With a curt nod, Mitch dismissed them and watched as they hustled out of the office. Lance walked in, having watched the interview on their camera and said, “Corwin’s lying through his teeth.”
Sighing heavily, Mitch agreed. “I know. There’s something he’s not telling us, but he probably figures that a death that occurred forty years ago is going to be almost impossible for us to prove that it was absolutely foul play, and if so, who the perpetrator was.”
“So that’s it?” Rose asked, sighing. The shop had closed for the day, and Jason had jogged across the street to see her when his garage closed as well. She was prepping for the next day when a knock on the door had them look up, seeing Mitch standing outside. Jason unlocked and opened the door, and Mitch came in, saying that he wanted to give them an update on Charlotte.
Once he had told her of his discussion with Corwin, Mitch finished by telling her that Charlotte’s demise was still unsolved, and after so much time had passed, it would not be opened up as a new case.
“It just breaks my heart to think that she died pregnant and alone, no matter how it occurred,” Rose continued.
“It sucks to say, but there are a lot of old cases that never get resolved, and even more deaths that are discovered years later that are never opened up as a case,” Mitch said.
As he was standing to leave, another knock sounded on the door, and all three turned to see who was outside. Spying the Mayor and his wife, she said, “What on earth do they want?”
Once more, Jason walked over to the door, unlocked it, and threw it open. Before he had a chance to see what they wanted, Corwin and Phyllis walked straight into the shop. Jason’s hand shot out, catching Corwin on the arm. “I’m warning you right now, if you’re here to harass Rose in any way—”
“Actually,” Phyllis began, “Corwin is here to see Chief Evans.”
Grumbling, Corwin said, “We don’t need to do this here. We can go back to the station and talk there.”
“No. There’s no reason to hide this, and as much as Rose has been through having to deal with this, she might as well hear this also,” Phyllis argued.
Rose did not know Phyllis Banks, but she quickly realized that she was probably the only one who could handle Corwin. Sharing a glance with Jason, they both remained quiet, waiting for Mitch to decide what he wanted to do with the situation.
Mitch turned and grabbed two other chairs from a neighboring table and placed them where he had been sitting with Jason and Rose. “Let’s sit down and see what you have to say, Corwin.”
The five of them settled into the chairs, and Rose tried not to stare at Corwin but could see that he was facing an inner battle as he fidgeted with the napkin holder in front of him.
It was Phyllis who prodded, “Corwin, it’s time. And, more importantly, it’s the right thing to do.” When he still did not say anything, Phyllis leaned over to where she was directly in her husband’s face and added, “You think I don’t know that many people in this town crawl up your ass just so they can get things done? And a lot of others think you’re a pompous blowhard. And guess what, Corwin? Sometimes you can be. But I knew many years ago when we met that you were a good man. Sometimes full of yourself, but you’re a good man. And right now, you need to remember who you are. You need to remember the man I fell in love with and have stood with all these years.”
Corwin glanced around the table before his eyes settled on Mitch, and he said, “I was not as...uh…forthcoming earlier today as I should have been. The discovery has been unsettling, and I felt it was best if the past stayed in the past.”
Rose felt Jason’s fingers clench as he held her hand, and she shot a quick glance to the side, seeing his gaze held steady on Corwin. Butterflies hit her stomach as she wondered what it was Corwin had to say about Charlotte Robinson.
Clearing his throat, Corwin continued, “I did not know Charlotte from school, that much was true. I only met her when she became an employee of my aunt. She was very pretty and a very sweet young woman. I admit that I was quite smitten, and probably at the time was sure that it was love.” He shifted his gaze to Phyllis, who smiled softly and nodded, and it was evident to Rose that she was offering her husband her strength.
“We went out occasionally,” Corwin said, “but it was never official. I knew that my father would not approve of Charlotte, but that did not keep us from sneaking around at times. She was actually a year older than I was, and it was the summer after I graduated from high school. She called my house one afternoon, and I was shocked that she had done so. She only said that she needed to see me because she was in trouble. Unfortunately, that day I had plans with my parents and would not be able to get out of them. I told her that I would try to see her in a couple of days when she was at the shop. That was the last I ever heard from her.”
Looking at Mitch, he said, “I don’t know what she meant by being in trouble. She never told me that she was in the process of packing her bags. She never told me that she had any plans on leaving at all. I had no idea until two days later when I went to my aunt’s and Ellen was in a tizzy because Charlotte had simply up and disappeared in the middle the night.”
Watching Corwin heave a great sigh, his shoulders slumping, Rose actually felt sorry for him, watching him struggle with his admission.
Finishing, he said, “I cared for her a great deal. And I was very unhappy that she left without saying goodbye. A few months later, I went to college and fell in love with Phyllis. I went to law school, and we got married, and I chalked Charlotte up to simply being a woman I cared for in my youth. And that, Chief Evans, is the whole truth.”
“Corwin, I appreciate your candor. Do you have any idea what trouble she was talking about when she called you?”
Rose watched the Mayor’s brow furrow as he shook his head slowly from side to side. “I have no idea what she meant. I told her that we could talk in a couple of days when I saw her next, and that didn’t seem to distress her. Whatever it was, she gave no indication that it was an emergency.”
Rose continued to watch the conversation between Mitch and Corwin, her fingers still linked with Jason’s. The others were quiet, and Mitch rubbed his chin, obviously deep in thought. Finally, he lifted his gaze back to Corwin and asked, “So, if I told you that she was pregnant, you’d be surprised?”
If the gasp and wide-eyed expression on Corwin’s face was any indication, Rose would have sworn it was news to him.
Corwin opened and closed his mouth several times, his jowls shaking as he repeated, “Pregnant? Pregnant!”
“Could that child have been yours?” Mitch pushed, and Rose’s breath halted in her lungs as she waited to see what his response would be.
Corwin immediately flushed red, leaning back in his chair with an indignant huff. “I can’t believe you are asking me that question here in front of my wife—”
“Corwin!” Phyllis said, jumping into the conversation. “We were wild college kids in the late ’70s and early ’80s and hardly virgins when we met!” Corwin opened his mouth as though to protest when she continued, “Honey, I’m so proud of you for being as forthcoming as you have been, but you need to continue that honesty. Anyway, if she was pregnant with your child, wouldn’t you want to know?”
Corwin closed his eyes tightly, pain slashing across his face. Sighing once more, he nodded slowly before opening his eyes and keeping them pinned on Mitch. “Yes. As I said, we were young and believed ourselves to be in love. I thought that I had been careful, but if she were pregnant, it could have been mine.”
“How would your parents have felt about that?” Mitch asked.
Anger now flashed through Corwin’s eyes as he said, “I know what you’re leading up to, Mitch. You think she told me, and I killed her because she was pregnant. You’re right…my parents would have been furious.” He leaned forward, and his gaze did not waver as he said, “But I would’ve done the right thing. I would have married her.” He suddenly deflated and swung his gaze back to his wife
. “I’m sorry,” he whispered.
Phyllis leaned forward and placed her hand on Corwin’s face before kissing him gently on the lips. “And this is the good man I fell in love with and married.”
Rose felt Jason squeeze her fingers again, but she did not dare look at him, not sure if she could swallow over the lump in her throat. The obvious affection between Corwin and Phyllis gave her a glimpse of their relationship that she felt most people did not see. Whether he was telling the truth or not, she hoped he was for Phyllis’s sake.
As Corwin and Phyllis started to leave, Mitch asked, “Did anyone else know that you and Charlotte were close?”
Corwin nodded and said, “I told both of my best friends, Paul Gillespie and Bernard Sommers. After she left, Paul didn’t say much, but I could tell he was glad she was gone. Bernard actually told me that it was a good thing she was gone because she was the kind of girl that you could have fun with but she would never have been right for me to marry. I didn’t like him saying that, but I figured since she ran off anyway, maybe he was right.”
Corwin and Phyllis stood and said their goodbyes to everyone. As they walked out, holding hands, Rose’s eyes followed them. Jason walked over to lock the door behind them. He and Mitch began to chat while Rose moved to her prep area, mixing the ice creams for the next day. She kept thinking of poor Charlotte, and now that she knew that the young woman had found love with Corwin, she felt even sadder.
She looked over at Jason and thought about how she would feel if she found out she was pregnant and he not know. Turning to them, she said, “You know, she was probably going to tell Corwin that she was pregnant. She might have been scared, but if they were in love, then she would have wanted him to know. I just keep thinking about it and can’t understand what happened.”
Shaking his head, Mitch said, “I remember Corwin’s dad. If you think Corwin can be a blowhard, his dad was even more pompous. I don’t see the situation turning out good, no matter what.”
“I know who Paul Gillespie is,” she said, “but why does Bernard Sommers sound familiar?”
“Bernard’s grandson, Ben Sommers, works with Paul in his real estate business.”
Understanding dawned, and she nodded.
Jason let Mitch out before locking the door again. Turning around, he said, “I hope that’s the last time have to open the fuckin’ door tonight.”
She giggled and said, “I’ll be finished soon.”
He came up behind her, wrapped his arms around her, and nibbled on her neck, eliciting more giggles. “I like that sound.”
She cast him a questioning gaze, and he explained, “The sound of you giggling. I haven’t heard that nearly enough, and I think I’ll make it my plan to have you giggle at least once every day.”
Twisting in his arms, she leaned up on her tiptoes and kissed him. For a few minutes, she forgot about the prep work as she continued to kiss him, glad that unlike Charlotte, she had someone to share her pregnancy with.
27
“I just got my hair fixed.”
Rose turned to the side to see who had spoken. She was in the sunroom of Careway Nursing Home, waiting on her mother to get finished with therapy so that they could visit. An elderly woman in a wheelchair had been pushed in by one of the aides and was now close to her side. Rose smiled and noticed the woman’s thin, snowy white hair had been brushed and teased to create more volume. “It’s very pretty.”
“I’m ninety years old,” the woman said. “When you’re my age, you’re just glad that you have any hair at all.” The woman wheeled closer and said, “You’re waiting on your mama. I’ve seen you visiting her.”
“Yes, ma’am, I am,” Rose replied. “My name is Rose. Rose Parker.”
“I’m pleased to meet you, Rose Parker. My name is Martha Barry.” She cocked her head to the side and said, “I’ve also seen you in here with that young man who has all that long hair.”
Thinking of Jason’s incredibly sexy hair that hung down his back, she assumed Ms. Barry would find it scandalous. “Uh…”
“In my day, we would have called him a hippie.” Her grey eyes twinkled when she admitted, “I never dated a hippie, but that doesn’t mean that I didn’t think about it.”
Rose laughed, but before she had a chance to say anything, Ms. Barry leaned forward and pinned her with her gaze.
“I can’t see to read anymore, but I have a nice young woman from the Baptist Church who comes and reads the newspaper to me so that I can keep up on what’s happening in Baytown. I recognize your name. You’ve opened up the new ice cream store.”
Shifting her chair around so that she was facing Ms. Barry more fully, she nodded. “Yes, ma’am, that’s true. “
Leaning forward, Martha’s grey eyes settled on her before she said, “And you’re that young woman who discovered that body in my shop.”
Rose blinked in surprise and repeated, “Your shop?”
Lifting her thin, bony hand, waving it to the side, Martha corrected, “The shop belonged to Ellen Williams, and I worked there for almost fifty years.”
Her mouth dropped open in surprise when she realized she was speaking to the woman that Jason had interviewed along with Mitch and Gareth. Not knowing how to respond, she quickly realized it did not matter. Martha had warmed to the task of chatting.
“I told those young men who came by to talk to me that I remembered Charlotte well and wondered if she had been in the family way. If so, it wouldn’t surprise me the way she and Corwin snuck around, thinking that I didn’t notice. But then, I wasn’t the only one who noticed.”
“Corwin’s aunt knew what was going on?”
Shaking her head, Martha said, “She was a very astute woman, but I’m not sure that she noticed. No, no, I was talking about Corwin’s friends. Especially that Bernard fellow. I know that Paul Gillespie used to come around a lot with Corwin also, but he had a friendly look about him. He was one of those young men who always seemed happy. But Bernard? Oh, now what was his last name?”
“Sommers?”
“Yes, yes! That’s it. Bernard Sommers. There was a sneakiness to him. I always thought he was a bit jealous of Corwin.” She leaned back in her wheelchair and let out a long sigh. Shaking her head slowly, she said, “At ninety years old, I’ve seen so much. It all makes me tired.”
Her eyes slowly closed, and Rose looked up as a young woman came in, glanced at Martha and then smiled. “I’m Ms. Barry’s aide,” she said. “I’ll take her back to her room now.”
With almost perfect timing as Martha was being rolled out, her mother walked in with her walker and an aide standing nearby. Jumping to her feet, she grinned, saying, “Mom! You look so much steadier on your feet!”
Grinning in return, Peggy said, “If you had brought Jason, I was going to ask him to give me a twirl on the dance floor.”
Settling into a seat next to her mom, she said, “Well, then, he’ll be sorry he missed this.”
Peggy reached over to clasp her daughter’s hands and asked, “How are you, sweetie?”
Dropping her gaze to stare at their hands, she slowly raised her eyes to meet her mom’s and blurted, “Mom, I’m pregnant.” Her heart beat loudly in her chest as she waited to see what her mom would say.
Her mom smiled, one side higher than the other, and her eyes twinkled. “I’m not surprised, Sweet Rose. You have a look about you.”
Jerking slightly, she said, “Mom, no one else has guessed. None of my friends.”
Giving her hand a squeeze, her mom replied, “Oh, baby. There are certain things that Mom knows. Sometimes before you even know them yourself.” Her mother tilted her head to the side and asked, “How are you doing?”
Snorting, she shook her head and said, “This wasn’t in my plans. But then, it seems like my plans have gone awry for several years.”
“Honey, life is change. Plans are good…they give us goals and guidance. But they’re not written in stone and shouldn’t be. Life happens. We reevaluate. We adapt.
And we make new plans.”
They were silent for a moment as she let her mom’s wise words sink in, sending a calming spirit throughout her.
“And Jason? How is he doing?”
Unable to keep her lips from curving, she said, “He’s excited. We were just talking the other night about looking for a place to live. A house. He can easily rent his apartment over his shop. It actually has an entrance that’s separate from the shop. We could keep my shop apartment to either rent or use when the baby is with me during the workday. I could hire someone to help in the shop who would also work part-time as a babysitter.”
Her mom smiled and nodded, saying, “I’m glad, Rose. You see? We adapt our plans, and life goes on.”
Driving away from Careway after her visit, she decided to stop by Gillespie’s Real Estate office…time for putting a new plan into place…one for her, Jason, her mom, and the baby.
Ben sat at his desk and begin scrolling through house listings. Glancing over at Rose, he said, “I’ll be glad to help you find a house that will fit your needs, but I confess I’m surprised to hear that you and Jason are moving in together so quickly.” He blushed, then hastened to add, “Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but buying a house is a big commitment.”
Sucking in a quick breath, she said, “I assure you that we know what we’re doing. If you prefer, I’m sure that Mr. Gillespie would help us look.”
“No, no,” Ben rushed. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have made that comment. I’m here to help you find the perfect house for you and Jason and your mom.”
Silence filled the room as he continued to click through listings while Rose settled back in her chair and glanced around his office. The entire real estate office was not very large, seeming to consist of a reception area, Paul’s office, Ben’s office, the conference room where she had her closing, and perhaps a few rooms toward the back. Glancing at the walls, she saw a picture of Ben with an older man she did not recognize. Too old to be his father, she wondered if it was his grandfather.
Sweet Rose: Baytown Boys Page 22