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A Matter of Trust

Page 10

by Diane Noble


  “You can pick me up in twenty minutes,” the voice continued. “I’ll be waiting at the corner of Sweetwater and Ashland. Synchronize your watch with mine. It’s exactly 10:13. I’m leaving right now.” She hung up without saying good-bye.

  Kate sat back with a sigh. Two things nagged at her. First, she had planned to intensify her efforts to get in touch with Dr. Hosea that morning. Second, she didn’t like going behind Renee’s back, no matter the reason. But she couldn’t leave Caroline standing alone on the street corner.

  First things first. She would pick up Caroline, listen to her concerns, then try to smooth things over between mother and daughter. From past experience, Kate knew that the task was likely mission impossible. She sent up a quick prayer.

  She didn’t have much more time than what it took to pull on a favorite jean skirt and cotton sweater, run a brush through her hair, and race out the door.

  She glanced at her watch as she backed the Honda out of the garage, feeling a little silly that she actually had synchronized it with Caroline’s.

  SHE PULLED UP to the curb beside Caroline. As usual, Caroline was wearing her straw hat with its froth of silk flowers. With her frilly summer dress and white cardigan sweater, she was the perfect portrait of a genteel Southern woman.

  “We’ll go to Emma’s Ice Cream,” she announced as Kate helped her into the car. “I don’t expect my daughter will drop in there. Not that she doesn’t like a fudge sundae once in a while, but she’s writing a letter to...that man.”

  “All right,” Kate sighed. “Emma’s it is.” She pulled away from the curb.

  “Don’t go back down Ashland,” she said, peering out the passenger-side window. “We might be seen.”

  Kate turned onto Sweetwater.

  “You’re driving too fast,” Caroline said, silk flowers bobbing. “It’s making me nervous.”

  Kate slowed the car and crept along until she reached Main Street. A few seconds later, she parked in front of the ice-cream shop. She got out of the car, rounded the back, and then opened the door for Caroline, who exited the vehicle like a queen. She unfolded her jeweled cane, tucked one hand around the crook of Kate’s elbow, and tapped along the sidewalk, the cane in the other hand.

  They had almost reached the entrance to Emma’s when Kate spotted a metallic blue GTO parked in front of the Mercantile.

  She stopped to gape. The car was empty, which meant the duo she’d seen the other day was either in one of the other shops...or in the ice-cream shop.

  “What?” Caroline demanded, following her gaze.

  “Nothing really. I just recognized a car from the other day.”

  “That GTO?”

  “Yes.”

  “Looks like the ones that ran moonshine back in the day. It’s a sixty-eight, I would guess.”

  Kate grinned. Caroline might have been ninety-something, but she knew her cars.

  Kate held open the door, and Caroline sailed through, placed her order at the counter, demanding it be brought to their table, then made her way across the small room.

  Emma Blount, the owner, stood behind the counter, shaking her head. “That’s a woman who knows where she’s goin’,” she whispered to Kate.

  Kate nodded with a grin, placed her own order, then followed Caroline to a small round table.

  Kate started to sit down, then noticed Carrot-top and Curly sitting at a corner table. There were enough other customers in the shop to make Kate’s arrival at the table less obvious. But she needn’t have worried. The duo was lost in conversation and didn’t so much as glance in her direction.

  Caroline leaned forward. “Those two belong to the moonshine car is my guess,” she whispered. “And since you were agape at their wheels, I thought you’d want to be within earshot.” She surprised Kate with a wink.

  Kate swallowed her smile.

  “Is this a stakeout?” Caroline whispered, sounding exactly like her daughter.

  Kate laughed. “Not at all. Let’s just call them persons of interest.”

  Caroline’s eyes brightened. “I’ve got real good hearing when I want to. I’ll let you know what I pick up.”

  Did this mean she heard what she wanted to and played deaf to the rest? Kate wondered if Renee knew this about her mother.

  This was turning into a much more entertaining ice-cream adventure than she had anticipated.

  “They’re talking about what flavors they want,” Caroline reported. “One wants a double scoop of pistachio, cone on the side.” She cocked her head and narrowed her eyes in concentration. “The other one is on a diet. Wants frozen yogurt. No cone. Now they’re arguing about which one has to go to the counter to place their order and pick up the goods.”

  “The goods?”

  “You know, the ice cream and yogurt.”

  “I think I know which is which,” Kate said. Then she leaned in closer. “You must have something important to tell me after going to all this trouble to get me here without your daughter knowing.”

  Caroline sighed deeply. “It’s that man Renee is planning to marry.”

  “You really think she’s going to marry him?”

  “Of course. Anybody can see that she’s gaga over him, carrying on the way she is. And at her age.” She shook her head slowly. “If he really cared about Renee, he would have seen to it that she picked something of value. Like crystal or jewelry. Instead, he insisted she buy that urn—a crematory urn, or whatever it’s called.” She visibly shuddered. “What kind of a romantic gesture is that? Besides, this whole urn business, showing it off at your church like it’s some valuable antique, just proves that someone’s trying to pull the wool over my daughter’s eyes.”

  She leaned in closer and dropped her voice. “Since you’re Renee’s best friend, I thought she might listen to you. It’s not just the urn I’m concerned about; it’s that man.”

  Renee’s best friend? Kate swallowed hard, then thought about it. Renee too often rubbed people the wrong way and didn’t have many close friends. Caroline may be right.

  Caroline continued. “I thought of another reason he wants to marry her. I saw it on TV.” She sat back and folded her arms across her chest. Her eyes snapped when she said, “Citizenship.”

  Kate blinked. “Citizenship?”

  “That’s right.”

  They both fell quiet as Emma brought their ice creams.

  “Like I said, I’ve seen it on TV. Men marry women to gain US citizenship. That man probably wants to marry Renee so he can live in the country legally.”

  Kate took a spoonful of ice cream, vanilla with fresh strawberries, remembering the sorrow in Renee’s history and considering Caroline’s possibly unfair assessment.

  “But isn’t it equally possible that someone could fall in love with Renee just because of who she is?” she asked gently.

  Caroline gave her a sharp look, then something in the back of her eyes softened. “Yes, of course. It happened with her dear Ellis.” She daintily cut the bananas in her banana split into bite-size pieces. “My daughter does have her lovable moments.”

  “And perhaps after you meet Collin, you’ll feel differently,” Kate said. “Getting to know him during his visit may give you a whole different perspective—of him personally and how he treats Renee.”

  “Hmmph,” Caroline said. “Time will tell.”

  As Kate took a few more bites of ice cream, it occurred to her that she should ask herself the same question about Renee. Could someone love her just because of who she was? What if the whole incident with the urn was nothing more than what it seemed—two people meeting and falling in love?

  Yes, to some, she concluded, Renee could be lovable, but in this case, Kate still had the suspicion that love was just another element in the mystery. There was something more to it; she could feel it in her bones.

  “They’re saying they just ought to get it done,” Caroline said, her eyes squinted closed in concentration.

  It took Kate a moment to figure out what she mean
t.

  Then Caroline went on. “‘We gotta wait for the boss,’” one of them just said.” She scooped up a piece of banana, dipped it in chocolate sauce, then popped it into her mouth. “‘Easy as taking candy from a baby.’ That’s from the other one.”

  Though Kate was facing the men, Caroline was close enough to hear more clearly what they were saying. Kate feigned disinterest as Caroline reported their conversation. With each new phrase, the dots began to connect: the same duo in the diner, poring over the article about the urn four days ago; the man Skip saw running from the front steps of the church; the urn that might be of priceless value, according to Dr. Hosea.

  “‘I wonder what’s takin’ the boss so long to get here. Somethin’ must’ve come up,’” Caroline reported in a barely discernable whisper, her eyes sparkling as she continued, “‘We’re pretty smart,’” one of them is saying, “‘Maybe he doesn’t expect us to wait. I say let’s go for it.’”

  Kate couldn’t help herself; she gave a quick look to the speaker. At the same instant, Carrot-top and Curly caught her stare, blinked as if suddenly recognizing her—and without a word slapped some bills on the table and bolted for the door, leaving half-eaten ice cream and frozen yogurt on the table.

  “Goodness,” Caroline said. “Was it something we said?”

  “Wait here,” Kate said, then scooting out of her chair, she moved quickly to the front window.

  She watched as they bumbled across the street to the GTO, only to halt and round the car, trying the doors. Words were exchanged with great animation, then Carrot-top gave Curly a shove and pointed at the ice-cream-shop door.

  “You left the keys on the table, you dolt,” he said, loud enough for the entire shop to hear.

  Curly’s shoulders slumped as he patted down his pockets again. Kate watched as he shuffled back across the street, came inside, only to return to the car a few minutes later jangling the keys and grinning.

  In a matter of seconds, off they roared, a rumbling flash of metallic blue and black vinyl.

  Kate went back to join Caroline, whose banana-split dish looked as if it had been licked clean. The older woman smiled up at her. “You can take me home. I feel much better now that we’ve had this heart-to-heart and I know you will handle it with Renee.”

  Kate helped her stand and steadied her as she unfolded her cane. “I am upset with you about one thing, though,” Caroline added as they made their way to the door.

  “What’s that?”

  “I wish I’d seen those persons of interest take off in that GTO. I could hear the engine rumble from in here, but that’s just not the same as watching it in person.”

  AFTER DROPPING CAROLINE off at her home, Kate headed to the library. She pulled the Honda into the parking lot, then trotted through the entrance and up the stairs to the computer bank.

  Caroline had her own reasons for mistrusting Collin, and without realizing it, had also made Kate’s concerns march back into her brain, front and center. She Googled “Oxford University,” then sat back as the Web site loaded. She quickly scanned the menu, making her way through their various departments: administration, communications, security, governance, welfare, and myriad others.

  Finally, she spotted human resources. She clicked on the information screen and sent an e-mail asking how she might obtain copies of papers Collin had authored on ancient burial urns, particularly those from the Etruscan era through the twelfth century. She typed her name and contact information at the bottom of the e-mail.

  Next, she e-mailed Dr. Hosea, this time requesting a return receipt indicating the time and date the e-mail was opened on his end.

  Before she logged off, she received an answer from Oxford:

  Dear Mrs. Hanlon,

  It is our policy to forward questions such as yours directly to the employee, or retired employee, as in this case. We have forwarded your e-mail to Professor Wellington.

  Kate’s eyes widened. That was something she hadn’t expected. What if Collin told Renee someone from Copper Mill had made inquiries about his work? Someone named Kate Hanlon. She shivered, wondering why the prospect bothered her so. After all, she only inquired about papers he’d written. Somehow, even that self-explanation didn’t give her comfort.

  She clicked on the home-page Web site, again planning to log off the computer. Then she noticed the Breaking World News column and stopped, her hand hovering over the mouse.

  Second heist thwarted in Oxford museum. Suspects are still at large and thought to be part of an international ring concentrating on priceless antiquities. This is the second such break-in at the Exeter Museum of Art and Antiquities, and the seventh worldwide. A spokesperson for Scotland Yard says the agency has doubled its efforts to apprehend the thieves and is teaming with the FBI and other law-enforcement agencies in the United States and Western Europe.

  Kate moved closer to the monitor and reread the article. No further details were given, but as she sat back, her mind was spinning as if she’d clicked on some sort of brain rewind and fast-forward buttons at the same time.

  And at the center of the vortex was the one person who seemed to have started it all.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Kate glanced at the library clock, then pulled out her cell phone and dialed Renee. “I need to talk with you,” she said when Renee answered.

  There was a short pause followed by an indignant sniff. “I’ve been waiting for you to call and explain.”

  Kate frowned. “Explain?”

  “About secretly meeting with my mother this morning.”

  That wasn’t why Kate had called, but it was something she did need to talk to Renee about. “Would you like to meet at my house for lunch?”

  “Actually, it’s my turn to have you over. Why don’t you stop by, and I’ll put a little something together for an early lunch. I just dropped Mama off to visit her friends at Green Acres, so we can speak privately.”

  Kate agreed and disconnected the call. It was barely eleven o’clock, and she felt she’d lived through a week since she backed out of the driveway this morning.

  RENEE HAD SET UP A TABLE in her backyard flower garden. A pale pink linen tablecloth covered it, with a darker pink set of place mats and linen napkins. In the center was a small vase of pink and white roses. A small platter of finger sandwiches had been placed to one side of the arrangement; a colorful medley of melon balls graced the other side in a sparkling glass bowl.

  “Why, this is beautiful, Renee,” Kate said. “Absolutely beautiful.”

  Renee blushed, something as rare as her smile. “Actually, the table and chairs are a new purchase. Catalog order. And the menu is a trial run for when Collin gets here. I was already working on these when you called.”

  She went over to the table and picked up one of the rectangular sandwiches with sterling-silver tongs. “Cream cheese and watercress. See what you think.” She handed it to Kate.

  Kate took a bite. “Delicious.”

  Renee gestured for her to sit down. “And here’s an egg salad with a touch of curry and fresh dill.”

  Using the tongs, Kate placed one on her plate. Between them, Kisses sat on his hind legs to beg. Renee popped half a cream-cheese-and-watercress sandwich into his mouth.

  “The herbs are good for his digestive system,” she said to Kate. Without missing a beat, she went on. “Now this is truly an amazing one—pumpernickel with smoked salmon and a touch of cream cheese. Try it.”

  They ate in silence for a few minutes, then Renee narrowed her eyes. “What’s going on with Mama?”

  Kate shot up an arrow prayer for wisdom and grace. “She’s very worried about you...worried that things have happened too fast with Collin.”

  Renee raised an eyebrow. “As if I’m not a big enough girl to make wise decisions.”

  Kate chuckled to break the tension. “As a mom, I think I’ll worry about my children even after I’m ninety. Your mother’s no different.”

  Renee dished the melon balls into a sm
all glass bowl shaped like an apple and handed it to Kate. “She’s made no secret of the fact that she can’t stand him, yet she’s never even met him. She’s been all over town telling people that he’s out to get my money or plans to use me to get US citizenship. You name it, she’s thought of it.”

  So Renee did know about the accusations; that made Kate feel even worse. “People who know you won’t believe a word of it, believe me. They know you to be a savvy, thinking, deliberate woman. And I think they also realize that your mother is afraid of losing you after all these years.”

  Renee shot her an appreciative look. “It’s not easy living with one’s mother.”

  “And your mother is a bit of a spitfire.”

  “Maybe it’s genetic,” Renee said and laughed.

  “About Collin,” Kate said, reaching for another sandwich, “and the way you met...”

  Renee brightened considerably. It was obviously her favorite subject. “You’ve read Livvy’s articles, so you know the gist of it.”

  Kate nodded. “It’s like something out of a movie.”

  “It was awfully cute the way he found me.”

  “Found?”

  Renee nodded. “It seemed that way.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Someone told me later that before we met, they saw him walking along the line of tour buses that were parked near the shopping triangle. It was as if he was looking for something...or someone.”

  Another dot connected. “Really,” Kate said. “Did he ever say what he was looking for?”

  “He said he was looking for his lost soul mate—me.” She paused. “Then later, he told me he was just idly reading where the tour buses were from.” She leaned forward. “And believe me, their signs touted groups from all over the world.”

  “Your coach had a tour sign on it?”

  “Of course. The people on the tour have to have a way of identifying it when they return from sightseeing or shopping. We had big fancy magnetic signs on both sides that announced Tennesseans Tour Tuscany.”

 

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