by Sheri Richey
“It sounds like Andrew shot himself in his own foot on that one,” Conrad said shifting in his chair. “If he buys the baby stuff and visits the baby, the judge is going to be inclined to make the baby his. I had Andy’s birth certificate pulled and Andrew is on it.”
“So, your original goal was to see if paternity was determined. Little Andy can’t help you with DNA,” Cora said, but then shifted in her chair to point a finger at Conrad. “You know, Andy is an adult now and Rodney told me his father isn’t in the picture, so he won’t have any allegiance to him. He might want to consent to a test just for his own curiosity. I wonder how he gets along with his mother.”
“Reading between the lines here, it looks to me like Andrew paid her off.”
“What do you mean?”
“He paid her attorney fees, he offered her alimony, and then he gave her the house. He just wanted out and didn’t want to be tied down with a baby—”
“That he didn’t think was his,” Cora said finishing Conrad’s sentence. “It was abrupt, too. I mean, didn’t you think they haggled for months and months before everything fell into place at once? Maybe it’s just how it reads, but that seems odd. Like we don’t know something. We’re missing some piece to this puzzle.”
“Please don’t tell me I need to read the whole file,” Conrad said with an exaggerated grimace.
“No, it’s faster to pull it out of someone. Someone knows. Carmen won’t help, but Rodney, Andy or even Andrew might. I have a feeling the truth isn’t even in the file.”
CHAPTER 16
Conrad pulled his car into Cora’s driveway on Saturday morning and even though he saw her coming out of the side door, he honked the horn. It made her flap her hands in the air to scold him and he found it amusing. Still chuckling when she slid in the passenger seat, he waited for her to arrange her purse in the floor and get her seatbelt on before he put the car in reverse.
“Did you tell Amanda you were going by the nursery today?”
“No, I didn’t get a chance, but she’ll probably be there. I think she’s out there working every minute she’s not at City Hall.”
“Does he have any employees hired yet?”
“As a matter of fact, he does,” Cora said with a satisfied smile. “Leanne Summers is working there during the day and Mavis is there part-time when she’s not scheduled at the drugstore.”
“Leanne is Mavis’ daughter?”
“Yes. She’s working during the day when her kids are in school. She’s just moved them here. That may change when school lets out though.”
“That should make Mavis happy. She was hoping to talk her daughter into moving home.”
“Yes, but I didn’t know she meant she wanted Leanne to move in her house. I thought she wanted them to move closer so she could see the kids. Leanne has moved in and her husband didn’t come.”
“Are they splitting up or is he coming later?”
“I don’t know for sure. All I heard was petty gossip and speculation.”
“Is this beauty shop talk again?” Conrad shook his head and scowled. Cora did pick up some of the best information at Louise’s Beauty Shop. Amanda’s mother, Louise, ran a popular hair salon a block off Fennel Street and all the world’s problems were solved there.
“Yes, but Amanda confirmed she is working there.”
“I may not need to go to Mavis’ house then. She may be here,” Conrad said as they pulled across the gravel parking lot.
“I’ll introduce you to Leanne.”
Parking toward the back of the lot and walking up to the nursery, Conrad could not help noticing the cars they passed. His eyes were always trained on license plates from years of habit, but he could identify many of the town residents just by their vehicles. Seeing a license plate from West Virginia gave him pause.
“I can see Amanda from here,” Cora said as they approached.
“Oh, hi Mayor. Chief,” Rodney said with a one-finger salute as he walked past.
“Are you leaving?” Cora called out. He seemed to be in a hurry and didn’t even pause when he greeted them.
“No, ma’am. Just getting some tools from my truck.”
“He must be doing some work here today,” Cora said in a half whisper.
“Mayor,” Amanda said waving her hand over her head. She was behind a table covered in small yard bushes and flowering plants. Stopping to look around, Conrad saw Mavis bent over some plants sitting on the pavement. She had a large plastic water can tipped over and was holding it with both hands.
“You’ve been busy today?” Cora asked Amanda as they approached.
“We have,” Amanda said smiling. “Saturday’s are always the best.”
Conrad had been trailing Cora but wandered off when he saw Bryan on the side of the greenhouse.
“How has everything been going?”
“Pretty good,” Bryan said taking a deep breath. “It’s hard work, though.”
“Starting any business will be, but yours will probably always involve a lot of labor. Has everything returned to normal?”
“My garden will never be the same,” Bryan said snidely. “Come see it. They took at least a half a ton of dirt out of the side.”
Following Bryan around the greenhouse, Conrad could see from a distance that the slope he had walked up earlier was no longer there.
“They dug out the whole side of the plot. I had to move three of my small trees and one was destroyed. It’s a mess out here. I guess they had to make sure there was no one else in there.”
“They have to sift through the surrounding soil to look for trace evidence.” Conrad had recently received a report from Alice with a list of items found with the remains. There were small metal items, buttons from clothing and shoes, but no medical hardware that would help with identification.
“I have a guy coming tomorrow to bring me some fill dirt for the surrounding area and I ordered some soil to help patch the garden. I’m trying to get it back to normal.”
Conrad looked over his shoulder and saw Cora standing by the bell.
“Hey, Mayor. How are you?” Bryan said when he noticed her standing there. “Ring the bell for service. Can I help you with something?”
Cora pointed to the sign under the bell. “Did you see this Chief? Did Rodney make this sign for you? We passed him on our way in.” A small wooden plaque had been nailed to the post that held the bell. It had been carved and painted, much like the business sign at the road, saying “Ring Bell for Service”.
“Yeah, he made it. Pretty neat idea and it looks nice. My mom used to ring that bell when she wanted my dad and couldn’t find him. It was already here on the farm when they bought it. Of course, I was always messing with it when I was a kid,” Bryan said apologetically. “I probably drove the neighbors crazy.”
“I decided I needed another screw on the bottom,” Rodney said as he walked up with a small toolbox is in his hand.
“I love your sign, Rodney,” Cora said stepping aside so he could finish attaching it to the post. “We were just talking about it.”
“Thank you.”
“I thought it would come in handy if people show up during the day when I’m working alone and I’m back here in the trees or the garden somewhere.” Bryan pointed to the front lot. “I told Amanda we might ought to get one for the front, too.”
“You’ll have all the kids playing on it just like you did, though,” Conrad said with a chuckle.
“If you’ve got a minute, Chief,” Bryan said as he walked down the incline. “I’ve got something in the house I’d like to show you.”
“Sure,” Conrad said patting him on the shoulder and following Bryan as he walked towards the house.
“I wanted to show you the paperwork the State gave me when they left. It’s a lot of legal jargon and I can’t make anything of it. My question is, do I have to pay to repair the damage they caused?”
“Hmm, I don’t really know, Bryan,” Conrad said chuckling. “It’s never come up bef
ore. Let me take a look, but you may need to see an attorney. It’s possible your homeowner’s insurance might cover it, too.”
“I hadn’t thought of that.”
“Bryan,” Mavis called out through the screen door. “Oh, hi there, Chief. I didn’t know you were here.”
“Come on in, Mavis.” Bryan walked to the door to open it.
“That’s okay,” Mavis said stepping back when Bryan pushed open the door. “I don’t want to interrupt. I was just going to ask if you were done with the hose you have out back. I need to move it around and do the front tables.”
“Oh, sure. That’s fine. You can take it. Hey, Mavis, isn’t your son-in-law a lawyer?”
“No,” Mavis said hesitatingly. “He works for an attorney in St. Louis, but he doesn’t have a law degree.”
“Oh, I was thinking he did,” Bryan said. “Never mind, then. I was just looking for legal advice.”
“Okay. Let me get back to work,” Mavis said quickly bowing out the door.
“Cora told me Leanne was living next door now,” Conrad said once Mavis was several paces away. “Is her husband moving here, too?”
“I’m not sure. They both give me mixed answers on that. I thought maybe they were having some problems.”
“Do you know Jack?” Conrad asked. “I’ve never met him.”
“Yeah, I haven’t seen him in years, since I was in high school, but I knew him then. He was always over at the house next door.”
“I do need to talk to Mavis sometime today. I have some questions about her husband, and I haven’t been able to catch her this week. What time does she get off?”
“Oh, if you need to talk to her, go right ahead. Leanne is helping Amanda out and we’ll be fine. You don’t have to wait.”
“Thank you,” Conrad said. “And if you don’t have an attorney to talk to, have Amanda make me a copy of this and I’ll ask Ned Carey to give it a glance. He’s a coffee buddy of mine and he can decipher it for you. He’s done lots of contract work and maybe it will make some sense to him.”
“Great,” Bryan said holding the door open for Conrad. “Thanks, Chief.”
“Oh, I think someone is ringing your bell,” Conrad said smiling as he heard the chimes begin when they walked outside. Bryan might be sorry he put that sign up there after all.
§
When Bryan and Conrad walked in the house, Cora remained standing next to the bell watching Rodney work to add a screw holding the bottom of the sign. “So, are you working out here part-time now?”
“Yeah,” Rodney said grunting as he turned the screwdriver. “Just until Bryan is all set up. I’m hoping he gets some landscaping jobs and I’ll be able to help out there.”
“Working on getting that tree, huh?”
“Yep,” Rodney smiled. “Have you seen it? It’s out front. It doesn’t look like much right now, but in the fall, it’s a beauty.”
“Does Andy like working out in the yard with you?”
“Naw, not much,” Rodney said as he dropped the screw driver and took his hammer out of his toolbox. “I mean he can help mow, but he doesn’t really like it.”
“Oh, I thought maybe this would be a good summer job for him out here or on landscaping jobs. You could work together.”
“Yeah, I wish he liked that kind of stuff. He’d rather sit around and play video games or drive around town in a circle.” Rodney laughed and shook his head.
“So, what are his plans? He’s going to graduate this year, right?”
“Yeah, in just a few months,” Bryan said as he looked down at his toolbox again. “You’ll have to excuse me, Mayor. I’ve got to run out to my truck again.”
“Of course, go ahead,” Cora said politely. She planned to wait right there until he returned. He was dodging a simple question anyone would ask of a parent with a child graduating high school and she wasn’t going to let him get away with it.
“Mavis,” Cora cried out when she saw Mavis Bell coming around the corner of the greenhouse. “How are you?”
“I’m good, Cora Mae. What are you up to today?”
“Oh, just running around. I thought I’d come out and check on the kids today. Looks like things are getting back to normal.”
Mavis pulled the long water hose away from the house and then paused. “I wanted to apologize to you,” Mavis said.
“Well, whatever for?”
“The last time we spoke, when you came in the store, I was pretty short with you and I apologize. I know you don’t mean no harm.”
“Certainly not, Mavis. I would never mean to cause you any harm. My questions may have seemed insensitive and for that, I owe you an apology.”
“No, no. It was just a bad day, you see. People kept coming in because they heard the news and they wanted to open up all that old can of worms. I shouldn’t have let it get to me.”
“I know it’s had to be hard on you. I wish I could say it’s over, but I know the Chief needs to talk to you. I hope you’ll help him gather the information he needs.”
“For sure,” Mavis said. “I don’t mean to be a problem. What does the Chief need?”
“I think he needs to try to find dental or medical records for Howard. He has questions about the timeframe and what was going on back then. You know, he didn’t live here then. He didn’t ever know Howard.”
“Oh, I’m happy to help him. You know, Cora Mae, I never believed anything bad happened to Howard. Still don’t. I think he just left town. He just left me. Miriam tried to make a big deal out of it, but it wasn’t nothing but a squabble between husband and wife. It was nothing for her to concern herself with. She never paid us any mind before that. Then all of a sudden, she’s sticking her nose into everything and making people think the worst. She was the one spreading gossip everywhere and she always said she hated gossip.”
“I know Miriam can be trying to deal with,” Cora said. “She has a very strong personality.”
“It’s all happening again. Everybody thinks those bones up there were Howard’s—”
“But you don’t?”
“No,” Mavis said shaking her head sharply. “Nobody wanted to kill Howard. He wasn’t causing anybody any harm, except maybe me.” Mavis chuckled and ran her hand through her hair. “And it wasn’t me.”
“That’s good to know,” Cora said smiling.
“Even I didn’t want to kill him. I loved him. He wasn’t perfect. None of us are, but he did run around on me some and that was hard to take, but I never kicked him out.”
Cora shook her head quizzically.
“No, I didn’t want him to leave. He was just restless, down on his luck, you know? After the mine closed and he couldn’t find work, he didn’t feel, well, you know how men are about thinking they need to be the bread winner. They need to take care of their family and he couldn’t. He had a hard time of it when I went to work at the drugstore. It made him feel like less of a man.”
“How did the kids handle it? They were pretty young. First, they lose a father and then Howard is gone.”
“Well, they were old enough to understand,” Mavis said as she wiped her hands off on the tail of her shirt. “They never did get close to Howard. Maybe they were afraid to do that after they lost their dad. I don’t know, but teenagers, even under normal circumstances, are hard to handle.”
“It looks like you’ve done a fine job,” Cora said smiling at Leanne as she approached. “How are you doing, Leanne? It’s good to see you.”
“Are you talking about me?” Leanne teased her mother. “I can always tell by that look on your face.” Mavis laughed as Leanne put an arm around her.
“Do you remember Cora Mae?” Mavis asked Leanne. “She was your teacher—”
“Mrs. Bingham,” Leanne said smiling. “Yes, I remember.”
“It’s Mayor Bingham now,” Mavis said proudly.
“Wow. No, I didn’t know. I’ve been away a long time.”
“You can call me Cora Mae, just like your mother does. Tha
t’s still my name. I’m glad to see you’ve come home. I know your mom loves having you here.”
“I never thought I would live here again, but since I’ve been back, I’m enjoying it. I get to see my brother, Daniel, and so far, it’s been pretty fun working here. My girls really like the school and I think it’s a good place for us.”
“That’s great,” Cora said. “Spicetown is happy to have you. Is Jack coming, too?”
“I don’t think so,” Leanne said squeezing her mother’s shoulders before releasing her. “He plans to stay in St. Louis. Maybe he’ll change his mind, but right now we just need some time apart.”
“I understand,” Cora said sincerely. “Sometimes it’s the best thing to help you work things out.”
“Well, let me get this hose moved,” Mavis said pulling on it and Leanne jumped to help. “It was good to see you, Cora. You tell the Chief I’m happy to help.”
“I will, Mavis. You two take care now.”
As the two ladies wrestled the long water hose, Conrad walked around the side of the greenhouse and stopped to help by taking the hose from them and pulling it to the front of the building while Cora waited for Rodney to return.
CHAPTER 17
“Here, Mom,” Leanne said taking the hose from Mavis’ hand. “Let me. I’ll water the bushes on the side. Thank you for the help, Chief. I’ve got it.” Leanne pulled the hose up in a loop and walked on trusting the rest would follow.
“Mavis, if you’ve got a few minutes, I do have some questions I need to ask you. Bryan said it was okay if you take a little break.”
“Sure, Chief. Cora said you needed to talk to me. I’m happy to help. Do you want to go inside?”
“Yes, that might be best,” Conrad said as they walked around the front of the greenhouse and back behind the potting tables to find a small seating area. “As you may already know, the State is trying to ID the man Bryan found buried in his garden.”