Sunflower Street (Rose Hill Mysteries Book 8)

by Pamela Grandstaff

  “I’m your n, n, new th, th,thtray,” Eugene said with a big smile.

  They left him hooking up his computer and went into the house.

  “I’m so glad this worked out,” Claire said. “Are you sure you don’t mind him staying here permanently? I thought Sam didn’t like anyone on his land.”

  “It was Sam’s idea,” she said. “I swear.”

  “He can afford to pay rent, you know.”

  “We don’t want his money,” Hannah said. “We just want to help.”

  “I wish his relatives felt that way,” Claire said. “Speaking of which, I’ve got some new information for you, about Sophie and Jillian.”

  Claire caught Hannah up on the latest.

  “Man,” Hannah said. “Those chicks are bat-poop crazy.”

  “It’s hard to know who to believe.”

  “How about neither of them?”

  A tractor pulling a flatbed trailer loaded up with bales of hay rolled through the gates to the farm. There were two young men sitting on the back of the wagon, swinging their legs and laughing.

  “Are you getting some cows or horses?” Claire asked.

  Hannah’s eyes widened for a moment before she responded.

  “Ed’s having all the vets out to the farm for a movie night,” she said. “We’re going to hang a sheet on the side of the barn and show movies.”

  “What a great idea,” Claire said. “May I help you set it up?”

  “Sure,” Hannah said.

  With Hannah directing them, the two young men put all the hay bales in several rows parallel to the side of the barn. Hannah then paid the tractor driver and they left.

  “I’m going to cover them with moving blankets,” Hannah said.

  Hannah and Claire toted stacks of moving blankets from the barn to the driveway, and began wrapping the hay bales.

  “I thought this would be the easy part,” Hannah said. “I should have made those boys do it.”

  “I haven’t run in a while,” Claire said. “I could use the exercise.”

  “People give me a hard time about being skinny,” Hannah said. “I’m not going to give you a hard time about it, but I can count your ribs.”

  “I kind of lost my appetite,” Claire said. “I guess Maggie told you.”

  “If you tell one of us, you’ve told both of us,” Hannah said. “You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to.”

  “I don’t mind,” Claire said. “I’m depressed and I need to take some medication and get counseling. I’ll call Doc Machalvie on Monday.”

  “Do you really have to take something for it?” Hannah asked. “Can’t you just ride it out?”

  “It’s not getting better,” Claire said.

  “You’re not thinking about offing yourself, are you?”

  “No,” Claire said. “But I am having dreams where dead people play poker in my parents’ kitchen.”

  “That’s not good,” Hannah said.

  They were both silent for a while, wrapping the hay bales.

  “Sam gets awfully depressed sometimes,” Hannah said, finally.

  “What’s that like?”

  “Oh, he gets down on himself and all the things he can’t do,” Hannah said. “He gets really quiet and short-tempered. Even the dogs stay away from him.”

  “That sounds about right.”

  “He usually goes to visit his buddy, Dave, in Connecticut,” she said. “They were roommates in college. After a couple of weeks there, he comes back in better shape.”

  “How often does this happen?”

  Hannah shrugged.

  “It used to be every other year or so,” she said. “I don’t think he’s gone up to Dave’s since Sammy was born.”

  “That must have helped.”

  “Or it could be because I told him if he left me alone with our son for more than twenty-four hours I would advertise his position and replace him within the week.”

  “I feel like I’ve let my mom down,” Claire said. “She’d probably like to replace me.”

  “We’ve got your daddy covered,” Hannah said. “Don’t you worry about that.”

  “I keep hoping I’ll snap out of it.”

  “Is there anybody you’d like to go visit? Maybe getting out of town would do you good.”

  Claire thought about it for a few minutes. She couldn’t think of anyone she wanted to visit or any place she wanted to go.

  “It’s exhausting just thinking about traveling,” Claire said.

  “You’ve got everything you need right here,” Hannah said. “Plus you’ve got Maggie and me. We’re a whole lot of fun.”

  “You are, it’s true,” Claire said.

  “Well, that’s this done,” Hannah said, as she wrapped the last hay bale. “Now I’m itchy and dirty; let’s go for a swim.”

  “You’re on,” Claire said.

  It was relaxing to be out on the pond, drifting on the inner tubes, sipping cold beers and not talking, just floating, and looking at the sky. Minutes passed, and Claire lost track of time. When Hannah finally spoke, it startled her.

  “Cold front moving through here this weekend,” Hannah said. “Summer’s just about over.”

  “Not already,” Claire said. “It’s still August.”

  “We’ll have some more warm days,” Hannah said. “But this pond won’t be warm enough to swim in this time next week.”

  “Do you think Eugene would mind if I moved in the barn with him?” Claire asked.

  “He’d probably die of a heart attack if you asked,” Hannah said. “He’d die a happy man, but still, you better not.”

  “Maybe I could build one of those tiny houses out here,” Claire said. “I could get off the grid and go solar.”

  “You’d need one solar panel just for your blow dryer,” Hannah said. “I don’t think you’re suited to the camping life. I remember the one time you went camping with my family you pouted the whole time and cried to go home.”

  “Your brothers kept throwing spiders on me,” Claire said. “Then when we tried to sleep, they made bear noises to scare us.”

  “They haven’t changed,” Hannah said. “Now they just throw spiders on their own wives and children.”

  “Do they ever come to visit?”

  “Not very often,” Hannah said. “They mostly do stuff with their wives’ families. You know my mom, she hates company. Every fall my dad goes to Canada, fishing with the boys. I have nieces and nephews I haven’t met yet. Only Owen’s met Sammy.”

  “You could visit them.”

  “And leave the farm, the dogs, Sam’s work, my work, and let Sammy destroy someone else’s house? Connor’s wife, Sherri, collects porcelain figurines. She has them sitting all over the house. Evan and Debbie have white carpet. Can you imagine? No way.”

  “What about Sam’s mother?”

  “She who must not be named?” Hannah said. “She stays in Florida, and we stay out of Florida. She calls on Christmas and Sam’s birthday. She’s never met Sammy.”

  “How could she stay away from that darling child?”

  “She’s still mad at Sam for marrying me,” Hannah said. “Sammy’s mine, so he must also be punished.”

  “That’s so sad.”

  “Fine with me,” Hannah said. “Suits me down to the ground.”

  “We should have a big family picnic and invite everyone who lives away,” Claire said. “It’s a shame for everyone to lose touch and not have some kind of relationship.”

  “You want all those people in your back yard?”

  “There’s not room at my mom’s.”

  “Well, don’t look at me, and Maggie sure as hell doesn’t want them,” Hannah said. “Our family’s full of drama queens, and it’s never more apparent than when we’re all together. If you want us all to love each other, then good Lord, don’t make us spend any time together.”

  “It was just an idea.”

  “Let’s keep it that way,” Hannah said and then shuddered. “
You didn’t come to your parents’ fortieth anniversary party or you wouldn’t suggest such a thing.”

  “What happened?”

  “Crying, shouting, fist fights,” Hannah said. “And that was just me and my mom.”

  “You’re exaggerating.”

  “Ask Maggie,” Hannah said. “We swore an oath never to do it again.”

  Sam came walking down the hill, holding Sammy.

  “Mama!” Sammy yelled. “Come home! Me hungry!”

  Hannah sighed.

  “Coming!” she called out.

  They both paddled back toward the dock. Sam took Sammy back up the hill while they got out of the water.

  “You should adopt a kid,” Hannah said.

  “What?”

  “Why not?” Hannah said. “Kay could tell you how to do it. There are lots of kids who need a home.”

  “I’d be a terrible mother,” Claire said. “Plus, don’t those kids have lots of problems?”

  “You’d be a great mother. Look at how you’re taking care of Eugene,” Hannah said. “All kids have problems. Don’t you remember being a kid?”

  As Claire walked down Possum Holler, she thought about what it was like being a kid. After Liam died of leukemia, her parents grieved so hard that she felt forgotten. Her cousins had pulled her into their dysfunctional families, where she always felt like an outsider, and the conflicts in their households made her long for her own home. Unfortunately, her devastated parents could hardly cope with their grown up responsibilities. By the end of the day there was little energy left for their daughter.

  Claire tried to imagine what it would have been like to lose both her parents at that age. She would have been absorbed into one of her uncle’s families. What about kids who didn’t have families to absorb them?

  ‘I’m in no shape to take that on,’ she thought to herself. ‘But what if I felt better?’

  The thought of taking care of a child who had experienced the kind of heartache she had known, or even worse experiences, might strengthen her resolve to do something about her depression. If she could get straightened up enough to find her own place to live, get a job, and get her life back on track, maybe she could eventually make room in that life for a child that needed a home. Ed would be all for it, she knew.

  By the time she got to her parents’ house, she not only felt better, she felt like she had something to work toward.

  Chapter Nine

  Ed was waiting when Claire got home. He was sitting in the living room with Claire’s father, talking about a fishing trip they had planned.

  “Claire Bear,” her father, Ian, said. “Curtis, Calvert, Ed, and I are going fishing this Sunday.”

  “That should be fun,” Claire said.

  “Calvert knows where there’s some trout, he says, and we aim to fly fish them out of their beds and onto our dinner plates.”

  “I love trout,” Claire said. “Be sure to catch one for me.”

  “With your permission,” Ed said, “I’d like to take your daughter out for dinner and dancing tonight.”

  “Well, she knows her own mind, I reckon,” Ian said. “If she doesn’t mind, I don’t mind.”

  “Thanks, Pop,” Claire said.

  “It’s a school night, though, so don’t you two be staying out late.”

  She checked on her mother, who was reading in her room.

  “Everything all right?” Claire asked her.

  “You go on,” Delia said. “If he wants to know where you spent the night, I’ll say at Maggie’s.”

  Outside on the front porch, Claire turned to Ed.

  “Dancing?”

  “I couldn’t think of a euphemism he wouldn’t object to.”

  Claire laughed.

  “Where’s Tommy tonight?”

  “At an all-night gaming session at Grace’s house,” he said. “They’ve been playing over the internet with Elvis and some of his new college friends.”

  “Sounds like we’ll have the place all to ourselves.”

  “I thought you might want to re-establish your territory, just in case some college girls get funny ideas about their professor.”

  “Sounds like a plan.”

  “Please restrain your enthusiasm.”

  “I’m sorry,” she said. “I haven’t been the best company lately. Thanks for putting up with me.”

  “Claire, I know you’ve been down, and you haven’t wanted to talk about it, but I’d like to know more about it. I’ve been so preoccupied with this new job I’m afraid I’ve been neglecting you.”

  “I don’t feel that way,” Claire said. “I’ve wanted to be alone, not to contaminate anyone with my misery.”

  “You should talk to someone, even if it’s not me. I’d understand.”

  “I had a long talk with Maggie,” Claire said. “I’m going to go see Doc Machalvie next week and see if there’s something I can take that will help.”

  “I’m glad to hear that,” he said. “I’m going to ask this, because it’s been bothering me … is this still about Laurie?”

  Claire paused and gathered her thoughts. How much information was too much information, where Ed was concerned? More than anything, she didn’t want to hurt him, but they had agreed to be honest with each other.

  “Partly,” she said. “I think it’s also coming to grips with this big left turn my life took this year, quitting my job, Tuppy dying, what’s happening with Dad, and not knowing what to do about a job. I was so excited about the possibility of the position in the theater department at Eldridge, and when that fell through, it kind of knocked the stuffing out of me.”

  “Is there anything I can do to help?”

  “Just knowing you’re there for me helps a lot,” she said. “You’re the best.”

  “Keep telling yourself that,” he said. “I’m like a cult, and you have to continually be indoctrinated.”

  “Is that a euphemism, too?”

  “Absolutely,” he said.

  That night, while Ed snored lightly in his sleep, Claire was awake and staring out the window at the crescent moon. There was no music in her head, and she did not feel Laurie’s presence. It was sad, but she didn’t feel the sharp pain she had been feeling when she thought about him. She guessed she would always miss him, but that she had found a way to get on with her life, and to enjoy the people who were still alive, who loved her, and understood.

  The next morning Walter called Claire.

  “I touched base with some contacts I have on the board at Pendleton General Hospital,” he said. “Sophie Dean was beloved by the staff and administration, and they had no trouble with her until Jillian started working there. Jillian’s personality was difficult, and she was combative when criticized, but no one could fault her work. The consensus seems to be that while both women were good at what they did, when they were pitted against each other for the hand of the fair Chip, it brought out the worst in both of them.”

  “I have a feeling he egged it on.”

  “It seems that for a little while, at least, he was involved with both women.”

  “Why doesn’t he have a bad reputation?”

  “Because he’s a man.”

  “I know that’s true, but I still hate being reminded,” Claire said. “What about Jillian’s previous job?”

  “My friend in HR is on vacation,” he said. “But I shook some other trees and something fell out. It seems our Jillian left rather than be fired from another hospital. She worked in the Labor and Delivery unit at Fairview General in Montgomery County for several years, and had an exemplary record up until just before she left.”

  “What did she do?”

  “She had an affair with one of the OBGYNs,” he said. “The wife found out about it and forwarded his and Jillian’s torrid emails to everyone with a hospital email address.”

  “Oh, that’s juicy.”

  “The doctor kept his job but Jillian was asked to leave.”

  “Of course,” Claire said. “Because he
’s a man.”

  “A man who brought in hundreds of thousands of dollars to the hospital,” Walter said. “He was disciplined, and put on probation, but nothing else happened so he’s still there.”

  “Or he got better at hiding it.”

  “You’ve grown cynical,” Walter said. “I thought only attorneys and law-enforcement thought the worst of everyone.”

  “How’s our petition to see Gigi’s health records going?”

  “Slow moving through the hospital bureaucracy,” Walter said. “There is a formal process that cannot be circumvented. It may take months.”

  “Oh well, there’s only so much we can do.”

  “Let me know what else I can do. I’m enjoying this endeavor.”

  “You are an asset to the Curious Cousins Detective Agency,” she said. “What’s the word on the forgery?”

  “I’m setting up a meeting with a bank representative I know very well. He was very interested in the recording of the meeting with Jillian that you shared with me. Can you be at my office, oh, say elevenish?”

  “With bells on.”

  Maggie woke up with a start.

  “Scott, look at the time!” she said, as she shook him awake.

  He had come home for lunch, and one thing had led to another, as it frequently seemed to do since they got married not quite two months previously.

  “Relax,” he said. “Skip will let me know if something happens.”

  “I thought we were supposed to have less sex after we got married,” she said.

  “We’re still in the honeymoon period,” he said. “We’ve still got months to go before we get tired of each other.”

  “Jeanette asked me about your house,” Maggie said, as she got dressed. “Are you still interested in selling it?”

  “I hate to think how much work it needs, or how much it will cost to get it in shape to sell,” he said. “Is she the one buying?”

  “She and Fred are looking for something smaller, for retirement.”

  “Well, it’s small,” he said. “It also still has Laurie’s stuff in it.”

  “Don’t tell Claire,” Maggie said. “I don’t want her having to deal with that.”