Laney stepped out of Jim’s pickup. She was carrying a large foil-covered dish, and Jim was lugging a cooler. She had long black hair that swung easily at her waist. Tanned and graceful, she had an easy smile and exuded confidence.
Marc and her father hauled two more coolers to the table. Her mother toted her classic harvest-gold Tupperware cake carrier. Serious picnicking was about to begin.
After the past week, normalcy seemed abnormal and numbing. Tim had died a day after surgery with a gunshot wound to the chest. His funeral had been a private family affair. Isabelle said she’d only gone for Greg and Anna’s sake. Tim’s parents and two brothers and their families had barely spoken after the short service performed by Rev. Minders. How do you bury a murderer? Gracie had a new respect for her longtime pastor. He had done it with a grace and simplicity that even brought a measure of comfort to Gracie.
The last week had also given Gracie some real time to sort out a lot of emotions and baggage she’d carried since Michael had died and she had lost their baby. She still ached for them, but she’d finally begun the process of forgiving herself—for finding Michael too late to help him, and for the fall that caused the miscarriage when she was scrambling up the steep bank to get her cell phone from the SUV. After two attempts on her life, Gracie also had come to grips with the reality that her life meant something, and just maybe, she needed to get on with living.
She watched Laney and Jim and saw a comfortable relationship, one reminiscent of her own with Michael. Jim and Marc pulled out gloves from a beat up duffle bag, along with a softball. Laney laughed and talked with Theresa as they laid out plates and silverware. Her father was cleaning the grill and making sure the fire was just right to grill the burgers.
Marc looked relaxed in khaki Bermudas and a blue T-shirt. He threw the softball with a practiced arm. He was on mandatory administrative leave for another week while the details of Tim’s death were officially determined. There was no question he’d be cleared of any wrongdoing. Besides Isabelle and Gracie, Investigator Hotchkiss and another deputy were present when Marc pulled the trigger. Tim had decided in a split second on his own fate—suicide by cop. From his twisted viewpoint, he was tying up the messy story into a neat package for his family. There was too much he didn’t want to face.
Gracie shook her head at the rampant mis-communications and sorry concept of right and wrong that some of her family members had. Tim, the handsome and charming college man, had seduced a willing Charlotte, promising that he loved her and not Isabelle. When she turned up pregnant, Tim was livid, accusing her of trying to trap him into marriage. All the power had suddenly shifted to Charlotte and it was unacceptable. His fling had gone seriously awry. He demanded that Charlotte get an abortion, which she refused to do. He then threatened her with harm if she told anyone who the father was. Charlotte had already told her father about the pregnancy, and Tim was afraid that she’d told him the whole story. Tim had gotten Isabelle to come home with him that awful weekend on the pretense that he wanted to ask for her hand in marriage. He decided to take one more crack at Charlotte over that Friday night. He waited for her to leave the babysitting job and followed Charlotte up the street. He tried to get her in the car, but she ran away from him. When she crossed Main Street, he saw his opportunity and hit the accelerator—hard.
Isabelle had been out visiting friends that same night and had hit a deer on her way home. The front end of the car was a mess, but the deer had managed to get away. Isabelle had come home hysterical after her accident. Then they had received the phone call about Charlotte. Shirley and Stan had labored under the misconception that Isabelle must have accidently killed her own sister. In an attempt to hush up the pregnancy and the possibility of Isabelle receiving jail time, they had effectively discouraged the investigation, pleading emotional distress. If Isabelle had accidently killed her sister, they didn’t want the police to find out and run the risk of losing both daughters. It was something Shirley and Stan couldn’t contemplate.
Gracie’s instinct about the license plate proved correct. Although she intended to implicate her aunt or cousin, Investigator Hotchkiss discovered Tim’s car had a similar vanity plate at the time. A little further investigation into the insurance records showed that Tim’s car had been in a “deer accident” the same night. A collision shop in Buffalo had made repairs a week after Charlotte’s funeral.
Isabelle hadn’t really understood her parents’ suspicions over the years. It was only when her father had given Gracie all of Charlotte’s papers, and Tim became increasingly agitated, that she began her own investigation. When she found her mother’s diaries full of fears and suspicions in Tim’s desk, Isabelle was desperate at first to preserve her lifestyle. She eagerly gave Investigator Hotchkiss information about Gracie’s temper to keep her cousin in the hot seat.
Tim had confessed to Stan’s murder and the attack on Gracie at Inspiration Point as he lay in the hospital bed. He was actually proud of his prowess as a killer and the ease in taking his father-in-law’s life. He’d walked in on Stan as he was leaving the message on Gracie’s machine. Stan had tried to get upstairs to his bedroom to lock Tim out, but it only took seconds to choke Stan and throw him down the stairs for good measure.
After the porno ticket was found, Tim knew it was only a matter of time. Isabelle knew about Tim’s little diversion and the trips he took on Friday afternoons. His debit card also showed he bought gas in Geneseo, just minutes before the matinee. She had painstakingly gathered the online banking records and turned that piece of information over to the sheriff’s department. Expecting her husband’s arrest, she’d sent Greg and Anna out of town. Tim had become increasingly abusive, and Isabelle was afraid for her own safety.
Everything had blown up Friday afternoon. Isabelle called 9-1-1 after Tim had attacked her while she was working in her flower gardens. She’d hit him with a trowel, and he’d taken off. Isabelle guessed where he was headed and followed her husband to Gracie’s before the police could get to Milky Way.
Gracie rubbed the bruises on her arm. They were finally disappearing. Life just might finally settle down. Marc came up and put his arm around her. His touch was light and comforting.
“Feeling any better?”
“I think so, but it all still makes my head spin.”
“It probably will for years to come,” her father said as he put thick burgers on the grill. “It’s not easy for any of us to understand. If only Shirley and Stan had confided in us. We could have helped.”
“I don’t know about that. It was hard for Aunt Shirley to ever be wrong. I still can’t believe Isabelle actually came to my rescue.”
“Blood is thicker than water,” Theresa piped up.
“Yeah, but I’ve never been sure that we were actually related.”
“When the cards are down, family comes through.” Theresa’s eyes were bright with emotion.
“All right, but what will she do now? What will those poor kids do?” Gracie already felt Greg and Anna’s pain of returning to high school and trying to explain about their father, the crazed murderer.
“I think she’s going on an extended cruise with them,” her mother said as she placed a large bowl of tossed salad on the table.
“A cruise? With Isabelle?I’m not sure that would be my idea”
“And what would your idea of a good time be?” Jim shot back before Theresa could say the same to her daughter.
“A week off, sleeping in every day, and having someone wait on me hand and foot.”
“That’s a cruise, Gracie, and just so you can make plans now, your mother and I have booked one for you in September. When Jim gets back from his fishing trip, you can go.” Her father was smiling, but his tone was reminiscent of one of her many childhood scoldings.
“By myself?”
“Take a friend, or you can take me, if you want,” Theresa’s eyes twinkled.
“I’ll think about it. Who knows what’ll happen by September? We have to ge
t through the church’s chicken barbecue next week, Deer Creek Fun Days, Pike Fair, the dog match, and” Gracie’s mind whirled at the thought of her upcoming schedule.
“I think it’s a great idea, Gracie.” Laney released Jim’s hand and walked toward her. “It’s relaxing and a lot of fun.”
“I agree, but there’s way too much to do at the kennel.”
“It can be handled, Gracie,” Jim quickly jumped into the conversation.
“The trip is five weeks away. That’s plenty of notice for you.” Her father turned the burgers on the grill. “Plus when you get back, Tom should be home. They’re kicking him out of Afghanistan.” Bob grinned broadly.
“Tom? He’s coming home?” Gracie’s heart suddenly felt pounds lighter. Her brother was finally coming home, and it was two months earlier than expected.
“His email came today, and he’ll be home mid-September. He says he’s bringing home a surprise.” Her father flipped the burgers with a flourish onto the waiting buns his wife held out to him on a large white platter.
“A surprise, as in presents, or something else?” Gracie’s curiosity was piqued now.
“We can talk about this later. We’re ready to eat.” Theresa said firmly.
The church was filled close to capacity, but this time, it was for Sunday morning worship and not a funeral. Rev. Minders peered over his reading glasses in surprise at the large congregation. He hadn’t seen a Sunday morning like this in ages. His wife looked at him from her front pew with the same bewilderment. He hoped he’d prepared the right sermon for this crowd, and he prayed that someone else hadn’t died. These last three weeks had been the most exhausting of his 40 years in the pastorate. No wonder he’d had an angina attack right after Tim Baker went on his rampage. He was thankful Matthew had been home at the time to help. It was good to have family around.
Wonder of wonders, Jim Taylor was in the back row with a lovely woman on his arm. Midge was there, sitting next to Mrs. Youngers, who sniffed into her tissue and wiped her eyes every few minutes. Midge hadn’t darkened the door of the church since her husband had left her, and poor Mrs. Youngers was suffering over her oldest grandson Joe yet again.
Gracie stood with the congregation when the organ trumpeted the opening measures to the Doxology. There was a hand on her arm, and Marc slid into the pew beside her. Theresa and Bob smiled brightly at their daughter and then at each other. Gracie joined the voices for the first time in a long time. It was then she decided that a cruise was a great idea.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
There’s no place like Wyoming County in rural Western New York for its natural beauty, especially the “Grand Canyon of the East,” Letchworth State Park. Small town life is the best, where people still check on their neighbors, and show up to help. I’m grateful for being able to grow up in such a community and raise my family there.
Family Matters (A Gracie Andersen Mystery Book 1) Page 22