by Jane Toombs
“People from other states are always surprised,” Jade said, joining her.
“Nathan told me you’ve always lived here.” She glanced appraisingly at Jade. “You’re very different from Gloria, for which I’m thankful. She was a real bitch.”
Gloria, Jade recalled, was Nathan’s ex-wife. “He never talks about her.”
“She tried her best to ruin his life. We were happy when he finally divorced her. I’m afraid, though...” Laura paused. “You won’t be offended?”
“I doubt it. Go ahead.”
“Well, it’s just that Gloria so soured him on women that I don’t think he’ll ever marry again. I like you and can see why he’s so fond of you, but...” Again she paused.
“But he’s not apt to many me, is that it?” Jade’s words were lighter than her heart.
“I’m so glad you understand. I dreaded annoying or upsetting you, but once I met you I knew I had to tell you.”
“I’m not too keen on getting married myself.” As soon as she spoke, Jade knew the words, once true enough, no longer were.
“That’s good. Nathan is a wonderful brother. He needs someone who won’t... well, expect too much.” Laura’s smile was sad. “He and I are alike in at least one way-I’ll never marry, either.”
Jade’s curiosity overcame her politeness. She was choosing the words to ask why when the three kids appeared, racing around the pond, Tim in the lead, pointing at the gazebo. The two women clearly heard his “There they are!”
“I suspect we’re about to be invaded,” she told Laura, instead.
Laura answered Danny’s barrage of questions with patient humor and told Yasmin that, no, she’d never ridden on a camel, but did know how to ride a horse.
At last Tim said, “We’re supposed to tell you the lemonade is ready.”
With the children scurrying ahead of them, Jade and Laura walked back to the patio.
With everyone together, the conversation turned general. Then it was time to eat. Later, Jade retrieved her guitar from the pickup and everyone sang folk songs. All three of the kids, she was amused to see, had learned a plaintive Kholi tune of Talal’s.
Not once was she alone with Nathan, for which she was grateful. Exactly as she’d known from the beginning, any relationship with him could go nowhere.
As the evening began to wind down, she offered to put a sleepy Erin to bed. As she was coming out of the baby’s bedroom, she found Nathan waiting in the tall. Without a word he took her hand, leading her along the hall to the addition and out into the rose garden.
The perfume of the roses wrapped around her, and the moon cast its bewitching glimmer as Nathan paused and turned her toward him. He must remember, as she did, this was the romantic spot where they’d exchanged their first kiss. Bemused by that recollection, the rose scent, the moonlight and his nearness, she tilted her face up to him, eyes closing as she anticipated what would happen.
“We’re getting in too deep,” he told her, instead of kissing her. “I know neither of us want that. It’s time to pull back and take a good look at what’s happening.”
She felt as though he’d slapped her. Tears stinging her eyes, she turned from him. With great effort she steadied her voice enough to say coolly, “I’ve been thinking the same thing. Now that it’s out in the open, we can just go our separate ways with no regrets.” She headed blindly for the door leading into the house.
“Wait,” he said. “That’s not exactly what I meant—too drastic. I—”
“It’s exactly what I mean,” she snapped, anger rescuing her from breaking down completely. She opened the door, pausing to offer a final, “Goodbye, Nathan.”
Chapter Thirteen
As the days passed after what Jade had meant as her final goodbye to Nathan, she worked past her hurt enough to realize that didn’t mean she’d never see him again. Any permanent farewell would have to be just for social occasions or anything one-on-one. Naturally Nathan was still Tim’s doctor, and there also might be times he’d want to take the boy on some excursion.
More or less like joint custody, she decided, even though they’d never been married. Just separated.
A phone call from Steve modified her plans.
“I’ll be in Nevada next week,” he told her, “but I have a hunch the Sacramento cops will be calling on you before I can get there.”
“What on earth for?” she demanded.
“Monty Martin’s dead. My agency sicced them onto Martin, and they found he was already on their books as a homicide victim.”
“Who is Monty Martin?” she asked.
Tim, who’d been dangling a cat toy on a string for Hot Shot, dropped the string, grabbed up Freddie and ran out of the room.
She stared after him in puzzlement as she listened to Steve.
“Our investigation turned his name up as a Vietnam vet who returned to that country three years ago and brought back to the U.S. a child he claimed was his grandson. Seems he had a birth certificate listing his deceased son as the father. Since the Vietnamese mother was also dead, Martin was allowed to adopt the boy.”
“Wait a sec, Steve,” she said, understanding now why Tim had run off—he’d heard her repeat his grandfather’s name. “You mean Tim’s grandfather, Monty Martin, is dead?”
“Murdered, according to the Sacramento cops. Apparently the day before Alice’s accident in Nevada.”
“Hang on, will you?” She dropped the phone and hurried to find Tim, who didn’t respond to her calling his name. Hot Shot, though, unerringly revealed his hiding place under the bed.
She knelt, lifted the spread and peered at Tim. Considering how afraid he was, she chose to be blunt. “Steve just told me your grandfather is dead,” she told him. “Monty Martin can’t hurt you anymore, so there’s no need to hide.”
Slowly Tim emerged with Freddie and crawled onto the bed. Hot Shot jumped up to join him.
“I’ll be back as soon as I finish talking to Steve,” she added. “Okay?”
Tim nodded.
When she picked up the phone again, she asked, “Who killed him? Was it Alice?”
“They aren’t sure yet, but they have learned Alice’s last name—Honders—and contacted the Reno police. If her amnesia is genuine, I don’t know how much, if anything, they’ll get out of her. I strongly suspect they’ll also insist on interviewing Tim. You can’t keep him out of this, shrink or not, since it’s now a homicide case. I’ll keep you posted if I learn anything more before I get there.”
“Thanks, Steve.” Jade put the phone down and hurried into Tim’s room. Sitting on the bed, she put her arm around him, cuddling him next to her.
“Is he really, truly dead?” Tim whispered.
“The Sacramento police say so.”
“Then he can’t come here and get me.”
She hugged him closer. “No. Never.”
Later, while Tim was occupied watching his favorite TV program in the family room, she called Gert Severin from the kitchen. After explaining what had happened, Jade asked, “What do you suggest I do if the police insist on talking to Tim? Should you be there?”
“If it’s a homicide case, you’ll have to allow it. And no, I don’t think Tim needs me. If both you and Nathan are present, he should feel secure enough to deal with the questions without too much trauma.”
“You think he needs both of us?”
“Definitely. You provide him with the loving mother and Nathan with the protective father. Tim needs all the security he can get.”
“Sometimes I think Freddie the Frog provides him with more than either of us,” Jade said ruefully.
“Freddie’s his talisman and should be there, too. If he seems too upset afterward, bring him by so he and I can have another little talk,” Gert advised.
Jade sighed as she hung up. Naturally she intended to keep Tim as secure as possible, even if it meant having to face Nathan again so soon. She would, she supposed, have to call and give him Steve’s warning to prepare him ahead o
f time. First of all, though, she must talk to Tim about what lay ahead.
She waited until his program was over, then sat on the family-room couch. “We’re faced with a problem,” she told him. “Want to join me while we discuss it?”
Tim climbed up beside her.
Since she thought she had a fair idea of some of the questions the police might ask him, she decided to tell him the truth up front. It was better for him to hear it from her than from a stranger.
“The Sacramento police believe someone killed your grandfather,” she said.
He gazed up at her, waiting for more, apparently not shocked or surprised at the news.
“They don’t know who killed him so they may come here—or send our local police here—to ask you some questions about the time before Alice took you away from your grandfather’s house. If they do, Nathan and I will be there with you.”
He brightened. “Doc’s coming?”
“He will if the police question you.”
“Do I gotta go see Alice?”
“Not unless you change your mind and decide you want to.” As far as she was concerned, there was no need for the police to force that issue.
“Don’t want to.”
“Okay, then.”
“Does Doc know about the police?”
“Not yet. I’m going to call him later, after clinic hours, when he isn’t so busy.”
“Can I talk to him? I want to tell him my poem from school.”
Wondering what he meant, Jade nodded, feeling a tad hurt because he hadn’t recited any poem to her. Is this how divorced parents felt? Trying not to be upset because their child wanted to share something they knew nothing about with the absent other?
That evening, after she’d explained Steve’s call to Nathan and told him what Gert advised, she handed the phone to Tim.
“I made up a poem,” Tim said, plunging right into it.
Freddie was Laura’s
Freddie was Doc’s
Freddie is Tim’s
Frederick Ferdinand Frog.
He’s green.
“Teacher says it’s a good poem’n Yasmin likes it.”
Apparently Nathan praised the poem because Tim grinned happily. They exchanged a few more words before Tim handed the phone back to Jade.
“Let me know if and when the police are coming and I’ll be there,” Nathan told her.
The call came the next morning. Jade explained that Tim would be back from school by two and they could interview him then. She and his doctor would be present during the questioning. She notified Nathan immediately.
He arrived just as she was pulling in the driveway with Tim. Her watch said it was one-fifteen. “Any handout for a poor starving man?” he asked.
“Leftovers,” she told him.
While Tim toyed with his own sandwich, watching every bite his “Doc” took, Nathan ate cold chicken and warmed-over mashed potatoes with every evidence of enjoyment, finishing off with several oatmeal cookies. She tried not to think about how natural and good it was to see Nathan sitting with Tim in her kitchen, eating food she’d prepared.
“Thanks to you,” he said, “Tim and I are now better equipped to face the inquisition—aren’t we, cowboy?”
“Yeah,” Tim said.
“One thing you got to remember about cops, it’s best to tell them the truth right away so they’ll stop asking questions and leave you alone. Got that?”
Tim nodded.
“I made up a poem driving here,” Nathan said.
Freddie is a frog
He’s not a dog.
Hot Shot is a cat
He’s not a dirty rat.
“What do you think?”
His answer was a giggle from Tim. Nathan glanced questioningly at Jade.
“It rhymes,” she said, glad he was distracting Tim but determined not to be drawn even a millimeter into his web.
Just after two, a Carson deputy arrived with a plainclothes detective from California.
“Does the boy know why we’re here, Ms. Adams?” the detective, Lieutenant Soames, asked Jade as she led the way into the living room where Nathan was waiting with Tim.
“I told him his grandfather had been killed,” she said, “and that you’d be asking him about it.”
After everyone was seated, the lieutenant introduced himself to Nathan and Tim, who sat side by side on the couch. “And this is Deputy Harding,” he added.
“Dr. Walker,” Nathan said in a level tone, “and Tim. The frog is Freddie.”
The lieutenant didn’t flicker so much as an eyelash at his introduction to a stuffed toy frog. He leaned forward, focusing on Tim. “Ms. Adams says she told you your grandfather, Monty Martin, had been killed. I’m here to try and find out if you can help me discover who killed him.”
Tim stared at him, saying nothing.
“I want you to think about the last time you saw your grandfather,” the lieutenant went on. “What was he doing?”
“Yelling at Alice,” Tim said.
“What were you doing?”
“Hiding under the bed ’cause I was scared of him.”
The lieutenant glanced briefly at the deputy, who was jotting down notes. “What happened next?” he asked.
“He hit Alice. She fell down and he kicked her.”
“You could see this from under the bed?”
“Yeah, ’cause they were in the hall.”
“So your bedroom door was open?”
Tim nodded.
“Then what happened?”
“He tried to kick Alice some more, but then he fell down. She hit him on the head with something and he didn’t get up.”
“Did you see what Alice hit him with?”
“Maybe a hammer.”
“Was it a hammer?”
Tim hugged Freddie closer. “Yeah.”
“What did Alice do then?”
“She pulled me out from under the bed and made me go with her.”
“Go with her where?”
“We walked a long time. She found a van and we drove.”
“Did Alice say anything to you about what had happened?”
“No.”
“Did you ask her?”
“No.”
“Did Alice talk to you at all?”
“She said bad words.”
“What kind of bad words?”
“Words my teacher told us not to say.”
“Did Alice do anything else to your grandfather besides hitting him on the head with the hammer?”
Tim shook his head.
“You’re sure.”
“Yeah.”
“Do you like Alice?”
“No.”
“Do you always tell the truth, Tim?”
Tim glanced up at Nathan. “Doc and Jade say I have to. Doc said if I told you the truth, you’d go away. So I did.”
The lieutenant couldn’t conceal a quickly wipedoff smile. “I can’t promise I won’t have to come back.”
Tim edged closer to Nathan, who put an arm around him.
“The thing is, we need to find out who killed your grandfather,” Soames added. “Do you know anything else that might help us?”
After a short silence, Tim shook his head.
Soon after that, the police left.
“Anyone for ice cream?” Nathan asked.
“Me!” Tim cried, then looked at Jade. When she didn’t say anything, he answered for her. “Jade likes peach ice cream best’n she puts chocolate on it. But we forgot to buy any when we went shopping. We don’t even have vanilla.”
“You go ahead and take Tim,” she said to Nathan.
“But you’re supposed to come with us,” Tim told her.
Unable to resist his pleading look, Jade caved in. “Ice cream, it is.”
At least this isn’t one-on-one, she consoled herself as the three of them sat in the ice-cream shop.
“Jade took me to a casino,” Tim said between licks at his cone. “We had to stand in l
ine, then we got to go to where the food was and I picked out everything I like.”
“Buffet,” she put in.
“Yeah, buffet. But kids can’t go near all those slot machines ’cause they’re not like video games. Next Wednesday the teacher’s taking us on a field trip. We already went on one to see some baby lambs.”
“So what’re you going to see this time?” Nathan asked.
“Pet-something. On rocks.”
“Petroglyphs,” Jade said.
“Yeah, those. Jade’s coming to help my teacher. Maybe you can come?”
“I recall you mentioning petroglyphs once,” Nathan said to Jade, then turned back to Tim. “If I can get someone to cover for me Wednesday morning, I’ll be there, cowboy. Have to meet you at the site, though.”
Great, Jade told herself. Another outing with Nathan. Just what she didn’t need. Another thought occurred to her and she smiled. “Pat’s husband, Rick, will be our fearless leader, so you’ll get to meet him. He works part-time as a ranger. We meet at eightthirty Wednesday morning five miles past Fallon on Highway 50. We hike in from there.”
“Ranger Rick, huh? I can see this is an event not to miss.”
When Nathan climbed from his Jeep Wednesday morning, he spotted Ranger Rick, in uniform, with a gaggle of kids gathered around him. He also saw Jade, Karen and Pat standing together. Three attractive females, no doubt about it. Why was it, though, his heart lifted only at the sight of Jade?
The day was overcast with a hint of rain in the air but high-desert warm, as was usual in the summer around here. Jade wore khaki shorts and a yellow shirt, her ponytail poking through the back opening of a Northern Nevada Drilling cap. He liked to tease her about being a redhead, but actually her hair was a deep, glowing auburn, as lovely as the rest of her.
He sauntered over, waiting to introduce himself until Rick finished his spiel.
“Glad to have you aboard,” Rick said.
“He’s my friend,” Tim said.
Rick nodded. “Okay, kids, let’s get organized. You’ll follow me like I told you, by twos, with your assigned buddy. Make your line.”
Since there was an even dozen, it worked out with no one left over. Karen’s place was after the first three pairs, Jade bringing up the rear, while Pat stayed in front with her husband.