Neely Kate looked confused by the sincerity in Hilary’s voice. “I have my good days and my bad.”
“Honestly, it’s a wonder you’re even here talking to me,” Hilary said softly. “I’m ashamed to say I’m not sure I’d be talking to you if our roles were reversed. This baby means everything to me. I don’t think I could go on without him.”
Her voice broke, and Neely Kate hesitated before patting her hand.
“You’d find a way,” she said to Hilary. “It’s still hard. I think about them all the time. They were so small. Most people wouldn’t think of them as real babies, but they sure as shoot were real to me.”
Hilary looked into her eyes. “I understand. And I am so sorry you lost them. You would have made a wonderful mother.” She paused and looked down at her cupcake, then pinched off a tiny piece and lifted it to her lips. “Maybe it would hurt more than help, but once little Joe is born, you’re welcome to come hold him anytime you want.” Hilary paused. “But no pressure, okay? You just do what feels best for you.”
Neely Kate stared at her in apparent shock.
“I know you’re best friends with Rose, and Rose and I haven’t been on good terms, but I really like you, Neely Kate. So I’m going to work extra hard to get along with Rose.”
“Why?”
“Because she seems to want to mend bridges, too. And, well . . . it’s silly, really.” Hilary pinched off another piece of cupcake. “Me being jealous of Rose when she’s clearly so in love with Mason.”
“Rose and Mason broke up,” Neely Kate said with a little more bite than was fitting for the be nice approach.
Hilary nodded. “I heard.”
“But you just said—”
“Even so, it’s obvious she only has eyes for Mason. I was insecure before, but Violet helped me realize I had nothing to worry about. And I want to live here in Henryetta. We might not be together right now, but I want my baby to be close to Joe. Violet helped me realize I need to make more of an effort to fit in.”
“That Violet’s been a busy girl.”
“In any case, since you and Rose seem so genuine, I want to extend the olive branch. One day maybe we can even be friends.”
“Well,” Neely Kate drawled. “I guess we’ll just have to work on it. But it’s hard to imagine that someone like you would want to have anything to do with me. I spent the first twelve years of my life livin’ in a trailer while you were probably livin’ in a mansion with servants. You’d be slummin’ to associate with me.” Surprisingly, her tone was non-confrontational.
Hilary looked down at her barely eaten cupcake, then up at Neely Kate. “I can see how you might think that, but before Rose took those cupcakes to Miss Mildred, you said you thought we were more alike than I might realize. I think you were right. I really want to try to be your friend.”
“Forgive me, Hilary, but after the way you’ve treated Rose and me, that’s hard to believe.”
“I know I’ve been more than intolerable. As I said, jealousy and insecurity got the better of me. I’m not proud of it, but there it is.” She shifted in her seat, looking uncomfortable. “I’m willing to make an effort if you are.”
Neely Kate pursed her lips. “Joe’s mother called Rose Fenton County white trash. You don’t think the same?”
Hilary’s cheeks turned a soft pink that made her glow. “I admit that I came to Henryetta with a few preconceived ideas. But those ideas were wrong.”
“How can someone with so much money relate to someone like me? You had everything you ever wanted. You were raised in paradise.”
“Paradise . . .” Hilary gave her a sad smile. “My life hasn’t been as wonderful as you think. Just because a person has lots of money doesn’t mean they have lots of love.”
I had to hand it to Neely Kate. She had just steered the conversation exactly where we needed it to go. But, hearing the pain in Hilary’s voice, it felt wrong. Then I reminded myself that Bruce Wayne and Anna’s lives might depend on what she knew.
“And I had neither,” Neely Kate said in a guarded voice. “I’ve spent my whole life scraping by for everything—food, clothes, my mother’s attention. What I got instead was a little more attention from her boyfriends than I ever wanted, if you know what I mean.”
Hilary’s eyes flooded with tears. “I do.”
Neely Kate’s back stiffened. “You . . .”
Hilary grabbed a tissue from her purse. “See? We really are more alike than either of us thought. We had money, but my house was cold and sterile. Love was just another commodity to be bought and sold. My parents had my life’s purpose planned out before I was even born. I’ve been groomed to become Joe’s wife for as long as I can remember.”
“You’re kidding me,” Neely Kate gasped.
“I wish I were.” She gave her a weak smile. “I know it’s hard to imagine an arranged marriage in the twenty-first century—in the United States anyway—and I actually agreed to it.” She released a tinkling laugh. “But it was what my parents wanted. It was all I knew. Joe was clueless to the whole thing until we were in high school. By then, he was busy sowing his wild oats. He said he wanted to get it out of his system before we got married.”
“And you still agreed to it?”
She shrugged. “It was all I knew. My father cheated on my mother.” A dark cloud crossed her features. “Joe’s father cheated on his mother.” She glanced down at the table, brushing a few crumbs toward the cupcake wrapper. “And maybe you find it hard to believe, but I loved him.”
She glanced at Neely Kate with a new earnestness in her eyes. “I truly loved him. He’s the only man I’ve ever loved . . . even if he’s not the only man I’ve ever slept with.” She gave a sly smile. “What’s good for the gander is good for the goose.”
Neely Kate grinned. “Good for you. But what about now? Do you still love him?”
Hilary didn’t answer for a few seconds, gazing at a spot on the wall several feet away. “Would you think I was crazy if I said yes? But not like before, not the starry-eyed love of youth.”
“What if Joe never decides to come back to you?” Neely Kate asked.
“I have to believe that he will. Maybe he’ll change his mind once the baby comes.”
“Maybe . . .” Neely Kate said, but she didn’t sound convinced. “We both grew up in dysfunctional families, but I have to think it was easier with money. I hated goin’ to school in hand-me-downs. I bet you had all kinds of pretty dresses.”
Hilary lifted an eyebrow and nodded. “I did, but I was only allowed to wear them once before they went to the thrift store. I could re-wear my private school uniform, but anything for a party or a public appearance was disposable. God forbid we create the impression we couldn’t afford to buy something new.”
“Did you have housekeepers?” Neely Kate asked. “This summer, Joe used to talk nonstop about his housekeeper. What was her name? Rowena?”
“Roberta,” Hilary said softly, looking away.
My stomach clenched, not only at the prospect of finding information, but also at the pain in Hilary’s voice.
“Yeah, that’s it. The way he talked about her made me think she took more care of him than his own momma.”
She placed her hands in her lap and laced her fingers tightly. “Betsy was a hands-off mother, just like mine. Only I didn’t have a Roberta at home. I spent most of my time at the Simmons house, and Roberta took me under her wing just like she did Joe and Kate. She treated me the same as she treated them. She protected me more times than I can remember.”
“Protected you?” Neely Kate asked in surprise. “How?”
Hilary just shook her head.
Neely Kate stayed silent for a moment. “Joe said Roberta just up and left one day. He has no idea why. I told Rose that it was a wonder she lasted so long with J.R. Simmons as her boss.”
Hilary’s face paled. “What are you talking about?”
Neely Kate shook her head. “I’m surprised she didn’t quit sooner. Do
ing the cookin’ and the cleanin’ and raisin’ the Simmons kids. That’s too much for one person, especially if the house is as big as Rose described it.”
“She didn’t do it all alone,” Hilary said in a quiet voice. “She had help, but they came and went. Only Roberta stayed. She always stayed.”
“Until she left, right? How long did Roberta work for the Simmons?
“Um . . . I think she came on when was Joe as a toddler, so about fifteen years.” Her tone turned suspicious. “Why are you asking about Roberta?”
Neely Kate shrugged. “Like I said, I’m curious. Joe talked about her so much, and it’s obvious you loved her. It sounds like she loved y’all, too, so it’s weird that she would stay for so long, only to up and leave without any warning.”
Hilary’s face paled and her eyes filled with tears.
Her reaction caught me by surprise. It wasn’t the behavior of a grieving woman. She looked like she was scared.
Neely Kate pressed on. “What do you think happened?”
Hilary stood, starting to cry.
“She loved us. She would have done anything to protect us.” She pushed back in her chair, her fingers shaking. “I have to go. Tell Jonah I don’t feel well and that I’ll come back tomorrow.”
With that, she ran out the door.
I had nowhere to hide, but she ignored me as she hurried down the hall toward the front doors.
I walked into the kitchen, unsure whether to be happy that we had new information or upset that Hilary seemed so distraught. I went with both.
“I didn’t mean to make her cry, Rose,” Neely Kate said, rising from her chair. “I had no idea she’d get so emotional.”
“I need to call Joe,” I said, digging out my phone.
“Why?”
“She’s really upset, Neely Kate.” I shook my head. “Not just upset. Scared. If you felt like that, you’d turn to me, but Hilary has no one. Plus, there’s the baby to think about. I need to tell him.”
Surprisingly, she didn’t stop me.
Joe was raging when he answered.
“If you’re in some kind of trouble and expect me to come bail you out, you’ve got another think coming.”
“No,” I said. “This is about Hilary.”
“Oh, God. What has she done now?”
“Nothing, Joe. I’m worried about her. Neely Kate and I told her we wanted to try to get along, let bygones be bygones. She seemed fine with the idea. In fact, she and Neely Kate were getting along really well, but then Neely Kate asked her about Roberta.”
“Roberta?” he asked in surprise. “What brought that up?”
“Well . . .” I hedged. “There might have been an ulterior motive,” I confessed.
“What on earth could be her motive behind asking about my old housekeeper?”
“Because the nursery’s new employee—Anna Miller—is Roberta’s granddaughter.”
“What?”
“I just found out last night.”
“What? Wait. Start at the beginning.”
There was no way I could tell him the entire story, so I kept to the bare minimum. “She moved to Henryetta around the first of the year, and she applied for a job at the nursery. She said she moved from Mississippi, but we had no idea who she was or why she was even in Henryetta. Violet and I joked that it was a big mystery.”
“Violet told me she hired a new employee and cleared it with you. I honestly didn’t pay much attention, since I was knee-deep in shit with my father. How’d you make the connection to Roberta?”
“Remember those files Neely Kate and I found in Kate’s apartment?”
He groaned. “Not that again.”
“Well, I found a file on Roberta. I just thought of it last night, but before I could go ask her about it today, Maeve told me that she and Bruce Wayne had disappeared.”
“Why didn’t you say anything earlier?”
“You knew about them disappearing before I did.”
“Not that. About the file.”
I knew I should confess where I’d found it, but I wasn’t ready to tip my hat yet.
“I guess I forgot,” I said.
His “hmph” told me he didn’t quite believe me.
Then he asked, “Are we sure they didn’t just run off together? Two kids in love just wanting to spend the day together?”
“First of all, Bruce Wayne is older than you, and second, I can’t see Bruce Wayne doin’ that. At least not without some kind of notice. Not since I made him part owner.”
“It sure would have made my job easier if he had.” Then he quickly added, “Sorry. That was a piss-poor joke.”
“Any news about your father?”
“Nothing.”
“Do you think he’s still around?”
“Yep. He’s got unfinished business, which is why you need to let me put you under protection.”
“Tell you what—when Randy gets out of the hospital, I’ll let him watch over me. Until then, not a chance.”
“Well, at least quit gallivanting around the county. You’re making it easy for him to find you.”
“I doubt it. You haven’t managed to find me.”
That pissed him off. “Goodbye, Rose.”
“Wait!” I’d almost forgotten why I’d called him.
He paused. “I’m waiting.”
“I really meant it when I said I was worried about Hilary. She got really upset when Neely Kate asked her about Roberta leaving. She looked close to passing out.”
“Well,” he said, “she did take the news pretty hard when she found out Roberta left, come to think about it. She locked herself in her bedroom and wouldn’t let anyone in until I stopped by.”
I hadn’t expected to get answers from Joe—this had been a call to alert him to Hilary’s distress. But, now that he’d opened the door, I figured I might as well walk on through. “And you were both seventeen? Doesn’t that seem excessive considerin’ Roberta wasn’t even her housekeeper?”
“You didn’t know Roberta. She was like a mother to all of us. Even Hilary.”
“Even so, isn’t it weird she got so upset about it all these years later?” I asked.
“Maybe it’s pregnancy hormones,” Joe said. “She’s been pretty weepy the last week or two.”
“You’ve been talkin’ to her?”
He hesitated. “I’m trying to make an effort. Planned or not, she’s pregnant with my baby. So we’ve been spending some time together and . . . she’s different. It’s like the baby’s calmed her down.” He sounded guilty.
“That’s great, Joe,” I said, surprised I meant it. “That baby needs you, and things will go so much better if you two are friends.”
“Yeah . . .”
“Nevertheless, I think there’s more to it than hormones. She didn’t just act upset. She seemed scared.”
“Scared? Why would she act scared?”
“I don’t know,” I said, feeling wary. I couldn’t help thinking it all tied back to J.R., but I just couldn’t figure out how. “But she’s never gonna tell us. Can you talk to her?”
“Rose.”
“You know that Anna didn’t just accidentally show up in the same town you and your sister are now living in. Kate showin’ up at the same time is more than fishy. Something’s goin’ on.”
“Fine. I’ll ask.”
“And text me so I know she’s okay.”
“Are you really worried about her? Or are you just snoopin’ into something that doesn’t concern you?”
Part of me was offended, but after everything I’d been through with his ex-girlfriend, I could understand his skepticism.
“Yeah, I’m worried enough that I’d follow her home to check on her if I didn’t think it would upset her more. I’d send someone else, but as far as I know, there is no one else.” But as soon as I said the words, I knew that wasn’t quite true.
“Fine, if you’re really worried, I’ll check on her,” he said, not sounding as sympathetic as I would have
liked—but then, he’d lived through a lifetime of her manipulation. I could see how he’d think this was just one more chapter.
For all I knew, it was.
I stuffed my phone back into my pocket. We hadn’t found out much, but we’d found out something. Hilary knew more than she was letting on. We just had to figure out what that something was.
Which was why I was going to turn to Jonah.
Chapter 19
I found Jonah trapped by the water fountain close to his office, Miss Mildred peppering him with questions.
“I think the church lawn needs to be mowed more often. What do you plan to do about that?”
He stared at her as if an alien had popped out of her chest. “Uh . . .”
“And the ushers are much too slow when they are passing out the communion plates,” she continued. “I’m sure it’s due to those flimsy wicker baskets. There’s no reason not to use the silver ones.”
He gave Neely Kate and I a puppy-dog look as we approached.
“Hilary had to leave,” Neely Kate said. “She says she’ll be back tomorrow.”
“What?” Miss Mildred screeched. “She’s done for the day already?”
Neely Kate shrugged. “She wasn’t feeling well.”
Miss Mildred looked suspicious. “She was feeling just fine when we were goin’ toe to toe. What did you do to her?”
Neely Kate lifted her hand to her chest. “I have no idea what you’re talkin’ about. We were just chatting, and she was eatin’ her cupcake, and the next thing I knew, she said she felt poorly and was goin’ home.”
“I knew it!” Miss Mildred half-shouted. “It’s those blasted cupcakes! Now I’m glad I didn’t eat one of those health hazards.”
Neely Kate’s eyes widened. “Oh, no! It wasn’t the cupcake! I’m sure it was her hormones. Maybe some lingering morning sickness.”
A fire lit up the older woman’s eyes. She had a new cause to fight for. “Jonah,” she said, turning to the minister. “If that hussy can leave, then I’m gonna do the same. I have work to do. I’m gonna put that woman out of business.”
Miss Mildred hurried to the front entrance as quickly as her cane would allow, which turned out to be surprisingly fast.
Thirty-Six and a Half Motives: Rose Gardner Mystery #9 (Rose Gardner Mystery Series) Page 18