“Please be on time tomorrow. Will can only stay for a half hour; he has to go out of town for work.”
“Well, far be it from me to hold up Mr. Moneybags,” Trick said. “I can hardly believe we finally unloaded that money pit. I’ll be glad to accept my commission and be done with it.”
“When’s Sandy coming back?” Melissa asked. “I don’t mind pitching in while she’s gone, but I have a lot on my plate this week.”
Trick was uncharacteristically silent, his hands stuck down in his pockets. Melissa noticed his thinning blonde hair needed a trim, he’d missed a few places shaving, and his tie was stained.
“Trick,” Melissa said. “Is Sandy coming back?”
He shrugged.
“She’s leased a house on Anna Maria Island,” he said. “I don’t think that’s a good sign, do you? I mean, when a married woman takes all her clothes and her little dogs and rents a house in Florida, it doesn’t bode well, does it?”
“What does Stacy say about it?”
“My daughter is not exactly talking to me right now.”
“What’d you do to her?”
“She wants me to pay for a Hawaiian wedding. I told her, ‘Baby Doll, I don’t have that kind of dough; we’re Rose Hill rich, not Hawaii rich.’ All the family assets are tied up in a trust, my house is mortgaged way beyond what it’s worth, nobody’s buying lots to build homes in Eldridge Point anymore on account of the sewage issues, and now I’ve got Anna Maria Island to pay for. I can’t bankroll some swanky shindig. I could pay for a fried chicken picnic in a park shelter, maybe.”
He sighed, and his shoulders slumped.
“I’d feel sorrier for you, Trick, if I didn’t know what a low-life cheater you are.”
“Go on,” he said. “Kick me when I’m down.”
“If you could keep it in your pants for five minutes you might be able to get your wife back.”
“Men aren’t made to be monogamous, jailbird,” he said. “We have to spread the seed far and wide just to keep the species going. It’s in our DNA; we can’t help it.”
“I tell you what, Trick, when the fool killer comes you better be hiding in the tall grass,” Melissa said. “Listen to me; you need to hire somebody to do Sandy’s job because I’m not going to keep doing it forever.”
“I can’t afford to hire anyone; business is too slow,” Trick said. “Those national outfits are stealing all my business.”
“Only because you’re so do-less and no-account,” Melissa said. “You just need to work harder, Trick, that’s all.”
“I need somebody to kick my ass every day,” he said. “I need my wife back.”
Melissa could not believe her eyes, but Trick had tears in his.
“Then straighten up and be a good husband,” Melissa said. “Show her you want her back bad enough to change.”
“She wouldn’t believe it even if I could do it,” he said. “The truth is I’m never going to change. She knows it, and I finally ran out of do-overs. She’s never coming back. She’s just hanging on for half the dividends. She’ll collect them all when I die. Which might be soon. I don’t see any point in living like this.”
“I’m not going to feel sorry for you,” Melissa said. “You’re the only mule in your own barnyard.”
“I know it,” he said. “You need me for anything today?”
“Nope,” Melissa said. “Just make sure you show up at the B&B at 1:30 tomorrow.”
“Alrighty then,” he said. “I’m going to forward my calls to voicemail, crawl into a bottle, and not come out till I have to.”
Melissa shook her head but didn’t comment as he left.
Just before noon, Claire Fitzpatrick came in holding the littlest of her ex-husband’s children by the hand. The previous summer, Pip and his second ex-wife Jessica had disappeared while on a mountain climbing expedition in Tibet, and were assumed to have perished from falling into a mountain crevasse during an avalanche, although their bodies had not been recovered. Pip and Jessie’s four girls, aged five to eleven, had been living with Ed and Claire ever since.
Pip’s mother was only interested in the girls if there was money to be had. Jessie’s parents weren’t willing to pay her to care for the girls, and there was no life insurance to be collected. Jessie’s parents, who were wealthy California film industry executives, were not interested in taking them on, either, although they were dragging their feet about signing the papers to make it legal. Claire and Ed were not asking for any money, which was unheard of in L.A. circles, so the grandparents’ attorneys were using many valuable billable hours to explore every nuance of the suspiciously amicable agreement.
Five-year-old Pixie was wearing a pink tutu, a pink fleece jacket, flowered leggings, and purple fleece-lined boots. Her long curly hair was pulled up on top of her head in a loose knot. She was adorable.
“Hi, Pixie!” Melissa said as she came around the desk for a hug. “How you been, girl?”
All four of the girls were blonde like their mother and had beautiful hazel eyes flecked with gold, just like their father. Pixie flew into Melissa’s arms and hugged her. Then she looked up and smiled, showing her missing tooth.
“You lost it!” Melissa said.
“And you’ll never guess what!” Pixie said. “The tooth fairy gave me a whole dollar, and I’m gonna buy a new book. Claire says I can have any book I want.”
“That’s awesome,” Melissa said and exchanged winks with Claire.
“We thought you might join us for lunch,” Claire said.
Sean came out of the back and said, “I thought I heard a fairy princess out here. Where is she?”
Pixie ran to hide behind Claire and peek out at Sean, who stooped down low to the floor.
“Are you still afraid of me?” Sean asked. “What am I going to have to do, Pixie-Lou-Who?”
Pixie hid her face against Claire’s leg.
“Sean’s silly, isn’t he?” Claire said to Pixie and then hoisted her up into her arms. “Pixie’s just feeling a little shy right now, and she doesn’t have to talk to anybody if she doesn’t want to; isn’t that right?”
Pixie nodded and threw her arms around Claire’s neck, burying her face in her hair. Claire rolled her eyes at Sean and Melissa.
“We’re having a day together, just Pixie and me,” Claire said. “The other girls are in school, and we’re playing hooky.”
Sean stood back up.
“Well, you tell Pixie that someday I’d like to take her to the park and push her on the swings,” he said. “But we’ll wait until Ed can go, too.”
“Would you like that?” Claire asked the little girl.
Pixie just gripped Claire harder and shook her head.
“Sorry,” mouthed Claire.
“Don’t worry about it,” Sean said. “I’m sure eventually we’ll be friends.”
“Do you mind if I run out with these two for lunch?” Melissa asked.
“No, go on,” Sean said. “But bring me back something, I don’t care what.”
Claire and Melissa took Pixie to Little Bear Books, where she finally let Claire put her down. Pixie ran back to the kid’s section while Claire stretched out her shoulders and back.
“She’s getting heavy,” Claire said as they got in line on the café side.
“Is she okay?” Melissa asked.
Claire shrugged.
“She’s clingy, and panics when she’s not with me, Ed, or my mother. She cries so hard when I leave her at preschool that I can hardly bear to do it. I’m sure it’s normal considering what she’s gone through; we’re just being patient and working through it.”
“Poor little orphans,” Melissa said. “They’re lucky to have you.”
“It’s been an adjustment for everyone,” Claire said. “Lily’s having bad dreams at night, Daisy’s counting everything, and Pixie’s our little Klingon. Bluebell’s doing the best, so far, so of course we’re worried that’s not healthy.”
“They’re just dar
lin’,” Melissa said. “And you’re a natural at this motherin’ thing.”
“Ed adores them, of course,” Claire said. “I don’t know what we’ll do if Jessie’s parents decide to take us to court.”
“Sean will roast them alive in court,” Melissa said. “The family was officially living here so the hearing would have to be held here. There’s not a judge in this county who would find in their favor.”
“I hope it doesn’t come to that. The girls have had too much upheaval already.”
“Sean doesn’t think the grandparents want them. He thinks they’re afraid of how it looks not to want them, and their attorneys are billing them a thousand an hour while they take their time decidin’.”
“I hope that’s all it is.”
“Sean’s going to follow up with them this week. We’ll keep you posted.”
They placed their orders and sat down at a table near the back, where they could keep an eye on Pixie. The only child in the store, she was seated in a child’s rocker, looking through a picture book.
“She would be happy to do that for hours,” Claire said. “She’s my little bookworm.”
Their lunch was served, along with Sean’s bag lunch to go.
“You look great, by the way,” Claire said. “It's a shame that idiot from the Pendleton paper got it so wrong.”
“It was sweet of you to send Ed over,” Melissa said.
Her eyes filled with tears and she blinked several times to try to control them.
“Are you okay?” Claire asked.
Melissa’s eyes spilled over, but she rolled them at Claire before dabbing at them with a paper napkin.
“If you can’t talk about it I understand,” Claire said. “But let me know if I can do anything.”
Melissa blew her nose and then laughed at herself.
“Actually, I’m dying to tell somebody,” Melissa said. “But you’ve got your own stuff going on.”
“Please tell me,” Claire said. “It will take my mind off my own problems. Is it Patrick?”
Melissa nodded and cleared her throat.
She told Claire everything, and Claire nodded and prodded in all the appropriate places. When she was done, Claire narrowed her eyes at Melissa.
“What does your gut say?”
“That he’s cheating with Ava, maybe has been for a while, and I’ve just been too busy to pay attention to what’s going on right under my nose.”
“Sounds about right,” Claire said.
“You think so, too?”
“I trust your instincts,” Claire said. “What are you going to do about it?”
“I thought about spying on him.”
“That’s natural,” Claire said.
“But I think he basically admitted it last night.”
“If it’s true,” Claire said. “If you caught them in the act, what would you do then?”
“I’d kick him out, but he already left,” Melissa said. “If he wants to be with her he shoulda broke up with me first and then did what he wanted.”
“What about Ava, though?” Claire said. “Is she likely to leave Will for him?”
“I don’t know,” Melissa said. “Maybe they were just happy sneakin’ around on us.”
“She was not in the police report,” Claire said. “That’s something.”
“Why do people cheat?” Melissa asked.
“Lots of reasons,” Claire said. “I cheated on Pip because I was young, stupid, starved for affection, and desperate for attention. I should have just left him, but we were so tangled up together working for Sloan that I felt stuck. It’s different in the entertainment business. Everyone was either good-looking and ambitious or ugly and powerful. Although it’s reprehensible, sex was the coin of the realm.”
“Would you ever cheat on Ed?”
“I hope not,” Claire said. “I don’t think so now, but people change, relationships change. Right now we’re in parental mode, and all our energy is invested in the kids. Later on, who knows? I love Ed, and I’d like to think I could be faithful till death do us part, but the truth is, I’m not a for-better-or-worse kind of person. When things get worse, I tend to bail.”
“You didn’t bail on your mom; you’d never bail on your girls.”
“That’s different,” Claire said. “They depend on me. My relationships with men always seem a little more tenuous. I invest all my emotion and energy, but if nothing is returned, eventually I’m done.”
“Ed would never cheat on you.”
“I know,” Claire said. “He’s a much better person than I am.”
“Let’s face it,” Melissa said, “Ed’s better than everybody, but we love him in spite of it. When are y’all getting’ hitched?”
“He’s finally divorced from Eve,” Claire said. “Nothing is stopping us, and I know it would make him happy. I’m just afraid I’ll screw it up. I love him, but I don’t trust myself.”
“If you get custody of those girls you might change your mind,” Melissa said.
“Maybe,” Claire said. “You know, Maggie told me when she and Scott were estranged that she kind of knew Scott was the one for her, but she just didn’t feel compelled to do anything about it. At the time I thought that was horrible, but now I kind of get it. Things are fine the way they are. Right now Ed and I are committed to each other and the girls, but the thought of putting a wedding together is exhausting.”
“You did a great job on Maggie’s wedding,” Melissa said. “It was fun, too.”
“Maybe I got it out of my system that way,” Claire said. “Anyway, unless I find some way to get excited about it, it probably won’t happen.”
They finished their drinks and Claire went to get refills. Melissa noted that even though Claire didn’t dress up as fancy as she used to, and looked as tired as she felt most days, she also seemed happier than Melissa had ever known her to be. Settled, somehow, and content. She had kids now, which she had always wanted, and Ed was, for all his nerdy faults, a steady, supportive person who was deeply in love with Claire. If Claire was a little more pragmatic about their relationship, it was only because she’d been out in the bigger world, and knew life was messy and strange; Ed had only ever lived in Rose Hill and was terminally idealistic.
Melissa wondered if she’d made a mistake not sticking with Ed, but quickly reminded herself that his non-stop talking had bored her silly, and she only half understood the stuff he went on and on about. At the time, he was lonely and sex-deprived, she wanted a husband for herself and a father for Tommy, and their sexual chemistry had been off the charts. When the heat wore off, however, they would have both realized they made a big mistake. Their brief infatuation had thankfully turned into a real friendship and a cooperative co-parenting operation, and she was sincerely glad that he and Claire had got together.
What would happen to her if she actually broke up with Patrick for good? Would there ever be anyone else? What would she even look for? It was hard to imagine someone could be as steady as Ed and as exciting as Patrick.
Who would be interested in her, anyway, with her background and prison record? Patrick already knew all that and still had loved her. How could anyone else be expected to understand and accept her past? Just the thought of telling someone about it made her incredibly tired.
When Claire sat back down, she resumed their conversation.
“We need to find out who the guy was that was killed,” Claire said.
“And what was he doing hanging around town at that hour?” Melissa asked.
“Ed says they have no idea.”
“That’s weird as hell,” Melissa said. “What man do you know goes anywhere without his wallet or keys?”
“You should get Hannah involved,” Claire said. “You two could investigate both things.”
“I don’t know,” Melissa said. “She and Maggie are awful close, and Patrick being Maggie’s brother …”
“I’m just saying, if you want to find out if anybody else saw Ava the other
night, Hannah is the person who can help. She knows everyone, she’s snoopy as hell, and she hears all the gossip. If I were you, I would trust her.”
“Thanks, Claire.”
“Meanwhile, I’ll see what I can find out from Ava’s housekeeper.”
Late in the afternoon, while Melissa was prepping that day’s correspondence to go out, she received a call from Bonnie Fitzpatrick, asking Melissa to come to see her after work. Melissa was nervous as she walked down Pine Mountain Road to Marigold Avenue.
The Fitzpatricks’ ramshackle two-story four-square house sat at the end of the street near the alley known as Daisy Lane that, along with a high brick wall, separated Eldridge College from Rose Hill. On the Fitzpatrick’s house, the shingles were curling, the paint was peeling, the porch rail was leaning, and parts of the porch floor had already rotted and caved in. As Melissa walked up the creaking steps, she wondered how safe they were.
Bonnie answered the door and gathered Melissa in a fierce hug, which was, to say the least, uncharacteristic. Bonnie was a stout, formidable woman with thick, white curly hair and intense blue eyes. She was wearing a pinny over her clothes, which were worn and faded from many years of washing in the hottest water and cheapest laundry detergent you could buy. The family may have been poor, but they were always clean.
“Get in here,” Bonnie said. “It’s freezing out there. We’re supposed to have snow this weekend, maybe three inches.”
She led the way toward the kitchen, which smelled like cinnamon, vanilla, and melted sugar. They tiptoed past Patrick’s father, whom everyone called Fitz, who was snoring in a recliner, swaddled in sweatshirts and old threadbare quilts. He looked a lot thinner than the last time Melissa had seen him, just a few weeks before. The TV was on, blaring a sports talk show, but it didn’t seem to disturb him.
Their big, shaggy Irish Setter, known as Lazy Ass Laddie, was sprawled out on the floor by the gas heater, sound asleep. The fur on his face was white with age. Patrick’s beagle Banjo hopped off the couch and wagged all over at the sight of Melissa. Bonnie shooed him out of the kitchen.
Pumpkin Ridge (Rose Hill Mystery Series Book 10) Page 6