Choosing Charleston

by T. Lynn Ocean

  I shrugged, not wanting to dwell on my rotten decision.

  “Hopefully, I can catch Minnie Beth and Patrick at home,” Mamma said. “Let them know there’re no hard feelings over selling the land.”

  “There aren’t?”

  “I’m sure they had their reasons. Your daddy and I don’t know them very well, either, but I don’t think they meant to harm us.”

  “You’re quicker to forgive than I am,” said the new me, the one who was tired of compromise. “A deal is a deal, whether it’s a handshake or a signature scrawled on paper.”

  I decided to join Mamma for the drive because I hadn’t seen Robert’s stepparents since our wedding day.

  Since Daddy was working and Jenny, Granny and the kids had gone to the beach to hunt for shells, we were on our own. We left the two dogs behind, one happily chewing on a rope toy and the other one growling at it, as we headed out in Mamma’s Cadillac.

  I offered to drive, but she declined because driving helped her to clear her mind. For her, any trip longer than fifteen or twenty minutes was meditation on wheels.

  The downside for a passenger was that Mamma only drove one speed – forty miles an hour. She wanted to get where she was going, but saw no need to be hasty about it. It had always been that way. Growing up, it wasn’t much of a problem, because Mamma’s preferred speed limit worked well throughout the city. But as time progressed and Charleston grew, its road system didn’t adhere to Mamma’s one-speed theory. As a result, she was on a first name basis with several Charleston police officers. She’d been pulled over for a variety of reasons – speeding through construction zones, driving too slow, and suspected drunken driving. Once, a helpful officer had pulled her over to see if she was lost and needed assistance.

  The twenty-five minute drive was surprisingly uneventful and as we approached the house, Mamma’s instinct told her something was wrong.

  I wasn’t sure if anything was wrong or not, but I needed to find out why they broke their promise and sold the land to an investor instead of Daddy. Maybe I’d fueled the course of events leading up to the fire by recruiting a few people to help me examine the property, but Minnie Beth and Patrick Carpenter had started it all by selling their land out from under Daddy.

  In the driveway, we sat in shocked silence for a minute before getting out of the car. The grass was tall and dotted with weeds. The shrubbery hadn’t been groomed in a long time. The house revealed gutters heavy with pine straw and leaves.

  When she opened the door, Minnie Beth looked as unkempt as her yard. She wore a tattered housecoat and slippers. Her hair, although clean, was not styled and her eyes were as dull as the surfaces of the living room furniture behind her. Her skin looked as though it hadn’t seen the outdoors in many months. But upon seeing us, she smiled brightly and delivered strong hugs before ushering us inside.

  Minnie Beth served glasses of ginger ale and a plate of store-bought peanut butter cookies while we settled on the sofa.

  We learned that she hadn’t answered our phone calls because the ringer was normally turned off so as not to disturb Patrick, who was in bed recuperating from chemotherapy and a series of radiation treatments following a recent surgery for colon cancer. I was shocked to learn of his condition, but then they did live outside of town and their neighbors probably didn’t know to call us.

  “I’m so sorry!” Mamma told her. “We had no idea or we’d have come sooner. How is he?”

  “Right now, he’s just real tired. He can’t eat much, so he’s lost weight. He doesn’t have the energy to do the things he normally does. His vegetable garden is a mess. But taking care of him takes all my energy, and my arthritis keeps me from gardening,” she said.

  “Good grief, Minnie Beth. I had no idea. I could have been helping you with the yard and the garden. Why didn’t you call me? Or call Mamma and Daddy?”

  “We don’t like to burden people, Hon.”

  She looked at me and a wrinkle of confusion formed between her eyes.

  “Besides, Robert said he told you. And that you sent your regards.”

  Mamma put a hand on my arm to keep me from responding.

  “And he explained that you and Lloyd,” she said to Mamma, “were real busy with your store. But that you sent your regards, too.”

  Robert wasn’t just a cheating, selfish husband. He was also a rotten stepson.

  “Has he been around to see you lately?” I asked. Surely if Robert realized the condition they were in, he would have done something to help.

  “Oh, he’s been by.” Minnie Beth’s eyes glazed in an effort to keep tears from popping out. “But he’s so busy trying to get his brokerage firm going, he barely has time to think of anything else, the poor dear.”

  Mamma and I looked at each other, thinking the same thing. Robert didn’t have any plans to open his own firm. At least none that we’d been aware of. I was beginning to think my husband led a secret life and I wondered how I could live with a man for almost a year and know so little about him.

  He didn’t love his aunt and uncle, but they were the closest thing to a family he had. I couldn’t believe he’d let them exist in such a downtrodden condition. And why had he kept his uncle’s illness a secret? It didn’t make sense.

  My mind spun the information it had been fed, like a centrifuge, trying to get down to the substance of the situation. And when it stopped spinning, a thought started to form deep in the core of my subconscious.

  “Minnie Beth, why did you sell the land across from Stone Hardware to an investor? Remember when you told Mamma and Daddy a long time ago that you’d give them first dibs if you ever got ready to sell?”

  Genuine surprise registered on her face and she blinked several times in Mamma’s direction.

  “Why, we did give you the chance to buy it, Doris! I know we haven’t been as neighborly as we ought to, especially since the kids got married. It’s just that Patrick has been so sick. We’ve been fighting this cancer for a year now. But we would never go back on our word!”

  “So you called Daddy, then?” I asked.

  She rubbed a hand, forefinger and thumb spread in opposite directions, over closed eyes.

  “No, not in person.” She thought back. “You see, we really didn’t want to sell the property but we didn’t have a choice. We don’t have medical insurance and Medicare wouldn’t cover the experimental treatment Patrick’s doctor wanted to try.”

  I got the impression that Minnie Beth hadn’t spoken with anyone in a long time.

  “I called Robert to see what we should do. I figured he’d know what the land was worth.”

  “And?” Mamma said.

  “And Robert knew exactly what it was worth. He’s the one who called Lloyd to see if y’all were still interested in buying it.”

  Mamma and I looked at each other and my face felt as pale as hers had become.

  “When was that?” Mamma finally said.

  “Why, it was just before the kids got married. Right after Patrick’s cancer was diagnosed and we knew we’d need the money.”

  “If you knew about the cancer at our wedding, how come you didn’t tell us? And why didn’t you talk to Mamma and Daddy about selling the land when you saw them?” I rapid-fired.

  “It was your special day,” Minnie Beth said. “We didn’t want to put a damper on things by talking about cancer! And, as far as selling, there was no need to bring it up again.” Her expression was confused. “Robert had already said Lloyd turned down his offer because the price was too high.”

  “I don’t recall that, Minnie Beth,” Mamma said. “How much was the offer Lloyd turned down?”

  “Fifty thousand dollars.”

  The land was worth ten or fifteen times that.

  “So, who did you sell to?” Mamma asked slowly.

  “Why Robert of course! Didn’t he tell you?”

  I heard a buzz in my head and felt sick to my stomach.

  “I know he doesn’t love us like real parents,” My husba
nd’s aunt confessed. “He never got over his mamma and daddy dying on him. But he’s such a sweet boy, really. Fifty thousand is more than the property would have brought on the open market. Plus we didn’t have to worry about paying commissions and all that rigmarole. And since we don’t have any children, he would have inherited it someday, anyhow.”

  My ears grow hot with anger and disbelief.

  Unaware of my reaction, Minnie Beth shook her head from side to side. “I told him we didn’t want to take advantage of him like that, but he insisted. He didn’t want us to have to mortgage the house to pay bills.”

  “So he bought it from you and then he sold it to Protter Construction and Development,” I thought aloud.

  Probably for something close to a million dollars.

  “Can you believe the luck? The timing was perfect.”

  I’d never seen Mamma gulp anything before, but she suddenly downed her glass of soda. Probably as a way to buy some time, to think. To try and make sense of something that didn’t. I guzzled mine at about the same rate, wishing it was a beer or something stronger, and we set down empty tumblers at the same time.

  We declined Minnie Beth’s offer for a refill.

  Although the Carpenters had been robbed, they’d gotten something out of the property. So where had the money gone? After paying the medical bills, there should have been enough left to hire a gardener and someone to help with the housecleaning. Enough, at least, for Minnie Beth to buy a new housecoat and get her hair done at the salon.

  “So then, all your medical bills are paid from the sale,” I probed. “That must be a relief.”

  She sighed. “Not entirely. When Robert bought the land, he gave us ten thousand dollars, and said he’d pay the rest as soon as he found a buyer. But then, to close the deal with those developer folks, he worked out some sort of contingency arrangement. He said he wouldn’t get the money from them until the center was finished, and as soon as he gets his money, we’ll get the remaining forty thousand.”

  I found it hard to believe that any seller, especially one as greedy as Robert, would simply turn a piece of land over to a developer without getting their money upfront.

  She shrugged her shoulders. “Robert says it won’t be much longer now. We just need to hold out a few more months. Mainly, I just want Patrick to get better. I want us to get out and do stuff again, like we used to.”

  A shuffling noise caught our attention and we looked up in time to see Patrick amble out. His physical appearance was worse than I had imagined. His skin was thin and transparent and hung on a previously robust frame like soggy clothing that had gotten wet in a sudden downpour. A colostomy bag was visible beneath pajamas.

  “Patrick! You’re awake… Doris and Carly are here,” Minnie Beth jumped up to help him.

  In a practiced move, she held his arm and he held her shoulder for support. He shuffled along because lifting his feet took too much effort. Their progress was painstakingly slow, and when they finally reached the recliner, he refused to sit. Mamma and I took turns giving him a hug, lightly, so as not to topple him.

  “We didn’t know about your cancer,” Mamma told him. “We’d have come sooner.”

  “I know. I heard.”

  “Oh,” I said, going for cheerful. “We thought you were asleep! It’s so good to see you.”

  “He never offered the land to you, did he?” Patrick asked, skipping the small talk protocol. His voice was surprisingly strong and familiar, despite his shrunken appearance. He wobbled, but still refused to sit, awaiting an answer.

  Mamma shook her head from side to side. There was no reason to lie.

  “So Lloyd did want the land.”

  Mamma nodded again, up and down this time.

  “And it’s worth five times what he says he’s going to pay us for it.”

  “Fifteen.” I felt horrible for them. “Maybe more.”

  His legs lost what strength they had and Patrick folded into the chair.

  “I knew it,” he said. “If I’d handled things myself, this wouldn’t have happened. But I’ve been so sick, I haven’t thought of much other than getting out of bed once in a while. And, how I should have planned better for retirement. Something like this happens and all of a sudden everything becomes strikingly clear.”

  “You’ve done good for us,” Minnie Beth said. “There’s no way you could have seen this coming.”

  “I should have bought supplemental insurance. I should have saved more. And I should have put that boy into a military academy and gotten him some counseling while he was still young.”

  “Robert?” Minnie Beth looked confused, still not getting it.

  “He’s never thought of anyone but himself,” Patrick told us. “It’s always been that way. Oh, he’s smart and clever and charming. But that boy doesn’t have an ounce of decency in him.”

  “Patrick! Don’t say that! It’s not true!”

  “The first time I noticed it, Robert was eight. We bought him a puppy. Two days later, we saw a crowd of boys around him in the backyard. He was taking money to drop the dog from the tree. We found out that he started at just a foot or so but he kept going higher as long as someone would give him another dime. To see how far the puppy could fall and still get up.”

  Patrick stopped to make sure we were listening. Me and Mamma. The closest thing to in-laws he had, sitting side by side on the sofa, appalled.

  “Any other boy would have loved that dog.”

  “Boys will be boys,” Minnie Beth said. Perhaps she was so forgiving of his actions because Robert was her brother’s son. “He didn’t know how fragile puppies are.”

  I was about to ask if the dog lived, but decided I didn’t want to know.

  “That was just the beginning, Minnie Beth,” Patrick said quietly, “and you know it. We kept thinking he would grow out of it.”

  “I… I’m sorry,” I said. “I don’t know what to say. I’m finding out Robert isn’t the man I thought he was when I married him.”

  “I’m sorry, too,” Patrick said. “I’m sorry for you. I thought since he was marrying such a beautiful and bright girl, maybe he’d grown up. But the two of you aren’t together anymore, are you?”

  So Robert hadn’t told them about the divorce. Nothing could surprise me now.

  “No, we’re not.”

  Minnie Beth shook with suppressed sobs and ran from the room. Mamma started to go after her, but Patrick stopped her.

  “Leave her be, Doris,” he said. “She needs to face the fact that Robert has swindled us. It is what it is.”

  Minnie Beth eventually returned to the room to bring her husband some pills and a glass of water. He thanked her. She kissed his cheek. He patted her hand.

  She poured more ginger ale for Mamma. I told them I was divorcing Robert and had moved back to Charleston for good. Minnie Beth declared that it was awful news but Patrick said I was better off.

  The next minutes were uncomfortable as emotional debris from dropped bombs slowly settled, but in the aftermath, we caught up on each other’s lives and even shared a few laughs. I told them I was going to become a litigation attorney and Patrick said I would certainly liven up any courtroom. Mamma extended a dinner invitation and they agreed to come when the chemotherapy treatments ended.

  “Please get better, and soon!” I told Patrick. “I feel so badly that I haven’t done anything to help.”

  “It’s not your fault that Robert lied to everyone,” he said.

  I was doing some research on the property, I told them, and asked if they had copies of the paperwork from the sale. Minnie Beth rummaged through a roll top desk and produced an envelope, which she told me to keep as long as I needed.

  They thanked us for coming and we promised to visit again soon. Cocooned by individual thoughts, neither of us spoke as Mamma drove us home at forty miles an hour.

  “They’re a strong couple, Honey,” she finally said, halfway home. “They’ll make it.”

  I hoped so, but my th
oughts had already gone elsewhere. I mentally urged her to drive faster. I had a lot to do.

  I needed to hire the divorce lawyer that Lori Anne had recommended. She’d dated him briefly, and said he was incredibly sweet – unless he was suing you. Although I had a lot of friends from law school with, none of them specialized in family law and divorce. Lori Anne’s fellow was a divorce guru. His peers had nicknamed him ‘Gator’ because once he had a grip on something, he didn’t let go.

  I wanted to get a look at the documents in my hand, as well as the purchase agreement between Robert and the Protters. I had to go to the courthouse to get copies of the tax maps for Protter’s plat of land. And I wanted to find out why Robert had lied to everyone.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  “I think the aroma-gizmo is working,” Daddy said from his lookout point at the kitchen window. If he stood just right and leaned sideways, he could observe the fortress he’d built around the garbage cans and check for furry intruders without alerting them to his presence.

  “You mean on the raccoons?”

  “It’s been over a week now and they haven’t gotten into the trash once!” It was a declaration of triumph. Man over beast. Or, human over four-legged, mischievous mammal.

  “I still can’t believe you dumped the Aroma-magic Ionizer and Environment Enhancer in the trash.” Jenny poofed up her lips and tried to look indignant.

  “It’s by the trashcan,” Mamma clarified for Daddy. “Not in the trashcan.”

  “Whatever.”

  “I have relaxed them into passivity,” Daddy announced and I wondered if somehow, the machine had worked on him, too.

  His anxiety attacks had stopped, despite the fact Handyman’s Depot was still on track and the future of his store uncertain. Although the arson and potential murder investigation was underway, detectives had collected all the evidence they could from the site and saw no reason to hold up construction any longer. No arrests had been made and there was nothing to keep Protter’s heavy equipment from rolling again. For the time being, my arsenal was empty.

  It was Jenny’s last night in Charleston and we were going out for supper, so I had the run of the kitchen table until breakfast time. I’d spread out enough stuff to cover nearly half of it. Tax records, a dossier on the Handyman’s Depot chain, reference books. I knew there was a simple solution, a way to tie everything up into one neat package. I was playing detective, trying to figure out who had motive to set the fire besides Trent Protter. I just had to keep poring through information, keep examining the possibilities, keep turning the squares of the Rubik cube until something came together and made perfect sense. I knew Robert was a piece of the puzzle and my first priority was to figure out where he fit in. Which presented a challenge since I was also suing him for divorce.