Deceitful Legacy

by Justine Wittich

  A deep voice from behind her said, “I just hate it when I show up somewhere and catch just the last two words of a sentence. Why am I ‘poor Josh’?”

  Chapter Eleven

  By the time the excitement died down and the truck was hauled away, Felicity was exhausted. Her friends had dispersed, hurrying home to spread the story. One thing encouraged her: neither of her pregnant ladies appeared to be upset by all the excitement. In fact Jenny was entertained by Felicity’s recap of what she’d missed. She even ventured a smile at the thought of Freddie in jail.

  He certainly hadn’t gone out of his way to treat her with any real kindness. There was always an echo of disrespect, even when he appeared to be at his kindliest, and Felicity found she could understand the girl’s feelings. Josh had set out for the police station, her signed blank check in hand, leaving Mindy with the other two women and Andrew standing guard.

  “I think this calls for ordering several pizzas,” Felicity announced. “I feel sure Freddie will be hungry after his ordeal, and Josh has never turned down food of any kind.”

  While she placed the orders, Andrew straightened the disarray on the front porch. He came back into the kitchen just as she finished the call and held his finger over his lips, glancing over his shoulder at the door. When he spoke, his voice was pitched so only Felicity could hear. “I hate to be a suspicious old bird, but have you any idea what Freddie could have had in that locker on the truck that was so important that he swung at a police officer?”

  Felicity paused in the act of gathering forks, knives, napkins and glasses and leaned against the counter. “Your guess is as good as mine, Andrew.” She sighed – one that felt as if it came from her toes. “I’ve tried. I really have. But I can’t like Freddie, and I’m having trouble understanding why Oliver always thought so much of him. Kate told me today that he was helping her with some investments, and if that nitwit knows anything about the stock market, I’m Queen Elizabeth. I swear, I’m going out in the morning and buying him a new truck, and I’ll hold onto the keys until he promises to load his important papers into it and head west.”

  With that, she turned, bent to open a cupboard door and drew out a wooden serving tray. “I want to be able to enjoy those new babies. Oliver and I never had children of our own, and my nieces were eight when we took them in. I never got to take care of a newborn, and I’m looking forward to being an adopted grandmother to two infants.”

  She seized a handful of forks from the drawer and dropped them haphazardly on the tray, faced him and said defiantly, “Freddie has plopped himself down as if he were my star boarder, and I’m tired of it. If that’s selfish of me, then I’m selfish.”

  Andrew grinned at her. “I’m glad to see you taking care of Felicity for a change, and you can be sure I’ll back you all the way.”

  Their talk was interrupted by the sound of the back door opening. Raised voices came from the mud room. “I’ll take this inside if I want to, dammit. I have to guard this information!”

  Felicity hurried to rescue Josh, but when she threw open the door a foul odor struck her. “What on earth smells so bad?” She demanded.

  “I’ll have to have the trunk of my car fumigated,” Josh complained. “He insisted on picking up the contents of that locker on the pickup, and even closed in a plastic bag, the smell is enough to kill maggots.”

  “Freddie, you can’t bring that into my house,” Felicity said firmly.

  “These are important belongings. I have to keep them safe!”

  “You can put them in the garage,” Felicity replied. “It’s always locked, so they’ll certainly be as safe there as they were sitting out on the street in front of the house the whole time you’ve been here.” She held out the garage door opener.

  Freddie lugged the heavy plastic bag out the back door, mumbling and grumbling the whole time. “I can’t wait to leave this hick town. I’ve been manhandled by the police and my possessions have been relegated to a shed on the alley.”

  “I tried, Felicity. I really did,” Josh said.

  “You’ve done more than your share, Josh. I can’t thank you enough for going to the police station for me. I feel sure it’s not something you’ve had to do often. As for Freddie, I’ll buy him a new truck tomorrow. The sooner he’s gone, the happier we’ll all be.”

  Josh put his arm around her shoulders and said gently, “Well, there’s a little problem with that. Freddie can’t leave town until he goes to court about the charges against him. Attacking a police officer is a serious offense, Felicity. He was fingerprinted and photographed just as if he’d committed a theft.”

  “Oh, dear. I hadn’t considered that. When will he go to court?”

  “The chief said sometime later this week. They’ll be sure to send him a summons.”

  The back door slammed, and the sound of Freddie’s grumbling preceded him into the kitchen.

  Felicity sighed. “The pizza will be here any minute, Josh. I certainly hope we won’t have to listen to that throughout dinner.”

  Her wish had been fruitless. Freddie’s harangue about officious police officers and his conviction that she had failed to stand up for him cast a pall on everyone who’d gathered around the pizza boxes in the middle of the table. He’d crowned his performance by having the gall to complain that Felicity hadn’t taken the time to prepare a proper meal. She had half a mind not to replace his truck but to present him with a bus ticket. One to Timbuktu, if it were possible.

  Felicity found herself fuming throughout her nightly ritual of removing what little makeup she wore, brushing her teeth, and pulling on her knee-length nightgown. For the first time in months, she’d carefully carried a full glass of red wine up the stairs and set it on her bedside table.

  She settled herself into the pillows she’d stacked against the headboard and picked up the first in Josh’s series about Sven Swordsticker. Until her personal life settled down, she intended to escape into the familiar adventures of that swashbuckling Viking. And she would do it accompanied by a nightly glass of wine.

  * * *

  Freddie’s hurt feeling lingered throughout breakfast. Felicity wondered why she even bothered, but she’d made pancakes accompanied by ham slices. It did her heart good to see Jenny enjoy her meals. The girl was blossoming, not only with pregnancy, but with the knowledge that she had a safe place to bring her baby when he arrived. The future would take care of itself. Felicity reminded herself to invite that youth pastor over for dinner one night soon.

  The door from the kitchen swung open just as they got up from the table, and Frances, Felicity’s longtime cleaning lady, stuck her head through, calling, “I’m here, ready or not!” Her chubby frame followed, and she grinned cheerfully as she plumped two overloaded tote bags on the floor. “Hit a good sale on those garbage bags and wipes you like so much, and I went ahead and stocked up for you.”

  She straightened, eyeing Freddie with distaste. “You’re still here, huh. I thought you was just passin’ through.” Every inch of her five foot frame was rigid. She tended to be protective of Felicity, and disliked the idea of anyone taking advantage of her.

  The look on Freddie’s face was enough to make Felicity disgrace herself laughing, but after a struggle to straighten her cheek muscles, she said, “Mr. Canaday has had some setbacks, but I’ve promised to help him get things straightened out so he can be on his way.” Felicity stacked several plates on the empty ham platter and circled around Frances. “I really appreciate your thoughtfulness in buying supplies. Just leave the receipt on the table, and I’ll be sure to reimburse you. We’ve finished eating, and I’ll be out of the kitchen quickly, so you’re welcome to get started anywhere you wish.”

  “Gonna run the vacuum first, so’s I can start from the ground up,” Frances replied, turning back to the mud room and its storage closet.

  Freddie suddenly decided he had another place to be, and nearly ran for the front door, while Jenny covered her smile with one hand while she gathered napki
ns and flatware with the other. The door closed with a bang. Felicity decided she just might keep the girl instead of trying to marry her off. Jenny saw things the same way she did.

  The phone in the kitchen rang as she opened the door to the dishwasher, and she picked up the cordless. Before she could speak, a voice said, “Felicity? This is Jack Maguire down at the police station. You got a problem!”

  Felicity’s heart sank. What on earth was next? “Tell me the bad news quickly, Jack.”

  “That guy you have sponging off you isn’t Dr. Frederick Canaday. The report on his prints just came back. He’s Dan Truxler, a con man with a record of defrauding citizens in several states with worthless investments. He served some time in Colorado a few years back. He hasn’t offered to handle any money for you, has he?”

  The events of the past week or so fell into place for Felicity, and she sank into the kitchen chair with a sigh. “Oh, dear. No, he hasn’t approached me, but he’s made some suggestions to a friend. I’ll have to get in touch with her immediately.”

  “Well, all I can say is that you better get him out of your house as soon as you can. And check his luggage and pockets before he leaves. You might even want to count your spoons.” Jack urged.

  “Oh, my, yes. What about your charges against him?”

  “That’s a ticklish thing. If he leaves town and we can’t catch him, you’ll be out of pocket for the bail you posted.”

  Felicity didn’t know whether to laugh or be angry. She settled for practical. “You know, Jack, it would almost be worth it to get rid of him. But now I certainly don’t intend to buy him a truck.” She was about to hang up when the thought struck her. “But where’s Freddie?”

  “Send me his description and home address. I’ll have the police there check to see if they can find him. If not, you can file a missing person report.”

  Worry nearly consumed her. This was Oliver’s cousin ... his only living relative ... and he was missing. She was sure of it. She finished the conversation and went to the sink for a glass of water. For some reason, the act of filling the glass and actually drinking it helped to clear her thoughts. When she set down the glass, she said to herself, “I must call Kate. I do hope she hasn’t given that man, whoever he is, any money.”

  Her good intentions weren’t quite good enough for Kate. When told what Jack had discovered, Kate refused to believe it. “You’re just making this up because you’re jealous that I have someone paying me attentions! You just better look inside your own heart, Felicity Canaday. You might be surprised at the ugliness you find there.” And then Kate hung up.

  “That went well,” Felicity told herself as she got to her feet. Probably the next thing she should do is go upstairs and search the bedroom Freddie was using. She reminded herself that the smelly contents of the bag in the garage might also have something to tell her. Just as she headed for the door to get started on what looked like a busy morning, the phone rang once more.

  “Dear heaven, what now?” She lifted the receiver and said, “Hello,” without her customary cheerfulness.

  Josh’s excited voice greeted her. “Felicity, Mindy’s having the baby!”

  Chapter Twelve

  Felicity’s heart seemed to leap against her ribs. This baby meant so much to all of them, and everything seemed to be happening at once. “Are you at the hospital?” she demanded.

  “They just wheeled her away to prep her. She went into labor so fast I couldn’t believe it. The pains are already four minutes apart. I’m going in just as soon as I hang up.” There was a pause. “Felicity, I’m scared to death!”

  Josh had finally admitted his terror. She couldn’t be more delighted. As long as she’d known him, he had been in control of himself and able to cope with any situation. Fatherhood was going to be a true test, and Felicity was sure he would pass with flying colors, but it was reassuring to know he was human. “I have a situation to clear up here, Josh, but I’ll be there as soon as I can to hold your hand.”

  He hung up babbling a flurry of thanks.

  Her mind working at full speed, Felicity dialed Andrew’s number. “Andrew, I have a problem here, and Josh wants me to be with him in the delivery room. Mindy’s having her baby!”

  “Your problems are mine, and you know it. What’s happening?”

  “I’ve just found out that Freddie isn’t really Freddie. He’s out, and I need someone with authority here in the house to keep him from coming back and disappearing with whatever he can carry. In fact, I think I can have him arrested for impersonating a relative. Can you come?”

  “No problem. Is Jenny there?”

  “Yes she is, but I don’t want her to be upset in any way. She has to carry this baby for another month, and arguing with him would be bad for her.”

  “I’ll be right there.”

  Felicity hurried upstairs and told Jenny where she was going and that Andrew would be coming to fend off any problems with the false Freddie. Then she took a quick inventory of her appearance, and decided her slacks and shirt would have to do.

  As she scooped up her handbag, she remembered the foul-smelling bags Freddie had stowed in the garage. He’d taken a garage door opener and had not returned it. She mentally patted herself on the back that she hadn’t entrusted him with a key to the side door, and hurried along the path, passing Andrew as he came from the path to the alley. She babbled another round of thanks.

  She raised the garage door and backed out her venerable Buick, then closed the overhead door and entered the garage at the side. Reaching up, she disengaged the electric opener before once again exiting through and locking the side door. “There. He’ll not carry away a single thing until I’ve had a chance to inspect what he thinks of as valuable. Heaven only knows what he’s already collected.”

  Anger at being taken for an idiot nearly overwhelmed her, but the excitement of joining Josh and Mindy at this thrilling time of their marriage was consuming her so completely that she drove past the entrance to the hospital parking lot and had to turn around to go back.

  Arriving at the third floor, she came face to face with Flossie, the head maternity nurse whom she’d known for years. After receiving a hug, Felicity said, “Can I go in? How is Mindy doing? I know she and Josh went to those birthing classes, but do you really think there’s any way to rehearse something like that?” Felicity put her hand over her mouth, embarrassed to be caught babbling.

  “You’re too late! If they’d waited five more minutes to come to the hospital, she’d have had that baby in the parking lot. They’re checking the baby over and cleaning her up, and if you go over to that window, Josh will bring her for a viewing real quick.” Flossie patted her on the shoulder. “You should be proud of Mindy. That baby is already drop-dead gorgeous!”

  Felicity dissolved in tears, and allowed Flossie to shepherd her to the comfortable chair in front of the window. “Better get your face dry before that child sees you sitting in this Grandmother Chair. We want her to know she’ll have you to pitch in and love her.”

  Before she knew it, the curtain masking the window drew back, and there stood Josh, his cheeks creased by a foolish grin that stretched from ear to ear, and in his arms was Sarah Felicity Matthews, her tiny face scrunched in a typical baby yawn. She appeared to be trying to get her arms out of the pink blanket wrapped snugly around her.

  “Oh. Oh, my,” Felicity breathed softly. “She’s even more beautiful than I expected her to be, if such a thing is possible.” Suddenly she wanted to make everything in the world stop, just for that one moment, so she could enjoy the perfection in front of her. It was fortunate that she was seated, or her knees would have simply given out.

  Flossie stood by her chair and said, “Every baby who comes to earth in this department is flawless to us. I’ve never seen an ugly one. But this one might have a step up on the competition.”

  Felicity pulled herself together. She wasn’t accustomed to so much sentimentality. “Of course she is, but we’ll just have to
do our best to make sure she’s as perfect inside as she is on the outside. I can see right now that her father will spoil her rotten, so it will be up to me to take a firm hand.”

  When the curtain closed, Flossie was still laughing.

  * * *

  An hour later, Felicity headed for the elevator. She’d visited briefly with an exhausted Mindy, held Sarah for far too short a time, and then left the little family to enjoy its first hours together. Not for anything would she have cast a pall on the gathering by telling them about the false Freddie. That could wait for later.

  The doors slid open, and there stood her friend Murial, clad in her pink-striped smock, and clutching a vase of wilted flowers. “I hope you’re not delivering those stalks to anyone in a hospital bed,” Felicity commented. “They might not like the symbolism.”

  Murial laughed and shook her head. “No. A patient left for home and told me to throw them out. I’m taking them down to the janitor’s room. He’ll clean up the vase so we have it on hand for someone who receives cut flowers and no vase.” She shifted the heavy vase in her arms. “What are you doing here so early, Felicity?”

  “Visiting my new grand-niece. Oh, Murial, you must go see her. She’s the most beautiful baby ever born!”

  “Not a bit prejudiced, are you,” she teased. “I’ll head up to maternity as soon as I get rid of these. And since you’re here, Felicity, I wish you’d stop by the rehab center and visit that poor man with amnesia. I’m truly worried about him. He’s so confused, and he’s recovered enough to be released by the end of the week. Social services has been here, but I don’t think they know quite what to do with him. Maybe you’ll get some helpful ideas when you meet him.”

  “Would this afternoon be all right? I seem to have my hands full at the house right now.” Felicity didn’t want to take the time to dump her problems on her friend. The elevator had reached the first floor, the doors had opened, and there were people waiting for them to vacate. She stepped out past the newcomers and waited for her friend. “Things are a ghastly mess.”