She put her arm around her mother and escorted her from the room. Joy came running after them. “We understand this is hard. Your mother will be fine within a few days. She will receive excellent care here. This is the best place for her.”
“This may be the best place for some people, but not for my mother.” They arrived at the elevator. “Please enter the code so we may leave,” Faith said, gesturing at the numeric touch pad.
Joy hesitated before entering the code, a look of concern on her face, and Faith gave her mother a gentle shove onto the elevator. As they descended to the first floor, the consequences of her actions weighed on her. How would she justify her decision to her sisters? And to Mike? And to Bitsy?
Lovie’s sobbing weakened to a snivel on the drive home. By the time they pulled into the driveway, her eyelids were fluttering as she fought to stay awake.
“We’ll both be ready for a nap after lunch. How does a BLT sound?”
Lovie grinned. “That sounds nice.”
Faith left Lovie’s suitcase in the car. She would get it out after they’d eaten. She disengaged the alarm, and when she opened the front door, she heard Snowflake barking, a yelp that sounded more distressed than her merry yippity-yap.
“What is it, Snowflake?” When she let the little dog out of her crate, Snowflake scampered over to the French doors and began growling at something outside. Faith hurried to her room and retrieved her gun from the closet. She inserted the magazine into the handle and returned to the family room with the gun aimed at the ground. “Stay here, Mom,” she said and unlocked the French doors. She stepped across the threshold onto the porch and scanned the yard, including the dock and lower patio, but there was no one in sight. She was stuffing the gun in the waistband of her jeans when she saw the dead pig on the other side of the screen door. Tacked to the pig’s forehead, between its empty eye sockets, was Lovie’s recipe for pulled pork barbecue.
Faith stifled a scream. Lovie sneaked up behind her and broke into hysterical fits of laughter at the sight of the pig, her painful experience at the nursing home forgotten. Faith raised the gun and held it steady in both hands as she scanned the yard again from left to right. “Get inside, Mom.” She backed Lovie into the family room, closed and locked the door, and went to the wall keypad to alarm the security system. She retrieved her bag from the bench in the hall where she’d dropped it when she came in. She dumped the contents on the floor, and with trembling hands she picked up her phone and called Eli.
TWENTY-ONE
Sam
They arrived simultaneously—he from work and she from home—at her sister’s house. “Explain to me why they let Curtis out of prison,” Sam said to her husband as they waited for Faith to answer the door. “I felt certain he was locked away for life.”
“Our prisons are way overcrowded. Unless convicted of murder, no one serves a full sentence anymore. The bigger question for me is why our department wasn’t notified of his release.”
They heard the chime of the burglar alarm being disarmed followed by the click of the deadbolt. Faith flung open the door and fell into Sam’s arms. “I’m so sorry I didn’t tell you sooner. After what happened last time, I was terrified you’d fall apart.”
“You don’t need to worry about me.” Sam smiled a grateful smile at her husband. “I have Eli to hold me together now. Just as you have Mike. I’m guessing you didn’t tell him either.”
“No!” Faith sobbed. “He’s going to be so angry with me.”
“Not angry, honey. Disappointed.” Sam tightened her hold on her sister’s trembling body. “Mike loves you. We all do. None of us want you to go through this alone.”
Eli’s eyes traveled across the front yard. “Why don’t we go inside.” He placed a hand on the small of Sam’s back and shepherded them over the threshold, then closed and locked the door behind them.
Faith sobbed uncontrollably, garbling her words as she attempted to tell them her story. Sam massaged her sister’s back. “You need to calm down, Faith, honey. We can’t understand you.”
Faith pulled away from Sam and took several deep breaths. She motioned for them to follow her down the hall and through the family room to the porch. “I received a c-c-calling card from Curtis today,” she said, pointing at the dead pig on the top step outside her screen door.
Elbowing her sister out of the way, Sam opened the screen door and stared down at the pig. “That’s Mom’s recipe for pulled pork barbecue. All this time I blamed Donna Bennett, but it was Curtis who started the fire. He’s the one who left the rotten fish and mailed the recipe cards to the newspaper.”
“Looks that way, Sammie, but we have to prove it first.” Eli removed a pair of tweezers and a plastic bag from his pants pocket. Leaning over, he plucked the recipe card loose and slid it into the bag. “Don’t touch the pig, Faith. I’ll have one of my men pick it up and take it to the station. We may be able to lift a print from it.” He stood to face Faith. “You need to repeat everything you told me on the phone. I could barely understand you.”
Faith led them back inside and collapsed in a chair at her pine table. Sam and Eli sat down across from her.
Eli removed a notepad from his shirt pocket. “Start at the beginning.”
Faith retrieved a napkin from the basket in the center of the table and blew her nose. “Okay.” She inhaled deeply to steady her breath. “I received a message from the warden at Broad River saying that Curtis had been released from prison and that he was in a halfway house and they were watching him closely.”
“When did you get this message?” Eli asked.
“He called on Tuesday, the day before the fire, but I didn’t listen to the message until Thursday, the day after the fire. I’ve gotten bad about checking messages on my house line.” Faith started to cry again. “If only I’d checked my voice mail earlier, we might have been able to stop him from setting the fire.”
Eli said, “I agree the timing is suspicious, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Remember, the man is innocent until proven guilty.”
Sam banged her fist against the table. “That bastard is guilty as sin and you know it! Once we prove it, I’ll get my money from the insurance company.”
“I’m not as convinced as you are, sweetheart,” Eli said. “There are a lot of things that don’t add up. I, for one, would like to know how he got all the way down here and back without being missed in Columbia.”
“I agree,” Faith said with a sniffle. “My guess is one of his goons is acting on his behalf. Although I can’t dismiss what Mom told me. She claims she saw Curtis running away from the fire that night. Then again, she’s fixated on him for some reason. She keeps having these phantom sightings of him.”
Eli looked up from his note taking. “Wait a minute. Back up. When did she tell you she saw him running away from the fire? That night or sometime later?”
“The day after the fire,” Faith said.
“Do you have any reason to believe her sightings of Curtis could be legitimate?” Eli asked.
“None at all,” Faith said, shaking her head. “It’s always some random man who doesn’t even look like Curtis. She’s confused. She thinks I’m still married to Curtis.”
“I get it,” Sam said, rolling her eyes. “She thinks I’m still married to Allen.”
Eli scrunched his face up in confusion. “But you were never married to Allen.”
“Exactly,” Sam said. “We can’t trust anything she says.”
“I hesitated even mentioning it to you, but I thought you should know everything.” Fresh tears filled her eyes as Faith pressed her fist to her mouth. “I didn’t tell you, Sam, but I received a dead fish too. Mine was a yellowfin tuna with the recipe for Mom’s tuna salad.”
Sam gulped back her response. She wanted to read her sister the riot act for not telling anyone about any of this, for their sakes and for hers. But she could see her sister was suffering enough.
“What’d you do with the card?” Eli asked.
<
br /> “I kept it.” Faith left the table and went to the kitchen. She returned a minute later and handed Eli the card. “My fingerprints are all over it. I wasn’t thinking clearly that morning.”
Faith lowered herself back down to her chair. “For several days after the fish incident, I received hang-ups on my cell phone and my house line.”
Eli’s pen flew across his notepad as she told them about blocking the calls and the unknown caller IDs. “I’ll get your phone records and we’ll see what we can find out.”
“I’ve called the parole officer so many times he’s sick of hearing from me,” Faith said. “But he swears Curtis hasn’t left Columbia.”
“Can you give me the parole officer’s contact information?” Eli asked, pen poised over the pad.
“That’s easy. I know it by heart. His name is Emmett Reyes,” Faith said, and recited his phone number.
“I’m interested to see what Mr. Reyes has to say.” Eli took his phone and notepad to the kitchen to place his call.
Reaching across the table, Sam placed her hand on top of her sister’s. “You poor thing. This has been going on for weeks. I’m sure you were scared out of your mind. I wish you would’ve told me.”
“I was terrified. I am terrified. But having a gun in my closet—just knowing it’s there helps.” Faith looked away from Sam and stared out the window. “I bought a pistol and took some shooting lessons to brush up on my skills. I’ve applied for a license to carry. You might want to do the same.”
“I’m one step ahead of you.” Removing her handbag from the back of the chair, Sam pulled out her holstered handgun and set it on the table. “Eli bought this for me a couple of months after we started dating. He told me I’d find strength in being able to protect myself. And he’s right.”
Faith set her hazel eyes on Sam. “You mark my words, Sammie, if that bastard breaks into my house, I’ll shoot him dead.”
“And you would be well within your rights.”
Eli came out of the kitchen. “I’m going to Columbia,” he said, pocketing his phone. “The parole officer gave me the same runaround he’s been giving Faith. I need to see for myself what measures they’re taking to keep Curtis in line.”
Sam jumped to her feet. “You’re not planning to confront Curtis, are you? That man is a deranged lunatic.”
The color drained from her sister’s face. “I agree, Eli. I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“Give me some credit here. I’m a detective. I know what I’m doing. I’m going to threaten him the way he’s been threatening you.” He gave Faith’s arm a squeeze. “In the meantime, I want you to keep your doors locked and your security system on.”
Faith smiled up at him. “No need to worry about that.”
“And I want you to tell your husband everything you just told us,” Eli added.
Faith nodded. “I promise.”
Eli gave Sam a parting peck on the lips. “Don’t worry. I’ll be careful.”
“You’d better be.” She rested her head on his shoulder. “What time do you think you’ll—” She stopped short at the sight of her mother shuffling into the room.
“Why didn’t somebody tell me we were having a party?” Lovie asked, a wounded expression on her face.
Sam had been too preoccupied to ask how the drop-off at Creekside Manor had gone. “Faith . . . what is Mom doing here?”
Faith rose from the table and came to stand beside Sam. “Things didn’t go well this morning. I was waiting until Eli left to tell you about it.”
Lovie batted her eyelashes at Eli. “Who are you, handsome?”
Sam gave her sister a questioning look.
“Mike calls this her Lovie-in-Love stage,” Faith whispered. “As best we can tell, she thinks she’s in her midteens. She flirts with every male she comes into contact with.”
Eli tipped his head to her. “I’m Eli Marshall, ma’am.”
Lovie giggled. “‘Ma’am’? I’m not old enough to be a ma’am.”
He winked at her. “I call all southern ladies ma’am, regardless of their age.” He turned to Sam. “I really need to get going.”
“Are you leaving so soon?” Lovie said, walking her fingers up Eli’s arm. “The party’s just getting started.”
“Not for me. I need to get back to work.” He kissed the back of Lovie’s hand. “Another time, perhaps.”
Sam placed her arm around his waist and led him out of the room before her mother could hit on him again. She turned to her husband when they got to the front door. “Please be careful. And don’t forget to call me,” she called after him as he walked to his car.
She stood on the front stoop as he drove away, praying they would survive another round of battles with Curtis. She agreed with her sister. If he came near her, she would put a bullet between his beady eyeballs.
She locked the door and returned to the family room. Her mother was watching TV and Faith was frying bacon in the kitchen. “Start talking, sister.”
“I couldn’t leave her in that horrible place, Sammie.” Faith handed her an avocado. “I’m making California BLTs. Do you want one?”
“Sure.” She took the avocado from Faith and removed a paring knife from the butcher block beside the stove. “But you’re not getting off the hook that easily. We’ll talk about this over lunch.”
Sam toasted the bread and sliced tomatoes while Faith finished frying bacon. Faith served her mother’s lunch on a tray while Sam set two places at the kitchen counter.
Faith pulled up a bar stool next to Sam. “I don’t see the point in making Mom suffer at Creekside Manor when she can stay here with me. I can deal with her when she’s like this. She doesn’t know who I am half the time, but at least she’s easy to get along with. Some of the stuff that comes out of her mouth makes me laugh. Even Bitsy thinks she’s funny.”
Sam took a bite of her sandwich. “What does Mike think of Mom staying here?” she asked with a mouth full of food.
“I haven’t told him yet. But he’ll go along with whatever I decide.” Faith started to take a bite and then set her sandwich back down. “Look, I realize there will come a time when I can no longer handle her here. Nobody knows when that time will be. I think her new meds have really helped with her anxiety. She’s night and day from last week. She bounces around in time. At the manor she started crying like a child because I wouldn’t take her to Disney World.” Her sister shivered and wrapped her arms around herself. “It was awful, Sam, the way she screeched, the look of terror in her eyes.”
“I can’t imagine it. I’m sorry you had to be the one to go through that.”
“Anyway, aside from that horrible incident, for the past few days she’s been this flirtatious Lovie in Love that you just witnessed with Eli.”
Faith’s phone vibrated beside her plate, and the Creekside Manor caller ID appeared on the screen. She accepted the call and listened for a minute. “Sam is here with me, Irene. I’m going to put you on speakerphone.” Faith switched the call to speaker and set the phone on the counter between them.
Irene greeted her, “Afternoon, Sam. As I was saying to your sister, this is not the first time one of our families has encountered a traumatic drop-off. I suggest we wait a few days, get through Memorial Day, and then try again. Faith, it might be best if you let one of your sisters try next time.”
Faith locked eyes with Sam as she said, “Don’t worry. I learned a lot about myself today. My sisters and I will talk about it over the weekend, and one of us will give you a call on Tuesday.”
They said goodbye to Irene, and Faith ended the call.
“We’ll let Jackie take her next time. She’s ruthless enough to handle it.” Sam sipped her tea while she considered the situation. “We would have to pay the manor to keep her room set up, if they’ll even allow that, but I don’t see the harm in letting Mom stay with you for a while. If that’s something you truly want to do.”
“I wouldn’t offer if it wasn’t. And her room will be
waiting for her whenever the time comes.”
“Talk to your husband,” Sam said. “He might feel differently when he learns about this Curtis crisis. But if he’s on board, we’ll discuss it with Jackie over the weekend.”
A shriek of laughter came from their mother in the other room. “See!” Faith pointed toward the family room. “I told you she’s happy.”
“She certainly seems like it.” Sam licked her finger and ran it through the crumbs on her plate. “On a more pleasant note, I talked to Jamie this morning, and he’s bringing a date to the party on Monday.”
“Who? Lizbet?” Faith asked, her sandwich inches from her mouth, poised to take a bite.
Sam’s eyes grew big. “How’d you know?”
Faith hunched her shoulders. “I saw the way they looked at each other when they were here the other day. She seems like a nice girl. And pretty too.”
“We’ll need to get a head count so I’ll know how many hamburger patties to make.” Sam used her fingers to keep a tally as she listed the party guests. “Lizbet is bringing her sister, so that makes two. Plus ten of us. Jackie invited Moses and his wife. Annie’s coming, but Heidi and her boyfriend are maybes. That’s a grand total of seventeen including the maybes. It should be a fun party.”
Faith dropped her smile. “Unless Curtis shows up. Then it’ll be a disaster, Sweeney-family style.”
TWENTY-TWO
Jackie
Jackie took more care than usual preparing for her Memorial Day cookout. She instructed the landscape crew to manicure the lawn and her handyman to power wash the terrace. She spent the day on Friday tending her rose garden and planting her containers with colorful annuals that would tolerate the intense summer heat. Cases of beer, soft drinks, and bottled water were stacked in the garage for Bill and Sean to ice down in tubs on Monday when they set the picnic tables out on the lawn. Her plans for Sunday included making a vat of potato salad and several dozen deviled eggs. Sam was bringing the burgers, hot dogs, and desserts, and Faith was contributing two cold salads—one pasta and one mixed green.
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