Shortly after dawn, Abbott went home to shower and shave. He was drinking coffee with Maddie in the kitchen when Ellie came downstairs a few minutes before eight. She wore her auburn hair pulled back in a tight bun and a loose-fitting cotton sheath in a somber shade of slate gray that she deemed appropriate for the occasion.
Maddie handed her a mug of coffee. “I don’t like it one bit, Miss Ellie. You playing with fire. Your sister is evil, just like your gramma. I been telling you that. But you’s too stubborn to listen.”
Ellie noticed four sets of wide eyes watching them from the table. “Shh, you’re frightening the children,” she said in a low voice. “There’s a good chance my grandmother was bipolar. They didn’t know much about the disorder back in her day.”
“Nah,” Maddie said, shaking her head with vehemence. “Your gramma didn’t have no disorder. She was just plain mean. Lia too. Ain’t no doctor in no hospital gonna be able to fix her.”
Ellie reached for her old friend’s hand and squeezed it. “I appreciate your concern, Maddie. I truly do. But I have to do what I think best and pray everything works out the way it’s meant to.”
Maddie studied her in an unnerving way that made Ellie feel like a little girl again. “I understand.” She looked away from Ellie to Abbott. “You take care of my girl now, ya hear? Anything happens to her, and I’m coming after you.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Abbott saluted her. “I promise we’ll be careful.”
Ellie took time to go over Katie’s homework assignments, compliment the twins on their latest coloring masterpieces, and help Ruby gather her belongings for school.
“We’ll drop you at school on our way,” Ellie said to Ruby as she tucked her lunchbox in her backpack. Peninsula Elementary was out of their way, but she didn’t want the child walking to school all my herself with Lia on the loose.
Abbott carried Ruby’s backpack out to the car for her. As he helped her get settled in the back seat, he said, “With all these children, I think Miss Ellie needs a bigger car, don’t you?”
Ruby giggled and nodded her head.
“You sound like my husband,” Ellie said as she backed out of the driveway. “We’ve been shopping for mommy cars, but I’m having a difficult time parting with my Mini. It comes in handy when trying to find a parking place.”
On the way to school, they talked about which SUVs and station wagons she was considering and the advantages of having a bigger car. When they arrived at Peninsula Elementary, Abbott got out of the car and walked the child inside.
Ellie rehearsed what she planned to say to her sister while she waited for her father to return. When he slid into the passenger seat, she threw the car in gear.
“Let’s get this over with.”
She navigated the car back to Meeting Street. As they neared the motel, a convoy of police cars and fire engines approached from the opposite direction. Traffic slowed to a crawl.
“Is that Lia’s room?” Abbott said, craning his neck as he stared through the front windshield up to the second floor of the motel.
Ellie followed his gaze to the cluster of policemen gathered outside a room at the far end of the exterior corridor.
“Damn! That is Lia’s room.” Abbott jumped out of the car and dashed across the street.
Ellie parked haphazardly in a no-parking zone and joined her father at the bottom of the concrete stairs leading up to the second floor. The police had marked off the staircase with yellow crime-scene tape. Abbott begged information from every policeman that brushed past them until he found a plainclothes detective willing to listen. “Can you tell me what’s going on? My daughter’s in room 260.”
“Are you certain of that, sir?” According to the badge he wore on a chain around his neck, the detective’s name was Lambert.
“Yes, I’m certain,” Abbott said. “Has something happened to her?”
“Come with me, please.” The detective led them into the motel office, which was empty aside from the lone desk clerk—a man in his forties who wore his hair in a braided ponytail and an expression of distaste on his craggy face. “Can you tell me your daughter’s name, sir?”
“Lia Bertram. I paid for her room myself, late yesterday afternoon. He was here,” Abbott said as he gestured toward the desk clerk. “He can vouch for me.”
The desk clerk nodded his confirmation.
“Has something happened to my sister, Detective?” Ellie blurted.
“I’m afraid so, Mrs. . . .”
“Hagood. Ellie Hagood. Lia is my sister.” Ellie found it difficult to breathe. “Please, Detective! Tell us what happened to her.”
“I’m sorry to be the one to break the news. The maid discovered her body this morning. It’s premature to say for certain, but it appears as though she was murdered.”
Ellie gasped. “Murdered? Who would do such a thing?” As the words parted her lips, she realized there were at least three people with plenty of reason to want her dead.
“That’s what we’re going to find out.” The detective ushered them into the corner of the office for privacy. “I’m Detective Lambert with the Charleston PD. I questioned Lia earlier in the week regarding . . . another matter.”
“We’re aware of the investigation into her husband’s death,” Abbott said. “I hired her criminal attorney, Gary Bates, myself.”
A horrible thought crossed Ellie’s mind and sent a chill up her spine. “I spoke with Detective Hamlin yesterday afternoon. He believes Ricky Bertram’s death was a result of his gambling debts. Do you think there’s a chance Lia’s murder might be related to her husband’s?”
“I don’t believe so, although it’s too early to say for sure. It appears your sister was strangled to death during the act of sexual intercourse.”
Ellie gulped back the taste of bile. “How awful! I wasn’t aware she was seeing anyone.” There was so much she didn’t know about her sister.
“I understand you’re in shock, but we need a family member to make a positive identification of the body,” Lambert said. “Do you think you could do that now, or would you rather do it sometime later today?”
Ellie didn’t trust her voice to speak. She was glad when her father said, “No sense in holding up your investigation, since I’m already here.”
“You can’t actually go into the crime scene,” Lambert said, “but you can see enough from the doorway to make a proper identification.”
Abbott started for the door. When Ellie stepped in line behind him, he held his hand out. “You stay here, honey. I got this.”
“Not a chance, Dad,” she said, and walked on ahead of him. She’d never seen a dead person before. As much as she hated to have this lasting image of her sister, she needed to see for herself that the person in the motel room was in fact Lia.
Ellie and Abbott followed Detective Lambert, single file, up the concrete steps and down the corridor, stopping at the threshold of room 260. Ellie inhaled a deep breath, bracing herself, as she stared into the room at the dead body lying stark naked on the king-size bed. Lia’s eyes were wide open, her expression frozen in fear. Her complexion was pasty, her lips tinged blue, and bruises marked her neck where the killer had squeezed the life out of her.
She turned away and fled the scene. She ran back down the corridor, taking the steps two at a time to the parking lot. She was doubled over, hands on knees, sucking in air to force back the urge to vomit when her father found her minutes later.
“I tried to warn you, sweetheart,” he said, resting his hand on her back.
She straightened. “I needed to see her, Dad, for the sake of closure. But it doesn’t make it any easier.”
“I know, baby.” He drew her in for a hug. “I envisioned this whole nasty ordeal playing out in a million different ways, but this was never one of them.”
Detective Lambert caught up with them. “I’m very sorry for your loss. I have some questions I need to ask you. I’d appreciate it if you’d come down to the station whenever you’re f
eeling better. Sometime today would be best, if you can manage it.”
Ellie pulled away from Abbott. “I’d like to get it over with as soon as possible,” she said to her father, and then to the detective, “When would be a good time?”
“I’m headed to the station now, if you’re up to it.”
“We’ll meet you there,” Abbott said.
#
As they hurried across the street to the car, Ellie rummaged through her bag for her keys and her phone. She handed Abbott the keys and tapped out Julian’s number. When she heard her husband’s voice, she burst into tears, and the words spilled from her lips.
“Lia’s been murdered.” Unable to continue, she thrust the phone at her father, who explained the situation to her husband.
Julian and Robbie were waiting for them at the station when they arrived. Julian held his arms open, and she collapsed into them. “It’s all over now,” he said in a soft voice. “Everything is going to be all right.”
“Since September, when I learned of Lia’s existence, I’ve been on an emotional roller coaster of extreme highs and lows. I don’t even know what to think or feel anymore. I feel relieved that the ordeal is over. And guilt for feeling relieved. Who would’ve done this to her, Julian?”
“Certainly not anyone who cared about her. My guess is she picked up the wrong guy in a bar somewhere. You have nothing to feel guilty about. Lia was a virtual stranger to you, and you gave her money and took in her children. She never once expressed an ounce of gratitude in return. She was a sick woman, baby. You were so hopeful about getting her psychiatric help, but the truth is, I’m not sure how receptive she would’ve been to that help. We were facing a lifetime of dealing with her drama. I’m not sure how long we could’ve sheltered the twins from her. If the judge had ruled in Lia’s favor . . . well, I can’t even bring myself to think about what kind of life they would’ve been forced to live.”
She tilted her head back to look at him. “My sister was murdered, Julian. I agree that we’re all better off with her dead. But admitting that makes me feel guilty. I can’t help that.”
“Don’t look at it that way, baby. You didn’t kill Lia. She made a fatal error in judgment. That has absolutely nothing to do with you. You spent most of last night scheming ways to help her while she was off whoring around somewhere. That sounds callous of me, I know. But she certainly wasn’t worried about you last night. Or Bella or Mya. Feel sad. Or angry. Or any number of other emotions. But not guilt. Now that she’s out of the picture, we’ll be able to adopt the twins and raise them in a safe and loving home. Do I feel guilty about that? Hell no.”
She planted her face in his chest. “It’s easier for you. She wasn’t your sister.”
“Maybe so.” He exhaled, and his breath tickled her neck. “I resented what she was doing to you, the way she’d turned our lives upside down. I never shared your pity for her. I never would’ve wished her dead, but I sure as heck was praying she’d go away and leave us alone.”
Abbott approached from behind and tapped Ellie on the shoulder. “Detective Lambert is ready to talk to us now. If you’re not up to it, we can come back later.”
She pushed away from Julian. “I’ll be fine.” She searched in her bag for a tissue. “Give me a minute to run to the restroom.”
Abbott smiled at her, his dark eyes warm with compassion. “Take your time. I’ll wait for you here.”
In the ladies’ room down the hall, Ellie blew her nose, splashed cold water on her face, and smoothed stray hairs back into her bun. She inhaled and exhaled several times to collect herself.
Do this for the twins, Ellie. They’re counting on you. You’re their mama now.
Lambert was waiting for her when she returned to the reception area. He showed them to an interview room where Ellie—with frequent input from her father—spent the next several hours reliving the events of the last seven-plus months. They drank cup after cup of bitter coffee and took multiple bathroom breaks, mostly for Ellie’s benefit so she could regain her composure after a particularly emotional testimony. About halfway through, Robbie and Julian were summoned in to vouch for their whereabouts during the previous evening at the supposed time of the murder. Lambert was summoned from the room three times by coworkers with updates from the ongoing investigation. Upon his return each time, he reported what he’d learned. The surveillance footage from the motel was being reviewed. A bartender at a popular late-night establishment on the waterfront reported seeing a woman matching Lia’s description sometime after midnight. The man she left the bar with had been identified and was being pursued.
Ellie was exhausted and hoarse by the time they finished, but the process was therapeutic in helping her fully grasp the sacrifices she’d made for her sister.
Lambert was showing them to the door when he received word that the man was in custody and had confessed to the crime.
“He claims he didn’t mean to kill her,” Lambert told them when he got off the phone with his partner. “With Lia’s consent, he was experimenting with asphyxiation in an effort to heighten her orgasm. He took it too far. Sadly, it’s not the first time that’s happened.” The detective handed Ellie his business card. “We’ll be in touch if we have additional questions. Feel free to contact me if I can be of help in any way. And, again, I’m terribly sorry for your loss.”
His words felt empty after all she’d told him about Lia.
Do I even have the right to mourn my sister?
Perhaps she would mourn what could have been.
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
Ellie
Ellie, wanting to talk to Julian, gave Abbott the keys to her Mini so he could drive Robbie home. She dreaded the task of telling the children. “I have no idea how to handle this situation. What do I say to them?” she asked on their way home from the police station.
Julian took his eyes off the road and glanced over at her. “Why do you have to tell them anything? The twins are way too young to understand. One day, and you’ll know when the time is right, you can explain everything to them—about their mother’s mental illness and their father’s death. There are plenty of lessons for them to learn from all that happened when they’re old enough to handle the truth. As for Katie and Ruby, we simply tell them the judge granted us custody of the twins. Speaking of which . . . I spoke to Tyler while you were meeting with Lambert and explained the situation. If you’re up to it, he’d like us to keep our appointment for court tomorrow. We’re already on the docket. We might as well formalize the adoption.”
That brought a smile to her face. “At last, a bit of good news.” The smile disappeared as the enormity of the responsibility weighed on her. “Do you think I’ll make a good mother?”
“What’re you talking about? You already are a good mother—the best mother I know.”
She stroked his leg. “Thanks for your vote of confidence. Our mixed brood makes for a happy and loving family, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
He smiled over at her. “And I couldn’t love you more than I do at this moment.”
#
Maddie and Cilla prepared an elaborate cookout for them that evening, with everyone’s favorites: chicken and steak for the adults, and hamburgers and hotdogs for the children. Abbott invited Lacey, and Ellie insisted Maddie, Cilla, Robbie, and Becca join them. They’d gone to too much trouble for Ellie to object to the cookout. Instead of thinking of it as a party, she regarded the gathering as a wake, an opportunity for family to mourn. She spent a moment at the edge of the garden, near the rosebushes. Pressing her hands together, she closed her eyes, tilted her head toward heaven, and said a prayer for eternal life and peace ever after for her sister.
They sipped cucumber martinis on the terrace while the children chased one another around the yard. Ellie experienced a moment of panic when she realized the squeals had stopped and the children were nowhere to be seen.
They’re safe, Ellie. No one’s going to hurt them now.
She searched the back yard and discovered the four of them camped out beneath the meandering branches of the magnolia tree. She crawled in with them.
“I spent a lot of time here as a child,” she told them. “I used to think of this tree as my friend.”
“Didn’t you have any other friends?” Katie asked.
“Only one,” Ellie said, thinking about the twin sister who had been taken from her when she was only three. “I was lonely a lot of the time when I lived here as a child.” She stroked the nearest branch. “I confided all my secrets to this wonderful old tree. She’s a good listener, a good secret keeper too.”
Katie and Ruby giggled and tossed handfuls of magnolia leaves at Ellie. The twins joined in for a good old-fashioned leaf fight. Spent from exertion and laughter, she lay flat on her back and stared up the trunk of the tree to the darkening sky beyond. The twins curled up to her on one side, and Katie and Ruby on the other. She gathered the four of them in her arms as best she could and closed her eyes. Her dream had finally come true. She never thought she’d have any children. God had blessed her with four.
#
They had much to celebrate during their week at Sullivan’s Island in June. By then, they’d learned from Franny that Ruby’s mother had been sentenced to fifteen years in prison, and the paperwork for Ellie and Julian to adopt the child had been filed with the court systems. No one was surprised when Katie’s mother, Laura, was fired from her job in Spartanburg, but she shocked them all by accepting a position all the way across the country, in Seattle. Her decision to move out of state nullified her parental rights, thereby granting Julian full custody. Although Katie would undoubtedly miss her mother, Ellie suspected she was secretly relieved at the outcome. Katie and Ruby had both been accepted to Ashley Hall for the fall term, and the twins would be applying for kindergarten the following year.
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