Sweet Tea and Secrets

by Nancy Naigle

  “We’ll need to ask you to step outside,” a nurse said from behind her.

  For the next hour, nurses rushed in and out of Garrett’s room. Patsy and Jill sat in the hall outside.

  Jill sat silent, unsure of how to tell Patsy what she knew.

  After a while, Garrett’s father stepped out of the elevator. Worry etched his face.

  Jill greeted him then excused herself to the visitors’ lounge to call Carolanne and Elsie with updates. Scott came in with coffee cups in a cardboard tray while she was on the phone.

  “Thanks,” she whispered, twisting one out. “I’ve got to go. I’ll call you back when we know more.” She turned back to Scott.

  “You were right,” he confided. “When I explained the scenario, Doc said there was a good possibility that Garrett had been poisoned. The lab just confirmed it.”

  She held the cup to her chest. “Is he going to be okay?”

  “Yeah.”

  Relief flooded every tense muscle in her body so much so that she thought she might collapse.“Thank goodness.”

  “I’ll check with the florist in the morning to see if they can tell us who sent that basket.”

  “The florist didn’t deliver it. Macy did.”

  “I’ll check with her then. By the way, I just got word that the fire is out. They’ve got one truck on standby to insure nothing flares up over night. You might want to stay somewhere else tonight.”

  “I’ll probably be here anyway. Thanks for helping me.”

  “Don’t thank me. I’m just glad you put everything together so quickly. Your fast thinking probably saved Garrett’s life.”

  Her heart swelled. If anything had happened to him... “I can’t believe any of this. It doesn’t even feel real.”

  “I think I saw them let his mom back in the room,” Scott said. “Why don’t you get back down there?”

  Jill headed back down the hall then into Garrett’s room. His mother and father stood off to the side. Garrett’s color had started to come back already.

  Patsy crossed the room and put her arm around Jill’s shoulders. “He’s going to be okay, dear. They’re going to keep him overnight, but they say he’s going to be perfectly fine. We’re going to head on home. You should do the same. Let us give you a lift.”

  “Y’all go on home. I’m going to stay here for a while.”

  Jill watched Garrett’s parents walk to the elevator, then pushed the recliner next to Garrett’s bed. He didn’t stir. His color was good, and he appeared to be resting well. She climbed into the chair with her feet underneath her and leaned her head on the side of the bed, snuggling his arm against her body.

  When she woke, he was stroking her hair with his hand.

  She lifted her head. He looked better. “Thank goodness you’re okay. How do you feel?”

  “Like a truck ran over me.”

  “I’m so sorry, Garrett.”

  He put a finger over her lips. “No sorries. Let’s just put the past behind us.”

  “But…”

  “Sh…” He gave her a half grin. “All of the past.”

  The nurse came in and checked Garrett’s IV while the doctor flipped through his chart. Jill scooted her chair out of the way and excused herself while the nurse took Garrett’s vitals.

  The elevator dinged and Elsie stepped out. “Hi, Jill. I talked to Patsy. She said you were still here.”

  Jill tipped her head toward Garrett’s room. “The doctor’s in with him now, but he’s doing so much better.”

  Elsie hugged her and sat in one of the upholstered chairs outside Garrett’s room. Jill took the other.

  When the doctor came out of the room he said that Garrett was now stable and would probably sleep most of the night. He encouraged Jill to go home and get some rest, too.

  Jill poked her head in Garrett’s room and he was, as the doctor had said, sleeping. She scribbled a note and left it on the table for him.

  Elsie gave her a ride back to Garrett’s house since the fire trucks were still at hers. She needed quiet if she was going to rest. Elsie offered to let Clyde stay with her until everything settled down.

  Mr. Malloy had dropped Garrett’s cleaned-up truck off in front of the house. That gave her a vehicle to drive if she needed to get back to the hospital.

  Jill watched Elsie drive off and stood looking at Garrett’s house. The country home flaunted a covered wrap-around porch, steeply pitched rooflines, and shuttered multi-pane windows. The house still looked as warm and inviting as it had when she and Garrett had worked on the original plans for their dream home. They had fought for two weeks over the exterior colors. She’d won, and the historic color combination still looked great.

  The front door was unlocked. She knew it would be. You had to practically drive right through Garrett’s folks’ front yard to get here. The odds of anyone getting back here unnoticed were slim to none.

  Jill felt a little odd returning this house after being gone so long. She kicked off her shoes and stretched out on the sofa. After switching sides twice, she gave up. She was exhausted, but couldn’t get her body to slow down and rest. Frustrated, she gave in and went into the kitchen to see what she could find. In the cabinet next to the microwave there was a good selection of her favorite teas that she’d left behind.

  While the tea brewed, she went back into the living room. The photo albums under the coffee table caught her attention. She flipped through the first couple of pages. The stiff pages filled in the blanks on some of the things she’d missed while she’d been away the past year.

  Jill took the photo album with her back into the kitchen. She poured herself a cup of tea in a Malloy’s Country Designs mug and then sat at the kitchen counter, looking through the album.

  There were pages full of pictures of Clyde. Not exactly a puppy, but a younger and clumsy looking Clyde. Running, fetching, rolling and, of course, slobbering. Lots of pictures of Pearl with Clyde too. Pearl really loved that dog. You could see the sparkle in her eyes as she stood next to him, looking so tiny. His head had to be twice the size of hers. The next set of pictures showed a woman assisting Pearl and Garrett with Clyde at dog obedience school, or some kind of class.

  She flipped the page, but something made her turn back.

  Lifting the book, she looked closer at the woman in the pictures.

  Jill straightened in her chair. The pictures had been taken from pretty far away, but that woman—she sure looked familiar. Jill’s hand hovered over the page, hesitating, but there wasn’t anyone here to stop her. She tugged the photo from the four corner mounts, and carried it to the corner under the lamp for a better look in the light.

  The woman looks so familiar.

  Her phone rang and she ran to answer it, praying Garrett hadn’t taken a turn for the worse.

  It was Carolanne, checking in. Her flight would be landing around five tomorrow evening. She’d come straight to Pearl’s.

  Following that moment of panic, Jill called to check on Garrett. The nurse said that his status had been upgraded to stable so he could accept a phone call. She connected Jill’s call to the phone in his room.

  Garrett was still groggy, and told her not to come to sit with him in the hospital. He’d be sleeping and he didn’t need any distractions, not even beautiful ones.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Bright and early, Jill drove Garrett’s truck over to Pearl’s. Everything looked dull from the layer of soot that had settled. The fire had been contained to the woods, but the acrid smell of smoke hung in the air outside and even inside the house.

  At least the house had been spared. Opening windows wouldn’t do any good, just cycle in new smoky air, so Jill stuck to wiping everything down inside to get the sooty film off and hopefully freshen the place. She sprayed the inside of a window and wiped it with a piece of newspaper until the smearing mess was clear. Newsprint worked best. No streaks and no lint. Pearl had always sworn by it, and they saved stacks of newspapers just for that purpose.


  Elsie tooted her horn as she pulled up with Clyde bobbing his head out of the passenger window.

  Jill waved from the living room picture window.

  “Anything I can do to help?” Elsie asked when she stepped inside.

  “You’ve done enough already, taking care of Clyde.”

  “He was a good boy. No problem.” Elsie swept a finger across one of the panes and held a black finger up to Jill. “How did so much soot get inside the house?”

  “I had these windows open. I guess I didn’t get them closed quick enough.”

  “Man, that’s a mess. Sure you don’t need any help?”

  “Nope. I’ve got it. It’ll be therapeutic to work off some stress until Carolanne gets here.”

  “Okay, have your fun then.” Elsie headed back to her car, waving as she drove off.

  Jill put Clyde out back and turned on the CD player. Pearl’s favorite Yanni song filled the room. The contemporary music struck a harmonic tempo only electronic keyboards and an orchestra could create. The instrumentals were feel-good music, and she needed to feel good today. She cranked up the volume and danced her way through the chores.

  She sprayed the next window pane, and gave it a good scrub. After three attempts it finally looked clean. Maybe she should’ve accepted Elsie’s offer for help.

  Someone knocked at the front door. Carolanne must’ve caught an early flight. That would be just like her. She hopped down from the step stool.

  “Just a sec,” she sang out as she headed for the door.

  She opened the door to find Sheriff Calvin on her doorstep. “Oh? I thought it was going to be Carolanne.” Jill said. “Everything’s fine around here for a change. What brings you by?”

  “We got some information from the fingerprint work we did after the first break-in.”

  “Well, I’m glad we got something out of it, because it was one heck of a mess to clean up.” She stepped out on to the porch towards the deacon’s bench. “Have a seat.” She noticed the baby blue Thunderbird in the front yard. “You’re still driving that around, huh? Not too good for undercover work is it?”

  “Give me a break.” Scott loved that car, and everybody in town knew it. Originally, the car had been a heaping pile of junk they’d dragged out of the woods behind his granddaddy’s house. Then he and his dad had restored it to its original glamour, maybe better, working on it night and day the summer after Scott graduated from high school.

  “I guess it’s true that you never forget your first love,” she teased.

  “Enough about that.” He joined her on the bench. “I came to tell you what I found. One set of fingerprints came back that matched a Kimberly Louann Clatterbuck.

  “Never heard of her. Is she local?”

  “Nope. She’s originally out of the Atlanta area and she’s got a record,” Sheriff Calvin explained. “She’s done a little time too.”

  Another car pulled into the yard. This time, it was Carolanne.

  Jill waved her to join them on the porch. Once they all said their hellos they turned their attention back to the business at hand.

  “So, who is this lady?” Jill asked Scott.

  “We were able to match a photo to the fingerprints.” He handed her a picture from his shirt pocket.

  Jill almost choked. “That’s not Kimberly Clatter-whatever. That’s Annie!”

  “So you do know her.”

  “Well, not as Kimberly Lou-whoever. She’s our housekeeper in Savannah.” Jill flipped the picture toward Carolanne. “It’s a crappy picture, but it’s her. I’ve lived with her for the last year.”

  Carolanne grabbed the picture. “So this is the microwaving, no-cookin’ bitch that’s made your life a living hell for the past year?”

  Jill nodded, and took the picture back from Carolanne.

  “Any idea why she’d break into Pearl’s house?” Scott took the notepad from his shirt pocket and scribbled something.

  “Not really. She fawned over Bradley, and she always misplaced my messages and did little things to pluck my nerves. She’s been Bradley’s housekeeper and cook forever. He wouldn’t fire her no matter what I said to him.”

  “You wanted her fired?”

  “Oh yeah. He and I fought about Annie all the time.”

  “She knew it?”

  “I’m sure she did.”

  “Jealousy, maybe?”

  “Me. No way. Her?” The image of Annie sprawled across the pool table with Bradley made her stomach churn. “Maybe.”

  “The good news is I know where you can pick her up.” Jill grabbed the notebook out of Scott’s hands and scribbled down their address in Savannah. “She never goes anywhere. She’s all yours.”

  “So I take it you want to press charges?” Scott asked.

  “Absolutely.” Annie’s arrest would be sweet revenge after a year of harassment. “I kept telling Bradley she was bad news. But, no-o-o. He always stuck up for her.”

  “He’s a shit,” Carolanne said. “Kicking him to the curb was the smartest thing you’ve ever done.”

  Jill picked up her phone and hit speed dial.

  “Who are you calling?” Carolanne asked.

  “Bradley. Who else? I can’t wait to tell him I was right.” After listening to too many rings and getting dumped into voicemail, Jill flipped the phone closed against her thigh. “No answer. Figures.”

  “I wouldn’t say two words to that jerk,” Carolanne said.

  “I’ll leave you gals to gloat on your own. I wouldn’t say too much to Kase though.” Scott headed to his car. “I’ve got to get some things moving on this.”

  “Thanks, Scott,” Jill called after him.

  Carolanne gave Jill a hug. “That was good timing. I’m glad I didn’t miss out on that picture of Annie. She isn’t anything like I envisioned her.”

  “It was a mug shot, not a glamour shot,” Jill reminded her.

  “Well, you look better than her when you’re rolling out bed after the flu. How’s Garrett?”

  “Much better. They’re releasing him in the morning. Come on. Let’s go to town and get some supper.” Jill was glad to get her mind off illness, crime, death, or anything else bad.

  After an early bird dinner, Carolanne went to visit her dad, and Jill decided to stay at Pearl’s with Clyde while it was still daylight. She’d meet up with Carolanne later.

  Carolanne hadn’t been gone long when Jill’s phone rang. She glanced at the caller ID and saw that it was Bradley returning her call. Now she wished she hadn’t called him to gloat. At the time, it had seemed like a good thing to rub his nose in Annie’s criminal past, but now Jill didn’t even want to hear his voice. Begrudgingly, she picked up the phone.

  “I saw you called. Did you change your mind? Are you going to give me another chance?”

  “No.”

  “I’m on the road today, why’d you call then?”

  “I was calling to tell you the fingerprints came back on the break-in from the day of Pearl’s funeral.”

  “What do you know? I guess that small town has some police skills after all. Anything helpful?”

  “Yes. We know who was here. It was Annie.” Not so perfect now is she?

  “My Annie? No way.”

  A bitter taste flooded her mouth. His Annie? “Yes, way. She’s using a fake name too. Her name is Kimberly Louann Clatterbuck. I told you she was bad news.”

  “What else do you know?”

  “That’s about it. Isn’t that enough?”

  Silence hung between them on the line. Jill reveled in the fact he was speechless.

  “I can’t believe it,” he said.

  “I saw her mug shot. She’s even been in jail. Your saint of all saints isn’t all she says she is.” Jill enjoyed the smug moment of being right.

  His tone softened. “I should have fired her. I never should have second guessed your intuition.”

  “I kept telling you she was out to get me.” Finally, he was seeing her side.

  “
I bet that’s why she seduced me, to get to you. She must be obsessed. I’ll fire her today. Please come home.”

  “Wait a second. You’re not off the hook because she’s a sleazy felon. You could have said no. Should have said no if you cared about me.”

  “Please. I can’t ask you to forgive me. I know I’ll have to earn that, but I’ll fire her. I promise. Come home with me today. I’ll come get you.”

  Jill took in a breath. It was invigorating to hear him say she was right, and hear him grovel for her attention. A sweet victory, but the truth was that relationship was never headed anywhere anyway.

  “No. Bradley, our days as a couple are over.”

  “I need you,” he said.

  “You don’t need me. You just like having me around.” She leaned on the rail of the front porch.

  “You don’t know what I need.”

  His voice sounded tight. She could hear the shift in it.

  Jill looked up to the sound of tires crunching on the gravel driveway. The familiar Lexus pulled up right in front of her.

  “Bradley? I thought you....” She closed the phone and walked toward his car.

  He got out and slammed the door.

  She shook the phone his way. “I thought you just said you were on the road.”

  “I was, and not far away.” He stepped towards her. Feather-like laugh lines crinkled around his eyes. “Not happy to see me?”

  “Why would I be?”

  Lines creased his tan forehead. She hated that disapproving look. It made her feel ten years old. He’d already tried Botoxing them twice before.

  “I hope your face sticks like that,” she said.

  He raised his brows and ran a finger across the lines. “You want to know what I want?” he hissed.

  She took a step back. “Is this about the account for the Kase Foundation?”

  “No. That’s nothing. I can get to that money. It’s one signature away.”

  “You won’t get my signature if this isn’t on the up and up. I saw that article.”

  “This isn’t about that.”

  “You need to just leave.”

  “Not without the Pacini Pearls,” Bradley said. “That’s what I want.”