“But I’d never been unfaithful to my wife before,” Frank said. “Not in twenty years of marriage. But then I was, and look where it led. To hellfire and damnation.”
Tom handed him a wad of tissues and said, “I’m sure it doesn’t make you feel any better, buddy, but you’ve got a lot of company there in purgatory. We’ll all have to scooch over to make room for ya.”
Chapter 30
The first time Savannah had visited the old cemetery on a hill outside McGill, she had thought it was a pretty good place for its residents to sleep away eternity. The peach and pecan trees that surrounded the little graveyard, the view of the farmland below, and the soft breeze that always seemed to blow, causing the grass and the trees to dance, lent the place a gentle charm.
Other than the seasonal workers who picked the nuts and peaches, and the caretaker who mowed once a week in the spring and summer months, nobody came up Randall Hill except to be buried, to lay someone to rest, or to visit somebody interred there.
Today, as Savannah parked the rental car and got out, carrying a handful of peonies cut from Gran’s garden that morning, she was doing the latter. She had come to pay her final respects to Jeanette Barnsworth.
Or maybe she just needed to make sure that her old tormentor was truly dead and gone.
She hoped it was the first, but she knew herself a bit too well, and she figured her motivation was closer to the second.
The dirt was piled atop the grave, along with a plethora of purple flower arrangements, left after that morning’s private service. Apparently, it had been very private. Word around town was that only the local minister, his wife, and Herb Jameson had attended.
Savannah wondered who in their little town thought so highly of Jeanette that they had forked over big bucks for those oversized bouquets and sprays decorating the grave. Then she started reading the notes on each one and found that nearly all of them were from organizations Jeanette had chaired or founded or both.
The largest was from the Park Beautification Committee. Jeanette had created the group to plant flowers in a tiny, seldom used park directly across the street from her house, clearly viewed from her living room window.
With city money, of course.
Meanwhile, the children’s swings, slide, and teeter-totter in the main park were in ruin due to lack of town funds to fix them.
Most of the other organizations Jeanette had formed in her lifetime were equally self-serving. But then, Savannah decided, what else could you expect?
Standing at the grave, looking down on the flowers and the mound of dirt beneath them, Savannah tried to grasp the fact that her tormentor was gone forever.
But she couldn’t.
Death was such a mystery. The complete disappearance of something as complex and miraculous as a living, breathing human being had always been beyond her comprehension.
She had never been able to accept the idea that people, like machines, could simply turn off. Leave their physical vessel and go elsewhere? Yes. She had held dying people in her arms and had felt their spirits leave their ruined bodies, which could no longer sustain life. But just quit? No.
Savannah wasn’t sure where Jeanette was or if she could hear her, but she felt obliged to say something. Anything. If for no other reason than that she sensed that a uniquely important chapter of her own life was closing. And she felt her words would somehow mark and honor that transition.
“I’m sorry I hit you,” she began, speaking to the ornate gravestone, where cherubs held a banner bearing Jeanette’s name in their chubby baby hands. “You may or may not have asked for it. But I shouldn’t have done it. If it makes you feel any better, I paid for it. Big-time.”
Savannah paused, feeling the breeze stir her hair. It sent a slight chill down her neck and into her spine.
“I’m sorry for something else, too. I regret that I didn’t do it sooner. Not smack you, but stand up to you. If I’d set you straight on the first day of kindergarten, who knows how different our lives would have been? Well, mine anyway.
“Also, I want you to know that I forgive you,” she said. “And by that, I don’t mean that what you did was okay or that you couldn’t help how cruel you were. I mean, I’m cutting you loose, Jeanette, from my mind and my heart. As far as I’m concerned, you don’t owe me anything. Not anymore. I used to want your acceptance, your understanding. I used to hope that you’d realize how much you were hurting me and apologize. I thought I’d feel a lot better if you did.”
She paused a moment and steeled herself for the hardest part of her declaration. She wanted her words to sink all the way down into the soil at her feet and reach the soul of the woman buried there.
“But I stopped hoping for your compassion, Jeanette. I stopped needing that apology. I finally came to understand that you did realize how much you were hurting me. You intended to hurt me. You wanted to cause me pain. But that was about you. Who you were. What was inside you. It was never about me.”
Savannah was silent for a while as she tried to think of something good to say about Jeanette before leaving. Surely, everyone deserved to have some kind words spoken over their grave.
Finally, she came up with something. “As I recall, you were pretty good at geography. And you won that spelling bee that time.”
There. That was enough.
Savannah knelt to place the peonies on the grave. Then she thought better of it, stood, and dusted the dirt from her knees. “You wouldn’t like them, anyway,” she said as she walked away. “They’re pink.”
She passed grave after grave until she came to her grandfather’s. “Hello again, Pa. It’s me, Savannah,” she whispered as she laid the flowers lovingly at the base of his headstone. “Since I was here last, I got married. My husband’s a good man. A really good man. But you’re still the best one I ever knew.”
She readjusted the flowers a few times until she had them just right. “We all still miss you,” she continued. “And we’re looking forward to being with you again in heaven one of these days. Oh, and Gran sends her love.”
She kissed the tips of her fingers, then pressed them to the top of his stone. Then she stood up straight and turned to walk back to her car.
That was when she saw him.
Tom Stafford was leaning against the passenger door of her rental, watching her, his burly arms crossed over his chest, a half grin on his handsome face.
The sight of him annoyed her and set her pulse to racing at the same time. What a lot of nerve he had, intruding on her privacy with his good looks and his easy smile. If she’d wanted company on this trip, she’d have brought her husband.
Warily, she approached the car, trying to round the back of it and avoid him as much as possible.
“Saying your good-byes?” he said when she reached the driver’s door.
“Well, yeah. You think? Reckon you’re a better detective than I gave you credit for.”
“That should be my line.” He gave her a look of sincere respect and affection that went straight to her heart and gave her a warm feeling all over.
She didn’t like it.
Tom Stafford had given her a lot of warm feelings like that in the past. And with those and a quarter, she still couldn’t buy a candy bar.
What was it worth?
It had taken her a lot of living to realize that flattery from a great-looking hunk was an overrated commodity.
“I gotta go, Tom,” she said. “We’re having Gran’s birthday party today, and tomorrow we’re heading back to California. I’d say it’s been nice seeing you, but . . .”
“I understand.”
“Don’t get all sweet and easy to get along with now, boy,” she said, digging the car keys out of her purse. “Just don’t bother. It won’t work anymore.”
He looked genuinely distressed at her words. “Are you sore at me for arresting you? For locking you up? For putting you across from Yukon?”
“No. You were just doing your duty. I’d have done the same.”<
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“Then what’s the matter? Is it still what I did . . . back then? You gonna hold that against me forever?”
She thought for a while, trying to come up with the most honest answer she could give him.
“No, Tom. I don’t hold anything against you. I forgive you. Back then, you did, well, what you did, and our lives took a different turn. We took separate paths. I can’t wish it hadn’t happened, because that’s the path that led me to where I am today.”
“Do you like where you are today?”
“I sure do.”
“Are you happily married, Savannah?” He blurted the question out, as though the words had been ready to erupt from inside him for some time.
“Yes. Very.”
He gulped and looked down. “Are you happier with him than you would’ve been with me, you think?”
Savannah considered being kind but quickly decided to be honest. The truth seemed to be the best choice today, all the way around.
“Definitely.”
“Why? What’s he got that I . . .”
“He’s loyal.”
“Loyalty?” He looked disappointed and a bit confused. “That’s it? That’s all?”
“That’s everything.”
Tom wiped his hand across his face and took a deep breath. “When I came up here today, I was going to tell you that I’m really, really sorry for hurtin’ you, for being the reason we broke up. I wanted you to know that I miss you somethin’ fierce ever’ single day. And I hate it that I lost you. I wanted to tell you that I’ve never loved any gal like I loved you and never will. I wanted to make sure you know that if you ever decide that guy ain’t all he’s cracked up to be, and you wanna move back home, I’ll be waitin’ here for you with open arms.”
He stopped to catch his breath. “But from what you just said, I reckon you don’t wanna hear any of that.”
“No, Tommy,” she said softly. “I don’t. I’m glad you didn’t mention it.”
He sighed. “Me too.”
“I wouldn’t want you to embarrass yourself.”
“Yeah. Thanks.”
“I’d better run along back to Gran’s. They’re waiting on me to get back before they start the party.”
“Tell her I said, ‘Happy birthday.’”
Savannah paused. “I think I’ll just let you tell her yourself the next time you run into her. I’m gonna keep this little conversation we had, and the fact that we ran into each other up here, all to myself.”
He nodded and walked around the car to where she stood. “That’d probably be best.”
After opening her door for her, he looked down into her eyes and held her gaze for a long time. Then he said with a husky voice, “You be well, darlin’. Be happy.”
To her own surprise, she stood on tiptoe and gave him a quick peck on the cheek. “You too, Tommy,” she told him.
Then she got into the car and drove away, leaving two of the heaviest burdens of her life behind.
“Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday, dear Granny! Happy birthday toooo yooouuu!”
Savannah and her family were in full chorus as they belted out the celebratory little tune in honor of their grandmother, who had patiently waited for this joyful, unencumbered day to arrive.
No more thoughts of murder, arrests, or false accusations interfered with this jubilant affair, and Gran and her clan rejoiced in proper Reid style.
Rather than remain in the stuffy, little kitchen after their feast, they had decided to go out into Granny’s flower garden to enjoy the birthday cake.
Sitting at the makeshift picnic table, her loved ones surrounding her, Gran blew out all eight of the candles on her birthday cake with no problem or hesitation whatsoever.
They had decided that adorning the cake with the accurate number of candles would, at the very least, cause the cream cheese frosting to melt, if not start a bonfire that might set the entire county ablaze.
“Bring out the ice cream, boys!” Butch called to Marietta’s sons, who had just finished cranking the old-fashioned churn on the back porch.
Their faces were red from the exertion but glowing with smiles as they carted the heavy wooden machine over to the picnic table, slopping salty ice water all over their bare feet and legs in the process. Savannah rescued the churn from their clumsy hands, removed the inner cylinder, and transferred it to the table, where she began to scoop the precious contents into serving bowls.
She smiled at the large chunks of pineapple and strawberries among the creamy goodness. Granny hadn’t been able to decide between her two favorite flavors, so they had combined both.
Nothing was too good for Gran.
Neither the ice cream nor the cake was long for the world. Both disappeared in record time.
As soon as the plates were cleared away, a stack of gifts was placed in front of Granny, and in moments, she was knee-deep in such treasures as handprints enshrined in clay, compliments of Vidalia’s youngest twins; a wall hanging with beans and macaroni glued on in the shape of a sunflower from the older set; and a collection of chandelier earrings; a rose-spangled nightgown; a bottle of cologne; and a pretty dress of sea foam – green lace from Savannah and Dirk.
While Gran was examining her new goodies, Savannah pulled a white garbage bag out from under her chair and discreetly handed it to Marietta. “Here,” she said. “I would say this is to thank you for putting your shop on the line to bail me out of jail. But truth is, I owed it to you, anyway.”
Marietta opened the bag and pulled out the pink paper bag with the NAUGHTY LADY’S NOOK logo on it.
“Hey, don’t let Gran and the kids see that!” Savannah grabbed the garbage bag and half covered the paper bag.
Tittering like a teenager, Marietta reached inside and pulled out a shoe box. Her eyes lit up like the sky on the Fourth of July. “You got me shoes?” she said. “From a sex shop! Ooh! Cool!”
“Shh. Just open it and tell me if you like them.”
She tore into the box and yanked out a pair of hooker heels. Tammy had chosen well. They were the perfect Marietta shoes—leopard-print uppers with snakeskin on the two-inch platform soles and the six-inch heels, accented with silver studs and chains.
Marietta let out an orgasmic squeal and an accompanying groan, the kind that Savannah had heard only in porn films. “Ohhh!” she shrieked, making such a scene that everyone, including Gran, turned to see what was going on.
Tammy laughed and said, “I see she likes her shoes.”
“A job well done, sugar,” Savannah told her.
Granny sniffed. “I’d say they’re perfect for our Miss Mari, considering her leaning toward all things floozy. But if I see those monstrosities at any social functions in this town, I’m disowning you for sure.”
Dirk leaned over and said to Savannah, “She’ll never be able to walk on those things.”
Savannah whispered back, “She won’t have to. With shoes like that, she’ll be on her back, heels pointed toward the ceiling.”
Gran stood and announced in a loud, authoritative voice, “Y’all gather round. I’ve got something to say, and I want everybody to listen up.”
All chattering stopped, and those who had walked away from the table returned to their matriarch’s side.
“As y’all know,” Gran continued, “on my birthday, I make some sort of a daring change. This started on my eightieth, when I got my ears pierced. On my eighty-first, I bought myself a bright red swimsuit. Last year I took up wearing those big, shoulder-duster earrings.”
She pointed to the flashy sparklers that dangled from her earlobes to her collar, and everyone cheered.
“But this year,” she said, “I’m gonna top ’em all. And I’m happy that you’re with me here today for my big announcement.”
Savannah watched her grandmother, her bright blue eyes shimmering with the pure joy of living.
When I get to be that age, let me be like her . . . so positive, happy, and excited about life, she
silently prayed. Then she laughed at herself. What the heck. Let me be like her at my age.
“About twenty years ago,” Gran was saying, “my oldest granddaughter left this place and traveled all the way to the other side of this great country of ours, in search of a better life for herself. She was, and still is, the bravest, strongest woman I’ve ever been blessed to know.”
Instantly, Savannah felt tears welling up in her eyes, a constriction in her throat, and a lightness in her soul as it took wing.
Dirk reached over, grasped her hand, and squeezed it.
“And by doing so, she set a fine example for us all. So . . .” Gran paused and looked at her loved ones, each in turn. “After giving it much thought and prayer, I’m going to do the same thing. Tomorrow morning I’m turning my house here over to Alma, and I’m packing my bags and moving to California. In a world where there’s beaches, life’s too short not to live on one of ’em.”
The West Coast crowd erupted in a joyous roar. The Georgia group sat in stunned silence.
“I’ll miss every one of you that I leave behind,” Gran said. “But with me out there in sunny California, you’ll have another reason to pay a visit. Come out and we’ll go see the Mouse together.”
She turned to Tammy, who was hugging Savannah. Both women were crying. “And you, young lady,” Gran said, “are gonna need a good, reliable babysitter. ’Cause after that little ankle biter of yours arrives, you’re gonna want to get back to your sleuthin’, and it ain’t always convenient to have a youngun with you when you’re breakin’ into houses and such.”
She turned to Savannah and Dirk. “I won’t ask you to share your roof with me. Wouldn’t want it myself, bein’ independent like I am. But as soon as Waycross and Tammy tie the knot and he moves into her house, I’d be happy to buy your house trailer off you, Dirk.”
Dirk started shaking his head. “Oh, Gran, it’s not fit for a lady. It’s all rusty and—”
“Don’t say another word, grandson. By the time I get done with it, you won’t recognize it. It’ll have a red- and yellow-striped awning, for one thing, and flower boxes hangin’ off every winder. Though if you don’t mind, I’d like to move it to a fancy senior citizens’ park on the beach.”
Killer Reunion Page 26