Allie smiled back at finally being able to offer the girl some relief. God knew she needed it. She just wished she could do the same for Carrie.
And she would.
Somehow.
She was as stubborn as Bitty, and she’d find a way. But right now, she was exhausted and just wanted to unwind.
“Okay, well, good night then,” Zoe said and walked from the room toward her own.
“Good night,” Allie said, pretty certain that it was just a pretense. That Zoe would soon be in her bed. She’d been sneaking into it late every night, ever since Carrie’s suicide attempt.
But Allie didn’t blame her. She knew if she had gone through everything Zoe just had, she wouldn’t want to be alone either.
CHAPTER 22
“MOMMY, I NO want Zoe to sleep with us anymore, okay?” Sammy said from the backseat as they were pulling onto Main Street the next afternoon. It had been a long day, and Allie wanted nothing more than to be back home. Wind whipped at the Tahoe as she pulled off Main Street and onto the dirt road that led to the house.
She glanced in the rearview mirror. “It bothers you, doesn’t it?”
“Yes. I no like it. Two bugs, not three.”
“Okay, I’ll talk to her.”
A few minutes later, Allie pushed the front door open and Sammy rushed past her into the foyer. “Carrie’s home! Carrie’s home!” he squealed, seeing her on the couch. He darted through the foyer and into the living room, then came to a screeching stop right before he reached the couch where Carrie lay.
“Why you got owies on your arms?” he asked.
“Sammy, honey! Come here and say hello to Grammy!” Bitty called from the kitchen.
“Grammy!” Carrie’s bandages already forgotten, he dashed to the kitchen.
Allie could smell something cooking. She guessed it was Bitty’s famous chicken potpie. She shrugged off her coat and walked into the living room. The white bandages on Carrie’s arms had been replaced with smaller, flesh-colored ones. Allie also noticed the stuffed bear was no longer at Carrie’s side. She hoped it was a good sign. That maybe she didn’t need it anymore to feel safe at their house.
“I’m happy you’re home,” Allie said, sitting next to her. She took Carrie’s hand in hers and squeezed gently. And this time, to Allie’s surprise, she squeezed back.
Allie’s pulsed quickened. First Carrie talking to her at Sunny Lawn. Now squeezing her hand. Both were major, completely unexpected victories.
She was getting through to her.
Allie caught movement out of the corner of her eye and glanced up. Zoe was standing at the edge of the living room, frowning at them. Allie saw something flash behind her eyes, then she turned and fled down the hallway.
A few seconds later, a door slammed.
Carrie yanked her hand from Allie’s, then lay down, her back to her.
“Zoe?” Allie called at the twins’ bedroom door.
Silence.
She knocked twice on the door. “Zoe? Mind if I come in?”
More silence, then: “Whatever. It’s your house.”
Allie let herself in and found Zoe on the upper bunk, leafing through a magazine. She had earbuds in her ears, and an iPod rested on her stomach.
Where did those come from? She wondered if Bitty had bought them for her . . . or had arranged to get them from her house. She’d have to ask. “What’s going on? Why are you so angry?” she asked.
Zoe pulled an earbud from her ear, letting it dangle against her chest. “Who said I was angry?”
“No one, but you look and sound angry, so I’m guessing you are.” Allie studied the girl. “Is it that you’re still angry at Carrie? For what she did?”
Zoe didn’t respond.
“Look, I know you’re hurt. And you have every right to be. But she’s hurting, too. So don’t you think we should all support her?”
Zoe didn’t respond.
“Zoe?”
Zoe ignored her.
Allie sighed, knowing that she’d have to wait for the girl to calm down before they could have a real conversation. As she started to leave the room, she remembered the promise she’d made to Sammy about talking to Zoe about the sleeping arrangements. She really didn’t want to bring it up now while Zoe was already upset, but she also realized there’d be no comfortable time to discuss it, because no matter what, she was going to feel rejected. Allie hated that, but her son’s feelings were important.
“I also wanted to talk about . . .” She hesitated, trying to figure out how to string the words together the right way.
Zoe’s eyes were now on hers, searching. “What?”
“Well, since your sister’s back, you should probably start sleeping in here again.”
For a brief moment, Zoe looked hurt. But then she quickly rolled her eyes. “Okay, fine. Whatever.”
“Does that make you angry?”
Zoe didn’t say anything.
“It’s just that . . . Sammy doesn’t sleep well when you sleep with us. I think he might be a little jealous. Before you and Carrie, it was just him and me. And that’s what he’s used to, you know?”
Silence.
“Plus, there’s nothing to be scared of now. Gary’s far away from here in Florida. He can’t hurt anyone. You know that. Right, Zoe? There’s nothing to be afraid of.”
Zoe turned away from her and shoved the earbud back into her ear. “Whatever. I didn’t want to sleep with you anymore anyway.”
CHAPTER 23
THAT EVENING, THE doorbell rang. Allie peered through the peephole and was surprised to see the old lady from the funeral standing on the front porch. The one who had watched them, but hadn’t approached to say hello to the girls.
Bitty appeared behind Allie, wiping her hands on her apron. “Who is it?”
“That strange old woman from the funeral. The one who kept staring at us.”
Bitty frowned. “Let me get it.”
Bitty went to the door and pulled it open. “May I help you?” she asked, the odor of stale cigarettes and mothballs floating in on frigid wintry air.
“Are the girls here?” the old lady asked, her voice gravelly, as though she were a smoker. She wore her gray hair up in a ’50s beehive hairdo and looked like she could’ve been beautiful once. But her blue eyes had a hard, glacial quality to them, and her skin was tinged with gray, as though she were unwell.
Bitty’s frown deepened. “I’m sorry. You are?”
“I’m Ruby Duvall. I’m Julie Parish’s mother. Those kids you have living here are my grandbabies. Go tell them Grandmother is here to see them.”
Hearing Ruby’s voice, Carrie jerked into a sitting position on the couch, tense as pulled wire. Allie had never seen the girl move so quickly.
Bitty invited Ruby into the foyer, but stopped her with the motion of the palm of her hand before she could go any farther. The woman had a frenetic, nervous energy about her that made Allie uneasy. Allie knew Bitty noticed it, too.
“I’m sorry. But to what do we owe the pleasure of this visit?” Miss Bitty asked, her voice not holding its usual warmth.
Ruby’s eyes darted around the foyer and past Bitty. She stood on her tiptoes to see over Bitty’s shoulder and into the living room. “You people and your fancy houses,” she muttered, shaking her head.
Bitty repeated her question, but it went unanswered.
The old woman stopped looking around and focused on Bitty with her cold eyes. She looked distrusting. “I’ve changed my mind about taking the girls,” Ruby said.
Allie and Bitty traded glances.
“I see,” Bitty said. “Well, that’s something you need to take up with Child Protective Services and the judge. I’m in no way involved with guardianship decisions.”
“I’m planning on doing just that. But right now I’d like to see my grandbabies.”
Allie turned to look at Carrie again, but the couch was empty.
“Have CPS call and tell me it’s okay, then we’ll talk,
” Bitty told the woman.
“Are you kiddin’ me? You’re sayin’ you won’t let me see my own grandbabies?”
“Yes. That’s exactly what I’m saying.”
Ruby twisted her mouth, as though she’d just sucked on a lemon. She stared at Bitty for a long while, then: “Let me see them or I’m going to call the cops.”
Bitty’s hands went to her hips. “Go ahead. Call them.”
Ruby’s eyes widened. She thrust her bag off her shoulder and made a big show of digging around in it for her phone. As she pulled a scratched flip-top cell phone out, she lost hold of the bag and it tumbled to the floor. “Aw, shit, look at what you gone and made me do!”
She planted a scabby, veined hand against her thigh and groaned, then bent to retrieve her things. Bitty knelt down to help. Scattered all over the ceramic tile were used tissues, a tube of off-brand petroleum jelly, empty gum wrappers, pencils, and a pen.
Bitty grabbed the gum wrappers and the pencils. Then her hand paused on the pen and she stood up again. She rolled it around in her hand. Allie could see the words printed on the side: Ed’s Granite Show House. She recognized the name, but couldn’t immediately place it.
Ruby finished throwing everything back into her bag and, with another groan, stood.
“You get granite work done lately?” Bitty asked.
Ruby looked confused. “Granite? No. Why would you get a fool idea like that?”
Bitty held out the pen. The older woman squinted, her eyes running over the words on the side, and slowly, realization bloomed in her eyes.
The tension in the air seemed to thicken.
“Why, I have no idea how that even got in there,” she said, twisting her wrinkled mouth again and revealing two rotten bottom teeth. She snatched the pen from Bitty’s hand. “Just want to keep takin’ what isn’t yours, do ya?”
Allie racked her brain trying to figure out why the granite company’s name sounded familiar, but it still wasn’t coming to her.
“So . . . I’ll just come out and ask,” Ruby said. “You gettin’ my daughter’s money?”
“Absolutely not,” Bitty replied.
Ruby snorted, and her beady eyes traveled to Allie’s. “Does it look like I was born yesterday? I don’t believe that for one second.”
“I don’t get a penny of your daughter’s money.”
The woman seemed to be considering whether Bitty was telling her the truth.
“I hear you’re talkin’ to a lot of folks around here. That they’re talkin’ to you.”
Bitty crossed her arms.
“And I heard Julie gave that Gary fella most of her money. See, my daughter was never the sharpest knife in the drawer, but she’d have to be a real buffoon to give that money away, especially to an old burnout like Gary Willis.” Ruby stared at Bitty, expecting an answer. “Well, did she?”
“I wouldn’t know.”
“Oh, I don’t believe that for an instant,” Ruby growled.
Bitty went to the door. “I think you should go.”
Ruby quickly stepped sideways so that she stood between Bitty and the door, and the odor of mothballs intensified. Her words came quicker, and now sounded desperate. “Just give me a little. Just a little of that money. I sacrificed a lot bringin’ my daughters up. Now I’m barely gettin’ by. I deserve that money. Give me a little and I’ll let you keep the rest. And I won’t take the girls away. That’s a promise. I’ll never even bother you again.”
Bitty pushed past the woman and swung the front door open. A rush of frosty air flooded in. “Like I said, contact CPS. And until then, do not come here again.”
Ruby furrowed her brow and lifted her chin. She gave Bitty a thorough once-over. “You must think you’re high cotton, lady. But you don’t look like it to me. I’ll be back. You can bet on it.”
Bitty watched Ruby march out into the evening and plunge her thin body into an old rusted Dodge Charger.
“What’s Ed’s Granite Show House?” Allie asked as they watched the woman fire up her car.
“It’s the company where Gary was working when the Parishes were killed.”
Now the pen made sense.
As soon as Ruby pulled away from the house, Bitty had her phone in her hand and was making a call.
“Calling Detective Lambert?”
“Damn right. Over my dead body will that crazy old woman get custody of those girls.”
Shortly after putting Sammy to bed, Allie went searching for Bitty, hoping to find out what Detective Lambert had said about the grandmother’s visit and her likelihood of being awarded custody of the girls.
As she headed to the kitchen, the girls’ bedroom door flew open. Zoe stepped out and grabbed Allie’s arms. Her cheeks were streaked with tears. “I’m so sorry for the way I acted earlier. I was rude, and I’m so very sorry. I shouldn’t have behaved that way. I promise I won’t do it again. But please,” she pleaded, wearing the same look of horror that Allie’d seen when Gary had shown up in the backyard. “Promise me you won’t let her take us! Please, Allie. We—”
“Zoe, calm down.”
The girl’s grip tightened. “No, you don’t understand!”
Allie frowned. “Zoe, let go. You’re hurting me.”
Zoe released her hold on Allie’s arms. “Oh, God. Sorry.” She pressed her hands together and held them under her chin. “Please. Don’t make us live with her. She doesn’t want us, she wants the money. Promise me?” she begged.
“It’s going to be okay, Zoe.”
She shook her head quickly back and forth. “No, don’t you see? It won’t be okay. It won’t! Not if we have to live with her. Please, you’re not promising me!” Her eyes were desperate. “I can help around here. I can watch Sammy all you want. I can clean, cook. I can—”
“Mommy?”
Allie turned. Sammy was in the doorway, his brow creased with worry.
“What wrong, Mommy?”
“Nothing. Zoe’s just a little upset right now.”
“She sad?”
“Yes. Go back to bed. I’ll be in there in a few minutes.”
“She going to the hospital?”
“No. Sammy go back to—”
“But I sawed a shadow.”
“That’s okay. Shadows can’t hurt you.”
“But I scared, Mommy!” he whined.
“Turn on the lamp and wait for me. I’ll be right there.”
Sammy disappeared back into the room.
Allie turned back to Zoe. “I’ll talk with Bitty, but I really don’t think a judge would grant guardianship to a woman like your grandmother.”
Zoe looked doubtful. “But you’re not sure, are you?”
“No, I’m not. But I’ll talk with Miss Bitty, okay?”
The answer didn’t seem to comfort Zoe much. But still, she backed away. “Thank you. Please do whatever you can. And I meant what I said. I’ll help out a ton around here. I’m a really, really hard worker. I can make your life easier. I can help . . . if you just let me.”
After Sammy fell asleep, Allie found Bitty in the kitchen, just finishing up a call on her cell phone.
“I just talked to Detective Lambert.”
“And—”
“I’ve got good news and bad news.”
Feeling her chest tighten, Allie sat down. Bitty explained that the detective had reassured her that it was very unlikely that the grandmother would get custody of the girls. He’d told Bitty that Ruby had a police record that included a conviction for drug charges. He’d also told her there were probably a dozen good explanations for Ruby to have had the pen with Gary’s workplace printed on it. It was a small town, and things like pens with names of local companies monogrammed on them just had a way of getting around. Also, Ruby’s younger daughter, Sandy, was a known meth user. Ruby was suspected of it, too. Gary had probably been their dealer, or maybe Gary, Ruby, and Sandy had shared a dealer. But even with the myriad of possibilities, Detective Lambert promised he’d follow up on it.
“And the bad news?”
Bitty sighed. “The bad news is that they found Gary’s truck in the woods today.”
“The woods . . . in Orlando?”
Bitty shook her head. “No. The woods here. Just a quarter mile away from our house.”
Allie glanced at the kitchen window and the dark yard beyond it. “But I thought he was in Florida?”
“There still hasn’t been confirmation yet that it was Gary using his card in Orlando. Someone could’ve stolen his card and tried to use it. But it’s also quite possible that it was Gary using the card in Florida and he just left the truck behind before leaving town. The truck could’ve easily been sitting there, abandoned, for the last few weeks, and simply gone unreported until now.”
Allie replayed the times she thought she saw and heard something in the backyard. Had she? “So, what does this mean?”
“Well, I hate to say it, but I think we need to behave as though he’s out here . . . someplace nearby, until we know more. Better safe than sorry.”
CHAPTER 24
IN THE MIDDLE of the night, Sammy got up to use the bathroom.
After flushing the toilet and washing his hands, he realized his throat felt dry, so he went back to the bedroom and picked up the glass by the bed. But it was empty. He reached out to wake his mommy, but stopped when he heard a noise.
He froze. What was that?!
He looked at his mommy again to see if she had heard, too, but she hadn’t. She was still asleep. Piglet was asleep, too, on her back with her toothpick legs up in the air.
He heard the noise again.
His heart thumping against his rib cage, he tiptoed to the bedroom door, opened it, and peeked out. The noise was louder now.
It was coming from the girls’ room.
He tiptoed down the hallway and pushed open the girls’ bedroom door a little bit. Enough to see Carrie on the bottom bunk bed, her face buried deeply in her pillow. She was crying really hard. He wondered why. Maybe because Zoe had been mean to her earlier. He knew she had, because he’d heard.
Grammy had made a special welcome-home dinner for Carrie: chicken potpie with a chocolate cake dessert. And after dinner, because he’d been feeling sneaky, he’d pressed his ear against the girls’ bedroom door and heard Zoe say: What exactly were we celebrating at dinner, Carrie? Welcome-home-from-the-loony-bin?
Don't Say a Word (Strangers Series) Page 12