Killing the Secret

by Donna Welch Jones

  Tye’s contempt was uncontained, “You’re my first choice!”

  “There you go, Lexie, Your deputy has threatened me. Are you going to lock him up?”

  “No. By the way, Loretta, Jamie didn’t tell me about your abortion. Mariah did. Jamie just answered my questions after I told her I knew. So you betrayed Jamie—not the other way around.”

  “Mariah!” Loretta yelled. “She should be strangled. Of all the people to divulge other people’s secrets!”

  “What was Mariah’s secret?”

  “Ask her what we found out that night by the lake. Ask her why we had to swear to keep our mouths shut. Let her tell you her own secret—that two-faced bitch!” Loretta’s voice went from a strained monotone to a screech.

  “Why do I need to ask her? Just tell me,” Lexie ordered.

  “No. I’m better than she is. I promised, and I’m going to keep my word.”

  “Don’t you get it, Loretta? She’s set you up to be the killer. Your motive is to shut up everyone before your husband, and everyone else in this town, judges you for what you did.”

  “Her father is the one who found me the midwife who did the abortion, so Mariah’s apparently setting him up too. You can check my alibis. I don’t need to tell you anything. Oh, there is one more thing you might ask Daddy Sean. What happened to his son?”

  Lexie took the bait. “What does his dead son have to do with this?”

  “Dead? Maybe—maybe not,” her tone was teasing. “Perhaps you should stop interrogating an innocent woman and start asking Mariah and Sean all your questions. After all, she wants to be First Lady so her secrets are potentially life-ruining. I’m going now, unless, of course, you’re going to lock me up.” Loretta stood with each arm encircling a bag as she walked toward the door. One side of her hair stuck out from her head adding to her freaked-out appearance. Delia followed her to the door and opened the door wide. Loretta walked quickly into the damp April day. Delia closed the door behind her.

  “Dear, God.” Delia shook her head as if trying to dislodge all she’d heard. “All this stuff going on and I thought they were a bunch of sweet basketball girls.”

  Lexie’s excitement was evident as she verbally conveyed their “to do” list. “We have at least three secrets to investigate. Starting tomorrow, we’ll bring in anyone, and everyone, who had anything to do with the team. That includes coaches, junior varsity players, teachers, boyfriends, and family members. Delia, take a lunch break. When you get back, we’ll start phoning to schedule meetings over the next two to three days.”

  Delia retrieved her purse from the closet. “I’ll be back in half an hour.”

  Tye headed toward the door. “I’m going to find Jamie.”

  “Do you want to talk about this?”

  “No,” Tye answered flatly.

  “Okay. But I need you to stop at Beth’s first and see if you can get more out of her, based on the information Loretta gave us.”

  “Will do.” Tye avoided eye contact. “I’ll phone if Beth says anything interesting.”

  Lexie watched her brother leave. There was a look of lost desperation in his eyes. She didn’t know what to say or how to help him. The thought of having two nephews lifted her spirits. A thought she wasn’t going to share with her brother anytime soon.

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  Tye heard, and felt, the bump-bumpily-bump of the flat tire when he was a mile out of town. He lifted the jack from the trunk and proceeded to pump up the back of his truck. The sweat beaded on his face. His shirt stuck to his damp skin so he took it off and threw it in the trunk.

  Loretta’s words didn’t leave his head. Somewhere he had two sons. He felt strange, as if he was suddenly a different person—a man realizing he’d been cut off from an important part of his life. Do they ever wonder about their father? The adoptive parents may never have told them that their father is still alive. He switched the jack for his shirt in the trunk and resumed his trip to Beth’s house.

  Flower boxes on the windows, rows of daffodils by the front sidewalk, and a yellow porch swing all added to the appeal of the small house. Beth opened the door before he knocked.

  “Darren is napping, so if you don’t mind I’d like to talk out here,” Beth requested.

  “Fine with me,” Tye answered.

  “What else do you want from me? I’ve already answered Lexie’s questions.”

  “I know, but we have more information now. I’m hoping you’ll be willing to help, since you weren’t the one who told the secrets first. You kept your promise.”

  “What secrets?” Beth stammered.

  “Loretta’s abortion, Jamie’s twins, and what you learned about Mariah by the lake the night after you girls won the championship.”

  “You know now. So why are you still asking me questions?”

  “Because I don’t know enough to figure out who wants you dead. Did anyone know about the pregnancies? Who seemed angry or upset?”

  Beth bit her lower lip. “We were the only ones who knew.”

  “So you don’t think either of them killed to keep your mouths shut.”

  “No.”

  “Was Mariah’s secret worth poisoning a few old teammates for?”

  Her voice softened, “So you really don’t know what happened?”

  “What are you hiding, Beth?”

  “I’ve got nothing else to say. Leave me alone.”

  “Beth, you may die. Darren can’t stay beside you every second of every day. Sooner or later, the killer will get you, too.”

  “Quit trying to scare my wife,” Darren’s scruff voice carried from inside the screen door to the front step where Tye stood.

  Tye’s voice shot back, “Don’t you two get it?! There’s a murderer out there waiting for his chance to kill again. Darren, if you want to keep your wife alive, you’ve got to convince her to tell the truth.” He paused, hoping for a response. When none came, Tye said, “You know where to reach me if you come to your senses.” He turned and walked away. He was sick of people and their secrets.

  Tye purposely drove slowly to Jamie’s house. The correct words wouldn’t form in his mind. What does a man say to a woman who gave away his sons? Maybe I shouldn’t say anything to her ever again. Hollering and throwing objects might be his best recourse, or cursing and pointing. He didn’t have the energy for any of the alternatives. The news sucked the spirit right out of him.

  He pounded the door three times with his fist. Jamie opened the door cautiously and looked at Tye, saying nothing. There was a meekness and mildness about her that he’d never seen before. He felt his anger deflate into sadness.

  Jamie left the door opened and turned, walking back inside to the living room. She sunk into the sofa. Tye followed and sat on a chair directly across from her. Pulling the chair forward, he was within two feet of Jamie, looking squarely into her face.

  Jamie took a deep breath and calmly said, “Loretta phoned.”

  “I figured she would.”

  “I’ve never known Loretta to be so apologetic. Sounded like she genuinely wanted forgiveness.”

  “Not easy for someone who thinks she’s perfect,” Tye retorted.

  Neither spoke for a long moment.

  “Did you see the babies?”

  “No, I didn’t want to see them.” Jamie’s face was drawn. Her body slumped forward.

  “Were they okay?”

  “The nurse said they were healthy boys. They weighed between four and five pounds each.”

  Tye choked out the most important question, “Who adopted them?”

  “I don’t know.”

  More silence followed then Tye asked, “I wonder if they had lots of dark hair?” He stared at the wall. “Indian babies usually do.”

  Jamie’s voice was frantic. “I don’t understand why you’re not yelling at me! Why aren’t you telling me what a horrible person I am? I gave away our sons. You should never forgive me.” A sob escaped with her words.

  “I love
you, Jamie. I have for years. But I thought you didn’t love me because you always kept your distance. Is this why?”

  “If I’d married you then, I would have needed to tell you the truth and I couldn’t do it. I knew what I did was unforgivable.”

  “You were barely more than a kid, Jamie, and I was a wild Indian—not exactly parenting material.” He moved to the sofa to sit beside her then held both of her hands in his.

  “Can you forgive me, Tye?”

  “I already have,” he answered. He held her close as she let the sadness erupt into heart wrenching sobs.

  “We’ll find them, Jamie,” he whispered. “Just to make sure they’re safe and loved.”

  “I just want to see their faces,” she moaned, clutching his hands.

  “Me too. We’ll start looking tomorrow. Where will your father be in the morning?”

  “At school finishing his paperwork for the year.”

  Tye came up with a quick plan. “I’ll meet you at the front door of the high school at nine. We’ll see what we can find out.”

  “Dad isn’t likely to tell you anything.”

  Tye attempted to keep the anger from invading his words. “We’ll see about that. He owes us some explanation and we’re going to get it.”

  “If you threaten him, he won’t give us anything,” Jamie warned.

  “I’m not going to get angry. I’ll be a father who only wants to learn about his sons.”

  “Okay. I’ll meet you there.” Jamie’s eyes had a glimmer of hope as she agreed.

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  Tye looked in the mirror and saw that his sleepless night was evident on his face. Forcing himself to look presentable, he put on a button-down shirt and khaki slacks. Pulling his hair firmly back, he secured it with a leather tie. Since time allowed, he polished his old boots and scraped the dirt from yesterday’s lawn work from under his fingernails. He hoped he looked respectful enough to be father material. Maybe Jim would see that the wild kid was long gone.

  The clock moved so slowly that Tye decided to leave, just to have something to do. Even though he was thirty minutes early, he wasn’t surprised to see Jamie sitting on the front step of the school waiting for him. He didn’t remember seeing her in a dress for years, but there she was in blue. Her long brown hair was flowing around her shoulders instead of the usual tight ponytail.

  “Did you tell him we were coming?” Tye asked as he approached the step.

  “No. I thought the element of surprise might help us.”

  “I agree.” Tye reached out his hand and helped her up.

  “This is it,” she said.

  “Yes, the first step in finding our sons.”

  They walked down the steps into the locker room. Busy talking to someone on the phone about the gym renovation, Daddy Jim didn’t hear them come up behind him.

  Turning around, his eyes met Jamie’s. He muttered into the phone, “Gotta go now.”

  Sweat paths formed down the sides of his face.

  The two sat down without an invitation.

  “Dad,” Jamie began, “I need you to help us find our sons.”

  Jim pointed a finger toward Tye. “I’m not going to help him. Don’t you remember all the pain the jerk caused us?”

  “It wasn’t just him. I was there, too. I could’ve stopped it, but I didn’t want too.”

  Jim lifted a fist into the air and bellowed, “If he’d had a brain he would’ve put a condom on! He should’ve taken care of you.”

  Tye spoke. “You’re right. I was too stupid to think of anyone but myself. I’m sorry for all the pain I caused you both.”

  Jim’s fist lowered to his desk as if Tye’s words depleted his power. “An apology doesn’t change anything.” Dark rings of sweat formed under his arms.

  “Dad, you need to forgive us. It happened nineteen years ago. Surely you can let it go.”

  “I don’t know if I can or not. I’ve hated him for so long that’s all I know how to do.”

  Jamie stared her dad in the eyes. “We just want to know if our sons are okay. We aren’t going to disrupt their lives if they’re doing well. What if they aren’t, Dad? What if they need our family?”

  “I think about them, too—wonder if they’d be basketball stars like you. Maybe I’d had another championship season if the boys were here with us.”

  Tye bit his tongue to restrain from bursting out in anger. He wanted to point out that Jim’s thinking about himself was why the boys were sent away in the first place.

  “Tell us anything you can that might help us find them,” Jamie begged.

  “It was a private adoption arranged by a Missouri attorney named Alex Thomas. Your Aunt Chelsea knew him from her church. He found a couple who wanted a boy, and who were willing to pay for everything including attorney fees.”

  “Did they just want one of the boys?” Tye’s anguish forced his face into a stiff mask.

  “Yes. He said two babies would be too much work.”

  Jamie cleared her throat to suppress her emotion. “The other boy, do you know what happened to him?”

  “Not sure.” Jim shook his head slowly.

  Jamie looked directly at her father. “What does that mean?”

  “Dr. Carr talked to me about the boy, said his daughter and son-in-law weren’t able to have a child, so he’d like to help them adopt one. I gave him Thomas’ name and told him to contact the lawyer directly if his daughter was interested in the boy.”

  “Dr. Carr is the one who told me I was pregnant,” Jamie remembered aloud.

  “What was his daughter’s last name?” Tye asked.

  “Didn’t ask, ‘cause I didn’t need to know.”

  Tye felt his body heat up. “Where is Dr. Carr?”

  Jim answered the question while looking at Jamie.

  “He lives on a farm forty miles north of town. The place with all the old plows decorating the front yard.”

  “I know where that is,” Tye replied as he rose to his feet.

  Jim’s words spit out. “Hold up, man! No one was supposed to know who adopted those boys. For all I know, Carr may never have contacted Thomas.”

  “Is there anything else you know, Dad?”

  “No. I’ve said too much already. Someone took care of them for years. They don’t need you two to disrupt their lives. You said you’d leave them alone, so be sure you do.” Jim’s final order was directed to Tye.

  Tye stood up. “Thanks”.

  Looking back, he saw Jamie lean down and hug the man who gave away his sons. He felt such hatred toward Jim that he ran up the stairs before he turned into a mass of raging anger.

  He waited for Jamie at the front door. She didn’t seem to recognize what he was feeling, or if she did, she wasn’t ready to acknowledge it.

  “What now?” she asked.

  “Call your aunt when you get home and ask her where that lawyer Thomas is. See if she knows anything else about what happened to our sons. I’m going to drive to Carr’s farm and see what I can find out.”

  “You know what my dad said.”

  “I don’t give a damn what your old man said! I’ll do what I want.”

  She turned away from him with a swirl. Walking quickly to her car she got in and drove off as he watched.

  “I don’t care. She shouldn’t have given that demon a hug,” Tye muttered to himself.

  It took an hour to drive to Carr’s farm. Twenty minutes on the highway, a right turn, then one long rocky, curvy road led to Carr’s place. Tye doubted that anyone could get near the man’s house after a hard rain. It was set on a hill and antique plows still decorated the front yard.

  Tye hoped to find the right words to convince Carr that the boy needed to know his father was alive and didn’t desert him nineteen years before. Many words came to his mind during his long drive, but none of them fit together right. To beg, to threaten, or to offer money, all seemed to be possible alternatives. However, none of them seemed correct.

  Tye w
alked across Carr’s yard. It was almost devoid of grass because of the huge shade trees that kept the sun from reaching the ground. Small tornados of dust sprung around his feet as his pace quickened. The old house looked like it was recently painted. The red shutters and porch were a sharp contrast to the white frame. His fist formed to attack the door, but then he loosened his grip so his knocking wouldn’t frighten the old man.

  Tye heard movement from within. The shuffling sound of feet finally reached the front door. Carr opened the door wide, looking surprised.

  “Aren’t you Nodin Wolfe’s boy?”

  “Yes, sir, I am.” Tye held out his hand to meet the old man’s weak grasp.

  “Your dad was a good man, a hard worker. Tragic the way we lost him. That murder and all was a nightmare.”

  “Yes, it was a hard time,” Tye confirmed.

  Carr opened the door and pushed his walker over the threshold to the porch, then motioned Tye toward the swing.

  “What are you doin’ in these parts, boy? Someone been rustling cows?”

  “No, I’m here with a personal problem that I hope you’ll help me with.”

  “What’s that boy?”

  “Jim Evans told Jamie and me that your daughter was interested in adopting one of our twin boys about nineteen years ago.”

  Tye watched as Carr circled his tongue around his lips and fingered the bar on his walker. “True,” he finally answered.

  “Did she adopt one?”

  “I told them they shouldn’t split up those boys. My daughter and her husband would’ve taken both of them. Thomas said it was one, or none. I know those folks paid him a lot of money for gettin’ them the other boy.”

  “Did you ever hear the name of the other people?”

  “No. Thomas was very secretive. Probably afraid someone would mess up his deal.”

  “Did your daughter adopt one of my sons?”

  “My daughter and her husband died in a plane crash a couple of years ago. That damn crash almost took my entire world.”

  “Was their son in the crash?”

  “No, thank God. He was spending the weekend with a friend. He’s the only family I’ve got left in the world.” Carr peered into the distance. “When you’re eighty-six, sometimes you say more than you mean too.”