Maria’s temper rose. She figured the old bitty was baiting her, pushing her toward violence so she could retaliate then tell the police it was self-defense. If their roles were reversed, it’s how she would handle things.
Stopping herself from tossing the butt into the yard, Maria stubbed it out in the ashtray. After taking several sips of tea to calm down, she lit another smoke. “You’re right, Caroline, on both counts. Even in the 80’s, things were different than they are today. The difference between now and back then is I’m no longer a naïve, heartbroken, frightened child. I was easily persuaded by your domineering personality to give up my child conceived with the man I loved. Now, I’m a hardcore bitch, like you. I want payback for the life you stole from me. From us. Prison does that to a person. Sucks the life right out and fills you with rage.”
Caroline’s lips curved into a sly grin. “From us? How rich, Maria. The relationship ended right after high school, remember? You were a fun pastime for my son. You were a lot of things back then but not a naïve child.”
“He loved me. I know it. Why do you think he ran to my arms for comfort after the news about the rich slut getting knocked up?”
Caroline took a sip of untainted tea, noting Maria’s red face. “Because you were a twenty-year-old woman with the morals of an alley cat in heat willing to spread your legs for any man with money, or from a family you perceived was wealthy. I believe the correct phrase is gold digger.”
Clenching her jaw as fury burned through her mind, Maria took another sip of the strong tea then several drags off the smoke. “I loved him, Caroline, and he loved me.”
“Oh, honey, if that were true, my engagement ring would be on your finger instead of Charmaine’s.”
“You have no idea the depth of mental pain I suffered through all these years. You never even told me if our baby was a boy or girl. That was cruel, Caroline. Cruel.”
“Let’s talk about cruel, cold behavior, shall we? Did you forget I got you the job at the country club and I was a member? Hot Springs is a big, small town. Regular news travels fast. Rumors move at the speed of light. I know the names of every rich man you bedded, dear. According to what I was told, you were a very, very busy girl. That type of lifestyle would not have been suitable to raise a child in. I knew it. You knew it, which I believe, is why you came to me instead of telling Big Sam about the pregnancy. You knew he wouldn’t marry you! Besides, look what happened after? You become an addict, so it all worked out for the best.”
Unable to contain the rage any longer, Maria lost it. “You hoity-toity, stupid bitch. How dare you sit there, all smug and confident as though you’re better than me! Come on! You want to get real, put the cards on the table? Great! Let’s do it. You dealt me a shit hand thirty-six years ago, and I waited for years to make you suffer. Years! But the second I’m paroled, you had someone follow me. Do you have any idea how much being stalked by your goon pissed me off?”
“Lord, are you sure you’re clean and sober? Sounds to me like you’re a tad paranoid. Paranoia is a side effect of drug use, right?”
“Fuck you.”
“No need to get all defensive or use such crude language. Allow me to assure you I did no such thing because I moved on with my life, as you should.”
“Don’t, Caroline. Don’t. I know who you sent and why, thanks to the interesting show on the back deck at Samantha’s open house. What I can’t figure out is why you didn’t get rid of the records sooner. I mean, the whole point has been to keep me from knowing the sex of my child and who the adoptive parents were, right? So I couldn’t find him or her and ruin the precious Chapman reputation?”
The odd response didn’t make sense. Caroline wondered if the medication in the sugar took effect, causing Maria to hallucinate. “Maria, there’s been a lot of lies floating underneath our collective bridges, but let me assure your frazzled mind, I have not, I repeat, have not, had you followed.”
Breathing hard, Maria took a long gulp of tea then sat back. “Please don’t think I’m going to swallow it was some freakish coincidence Samantha’s ex-boyfriend took the records from me months ago.”
For a split second, Caroline wondered if she put some sugar in her own tea by accident. A wave of dizziness and confusion made her blink twice. “What did you say?”
Chugging the rest of the tea, Maria leaned across the table, snatching the Swisher Sweet from Caroline’s hands. “Isn’t it beneath you to try and play the ‘I didn’t hear you’ old woman card, Caroline? It took me weeks to get up the nerve to go into the basement to search for the records! When I finally got the nerve to do so, I watched the place for days, waiting until one of the construction workers left a window open. After I found them, I damn-near had a heart attack when some dude took them away from me, playing off like he was the security guard, taking the box, insisting I go before he called the cops. Imagine my surprise when I saw him on the deck later and learned his name was Richard, Samantha’s ex-boyfriend.”
Caroline’s mind raced at the disturbing news. Maria had to be lying. It made no sense at all. No one knew about their little secret, and even if somehow others did, how in the world did Richard find out? If by some slim chance he did know, what was his angle? Why was he skulking around Sam’s place? The relationship ended over a year prior. Was the man trying to protect the secret? Why would he care since they were no longer a couple?
Caroline’s chest tightened as anger and confusion thrummed throughout her system. “Are you telling me Richard—Sam’s Richard—has the birth certificate?”
“Yep.”
Taking several long gulps of tea, wishing she had some schnapps, Caroline pushed the thoughts to the backburner to deal with later. She was too old to handle more than one crisis at a time.
“Enough of this little dance. Let’s get down to the real reason I’m here, Caroline, which is to haggle until we agree on a price for my silence. I’ll make this easy for you: I want the birth certificate Richard has so I can find my child, and a quarter million. In cash. That should keep me happy; for a while. At least until you die. After you pass on, I can’t promise I won’t approach the other Chapman bitches to keep me afloat.”
“You leave my family out of this.”
While studying the old broad’s face, Maria noticed a hint of fear behind the watery blue eyes. She burst out laughing. “Oh, this is rich! You didn’t know, did you? Ol’ Doc Halstead kept records of every single birth. Insurance I guess in case anyone tried to blackmail him. I heard it from a cellmate—can you believe that? When she found out I was from Hot Springs like she was, I heard all sorts of stories about the place. She was about ten years older than me, and she knew all about Dr. Halstead and his shady practice. Her sister was one of his patients. She said—and get this crazy shit—her sister saw Dr. Halstead fill out paperwork and stuff it into a box near the trap door. He was quite old by then, so I guess his mind was slipping, or he assumed the girl was still groggy from the drugs he gave her while in labor.”
“That bastard,” Caroline muttered under her breath.
“Guess the secret you kept under wraps for so long is out. Hmmm, this sheds some light on the weird situation I witnessed between Sam and Richard. But guess what, Caroline? It doesn’t change what I want. What I will get.”
Taking several puffs off a new cigar while contemplating a response, Caroline’s gaze never wavered from Maria’s. Several minutes passed without a word spoken. Reaching over, Caroline grabbed the pot and refilled her tea. Maria pointed to hers, indicating she wanted another cup.
While swishing another spoonful of sugar in the cup, Maria asked, “So, do we have a deal?”
Caroline chuckled. “Honey, if you think I’m coughing up that kind of cash, you must’ve left your brain back in prison. Something you mentioned earlier struck me and is an avenue I didn’t consider all these years.”
Cocking an eyebrow, Maria took another gulp of hot tea. “Oh? And what’s that?”
“You’re correct—things w
ere different back in the 80’s. This is 2016. No one gives a dirty rat’s ass about a child born out of wedlock over thirty-plus years ago, or the reasons why the pregnancy was kept a secret. There are plenty of other, juicier news stories making headlines. Go ahead, reveal the truth. Hell, take out an ad in the Sentinel Record. Rent a billboard. Have your fifteen minutes of fame in front of the cameras. Remember, you may be revealing my past, but you’ll also be revealing your own. Your hands are just as dirty, dear. You didn’t want the baby—you only wanted money, and I gave you plenty. Cash, mind you. Untraceable cash. So, good luck convincing people I knew anything about your dirty little secrets.”
Downing the remainder of the tea, Maria felt a sense of euphoria as the conversation took the turn she wanted. “Ah, I love it when at an impasse because the road I’ll be traveling is free and clear of debris. The same can’t be said for the bumpy ride you’re about to take.”
“As do I. But I love it more when I come out on top. How sad that all your years of planning and plotting some epic revenge explosion fizzled out like a weak sparkler. But let me offer you a bit of salve—chalk it up to my sentimentality in old age. I’ll give you twenty-five thousand for all your pain and suffering, and not a penny more.”
“Oh, Caroline. I’m afraid that won’t do at all. I guess it would if all the cards were on the table. Too bad for you they aren’t.”
Caroline stared into the crazed, dark eyes of Maria. Sensing she was telling the truth yet unwilling to yield, noting the change in Maria’s pupils, she smiled. “You have that backward, dear. I’m the one holding the ace, not you.”
Rising to her feet, Maria pushed away the sensation of dizziness. Grinning wide, she leaned over the table then dropped the bombshell she waited to detonate for over thirty-six years.
“Wrong. You pegged the wrong man as the father, dear Caroline. Stan knocked me up and paid me hush money too. I double-dipped! Played you both! Stan overhead the conversation with Big Sam the night he confessed to knocking up Charmaine and ran straight to me. Not you. He sought comfort from me, the poor Latino girl you tried to keep a lid on for years.”
Caroline’s eyes grew wide from shock. “You lying whore! Stan would never…”
“Oh, I’m not lying, I assure you. He was fucking me doggie-style, sweating and grunting like crazy when he had his first heart attack—in your bed no less. Who do you think dialed 9-1-1 for him before deucing out? I’ll give you three guesses, and two don’t count.”
Caroline was bombarded with memories, recalling she was in Dallas with friends the weekend Stan had his first heart attack.
Stan did leave the night Big Sam told her about the pregnancy, telling her he was going to the club to play poker with friends. She never batted an eye, relieved he wouldn’t be under her feet, pestering her while she plotted and planned the wedding.
Other than Dr. Halstead, Caroline had never told another living soul about the baby, not even Big Sam.
“What’s wrong, Caroline? Are you having a bit of trouble grasping you spent years protecting the wrong Chapman male?”
Caroline tried to rein in her emotions but lost the battle. A lone tear slid down her cheek. Bending down, she grabbed her purse while digging for the nitroglycerin pills. “I don’t believe you.”
“Whether you believe or not doesn’t change the fact what I said is the truth. Do you need more proof? How about I tell you what color sheets you had back then? Or the cute little birthmark on the tip of Stan’s dick shaped like a star, which by the way, he loved having me suck since you refused to go down on him?”
Searing pain stabbed into Caroline’s chest, shoulder and back. She tried yet couldn’t get words to form.
“And here you thought your friends told you everything. Trust me—they didn’t. Several knew all about Stan’s, um, affinity for kinky sex, including your friend Ethel. He loved pillow talk post-nookie. His dick played around in so many pussies in this state, there’s no telling how many offspring he produced. I doubt you want those juicy little tidbits made public, or for me to call your granddaughters and tell them the truth? I have their numbers you know, courtesy of you leaving your cell phone on the deck months ago. I enjoyed playing around with them. I’ll miss the game, yet I promise to stop after we head to the bank and get me some cash.”
“You won’t get a penny from me or my family you dirty whore. I promise.”
Extracting a switchblade from her back pocket, Maria grinned as the sunlight glinted off the blade. “Wrong answer.”
Clutching her left arm, Caroline fell from the chair. The purse flew from her lap, contents sprawling across the patio deck. With the last bit of breath left in her lungs, she whispered, “I’ll see you in hell, bitch. Soon.”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Saturday, November 26, 2016
PARKING A SAFE distance away, Kathy stepped out of the car, scanning the area. The houses on the street were big and old, each on huge tracts of land. Pausing by the car door, she glanced around, listening and looking for any signs of life.
Seeing no neighbors out and about, she locked the car and jogged up the long driveway, along the edges of the tree line. Once at the top of the hill, she veered right, heading straight into the woods. Picking her steps with care through the leaves, she made her way around back.
As she rounded the corner, she crouched low, watching the two women while they smoked and talked. It took Kathy several minutes to ease up close enough to hear their conversation yet remain concealed.
What she heard made her heart pound with excitement followed by shock.
I should’ve gone into Best Buy and bought the damn charger!
The conversation between the two women was fucking epic.
When the truth spewed out of Maria’s mouth, Kathy couldn’t contain a gasp from shock.
The grandpa’s the father, not Samuel? Oh, my God! Suzy’s been fucking her uncle, not brother! What a disgusting twist! No wonder the birth certificate only listed S. Chapman! Yikes, and here I thought my family was screwed up.
“What the fuck?” Maria yelled from the deck as she heard then spotted, an unfamiliar voice and face. She held the knife up. “Who are you?”
Realizing her cover was blown, Kathy stood, walking over to the patio, holding her hands out in mock surrender. She took the stairs two-at-a-time. “Obviously I’m not a cop. I’m your salvation. I have wheels and you don’t. Of course, if you want to stay here and explain to the cops why old lady Chapman’s dead because your little revelations sent her into cardiac arrest, go ahead. However, I suggest you put the knife down and we talk.”
Maria sighed. Setting the knife on table, she poured another cup of tea. Reaching into the pack of smokes, she winced, realizing it was empty. “Salvation. Interesting choice of words since there isn’t such a thing. Were you listening long enough to hear the little bomb I dropped?”
“I was, yes.” Kathy looked at the old woman’s unmoving body. Her open eyes stared into the darkening afternoon sky, unblinking. An expensive looking necklace, several rings, and a bracelet glinted. Part of her wanted to yank them off and hock the jewelry in Memphis for some quick cash, but she didn’t dare touch the body.
Two plastic bottles and a wallet rested near Kathy’s feet. She wondered how much cash was stashed inside.
“Shit.” Maria crumpled the empty pack. “I’m out. Got any?”
“Always. Here.”
Both women lit up, blowing warm steam into the frigid air. Maria stared out into the woods, so Kathy bent down to peer closer at the bottles, which were empty. Squinting, she read the print, stifling a laugh. One bottle was sleeping pills and the other was anxiety medication; a deadly combination if taken together.
“Well, I pictured the visit ending on a different note. Damn. The idea of tangling with the other women makes my stomach hurt. Suzy might be malleable, but Samantha’s a lawyer.”
Kathy laughed while staring at the body. “I’m sure dying on the back deck wasn’t what she had in min
d either.”
“What’s your beef with the Chapman clan?” Maria sized up the younger blonde. She was at least two inches taller and outweighed her by maybe thirty pounds.
“What makes you think I have one?”
“Let’s see.” Maria took another drink of tea. “You didn’t run away screaming or call the cops. Plus, you snuck up here on foot, which leads me to believe you were spying on us. The question is why.”
Kathy chuckled. “Good assumptions, Maria Santos Ramirez.”
Stiffening at the response, Maria snatched up the knife, taking a step backward.
“Don’t freak, girl. I’m on your side. Oh, and my name’s Kathy Hale.”
“You didn’t answer my question. How do you know my name? Why are you here?”
“Everyone in this town is so damned jumpy! Believe it or not, I drove all the way from Memphis to find you, which is how I ended up here. When the old dead bag of bones here beat me to the punch, imagine my shock! I didn’t expect to see the two of you together, except for maybe in a fistfight. Enough chitchat about the past. Let’s talk about what I can do for you, in exchange, of course, for some help on my end.”
“Help? What do you mean?”
“For someone blackmailing another person for over thirty years, I think the answer’s obvious. You’re fucked.”
Maria raised eyebrow. “How so? I’m the one with a weapon, not you.”
“This.” Kathy produced her cell. “I’m younger and faster than you, which means I’ll have plenty of time to call 9-1-1 to report a dead body before you catch me. Even if you run away before the po-po arrives, I know your name, where you live, and why you two were having afternoon tea.”
The stare-down between the two lasted only a few seconds. Blowing out a huff of air, Maria lowered the knife. “What do you propose?”
Reaching into her back pocket, Kathy extracted the baggie of blow. Scooting past the corpse, she moved over to the chair and sat. “Yikes. Dealing with a dead body wasn’t on my agenda for today. Hang on. Let me get my head straight.”
Fatal Agreements Page 14