Vi Agra Falls

by Mary Daheim

  “And you haven’t?” Terri shot back. “I learned plenty from you! A drunken slut for a mother is a real lesson in life!”

  Vivian lunged at her daughter, grabbing her by the shoulders. Terri kicked her mother in the stomach, sending Vivian reeling onto the small patio, where she fell against the barbecue. Terri dove headfirst onto the older woman, grappling for a handhold. Adelita backed off from the fray, arms crossed and smirking with apparent pleasure.

  “That’s enough!” Caitlin shouted, rushing to the patio. Terri was pummeling Vivian, who was screaming like a madwoman. Grasping a handful of her half-sister’s dark hair, Caitlin yanked hard. Terri let out a painful shriek as she struggled to get free.

  Judith went down the steps to help separate the women. Before she reached the patio, Gertrude had put her wheelchair into high gear, rolled down the toolshed ramp with the ga-goo-ga horn blaring, crashed into the family feud, and almost toppled the statue of Saint Francis. Vivian fell to the patio’s flagstones; Terri staggered on the grass, trying to stay upright.

  “Stop that!” the old lady growled. “That’s no way to act!”

  Judith smiled tremulously at Gertrude. “You saved the day.”

  The old lady’s expression was stormy. “As Grandma Grover used to say, ‘If you don’t listen, you got to feel.’” She glowered at Terri, who was leaning on the birdbath, and breathing hard. “You behave yourself, girlie. I won’t stand for a rumpus.” On that note, she reversed the wheelchair and sped back into the toolshed.

  Caitlin had managed to get Vivian on her feet. “Adelita,” Caitlin said sharply, “please see to Terri.”

  Adelita’s smirk disappeared, but she didn’t budge. “I do not work for her. She can see to herself.”

  “I’ll take care of her,” Judith volunteered, with a tentative hand on Terri’s arm. “Come inside. I’m Judith Flynn, Mrs. Grover’s daughter.”

  Terri’s dark eyes flashed insolently. “So?”

  Judith’s hand fell to her side. “I’m just trying to help.” She paused. “I’d like to hear an explanation about how you and your mother got into such a fight on my turf.”

  “That’s none of your business,” Terri muttered, looking sullen.

  “It is, actually,” Judith asserted, noting that Adelita was sauntering down the driveway, humming a faintly recognizable Latino song for lovers. “Especially when it involves my mother.”

  Terri looked uncertain. “You kind of have a point.”

  “Then why—” Judith was startled by the honk of a horn and the squeal of brakes. Her gaze swerved back to the driveway, where Renie’s Camry had come to a halt with a screeching Adelita on the hood.

  “Get the hell off of my car!” Renie yelled, jumping out into the driveway. “Put a dent in Cammy, and you’re toast!”

  Judith put both hands to her head. “Oh, God!”

  Adelita slid off of the car, shaken but seemingly unharmed. She erupted into a stream of Spanish invective. Renie got out of the car and, with a hand on one hip, sneered. “I speak Spanish,” she said. “Want to hear me cuss you out in French and Italian, too? Furthermore, I don’t have a sister, so shut the hell up! Comprende, chica?”

  Adelita’s response was an obscene gesture as she stalked off down the driveway. For good measure, Renie leaned back inside the Camry and honked the horn four times. Adelita jumped slightly, but kept going.

  “That twit’s so annoying, she ought to work for our insurance company,” Renie snarled. “I just finished Round One with State Crime.” She stared at Terri. “Who are you, and how will you piss me off?”

  “This,” Judith said quickly, “is Terri Agra, Vivian’s daughter.”

  “Not Agra,” Terri asserted. “I go by my married name, Ostrom.”

  “Sorry,” Judith said. “I didn’t know.”

  Terri shrugged. “It doesn’t matter. We’re divorced.”

  “Surprise,” Renie muttered. “I’m going inside. It’s too hot in the sun.” She stomped off, slamming the screen door behind her.

  “Who,” Terri inquired in a hostile tone, “is she?”

  “My cousin, Serena,” Judith replied. “Follow me. It is hot out here.”

  “Serena?” Terri’s round face looked perplexed. “Not a very good description of her personality.”

  “No,” Judith agreed, “not always, anyway.”

  “Then,” Terri said, “I don’t want to go into your house if she’s there. I’m not wanted anywhere.” Tears filled her dark eyes. “Typical. Nobody ever wanted me, except my dad, and even he—never mind.”

  Judith was shaken. Terri, a product of divorce, neglected by her amoral mother, shunted from pillar to post by her father, with at least one broken marriage, and earning a living as a stripper. Now, in middle age, Terri’s sense of being unwanted and unloved seemed palpable to Judith.

  “Come inside. Renie—Serena—isn’t mad at you,” Judith assured Terri. “She’s having a bad day. She’ll be fine.”

  Terri looked uncertain. “Well…I’d like a drink, even water.”

  “Okay.” Judith gently steered her unexpected guest to the porch steps. A sidelong glance at Terri revealed a softly defined profile, though possibly her nose had undergone cosmetic surgery. The shoulder-length dark hair was probably dyed, but Judith couldn’t criticize, having taken that route herself after prematurely going gray. She noticed the hint of a double chin, a large bust that might have been augmented, an orchid tattoo on her bare upper arm, and fake pink fingernails. Two were broken; one was chipped. To Judith, Terri’s appearance added up to a lack of self-worth, an attempt to become someone else. Although they had just met, she felt as if she already knew Terri. When they reached the back door, Judith suppressed the urge to offer her a hug.

  Renie wasn’t in sight, though her voice could be faintly heard on the phone in either the entry hall or the living room. “Have a seat,” Judith said. “What would you like? I’ve got plenty of choices. This is, as you may know, a B&B.”

  “Oh?” Terri looked as if that was news to her. She sat down at the table, raking her disheveled hair with unsteady fingers. “Beer?”

  “Sure.” Judith reeled off the brands. Terri chose a Coors Light. Judith poured herself a glass of lemonade. “I gather you don’t live here in town,” she said, sitting down across from her guest.

  “I don’t live anywhere,” Terri replied bitterly. “I lost my job in L.A. and came up here because I heard my so-called mother had moved back from Florida. I thought she might want to help instead of hinder me. We’ve never been close.” She hung her head and bit her lips. “You really don’t want to hear about my screwed-up life, do you?”

  “Yes,” Judith said. “I’m a people person. I’m interested in hearing life stories.” And have I ever heard some strange ones, she thought.

  Terri looked as if she didn’t quite believe Judith. “Most people don’t want to listen to anybody else.”

  Judith shrugged. “I guess I’m not one of those.”

  Terri studied her hostess for a moment. “You have a kind face. I suppose people trust you.”

  Judith nodded. “They seem to.”

  The hint of a smile played at Terri’s wide mouth. “I’m not used to somebody who wants to hear me talk about myself.”

  “Give it a go,” Judith responded, returning Terri’s smile.

  She sighed heavily. “Okay, I’ll start at the beginning. After I was born, my mother thought she’d be the next Peggy Lee. Her so-called career as a singer came first. No time for her baby girl.” Terri paused, nervously trying to scrape some of the pink polish from one of her artificial nails. “When my parents split, Mom insisted I’d be better off with Dad for a while. That turned out to be a long while, more like forever. I didn’t know how she’d react to me coming here. At first, she seemed okay, but…” Shaking her head, Terri sipped some beer.

  “I take it you’re not staying with your mother.”

  “Right. I got here last Sunday. She said I’d have to st
ay at a motel, but she’d pay for it.” Terri fondled the beer can, rubbing it as if it was a magic lamp and a genie might pop out. “She did. I mean, she gave them her credit card, but after I arrived, she asked me to take part in this big party she was giving. She told me,” Terri added, sneering, “I could earn my keep doing my old stripper act. I hadn’t done that in ages. Except,” she added, dropping her voice, “for an occasional private party.”

  “But you didn’t get to perform,” Judith remarked.

  “No.” Terri’s expression was ironic. “After my mother’s big announcement, I was to make my entrance through the garden, so I waited in the basement. Then the fight broke out with the neighbors. I heard the commotion, but it quieted down. I figured everything was okay and waited for my cue. Suddenly there was more yelling and carrying on. Billy finally came down to say the party was over. I wanted to get my clothes from upstairs, but he said to hold off. The brawl had moved inside. I told Billy that Doug—my half-brother—was giving me a ride to the motel. When he was ready to leave, he’d bring my clothes with him.” She paused to drink more beer.

  “I heard Doug never showed up,” Judith said, trying to ignore Renie, who was shouting into the phone from the living room.

  “Oh, he showed up in the basement,” Terri said in digust, “but he hadn’t brought my clothes. Doug insisted I stay put. Barry would give me a ride when he sobered up. I just wanted to get out of there, but all this noise was going on upstairs.” She shuddered. “It was awful.”

  “Did Barry ever come to get you?” Judith asked.

  Terri shook her head. “Nobody came.”

  “Why didn’t you call a cab and leave?”

  Terri looked incredulous. “In the rig I was wearing? No way! I kept waiting.” She lowered her head. “There was a bottle of bourbon in the basement. Oh, there’s booze all over the house. God help my mother if she didn’t have her next drink close enough. There was a blanket lying on a carton of Scotch, but the floor was wet, maybe from the ice for the party. I found a spare bedroom off a little hall and went to sleep. The next thing I knew, there were cops all over the place. I kept the blanket around me and ran out of the basement. Somehow I ended up in your backyard. I figured that little building was for storage, but at least it was a place where I could get my head together.”

  “Instead, you found your mother there,” Judith noted.

  Terri sighed. “Oh, yes.” Her olive skin darkened. “Yes.” The last word was barely audible.

  “And…?”

  Terri put a hand in the pocket of her cutoff jeans. “Is it okay to smoke? I know your mother does.”

  “Go ahead. I’ll get an ashtray.” Judith stood up and opened a drawer under the counter, taking out a souvenir from Scotland with a logo depicting a hooded monk stirring a vat of beer. “Go on.”

  “Mom got all nicey-nicey,” Terri replied after exhaling a puff of smoke. “She told me to come with her to that little kitchen and get a glass of juice. That seemed odd—there was barely room for both of us in there. Mom had her own flask and refilled her glass of O.J. She told me my clothes were on her front porch and to get out of town fast. The cops had me high on their suspect list for killing the man in the backyard.” Terri paused to sip some beer and take another drag on her cigarette.

  “Why?” Judith asked, surprised.

  “She thought he might be somebody I knew from Vegas,” Terri answered. “The cops would connect the dots. I told her I hadn’t been to Vegas in years. Anyway, I was stony-broke. She gave me a hundred-dollar bill and told me to take a bus out of town. Just like that.” Terri shook her head in disbelief. “A hunsky wasn’t going to take me very far. I didn’t know what to do, so I…left.”

  Judith realized Terri was about to cry. “But not before…?” She let the question dangle.

  Renie apparently had either hung up the phone or taken her battle outside. For what seemed like a long time, the only sound Judith could hear was the ticking of the schoolhouse clock.

  Finally, Terri briefly looked Judith in the eye. “My mother had gone back into the sitting room. I went into the bathroom to sort out my thoughts. I was still…fuzzy. When I came out, I looked into the bedroom. Everything is so small in that little place. Anyway…” She sighed heavily and wiped a tear from each eye. “I took that ring. I opened the bureau to see if there was any other jewelry. There wasn’t, not that I could see. But there was a box of candy and I hadn’t eaten since—oh, I’m not sure, I never got any dinner that night, let alone breakfast in the morning. I grabbed the candy, said good-bye, and left.”

  Judith refrained from rebuking Terri. “But you didn’t leave town.”

  Avoiding Judith’s gaze, Terri shook her head. “I took the ring to a couple of pawnshops. The most I could get was eighty dollars. That wasn’t going to take me very far, either.” She delved into her pocket again. “Here’s the ring. I’m so very sorry.”

  Judith picked up her mother’s ring. “Thank you,” she said quietly. “Mother will be glad to get it back.”

  At last, Terri looked at Judith. “Are you going to turn me in?”

  “Hardly.” She put the ring into the pocket of her cotton slacks. “This is between us. Did you eat any candy?” she asked casually.

  Terri’s gaze again roamed around the kitchen before she uttered a peculiar little laugh. “No. I put it with my other stuff on the porch, grabbed some of my clothes, and went inside to change. When I came back to leave the house, the candy was gone. Who’d steal a box of chocolates? Besides me, I mean.”

  “This would’ve been when on Tuesday?”

  Terri frowned. “I’m not sure. Sometime after noon, I guess. I took a bus to the bottom of the hill and stopped at a café to eat. Then I went back to the motel. At least that was paid for with my mother’s credit card. I fell asleep and woke up when the kids in the unit next door pounded on my door to show me a picture they’d drawn of the mountains here. They’d never seen mountains. Nice family, nicer than my own. Two teenage girls, two younger boys, and a mother and a father who love each other. I wonder what that’s like?” Terri seemed to drift into reverie. Sensing her visitor’s thoughts, Judith waited in silence.

  “When I finally got my brain unfogged,” Terri went on after at least a full minute, “I began to wonder why Mom thought I was a suspect. It didn’t make sense. Yes, I’d worked in Vegas several years ago. No, there wasn’t any guy I’d want to kill. Then I was watching TV and learned that the dead man had been misidentified.” She stopped to puff and sip. “Finally I decided to confront my mother and ask what the hell she meant. That’s when she pitched a fit in your mom’s place.”

  “Did she say anything before she flew off the handle?” Judith asked. “I mean, anything that might enlighten you?”

  “Enlighten?” Terri laughed hoarsely. “No. She got mad right from the start, and—”

  A knock at the back door interrupted her. Judith excused herself and went down the hall. Doug Campbell stood on the porch. “Is Terri here?” he asked.

  “Yes,” Judith replied curtly. “Why?”

  “Mom’s looking for her,” Doug said, starting to push past Judith.

  “Hold it!” Judith leaned against the door frame, barring Doug’s way. “Let me talk to Terri first. She’s very upset.”

  Doug forced a hearty chuckle. “Upset! Man, Terri’s always upset. Just tell her to get her butt out here pronto, okay?”

  From the kitchen, Judith could hear sounds indicating that Terri was on the move. But she wasn’t coming down the hall.

  “I’ll let her know,” Judith said calmly. “Please wait on the porch.”

  Doug shook his head. “I don’t think so. I’ll go get her.”

  “No, you won’t,” Judith declared loudly. Despite Doug’s stocky build and her own always tenuous balance, she realized that help was on the way. “You are not coming into the house!” she said in a loud voice.

  Doug’s chuckle became sinister. “Who’s going to stop me?”

>   Judith didn’t answer. Renie, who apparently had been talking on the phone outside and then gone into the garage to check on her bunny, moved silently down the walk, receiver in one hand, shovel in the other. She moved to the second step and slammed the shovel into Doug’s broad back. He let out a horrific yelp and reeled in pain.

  “Beat it, buster!” Renie shouted, holding the shovel like a baseball bat. “After dealing with my insurance company, I’m in a mood to kill somebody. It might as well be you. Excuse me,” she added, stepping around his writhing form and whacking him with the screen door as she went inside. “Lock it up,” she said to Judith. “I’ll get the French doors and the front door.” She put the phone at the bottom of the back stairs, but kept the shovel as she hurried off down the hall.

  Just as Doug was cussing his head off as he tried to straighten up, Judith slammed the back door and locked it. She met Renie in the living room, where she’d finished latching the French doors.

  “Where’s Terri?” Judith asked.

  “Don’t know, don’t care,” Renie shot back, racing to the entry hall. Judith stood by the window seat, trying to calm down. “We’re secure,” her cousin declared, propping the shovel against the wall just inside the living room. “What was that all about?”

  “I’ll tell you later,” Judith said. “I’ve got to find Terri.”

  The parlor door that led into the living room opened slowly. Terri peered out and saw Judith. “Is Doug gone?” she whispered.

  Movement in the driveway caught Judith’s eye. Looking through the bay window, she saw Doug limping away, a hand to his back. “Yes. Come sit down.” Judith indicated the sofa.

  Terri entered the living room, but gave a start when she saw Renie standing by the shovel. “You! I’m not doing anything, honest!”

  “I know.” Renie shrugged and went over to one of the side chairs. She rubbed at her bad shoulder and winced. “Damn! I’ve got to stop attacking people. I keep forgetting I’m semi-crippled.”

  “I’d hate to see you in full form,” Terri murmured, sitting down across from Judith on one of the matching sofas.