by Ann Mullen
“Eddie has a name,” Mom smirked. “He’s a fine gentleman and your father would be glad that I’m moving on with my life.”
I looked at Billy and then back at Mom. “I’m sorry, Mom. I’m glad you have someone in your life. Maybe it’s time we got to know him.”
“That’s a good idea,” Mom said. “I know he wants to see the baby; he told me so.”
“I guess we’d better hire a nanny, because if you two think I’m going to sit around and wait for something bad to happen to my mother, you’re both nuts.”
“I’ll take the job,” Sarah said as she stepped forward.
“Actually, that’s not a bad idea,” Mom said, and then looked at me. “Now that you know, there’s no way we’re going to get away with not including you, and it’s not as if it would be full time. Daisy even suggested that I bring you to a gathering once the baby comes, and I said I would. Of course, I didn’t really mean it. Sorry, honey. You know I don’t tell lies, but this is different. Fabrication comes with the territory when you’re a detective.”
“Fabrication? I can’t believe it! Your vocabulary sure has branched out since you became a snoop. Is that what Billy taught you? A fancy word to describe a simple one—lies, that’s what they’re called, Mom.” I looked at Billy. “See what you’ve done!”
“What surprises me is that she’s so good at it,” Billy said as he smiled at both of us. “She lies almost as well as we do.”
“Watch your mouth, young man,” Mom said. “I’ve been telling fibs because it’s part of the job. I tell myself it’s just a form of acting.” She winked.
“Welcome to our world, Mom,” I said with a grin on my face.
Chapter 4
We let the matter rest for the time being so that Mom, Sarah and Chief Sam could go down to the emergency room to check on Jonathan.
“Call and give us an update,” I said as they were getting ready to leave. “Then y’all need to go home and get some rest. Billy will be here, won’t you?”
“I’m not going anywhere.”
I thought for a second, looked at Billy and then said, “Why don’t you go ahead and go down with them? I know you’ll feel better if you do. I’ll be fine here by myself, unless Daisy Duke comes in and tries to feed me raw hamburger.”
They all laughed… nervously.
“Her name’s Daisy Clark and it wasn’t raw hamburger she fed Pat Johnson,” Billy said. “I think Alice is right about Daisy being a killer, but I’m not so sure anymore about the mushrooms being the culprit.”
“What makes you think that?”
“The medical examiner can distinguish the difference between bad hamburger and bad mushrooms. I believe Daisy believes Pat’s death was due to the tainted mushrooms she served her. For some reason, Daisy thinks she killed Pat and got away with it, and now she’s moved on to bigger and better things. Don’t get me wrong. People have died from eating food containing contaminated mushrooms, but it was usually botulism, not E. coli poisoning that killed them.”
“It’s scary to think you could eat something so seemingly harmless and then die from it.”
“Jonathan talked to several of Daisy’s neighbors and one of them said she saw Daisy out in the cow pasture, flipping over cow pies, picking up something and putting it in a bag. She assumed Daisy was collecting mushrooms, but wasn’t sure. She knew about mushrooms growing under cow pies, but couldn’t figure out why Daisy would be collecting them when she could go to the store and buy fresh ones.”
“That would seem odd.”
“Yeah, she said it all seemed very strange to her. She started to go over and ask Daisy what she was doing, but decided to mind her own business. Since she lives on a hill about a tenth of a mile up the road, the only way she could’ve seen Daisy was if she was watching her through binoculars. So she shot that idea down.”
“This story just keeps getting better and better,” I said. “Who’s the woman you’re talking about?”
“She’s a widow named June Robinson.”
“Ah, the widow on the hill! How many times have I heard a tale involving a widow on a hill? Is it an urban legend, or will another eerie ghost story follow?”
Billy ignored my silliness, leaned over and gave me a kiss.
“I’ll be back soon. I’m going to check on Jonathan and when your mom’s ready to leave, I’m going to make sure she gets to her car safely.” He looked at Sarah and the chief and then back at me. He pointed to his folks. “I’m not going to be able to pry them away from the hospital.”
“You can say that again,” Sarah said. “We’re staying until my son’s out of danger even if we have to sleep on the floor.”
“As soon as my son is out of danger, I want you to go find the one who did this to him,” Chief Sam said, looking at Billy. “Then I will deal with him or her in my own way.”
“Let me handle this, Dad,” Billy replied.” You know I’ll do the right thing. We don’t need for you to go do something we’ll all regret later. I’ll look into the situation and see what I can find out. Just give me a little time before you call out the entire Indian nation.”
“I trust you will find my son’s shooter.”
“You can count on it, Dad.”
The chief then put his arm around Sarah and walked out of the room.
Billy blew me a kiss as he followed them, and then closed the door.
I stretched out in the bed and lay back, thinking about everything that had happened in the last couple of days. All the horrible tales of childbirth pain wasn’t as bad as I’d been told… not for me anyway. I guess I’m one of the lucky ones you hear about. They go in and have a baby and then they’re back out in the field weeding the garden as if it was nothing. I wouldn’t say I was that lucky, but it sure wasn’t as bad as I thought it’d be. What a relief! The next time I’ll probably go through… no, I’m not even going to go there. Becoming a mother was the most thrilling and satisfying experience I’ve ever felt… except for when I fell in love with Billy.
Talking about something strange, that was totally out of the blue. Falling for Billy never occurred to me until the moment it happened. Actually, I was sure that Cole and I would get married; at least, that’s what I had hoped. I had fantasies of the day Cole and I would walk down the aisle. I was determined to do whatever I could to make that happen, but things change, people change, and I realized that Cole wasn’t the right man for me. I wanted a man to love me and share a life with me. Cole couldn’t do that, but Billy didn’t hesitate to step up to the plate. Billy’s got a few years on me, but I’ve learned that age doesn’t mean a thing when it comes to love. I dozed off.
“Jesse, wake up, honey,” Mom said. “It’s time to feed Ethan.”
I slowly opened my eyes and cast them upon a beautiful sight. Mom was sitting on the edge of the bed holding Ethan. The look on her face spoke a thousand words. She was so happy, not just because she was a grandmother again, but because I now had what she wanted me to have—a man to love me and a baby to love. She was ecstatic.
“He looks so much like Billy, except…”
“Except what, Mom?”
“He has your mouth… the Watson mouth…just like Mack’s.”
“I’m glad to hear he favors me in some way.”
I tried to come to life, but I was so tired. My pain was mild, but I had the feeling that the stiffness I felt in the lower part of my body might be a prelude to something a little bit more uncomfortable. Yes, I did get a local to numb the specific area in question at the last stage of labor… I’m nobody’s fool.
Anyone who thinks a woman can push a six pound baby out of a space the size of a walnut without suffering, has a few things to learn. I held off to the very end, but let’s face it, there’re some things the mind can handle, but the body doesn’t want to. I opted out of having an epidural; nobody could give me one instance of a woman having one without complications.
While I was pregnant, every woman I talked to about it had her own horror
tales. I especially flinched at the one about one side of the body not being numb like it was supposed to be. That one really scared me. Also, I think you can reach a stage where it’s too late in the course to have the epidural administered. It didn’t matter, because by the time I got to the hospital, they barely had time to put me on a bed. My labor time probably ranks right up there on a list of the shortest labor cases in history. Somebody was looking out for me.
Ethan let out a tiny whimper.
I reached out and took him and then did what came naturally.
“It’s amazing, Mom,” I said. “I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to nurse him, because I thought only women with large breasts could do it, but look at us now. We’re pros.”
“Breasts were made for nursing. Unfortunately, not all women can do it. Maybe, they’re afraid, or insecure. I don’t know all the reasons, but now they have Lactation Aides to help women who experience difficulties. Breast size has nothing to do with a woman’s ability to breast feed.”
“Who told you all this stuff?”
“I talked to a lady at the nurse’s station,” Mom said. “She’s one of those aides or something. She said she came by to talk to you, but you had Ethan with you, so she came by later. You were asleep so she left a brochure. It’s on the nightstand.”
I looked over at the nightstand and said, “I’ll look it over later.”
“Oh, I think you’re going to do just fine. You have that motherly instinct, honey. I knew it was there somewhere, and now look at you. All you needed was the right man to bring it out.”
“Funny you should say that. I was thinking the same thing before I dozed off.”
“Jonathan’s going to be okay,” Mom said. “He’s in intensive care, but I don’t think he’ll be there long. The doctor said he was lucky. They got the bullet and said there wasn’t a lot of damage. Because of the description given to the police from the two eyewitnesses, Billy swears it was Daisy who shot Jonathan.”
“Billy’s usually right about these things. If he thinks Daisy’s the woman who shot Jonathan, I’d bet on it. He has great instincts.”
“Billy also said that women are more likely then men to use a .22 handgun. Men carry big guns like a 9mm or a .45 caliber. Plus, he thinks Daisy might’ve got wind of Jonathan snooping around and asking questions. She does have some friends. If she did kill two people, what’s one more to her? She’s come this far, why stop now?”
“Why did this happen? What makes a person do what she did, if it’s true?”
“Greed, ambition, boredom. From what I’ve learned of her, she definitely likes to be the center of attention. She’s used to getting her way, I can tell you that. I think she was afraid Jonathan was going to bust her and that would ruin everything. She was just getting started.”
“Not to change the subject, but I thought you were going home. Aren’t you tired? It’s probably midnight.”
“It’s almost one-thirty. I think sometimes you reach a point where you’re so tired your body does a complete turnaround. Also, I wanted to see you before I leave and make sure you’re not mad at me. As soon as Billy gets back, he’s going to walk me to my car. Sarah and the chief aren’t leaving. The rest of the family’s gone home.”
“Why don’t you go over there, sit in that chair and prop your feet up?”
“Are you mad at me?”
“No, never, Mom.”
She leaned over and gave me a hug. “I’m so happy for you, honey.”
“Thanks, Mom. I know you are. I’m about as happy as I can be. I have everything I want.”
“I’m glad to hear that,” Billy said as he walked into the room. “How’s my warrior?”
“Your lawyer/doctor is doing fine.”
Mom had a strange look on her face, but it didn’t take long for her to figure out what we were talking about.
“I see you already have plans for my grandson, Ethan.”
“Of course, we do,” Billy and I said, smiling at each other.
“I think I’m ready to go home,” Mom said. “Before you get settled in, would you walk me to my car, Billy?”
“Sure,” he answered. “It’ll give us time to plot behind Jesse’s back.”
“That’s not a bit funny,” I said. I looked at Mom and asked, “Are you going to be all right driving home?”
“I’m going to your house,” she said. “That’s not far. I’m too tired to drive back to Dogwood Valley. Besides, I want to be here before they release you.”
“Okay,” I said. “Be careful and lock your car doors. I don’t want that crazy Daisy after you.”
I was only joking, but I could see from the look on both their faces that they didn’t think it was funny. This woman must be more dangerous than they’re letting on. I had to know.
“Do I need to be afraid for you, Mom?”
“Don’t worry about me, honey. I’m not taking any chances,” she said. “I have a gun in my purse.”
“Are you serious? I can’t believe you brought a gun into this hospital. Do you know what would happen if you got caught?”
“I most certainly am serious, and I’m not going to get caught.”
“You worry me sometimes.”
“I don’t know this woman well enough to know whether she’s actually capable of murder, but I’m not taking any chances. She has said a couple of things to me that make me think it wouldn’t take much for her to go off the deep end. But don’t you worry, Jesse. I’ve been around Billy long enough to know how to take care of myself.”
“If you’ve got a gun in your purse, I’d say you sure have,” I replied, looking at her strangely. “How long have you and Daisy been such close buddies?”
“It’s been about two months.”
“Y’all snuck around behind my back for two months and I didn’t suspect a thing. What kind of private investigator am I?”
“You were busy, honey.”
“You said that she said a couple of things that make you believe she’s capable of murder. What kind of things?”
“She told me she’s finally reached a point in her life where she knows how to get exactly what she wants from people. I asked her what she meant and she winked at me and said that she’s just not going to let people push her around or get in her way anymore. I tried to get her to be more specific, but she wouldn’t say much more than that. So I let it go and didn’t pressure her. I didn’t want to set off any alarms. She’s just beginning to trust me.” Mom looked at Billy and then back at me. “I have to say that I find it hard to pretend to be her friend, lie to her, and then turn around and hang her out to dry.”
“If she’s a killer, you’d be doing the world a favor, Mom. Try to look at it like that.”
“What if it turns out that she isn’t a killer?”
“I think she’s a killer,” Billy said. “And from what Alice Aikens has told me, I think she’s going to kill again. I think she thinks she’s gotten away with it and finds it exciting to have that kind of power. She’s tasted blood; now there’s no turning back.”
“I agree with you,” Mom said. “There’s something mysterious about that woman.”
“When I get out of here we’re going to sit down and the two of you can fill me in on everything, but right now, I’m more concerned with Mom getting home safely. After what happened to Jonathan, that woman might still be lurking around in the parking lot.”
“Oh, she’s long gone by now,” Billy said. “You don’t just shoot someone and then hang around.”
“Maybe not,” I said. “But I want you to wait for Mom to get safely in her car before you leave her, okay?”
“I can drive her home if you’d feel better.”
“Nonsense,” Mom said to both of us. “Get me to my car and I’ll be fine.” She looked down at me. “Look, Ethan’s fallen asleep. Doesn’t he need to be burped? I can do that for you before I leave. Here, let me take him.”
Mom reached down to take him as I took the cloth burp pad and wiped the lit
tle bit of milk that had dribbled down the side of his mouth.
“He’s so special.” My words fell on deaf eyes as I watched Mom put his tiny, wrapped up body on her shoulders and patted his back ever so gently.
Billy just stood close and watched. The look on his face was a treasure to behold.
Ethan let out an amazingly loud burp for someone so small.
“That sounded like it hurt,” I said, chuckling.
Ethan was almost asleep when Mom handed him back to me. He could barely keep his eyes open. His belly was full and he was ready to sleep another two hours.
Now I know why they make breast pumps—a mother has to take a break sometime— and that’s where a breast pump and a daddy come in.
As soon as Mom and Billy left the room, the nurse came in for Ethan. I asked her to let him stay a little longer and she said he could stay in the room if I wanted him to. I quickly agreed, and by the time Billy had walked Mom to her car and made it back up to my room, Ethan was asleep in his plastic bed on wheels by my side.
Billy was overjoyed to see his son still in the room with me.
“He has to sleep in his little cart, but he can stay in the room overnight,” I said.
“I guess they figure he’s going home tomorrow, so what could it hurt?”
“Yeah,” I said, sleepily. “I guess so.” I yawned.
“You need your rest, `ge ya,” Billy said.
“Why don’t you go home, Billy? You need your rest, too. Just be back here by ten o’clock. I’m sure they’ll send me home before lunch so they won’t have to feed me.” I chuckled.
“I think I’ll stay if you don’t mind. After what happened to Jonathan, I’m not leaving my wife and son alone.”
“We’ll be fine, but if you want to stay, that’s okay with me.” I motioned for him to come closer. “This bed isn’t very big, but I bet it’s big enough for us if we cuddle up.”
“No way! After what you went through, you need that bed all to yourself. Stretch out and try to get comfortable. I’m going to put these two chairs together and sleep next to my son.”