CHAPTER EIGHT
“And there you have it,” Jonah said. “Her finger went missing and Charlotte, presumed dead, is nowhere to be found.” He sat quietly next to Olivia at the table in the country kitchen of his parents’ home, giving them time to reflect on the sad news of Charlotte's passing.
They had good news to impart too — Olivia was pregnant. She'd been feeling under the weather the last few days, not anything to complain about but enough for her to notice. Her monthlies had never been regular and tonight, while waiting for Jonah, she'd done a pregnancy test. They decided to hold back telling his family their good news. Perhaps tomorrow would be a day for new beginnings. From a death, a birth would come.
Everything seemed to be falling into place for Jonah. While he’d waited for Olivia to finish her reports at the hospital, Doug had called to let him know he'd cracked the Harper case. Apparently, the questions Jonah had suggested Doug ask Velma unleashed her guilt. She couldn't wait to unburden herself and confess her part in the murder.
Doug related that the woman in the maid's uniform was Velma's sister and between the two of them, they’d orchestrated what they thought was a full-proof murder plan: Mindful of the surveillance camera, the sister would enter Harper's room, hit the unsuspecting man on the back of the head with the baseball bat she’d positioned at her side under the uniform, which she thereafter threw from the window to land below in a strategically located refuse container. She then placed Harper on his back on the bed — he needed to be this way for Mrs. Harper to stab him in the heart — thus making it seem like a crime of passion.
Both women would be spending years, probably their final years, in the pen. Jonah thought Velma might never survive the ordeal of imprisonment, while the sister would probably feel quite at home behind bars amongst rapists, murderers and the like.
While he had Doug on the phone, Jonah asked him about what he'd been trying to tell him at the murder scene. It was moot now, anyway, but Doug said that Charlotte was having an affair with Rose Patterson, an old girlfriend of Jonah's. He had always thought there was something off with his sister-in-law. Now he knew what it was. Charlotte liked women. The mystery was how anyone could like her.
Jonah turned his thoughts back to the present and looked at his mother and father, who appeared to be still pondering the distressing news.
After several seconds, his father, Levi Leedes, a lanky and robust silver-haired sixty-five-year old, cleared his throat and asked, "Has that ever happened before? A body then a body part going missing."
Jonah grimaced and shook his head. "Not that I know of."
"How did Isaac take the news?"
Jonah looked his father in the eyes. Honest at all times was Levi's policy. Jonah grew up believing that mantra. He still did and applied the principle when possible. "He's devastated, of course. He loved her very much."
Levi blew air out in a rush and cocked a brow. "Still can't understand that. But we accepted his decision to marry her and welcomed her into our family despite our misgivings."
Jonah's mother, Henna, a petite and outspoken raven-haired sixty-something — only Levi knew her exact age — woman, pursed her full lips and said, "And did we let the devil in the front door."
"Mother," Levi said and clutched her hand across the table.
She smiled. "It's true."
No one could argue it.
Olivia stood. "I'll make tea." She looked at us. “Decaf, probably at this hour, huh?”
Jonah winked.
"Thanks," Henna said. "You look a little peaked, dear. Is this nasty business getting to you?"
Jonah choked on his saliva while Olivia gave him a wink and answered her mother-in-law with 'I'm fine, Mom. It's been a strange day'.
"Do your brothers know?" Levi asked.
Jonah nodded. "They do. Not all of the details, though. They should be here soon, in fact."
"Is Isaac coming, too?" Henna asked.
"No. Annabella's sleeping, and he wants to stay at home in case Charlotte shows."
"He's in denial," Levi said. "We should go to him."
Jonah agreed. "I thought we'd all go together."
"Solidarity," Levi said. "Excellent thinking, son."
Olivia turned from the counter and looked at Jonah. "That's my man."
Jonah blushed. Only Olivia possessed that power over him.
"Are you coming with us, Mom?" Olivia asked.
This was something Jonah wanted to know as well, but was hesitant to ask.
Henna wasted no time answering. "My son needs me. Of course, I will."
The cuckoo crowed the half hour in tune with the whistle of the kettle.
"How do we know she's really dead?" Henna asked, looking at Jonah across the table.
Jonah had been waiting for the question. He studied his mother but was unable to determine if Charlotte's exaggerated demise would disappoint her. Naw. His mother was a loving, forgiving and God-fearing woman. "She's dead. Take my word on it."
Henna seemed to relax, but only for a moment. "Where's her body, then?"
Good question. "It'll turn up," Jonah said. Bad seeds, withered or vibrant, always did.
"Maybe she was able to get off the bus before the explosion and is playing us. I don't have to tell you how capable Charlotte can be when she's motivated."
Jonah never thought of that. It would be just the type of sick thing for her to do — fake her death. "Why, though?"
His mother looked at him like he'd sprouted horns. "For sympathy, of course."
Olivia, impeccably timed, set a tray of teacups and saucers and a plate of cookies on the table. "Tea coming right up."
The kitchen door opened and Doug and his wife, Faye, and Remy and his wife, Sophie, walked into the kitchen.
Levi fetched additional chairs and placed them around the table. "Sit, sit," he said to his sons and daughters-in-law.
"I'll make more tea," Olivia said.
Jonah awaited their questions. Remy ventured first.
"How's Isaac?"
"About as you'd expect. Devastated, sad, remorseful."
"Remorseful?" Doug said, like he couldn't believe his brother. "The man should be dancing a jig."
"Hear, hear," Remy said.
Before Jonah could take charge of the animosity toward their sister-in-law, his mother said, "Now, now, boys. Why don't we join hands and say a prayer for Charlotte?" Henna extended her hands to Faye and Sophie on either side of her.
Olivia rushed to the table and took her seat between Jonah and Levi and bowed her head.
Just then, lightning streaked the ebony sky and thunder exploded over their heads. The kitchen door blew open and as the cuckoo struck its midnight chord, in strode Charlotte, looking like she'd been to Hell and back.
"Cuckoo, cuckoo, cuckoo...."
THE END
A Note from the Author:
If you enjoyed this story, kindly grace me with a favorable review, and if you would like to read another of my stories, contact me through my website https://blissaddison.weebly.com or at [email protected]
Thank you.
~Bliss
Sleight of Hand Page 10