by Ann Mullen
“You can put her in the high chair, Billy. We’ll be eating soon,” Claire said. “I fixed a plate of scrambled eggs and a piece of toast for her.”
“There’s a jar of baby applesauce up in the cabinet. Would you get it?” I asked.
Ethan couldn’t hold on any longer and fell asleep in Mom’s arms.
“Ethan eats and sleeps,” I said. “I guess I’d better take advantage of that while I can, huh?”
“That’s true,” Mom said. “It won’t be long before he stays up most of the day like Maisy does. I need to put this little fellow in his crib.” Mom got out of the chair and took Ethan around so everyone could give him a kiss, and then took him off to la-la land. She returned within minutes.
“I heard the phone ring, Billy,” Mom said. “I also heard Cole’s name.”
“Cole called to tell us to forget about going to Kansas Moon’s house. The sheriff’s onto us. He said to stay away,” Billy said as he put Maisy in the high chair. He took the jar from Claire and started spoon-feeding Maisy the applesauce. “He even said the sheriff told him to call us. It seems we can’t hide anything from Sheriff Hudson anymore. He’s come to know our way.”
“Does that mean we’re not going?” Mom asked.
“Of course, we’re not going,” Billy replied. “At least, not today. It would be crazy for us to. The place is surrounded by Greene County’s best and we can’t get past them. If we want to check the place out, we’re going to have to wait until the police pull out.”
“I bet there’s something big time going on up there,” I suggested. “You know there is. Why else would the cops still be there? I bet they left someone at the house all night. It’s good we didn’t go. What do you think they found? Could it be a dead body?”
“I’ve been thinking,” Mom said. “I might be wrong, but I’ve been examining the whole scenario over and over in my head, and I’m willing to bet, if I were a betting person, that he had something to do with all those missing animals.”
“Give me your reasons for what you say,” Billy said in between feeding Maisy and wiping the applesauce from her face. “What causes you to believe as you do?”
“We know he’s slightly unbalanced, mentally challenged, or whatever they call it these days. Anyway, he’s not right in the head. He lives way up the mountain isolated from everyone. I’m sure he doesn’t get many visitors. The sheriff said most people don’t want to be around him. Kansas had a scar on his cheek, so I think he could’ve been attacked by a dog when he was younger, and now he roams Dogwood Valley after dogs and cats to torture as payback. Who knows, he could’ve spread out and scoured other neighborhoods for pets. One thing I remember about him was that he smelled bad, like a rotting corpse. He also smelled like urine. It was nasty.”
“Yeah, and the M.E. said he had bites on his stomach. That would explain his hatred for animals.” I added. “Rupert Hawkins said he saw someone in an old, white pickup truck snatch up a black and tan, and that the man had an older woman with him. Now if Kansas has a white pickup truck, I’d bet it was he and his sister, Daisy. If Kansas was the one who was killing off these animals, you know his sister knew about it. Perhaps she liked killing off people so much that she took up with him in his pursuit. She probably helped him with the torture and killing.”
Billy looked at the both of us and said, “This is speculation. You have no proof. Is it possible that your imagination is running wild?”
“There has to be a reason why he broke into Mom’s house,” I replied. “He knew someone was home. Our cars were in the driveway. He surely didn’t break in to snag an animal. He was after Mom, but got two for the price of one. He could’ve seen us and was sure he could do us both in without any problems. He just didn’t know who he was dealing with. I’m Jesse Blackhawk. I can kick some serious butt.”
“Oh, Lord,” Claire murmured. “Don’t start thinking you’re tougher than you really are. You could get hurt.” She placed a stack of plates on the counter and said. “Breakfast is ready. Help yourselves.” She took one of Maisy’s small plates out of the cabinet, scooped up a helping of scrambled eggs and put the pile on the plate next to the piece of dry toast. “Do you give her jelly?”
“Just a tiny bit to keep the toast from being so dry,” Billy said.
Everyone helped themselves.
I got up, went to the refrigerator and took out a small carton of Juicy Juice. I took the straw from the cellophane, stuck it in the paper carton and then set it down on the high chair tray.
Maisy grasped the carton with both hands and brought it up to her mouth. Billy helped her with the straw, and after a few minutes, she got the knack of it. When she let go of the straw, the juice kept coming and splashed up in her face. It was all we could do to keep from laughing.
“Here, let Mommy wipe your face, Maisy.”
“Ma-Ma,” she said.
Mom and Claire gasped and looked at each other.
“Is this the first time she said Ma-Ma?”
“Nope,” Billy said. “Her first words were Da-Da.”
“How sweet,” Claire uttered. “It’s so wonderful when they start talking. You get to see their personality come out.”
“Not to change the subject,” Mom interjected as she scooped up a spoonful of eggs from her plate. Her hand hung in the air. “Are you going back home today, Claire?”
“Will you be all right if I do?”
“Sure, I’ll be fine. Jesse’s going to make an appointment with the head doctor for both of us so we can come to grips with our tragedy. Right, Jesse?”
“Right,” I answered. I raised my eyebrows.
“There’s no need to look at me like that. I know you’re not going to let this go, so we might as well go ahead and do it,” Mom snipped. “Make the appointment.”
“I’ll call the doctor first thing tomorrow morning.”
“I guess Randy and I will be heading out after breakfast since everything seems to be under control... for now,” Claire announced.
“I know it’s none of my business,” Mom said. “but I hope you two don’t share the same bed at home.” She looked at Claire and Randy.
Nobody said a word.
“Kids pick up on everything. If you want to get married, let me know. I’m sure Abby, Isabel and I can put together a nice wedding.”
“I can help, too,” I added. “I’m sure Sarah would love to get involved.”
“Wait a minute,” Claire said. “You’re putting the cart before the horse. Randy hasn’t…”
“If you’re not getting married, then stop playing house in front of the kids.” Mom had a stern look on her face. She meant business.
“Ladies,” Randy said, holding up both hands. “This is getting out of control.” He looked at Claire and said, “Finish your sentence.”
“I was going to say that you haven’t asked me, yet.” She eyed him funny.
He got up from the table and then bent down on one knee. “Claire, will you marry me?”
Without hesitation, Claire said, “Yes, I will.”
Randy looked over at Mom and said, “Thanks, Mrs. Watson. All I needed was an opportunity and the nerve. You just gave me both.” He kissed Claire, stood, and then walked over to Mom. He kissed her cheek and said, “Does this mean I can call you, Mom?”
“You can call me, Minnie,” she replied. “I have three children, and you’re not one of them. Billy calls me Minnie, so you can, too. Can you imagine what people would think if all the adults in this family called me, Mom?”
“What a way to start the day!” I said.
“You’re telling me!” Claire added. “We’d better hurry up and leave before you change your mind.”
“It’s too late for that,” Randy said. “My heart has always belonged to you.”
Chapter 15
Before we finished breakfast, Billy said he had something else to tell us. “I don’t want to put a damper on such a joyous occasion, but I have some news I need to tell everyone. The phone
call from Cole wasn’t just about Kansas Moon.” He looked directly at me. “During their investigation, the police discovered that Dr. Benjamin Beard’s receptionist, Belinda Hastings, the same one I dealt with, falsified the paternity test. Benjamin Beard is not Maisy’s father. It seems that Miss Hastings was not a good person. She falsified quite a few other test results. She obviously never expected the kind of trouble her meddling would cause, because she up and left her job, and nobody has seen or heard from her since the good doctor was sent to prison.”
“How did they find out?” I asked. I was horrified by the fact that two people had died as a result of that woman’s prank. “How could she do something so terrible?”
“The doctor who took over Beard’s practice had a woman come in and was told by one of the nurses that the tests showed she had a cancerous tumor on one of her ovaries. The patient laughed at the idea and said she hadn’t had ovaries in thirty-eight years. The patient was eighty-six years old. After that incident, the doctor launched a full audit of each patient’s record. Many inconsistencies were found and the police were notified. Beard surrendered a vile of blood for retesting, and the results were conclusive that he wasn’t Maisy’s father.”
“It makes me sick to think Maisy lost her parents because of that stupid woman,” I said, furious. “If I could find her, I’d make my face the last thing she ever saw.”
“That’s pretty harsh,” Claire said, amazed at how serious I sounded. “Would you really?”
“Don’t ask.”
“That’s not all,” Billy continued. “Geneva paid to have a DNA test done. She supplied a toothbrush and hair from one of Brian’s combs as soon as she found out about the errors. Cole said he didn’t know how she found out, but since she’s in charge of Brian’s estate, she had the right to do whatever she wanted.”
“So she wanted to know if Maisy was really Brian’s daughter, and now that she does, she wants to be a part of her life. Would she be knocking on our door if the paternity test had come back negative? I think not. I’m beginning to have my doubts about Geneva. Billy, I know she’s your mom’s sister, but that doesn’t mean she has good intentions. It doesn’t make sense that after all this time she suddenly wants to see her granddaughter.”
“I have a question,” Mom said. “Was Geneva a part of Maisy’s life before Brian and Vicki died? She was separated from her husband, and I heard she was laid up. Brian and his father were estranged.”
“I think the key issue here is whether or not Geneva and Eli were a part of Maisy’s life when she was born,” Claire added. “They sure haven’t been since Vicki and Brian’s death.”
“Yeah,” Randy said. “If I thought it was my grandchild from day one, I couldn’t stop loving the child just because of what’s written on a piece of paper.”
“What’s their agenda?” Mom asked. “It’s been months and we haven’t heard hide nor hair from either one of them. Could it be that Brian left everything to Maisy? When they found out Maisy wasn’t Brian’s child, they knew she wouldn’t get anything, but now that it’s been proven that Maisy is indeed Brian’s child, does she stand to inherit a lot of money? Could money be what’s behind this sudden appearance of Grandma and Grandpa Cherry?”
“I say we investigate Grandma and Grandpa,” Mom said.
“That’s a good idea,” Billy said. “I’ll look into it.”
“But…” I started to say.
“You know you can trust me, Jesse,” Billy said. “You have enough on your plate as it is. I’ll take care of this. You and Grandma Minnie have to deal with the deputy today.”
“Hey, I like that,” Mom said with a grin. “If we add two more grandparents to this family, the kids won’t know who to call Grandma. We need specific names and mine will be Grandma Minnie.”
“I don’t think I like that,” Claire grunted. “Benny and Carrie have always called you Grandma. Now you want them to call you something else.”
“Claire, it’s not that difficult,” Mom said, rolling her eyes. “Don’t you want them to know who you’re talking about? There’s already two Grandmas in this family, add another one and then they’ll really get confused.”
“I like the idea,” I said, agreeing with Mom. “Grandma Minnie, Grandma Sarah and Grandma Full of Sh...”
“You’re being ugly again,” Mom chastised me. “You’re also being disrespectful to Billy. She is his aunt.”
I looked over at Billy and said, “I’m sorry. I didn’t think of it like that. How insensitive of me. I hope I didn’t hurt your feelings. I won’t say anything like that again unless she proves me wrong.”
“I can’t ask for more,” Billy replied. “If she turns out to have an agenda that isn’t in the best interest of Maisy, we’ll give her a run for her money. Pardon the pun.”
I got up and went to the sink to wash out the cloth I used on Maisy’s face. I came back to the table and sat down in my chair next to her. I wiped her angelic little face with the rag and kissed her on the forehead. “Don’t you worry, sweetie,” I whispered. “Nobody’s taking you away from your new parents. Your mommy and daddy loved you very much and when they went to heaven, they gave us the honor of becoming your new mommy and daddy. You’re a member of this family, and that isn’t going to ever change. And pretty soon, you’ll have a Cherokee name added to the one you have now. It won’t be on paper, but we’ll know it to be true. Your mommy, Vicki, and your daddy, Brian would be so proud of you. You’re a wonderful child, except when you pout.”
“But that’s okay, sweetie,” Mom added. “Your new mommy was a pouter, too.”
“I never was…”
“You were, too,” Claire agreed. “You were spoiled rotten by Dad because he saw a lot of himself in you. He told me you would grow up to have the gumption that Jack and I don’t have.”
“I’m sorry, Claire,” I said, tears coming to my eyes. “Oh, Lord. Here I go again.” Tears started rolling down my cheeks. “I bet that must’ve hurt y’all’s feelings. I’m sorry.”
“No way, Jesse. We loved it when you did all those ridiculous things and got caught. We chuckled at you behind your back when you got into trouble. Jack and I were the quiet ones, and you were always the first one to open your big mouth. That mouth of yours got you into trouble all the time. And you always had to get the last word in. Your questionable behavior and subsequent punishment gave us such pleasure and made us feel as if we were getting one up on you for being so much like Dad… and his favorite.”
“I was not,” I said as I continued to limply weep. “He loved us all the same.”
“He most certainly did,” Mom said, defending my father. “But I must admit he liked to see the rebel side of you show through. He said he figured one day you’d need that rebellion to protect yourself and do good things for others.”
“He did?” I cried. “I miss him every day.” I cried more.
Maisy saw me crying, turned up her quivering lip and started crying, too.
I looked up and saw that Mom and Claire both had tears in their eyes. For some reason, seeing all our tears and distorted faces made me stop crying and caused me to start laughing. Minutes later, we were all laughing. Poor little Maisy looked so confused.
“See what you’re getting into, Randy?” Billy asked.
“Are they like this all the time?”
“I’d say so.”
“I can handle it,” Randy responded. “Remember, my mother’s Abigail Morgan. When her money can’t buy what she wants, she reverts to pouting, and when that doesn’t work, she cries. Tears have gotten her more from us than any amount of money—and she’s so good at it. My poor sister hasn’t figured that out yet, but one day she will. Until then, she’s on her own.”
“Shame on you, Randy,” Claire said. “She’s your sister.”
“She’s also a pain when it comes to those kids. She’s always too busy to visit Mom on her own, so when Mom calls and does her crying bit, my sister hops to it.”
I took Maisy
out of the high chair and gave her a big hug. She stopped crying.
“You’re a natural with children, `ge ya,” Billy said. He got up and put his arms around both of us.
Billy has big arms to go along with the rest of his physique. He’s a typical Blackhawk man. Even his father, who is old as the hills, is still in fine shape. Cherokee Indian men are like that… at least, these are.
I heard the tires from an automobile crunching in the gravel as it pulled up to the front porch.
“Someone’s here,” I said, leery that it might be Daisy. I knew it wouldn’t be long before Mom and I would have to confront her about what happened to her brother, but I was hoping for a little more time. I was relieved when I looked out the front window and recognized Deputy Kingsley as she stepped out of her patrol cruiser.
“It’s Deputy Kingsley,” I said. “She’s here to take our statements.” I looked over at Billy and asked. “Don’t we need a lawyer present?”
As soon as the words were out of my mouth, Russ Shank pulled up in the driveway and parked his car behind the deputy. He got out and followed her to the front door.
“That’s why Russ is here,” Billy said as he went to the door and opened it before either one could knock. “Come in, Deputy Kingsley. I’m glad you could make it, Russ,” Billy said, holding his hand out to her and then Russ. “Let’s get this over with.”
“Hey, I’m the family lawyer. I have to be here.” Russ smiled and shook Billy’s hand.
“This shouldn’t take too long,” the deputy said. “It’s just a formality. We pretty much have all the facts. It’s a case of self-defense.”
Billy introduced Claire and Randy and then took Maisy from me. “And this is our little girl, Maisy. Our son, Ethan is asleep.”
“Why don’t we take Maisy upstairs with us,” Claire offered. “Randy and I will be leaving soon, so she can hang out with us while we pack.”
“Don’t let her…”