by Sharon Sala
John blinked. Message received. He did as he was told. Within moments, she began coming around.
****
Poppy jerked. Something wet was on her face.
“It’s okay, honey. It’s me, Johnny.”
Panic subsided when she heard his voice, then she tried to sit up.
“What happened?”
John sighed. “You tell me, sister. You called me crying and told me to come home.”
Everything came flooding back. “Oh my God, you won’t believe-” She realized they were not alone. “Why is he here?”
“We were together at the morgue,” John said. “He got me here faster.”
“Did someone hurt you?” Mike asked.
Poppy’s gaze swept across the detective’s face as she realized why he’d come. “Ever my knight in shining armor, aren’t you?” Then she shook her head slowly. “Not like you mean.”
Poppy tugged at John’s hand, pulling him down beside her. “I found Mama’s diary.”
Mike held up a hand. “Whoa. I think this is my cue to leave you two alone to talk.”
“No. Wait,” Poppy said. “It may have nothing to do with Daddy’s death, but secrets can rot a family from the inside out, especially one like this. Please stay.”
Mike sat.
John saw the book on the floor near his feet and picked it up.
“Is this it?”
Poppy nodded.
“So what’s the big secret?” he asked, flipping idly through the pages.
Poppy felt sick. Once these words were said aloud, there would be no going back.
“The diary was written during Mama’s senior year in high school. I didn’t think it amounted to much until I got to the entries she wrote after Christmas break. Without going into a lot of repetitive detail, the bottom line is that Mama had a boyfriend from the north side of Caulfield. They hid their relationship, and you know why. No one from the north side dates anyone from Coal Town.”
“That’s for sure,” John said.
“So according to the diary, they got serious. They were having sex and she was head over heels in love with him, then the night of the senior prom he dumped her. A few weeks later she finds out she’s pregnant, but by then he’s off to college and out of the picture. The last entry was about her father going to demand the boy’s family pay for her expenses and she was threatening to jump off the bridge over the Little Man if he did.”
John put his arm around Poppy and hugged her. “Honey, that’s tough to hear, but it’s not the end of the world.”
Poppy glanced at Mike. There was sympathy in his gaze, but something more that gave her the guts to continue.
“Actually, it’s the end of mine.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” John asked.
“I was born seven months after that entry.”
John jerked as if she’d just slapped him. “Oh my God. Oh honey.” Then he reached for her, pulling her close. “It doesn’t matter. Not a damn bit of it. You’re still you and I’m still me. We’re all that’s left of our family and nothing is going to change that.”
Mike frowned. “I’m slow. Help me, here.”
Poppy leaned back in her brother’s arms. It was somewhat easier to say leaning on someone else’s strength.
“Daddy was years older than Mama. When he and Mama married, he was a widower and his son, my brother Johnny, was eight. She did not go to school with him. He was born and raised in Coal Town. He could not, in any way, be my father. I think he came across Mama’s diary while looking for something she probably wanted him to bring to the hospital, read it and hid it. I found it beneath his socks in his dresser. I don’t know if this has anything to do with what happened to him, but I won’t hold back anything that might find his killer.”
Mike’s thoughts were spinning, bouncing from the interview with Carl and Hannah Crane telling him Jessup had been asking about the prom, to the video they’d seen of Jessup entering and leaving the hospital the night that he died. He’d looked like hell and they’d attributed it to his wife’s condition, but what if it was more? What if he confronted her and knowing she was on her deathbed, she told him the truth.
“Damn. Just like that, another piece of the puzzle falls in place,” he said.
John frowned. “What?”
“We know your father was asking some of your mother’s friends if they’d known about anything specific happening to her the night of her senior prom. I’m curious. Did she ever identify the boyfriend in the diary?”
Poppy’s heart began to pound. “When she wrote about him, it was always he and him, never a name.”
Mike nodded. “And Jessup probably wanted to know who dumped her.”
John was stunned. “Son-of-a-bitch! Are you saying my father was murdered over something that happened before Poppy was even born?”
“I’m not saying anything definitive, but people have killed for less. I need the name of the boy who dumped her. If you find anything more, call me.”
Moments later he was gone.
John locked the door behind him then looked at his sister. To hell with blood. In his mind they were as related as two people could be, but the dejection on her face was stark.
“Poppy. Look at me. You’re my sister. I don’t ever want to hear you say you’re not.”
She shook her head. “I keep thinking about what Daddy must have thought when he read that. How hurt he must have been. How betrayed he must have felt. I wonder if he and Mama fought about it?”
“We’ll never know,” John said. “Now, what can I do?”
“You can’t fix this.”
“You’re not listening. There’s nothing to fix. So what if Dad wasn’t your birth father? He was the only father you had, just like Mom was the only mother I had and she wasn’t mine. We’re family forever, regardless of blood.”
“You aren’t seeing it from my standpoint. I don’t know who I am anymore. The Poppy Sadler I knew doesn’t exist and I have no information to replace her.”
John sat back down beside her and gave her a hug. “I’m sorry, honey. I didn’t think. So for the moment we have questions. Time will take care of that, right?”
“I guess, but do you think this could have anything to do with Daddy’s murder?”
“I don’t know but that’s not for us to solve. That’s Detective Amblin’s job. We have our own set of things to tend to, including Mom’s funeral tomorrow.”
She nodded. “You’re right. Did you get a chance to go to the funeral home?”
John shook his head. “No, but-“
“Then go, Johnny.”
“Not unless you come with me.”
She sighed. “If I come, will that make you feel uncomfortable?”
He frowned. “Hell no. I have to apologize to her and I don’t care who hears.”
“I need to change.”
“Then do it,” John said.
****
Mike was driving over the bridge when he saw a dark figure on the far end go scurrying off the walkway and disappear below. Sunlight reflected on the hood of his car and into his eyes, momentarily blinding him. When he looked again, the man was gone, but he was almost certain it was Prophet Jones. If it hadn’t been for the traffic, he would have hit the brakes and followed up to see for sure. He filed the site away for future investigation and kept driving to the precinct. The dispatcher had assured him the gas leak had been dealt with which meant they were back in business. He needed to fill his partner in on what he’d learned. He made the call as he drove, then waited for Kenny to pick up.
Kenny answered on third ring.
“Homicide. Duroy.”
“Kenny, it’s me. I have some interesting information that may or may not play into Sadler’s murder. Is Harmon there?”
“Yeah, what do you need?”
“Have him get a list of graduating seniors the year Helen Roberts graduated. She was Jessup Sadler’s wife. Went by the nickname, Sunny. I think it will be the
class of 1973, but not sure. From that list I need the names of all the boys who lived on the north side of the river. No Coal Towners, okay?”
“Yeah, okay. Got it. Anything else?”
“Meet me out front. We’re going to the hospital.”
“What the hell is happening?”
“I’ll fill you in on the way.”
****
Justin went through the workday on automatic pilot. He’d answered questions, signed contracts, dealt with a strike threat at one of their companies in upstate New York, and managed to check on Callie without interacting with his mother, who had stayed home sick. He didn’t know what to say to her. Something along the lines of, ‘I’m still pissed at you for ignoring my feelings twenty years ago, but even angrier with myself for knuckling under,’ seemed futile. It was twenty years too late to change his mind.
But life went on – or at least his did.
Sunny’s was damn sure over and his daughter’s future was shaky.
Today thoroughly sucked and he was tired dealing with it. He buzzed his secretary.
“Frances, I’m through for the day and heading to the hospital. You know how to reach me if the need arises.”
“Yes sir. Give my best to your daughter.”
“Thank you, I will.”
Moments later he was on his way down to the parking lot.
****
Callie Caulfield was in her hospital room, standing at the window overlooking the parking lot and wishing there was a way to change the last twelve months of her life.
The friends she’d had then were all weird when she talked to them now – like what she had might be catching, even though she kept telling them she was getting well. They were growing up and moving on – changing best friends and boyfriends as often as they changed their clothes, while she was caught in this time warp where nothing changed but the sheets on her bed.
Very little happened to her between the times when she wasn’t hooked up to dialysis. Even though she knew its purpose, on those days she was hooked up, she imagined the machine as her own personal vampire, sucking all the fluids out of her body and leaving behind nothing but a shell of her former self.
It wasn’t fair that this was happening to her and she was sick and tired of pretending it was. Nana kept telling her to pray and all would be well. Callie didn’t argue, but she didn’t believe it anymore. She’d been praying for a year and look what happened. In a really secret part of her head, she actually wished that the doctors had just let her die. Then she’d be with her mother and not living like some awful zombie, waiting for someone to die so she could live.
Something crashed out in the hall. She turned toward the sound, half-expecting someone to come in, but the door stayed shut and the noise was short-lived.
Nana hadn’t come to see her today. She’d called with regrets, telling her that she wasn’t feeling well and wasn’t allowed to visit for fear she’d bring her germs to Callie. Callie had told her it was okay and to get well soon. What else could she say? But it wasn’t okay. She didn’t have anyone to play cards with and nothing to do, and television without cable sucked eggs.
Frustrated and feeling extremely sorry for herself, Callie pushed away from the window and went to find her robe and house shoes. Even if she couldn’t leave this floor, at least they were finally allowing her to leave her room.
****
Kenny Duroy was waiting when Mike drove up.
“What the hell’s going on?” he asked, as he slid into the passenger seat.
“Poppy Sadler found an old diary that belonged to her mother when she was in high school. Remember when we interviewed the Cranes? The wife told us Sadler had asked if they knew anything about something happening to Helen on the night of her senior prom?”
“Yeah? So the diary tells all?”
“And then some,” Mike said. “Helen, who went by Sunny back then, had a boyfriend from the north side of town. They got serious. Then he breaks up with her the night of the prom and a few weeks later, after he’s off to college, she finds out she’s pregnant.”
“So what’s that-“
“Jessup Sadler did not go to school with Sunny, remember? That’s why he was asking the Cranes about it. So the kid Sunny was pregnant with was Poppy, and Jessup Sadler was not the father. He obviously figured it all out and wanted answers, only his wife was dying.”
“Holy shit.”
“Pretty much,” Mike said.
“How’s the daughter taking it?”
“Not good, that’s for damn sure.”
“So why are we going to the hospital?”
“I got to thinking about that video from the hospital that we watched the night Sadler died. Remember how dejected he looked? We were chalking it up to his wife’s condition. What if he was going to confront her about what he’d learned? What if she told him what he wanted to know?”
A slow grin slid across Kenny’s face. “You know, you just might turn into a half-ass detective before I retire after all.”
Mike shrugged. “I just thought there might be a chance they’d had some kind of argument and one of the nurses on duty could have overheard something we can use.”
Kenny rubbed his hands together. “I love it when a plan comes together.”
“Don’t jinx it. Nothing is together yet,” Mike said. “Oh, and one other thing, I think I saw Prophet Jones on the bridge but then he ducked off and headed down toward the river. If it was him, he might have a hidey-hole somewhere underneath.”
“That would explain how he’d come to witness Sadler’s murder, if that really happened,” Kenny said.
“Right,” Mike said, and then they were at the hospital.
He pulled into the hospital parking lot. Once inside they checked the information desk for the critical care floor and started across the lobby.
“Hey, that’s Justin Caulfield,” Kenny said, pointing to the man waiting at the elevators.
Mike nodded. “I heard his kid is sick with something serious.”
They reached the elevators just as the doors opened and followed Caulfield inside.
“Good afternoon, Mr. Caulfield,” Kenny said, as he pressed the button for the third floor. “What floor do you need?”
“Good afternoon, gentlemen. Three please.”
“Ah. We’re all going the same direction then,” he said.
“You two are with the police department, right?” Justin asked.
“Yes sir.”
“I hope there’s not a problem on three. That’s the floor where my daughter is being cared for.”
“No sir, nothing like that,” Kenny said. “We’re just following up on a case. How’s your daughter doing?”
Justin actually smiled. “Thank you for asking. She’s beginning to heal from the disease that nearly killed her, but she suffered renal failure. She’ll need a kidney transplant before she’s back to her normal self, and we’re hopeful that will come soon.”
“We’re glad to hear she’s on the mend,” Kenny said.
“Absolutely,” Mike added.
The doors opened.
“Have a good afternoon,” Justin said, and turned left as the detectives went right toward the nurses’ station.
Chapter Thirteen
As Mike and Kenny reached the nurses’ station, the duty nurse looked up. Mike pulled his badge.
“I’m Detective Amblin and this is my partner, Detective Duroy. I’d like to speak to the nurse in charge.”
The short thirty-something red-head with lavender scrubs and a serious case of sunburn got up from her chair.
“That would be me, Victoria Glenn. How can I help you?”
“Helen Sadler was on this floor, right?”
“Yes, she was.”
“We need to talk to the nurses who were on duty the last night she was alive.”
She frowned. “Why? Has someone complained about her care?”
“No, ma’am. This is in reference to her husband’s murder.”
<
br /> Her expression shifted from reticence to regret. “Ah. That was such a shock, and of course a horrible tragedy for the family. He was certainly a devoted man. I don’t think he missed a night coming to see her.”
“I believe she passed away early in the morning, correct?”
“Yes, she did.”
“I need the names of the nurses who worked that last night shift before her passing.”
“That was the night we had that really bad storm, right?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“We had some nurses unable to get here due to flooded roads, so a few of us pulled double shifts. Give me a few minutes and I can find out who worked that night. There may even be a couple of them here.”
“Thanks,” Mike said. As he waited, a frail blonde teenager in a pink robe and house shoes came walking down the hall.
She caught Mike’s eye and smiled.
He smiled back. “How’s it going?”
“Good, but even better when I get a new kidney. Got one you’re not using?” And then she giggled.
It dawned on him this must be Caulfield’s daughter. Before he could answer, he saw Caulfield come around the corner at the far end of the hall. The expression on his face was anxious until he spied the girl.
Mike pointed. “I think someone’s looking for you.”
She made a face. “Uh-oh, caught again. That’s Daddy. Ah well, back to jail I go.”
The giggle was gone, as was the twinkle in her eye. Even her shoulders slumped as she began to retrace her steps. As soon as Caulfield reached her, he slid an arm around her waist to steady her and they disappeared around the corner.
“That’s tough, a young kid like her being that sick,” Kenny said.
Mike nodded.
Moments later the head nurse was back with two other nurses at her heels.
“This is the list of names you wanted as well as two of my nurses who were on duty that night. The blonde is Erin Morgan. The brunette is Loretta Fisher.”