “And that you’ll bring the children. If you need more room, you can put the trailer where it used to be in the backyard.”
They looked from one to the other, as if unable to truly understand. “We can’t afford…” Mother Sariah started.
“Rent-free. The only catch is that I will be in the garage apartment,” I said, watching for clues in their faces. “I can’t afford to pay the mortgage and rent an apartment for myself. So the house and I are a package deal.”
Mother Sariah looked stunned, but Mother Naomi had a grin on her face. “Praise the Lord,” she screamed. “We are saved!”
Meanwhile, Mother, who has never been an easy woman, bowed her head and shook it, every ounce of determination she’d retained evident.
I’d expected as much. I knew this wouldn’t be easy, that she wouldn’t come willingly. I was prepared to wait her out. Not wanting an argument, I stood. “Mother, I am staying in Alber. This is my home. This is where my job is. It’s where my heart is. With all of you. You are my family.” I paused, wondering if I should say more, then decided I had to. Like Max telling Brooke, it was better coming from me. “And with Max Anderson. We’re dating. I haven’t told him yet, but I love him. And I’m hoping he loves me.”
Mother Sariah stood and grabbed me, hugged me, and whispered in my ear, “Oh, Clara, I am so happy for you.”
“This is a godsend, a new start for us all,” Mother Naomi said. “We will praise the Lord for our good fortune, Ardeth. He is good to us.”
Meanwhile my mother saw it very differently. She kept her head bowed, and slowly shook it back and forth. There was no mistaking her message. She would have none of it. At that, Sariah let go of me and took a step away.
“Oh, Ardeth, please,” she said. “Don’t do this to Clara, to us.”
Mother Naomi began to cry and ran from the room. Even in Mother’s fragile condition, she ruled that house. She remained the head of the family.
My head still ached from the blows I’d taken at the Benson place, my face was bruised and I had a butterfly bandage holding together the cut in my lip. At that moment, I didn’t have it in me to argue. So, I said the last of what I’d come to say: “The family selling the house has already moved out. I will take occupancy in one month. At that time, I will move into the garage apartment. Any or all of you are welcome. If none of you decide to join me, I understand. But I’m not renting the house out, Mother. That big house will be empty. Waiting for all of you.”
At that, I turned and walked out the door, not giving any of them time to answer.
From the trailer, I drove back to the station. I shuffled in the back door and found Kellie sitting on the corner of Bill Conroy’s desk, laughing. I probably should have acted annoyed, but I was too happy being alive, and besides, who was I to tell anyone whom to fall in love with? At least she’d come in dressed appropriately, in a skirt and sweater.
“Messages? Mail?” I asked.
Kellie jumped up, looking as if she’d been caught. “Yes, Chief. I’ll get them.”
Once I had them in my hand, I walked toward my office, but I turned back. “Conroy, are you on tonight?”
�
��I’m just here cleaning up paperwork. I don’t really start for three more hours,” he said. “Do you need anything special?”
“Find out how Gladys’s son’s team is doing. If they’re winning. Leave me a note?”
Conroy broke into a grin. “You bet.”
At my desk, I rifled through the messages. The pink envelope was the fourth one in the pile. I smelled the vanilla before I saw it. I reached down in my drawer and pulled out a pair of latex evidence gloves. Same handwriting. Postmarked two days earlier. I cut it open with a letter opener, pulled out the single sheet of paper and unfolded it.
I WARNED YOU. YOU DIDN’T LISTEN. NOW IT’S TOO LATE.
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Books by Kathryn Casey
Detective Clara Jefferies Series
The Fallen Girls
Her Final Prayer
The Blessed Bones
The Sarah Armstrong Mystery Series
Singularity
Blood Lines
The Killing Storm
The Buried
True Crime
Evil Beside Her
She Wanted It All
A Warrant to Kill
Die, My Love
Shattered
A Descent Into Hell
The Blessed Bones Page 27