Hollyhock Ridge

by Pamela Grandstaff

  “I know, I know,” Antonia replied, waving her hands in the air. “It’s none of my business, I’m only their mother. But between you and me, you should take Sonny. He’s not much to look at, but neither was his father, and I couldn’t have asked for a better husband, a better life. Sonny will dote on you, and Matthew, well, I love him, he’s a good boy, but he wants all the doting to himself, you see? He was such a clingy child; always needed the most attention and it was never enough. But my Sonny? He’s the oldest, so he never got much, and he’s grateful for anything he gets.”

  “I see,” Kay said. “Thank you for being so welcoming.”

  “A mayor in the family, just imagine,” Antonia said. “I can bring you all my parking tickets.”

  “If you don’t mind me asking,” Kay said, “I heard you were the only witness to what went on at Knox’s yesterday.”

  “I do my housework and then I sit on the porch with Sal. He sleeps and I read. I can see everything that happens at Knox’s house; not that I’m a nosy neighbor, but when I hear yelling, I want to know who’s doing the yelling.”

  “You heard yelling?”

  “The other mayor woman, what’s her name?”

  “Marigold?”

  “I saw her, wearing one of those horrible outfits she wears; that woman has no sense of style; she doesn’t know how to dress for her figure.”

  Antonia paused, as if realizing she was insulting one heavy woman in front of another, and Kay prompted her to continue, saying, “She was at Knox’s house?”

  “She came, she yelled, she left, boom, boom, boom; it happened quickly.”

  “I wonder what that was about,” Kay said.

  Antonia shrugged.

  “Did you see anyone else?”

  “I saw the little gray wife, the number two wife,” she said.

  “Meredith?”

  “Yes, the tiny one, who also cannot dress,” she said. “All that money, and she wears old clothes. The cloth is shiny where she sits, you know. You can always tell.”

  “Did she go in?”

  “I did not see her go in,” Antonia said, “but I saw her leaving out the back way. She was a carrying a big bag, a shopping bag. Knox put all her things in storage after she tried to kill him, you know, at the same place where Diedre died.”

  “I didn’t know that.”

  “I knew she was not right in the head, that Meredith,” Antonia said. “She had a way of looking at you as if she were measuring you for a coffin.”

  “Did you know Anne Marie well?”

  “The first wife, the stylish one,” Antonia said. “Now, her I liked. We would sometimes have a glass of wine together here on the porch, while the husbands were at work. No, she was here last month but she didn’t visit. Not many people visit, now that Sal is so sick; they’re afraid to bother him. It’s been very lonely.”

  “Did you see anyone else?”

  “The boy with the truck, the hippie.”

  “Phillip Deacon.”

  “He’s good looking, but that hair; I don’t see how you could keep all that matted hair clean. He came in his truck, and then Claire Fitzpatrick came right after. He left and then the police came.”

  “Claire told me,” Kay said.

  “She’s a stylish woman,” Antonia said. “A little bit of the buttana, if you know what I mean, but that’s the style nowadays.”

  “Claire’s beautiful,” Kay said. “She takes great care of herself.”

  “You know, I always wanted Anthony to marry Mary Margaret.”

  “Maggie Fitzpatrick?”

  “She’s got no style, I know, but she has a good head for business. She’s Catholic, too, from a good family. They’ve had their troubles, but we all have. No one is safe from troubles. She’s no beauty, and all that red curly hair is unfortunate, but they would have been a good match, don’t you think?”

  “The most important thing is if they’d be happy together.”

  “Why would you think that?” Antonia said. “In life you make the smartest choice, the one that will provide the best for your children, and then you make do with what you get. It’s not because you have romance in your heart, it’s because you are willing to work hard to get what you need for the children.”

  “I hope Anthony is making the right choice,” Kay said.

  “Kimberly’s a nice Catholic girl from a good family,” Antonia said. “He’ll finally give us some beautiful grandchildren. That’s all that matters to his father and me. As far as happiness, that should be enough for him. That’s more than most people get.”

  After the tense dinner was over, Sonny walked Kay to her car.

  “That’s how we are,” he said. “We’ve never had a relaxed, pleasant meal together as long as I’ve lived.”

  “I’m fond of your family,” Kay said. “All that drama just means you care what happens to each other.”

  “Anthony’s making a huge mistake,” Sonny said. “Nobody deserves to be deceived like he’s doing to her. It’s wrong.”

  “I hope he sees the light before it’s too late,” Kay said.

  “He’s a good person, a good Christian,” Sonny said, “and love is love. I don’t see why we gotta go around telling people they can’t love each other. That doesn’t seem right.”

  “Come by for breakfast tomorrow,” Kay said. “I’ll make you some French toast.”

  “I’m so full of cake that shouldn’t sound good, but it does.”

  He hugged Kay, and then kissed her forehead.

  “Thank you,” he said, “for giving me a chance.”

  “I should thank you,” she said, “for exactly the same thing.”

  Kay happened to look up at the house as she got in her car. Matthew was standing on the porch watching, and he didn’t look happy.

  Kay went home, changed into some comfy clothes, and sat on her front porch glider, where she sipped some iced tea. The air was fresh and cool, a classic Rose Hill summer evening. She was about to relax when ex-mayor Stuart Machalvie walked up the front path.

  “Evenin’ Kay,” he said.

  “Stuart,” she said.

  “May I sit with you a spell?” he asked.

  “Of course,” Kay said, but she did not offer him anything from her kitchen.

  This was the same man, after all, who, when questioned by federal investigators, tried to pin many of his misdeeds on her. Luckily, Kay had been smart enough over the years to document any shady behavior she witnessed in the mayor’s office, and to keep copies of various things locked up in a safe in her bedroom closet in case she needed them.

  “Horrible thing, about Knox,” he started.

  Kay nodded, wondering where this was headed.

  “It’s being investigated as a homicide,” he said.

  Kay did not respond, but continued looking at him, waiting for him to say what it was he actually came to say.

  “Now, personally, I think it may have been suicide,” Stuart said.

  “What?!” Kay said, not able to contain herself any longer.

  Stuart shrugged his shoulders.

  “So many of the things I’ve been accused of,” he said, “that we, Knox, Trick, and I have been accused of, have turned out to be things that Knox did without our knowledge.”

  “Is that so?”

  “I think the FBI was getting close to proving that, and the guilt Knox must have felt, well, it was probably too much for him. After his wife’s nervous breakdown, leaving the senate race, getting fired from the bank, and the questions about his Aunt Mamie’s death … ”

  “Knox was such a dear friend of yours,” Kay said. “You told everyone he hadn’t done anything wrong.”

  “Well, when that young woman met her untimely end, and it turned out he may have had a hand in that, I had to ask myself what else would a man like that do. I had always considered Knox a dear friend, as you say, but even I couldn’t stretch the bonds of our friendship to accommodate crimes such as those. No, he was faced with spending the rest
of his life in prison and he did the honorable thing.”

  “You didn’t happen to visit Knox before he died, did you?”

  “No, I had an important meeting with my attorneys to prepare for. I wish I had been there, and could have counseled him, helped him face his guilty conscience and confess his sins rather than take his own life at such a low moment.”

  “I think that version is the most convenient for you, the congressman, and the senator,” Kay said.

  “Convenience doesn’t come into it, Kay. I’m surprised you would even think that. It’s a tragedy for his family and the whole community. To die before he could clear his name, maybe because he couldn’t, well, let’s let the man rest in peace now. Let’s all get on with our lives and leave the past in the past. That’s the line I’m taking; the line I think we should all take.”

  “You never cease to amaze me.”

  “I just wanted to stop by, to see how your campaign is coming along. If I can help, you know, just holler. I know many important people, my dear, people who would help you get elected if I asked them to.”

  “No, thanks, Stuart,” she said.

  “I’m extending the olive branch, Kay,” he said. “It would help you more than you know, and I would appreciate it, as would Peg. I don’t like having bad blood between us any more than you do. I’d like to see us get back to the beneficial friendship which served us so well for so many years.”

  “I’ll decline,” Kay said. “I think we had better go our separate ways.”

  “I’ll give you time to think about it,” he said. “Time to see how this election plays out.”

  “I won’t change my mind.”

  “We’ll see,” he said as he rose to go. “What will you do, Kay, if you don’t get elected? Marigold won’t let you stay on as city administrator, and we’re, none of us, as young as we used to be. It might be difficult for you to find something else.”

  “Thanks for your concern, Stuart,” Kay said.

  Kay watched him walk away, whistling like he hadn’t a care in the world, and then waving to everyone he passed.

  Her blood was boiling. Who did he think he was to tell her how to spin Knox’s death? Why did he think he could intimidate or coerce her into getting involved with him and his crooked cronies? It was just like Stuart to play upon her vulnerabilities to try to make her think she needed him.

  She wished she’d had the courage to ask him why he and Knox had been paying Marigold Lawson so much money over the past two years. Marigold, the same person who had argued with Knox right before he was found dead. The truth was she was afraid of what he might do if he found out she knew.

  Kay called Claire.

  “I’ve got to talk to you,” Kay said.

  “I can’t come up,” Claire said. “I gave Melissa the evening off.”

  “Do you mind if I come down?” Kay asked. “It’s very important.”

  “Sure,” Claire said. “Come on down.”

  Kay locked up the house and walked down Peony Street to Iris Avenue, where Ian Fitzpatrick’s small brick ranch house sat right next to Ed Harrison’s. Claire was sitting on the front stoop, holding her little Boston Terrier, Mackie Pea. A little black cat was poking around in the nearby flower bed.

  Mackie Pea was excited to see Kay, and she jumped up over and over until Kay picked her up. Mackie Pea licked Kay’s face and wriggled all around.

  Kay put her down, and then watched her run in circles all around the yard.

  “How was dinner?” Claire asked.

  “Tense,” Kay said. “Anthony announced his engagement to someone named Kimberly.”

  “No,” Claire said. “What’s he thinking?”

  “Trying to please his parents, I think.”

  “Sean will be devastated.”

  “Maybe he won’t go through with it,” Kay said.

  “How were your two suitors?”

  Kay gave her a blow-by-blow account of the funeral reception and dinner.

  “So we’re firmly on Team Sonny,” Claire said.

  “Seems like it,” Kay said.

  “You don’t seem very excited.”

  “I am happy about Sonny,” Kay said. “But I keep thinking about all the years I wasted wishing I could be with Matthew.”

  “It’s easy to idealize someone you once loved,” Claire said.

  “Well, I’m seeing him clearly now,” Kay said. “By the way, I did get some eye-witness information.”

  She told Claire what Antonia had seen.

  “Marigold’s house is right across the street from Knox’s,” Kay said. “What happened two years ago to make them start paying her, and what happened yesterday?”

  “You should tell Laurie about this,” Claire said.

  “Why can’t you tell him?”

  “We’re not speaking at the moment,” Claire said. “He got black-out drunk on his day off yesterday and I haven’t heard from him since.”

  “Oh no,” Kay said. “I thought he had it under control.”

  “He needs to go away somewhere and dry out,” Claire said. “He needs to learn a new way to cope with his grief.”

  “I can kind of understand it,” Kay said. “I dive headfirst into the sugar bowl whenever I’m stressed.”

  “But you’re not likely to crash your car under the influence of a cookie.”

  “True,” Kay said.

  “I can’t understand the impulse to wreck your life rather than deal with your problems,” Claire said. “Why do people do it?”

  “You didn’t meet my last foster before Grace,” Kay said. “Tiffany was a good student, had a beautiful voice; sang in the church choir every Sunday. I was so hopeful for her future, but then she met this boy, a real hoodlum, and started drinking and doing drugs. She stole from me, lied to me, cursed me out; she became someone I didn’t recognize. Her counselor tried to get her to go to a rehabilitation program, but she ran away, and now I don’t know where she is or what happened to her. Addiction is so insidious, and kids don’t realize how little it takes to get hooked; it’s a wonder more of them aren’t lost that way.”

  They were both silent for a few moments, watching Mackie Pea tease the small cat, and the cat swat at the dog’s nose.

  “I’m a compulsive shopper,” Claire said. “It’s like I have to have some addictive behavior to release the pressure so I use the one that hurts me the least.”

  “What’s the more destructive one you’re avoiding?”

  “I used to starve myself to be thin,” Claire said. “Laxatives, diet pills, throwing up; you name it, I tried it. When I started running, it helped, but I still obsess over my weight; the difference is now I starve myself and exercise instead of binging and purging.”

  “I’ve got the binging part down,” Kay said. “But I can’t purge.”

  “Listen to yourself,” Claire said. “You keep it all inside. Maybe you should let some of your feelings out.”

  “Not in an election year,” Kay said. “I’m living in a fishbowl.”

  “Maybe being mayor isn’t the best thing for you,” Claire said. “Maybe you should do something where you can be yourself, and say what you really think.”

  “Claire, my darling, there are no jobs like that,” Kay said. “Unless you’re independently wealthy or have a spouse to support you, you have to play well with others in order to stay employed.”

  “You’re right,” Claire said. “I should have been nicer to Gwyneth the other day. She probably ran right down the street and blackballed me.”

  “Her specialty when she had a private therapy practice in Manhattan was eating disorders,” Kay said. “But I can’t imagine her being compassionate toward me about mine.”

  “I know that lean-and-hungry look,” Claire said. “I’d bet you anything she’s got one herself.”

  “We’re all flawed in some way,” Kay said. “They say that’s how the light gets in.”

  “I wish some light would shine in Laurie.”

  “Laurie shoul
d have taken this past month to get straightened out,” Kay said. “I wonder if we can get him an extra month.”

  “Scott’s a good buddy of the chief in Pendleton,” Claire said. “Maybe he would put off his retirement for one more month.”

  “I’ll call Scott when I get home,” Kay said.

  “Laurie’s going to be mad I told on him.”

  “There’s more than Laurie’s life at stake,” Kay said. “I can’t, in good conscience, let him take over at Pendleton knowing he has this problem.”

  “I hope you and Scott can work something out for him,” Claire said.

  “You’re done with him, then?”

  “Until I know he’s sober, and staying that way.”

  “How could you ever be sure?”

  “I guess I couldn’t,” Claire said. “Looks like there’s not much hope for us.”

  “And Ed’s going to stay married to Eve?”

  “Sounds like it,” Claire said.

  “You didn’t tell him about her affair with the senator?”

  “It wouldn’t matter,” she said. “He wants a son or daughter and he doesn’t care who the biological father is.”

  “I’m so sorry.”

  “I’ll be all right,” Claire said.

  “Then why are you crying?”

  “Feeling sorry for myself,” Claire said.

  “Do you want a cookie?”

  “No, silly, weren’t you listening?” Claire said. “I want new shoes.”

  When Claire checked her phone before bed, there was a message from her cousin Maggie.

  “Hey,” Maggie said. “Scott just got off the phone with Kay. She told him about the payments Stuart and Knox were making to Marigold. I don’t know if this will help, but when Theo Eldridge got murdered, Hannah and I did some snooping around up at his house. We found where he kept his blackmail information, and there was a file on something that happened when Knox was in college. His fraternity lost their charter, and Knox transferred to another school rather than be expelled. The folder is at my apartment hidden in my bookcase behind the big art books. If Hannah and I were there we’d be right in the middle of this thing, so you have to represent us. Get in there, girl, and investigate! Let me know if any of this helps. See you Sunday.”