A Field of Poppies (20 page)

“
A wreck I think. Why? What does all this have to do with your father’s murder?”

“
Let me lay it out for you, then you do what you will with the information, okay?”

“
I’m listening.”

“
So here’s what I know,” John said. “Prophet used to be a preacher. His family was killed by a man who drove a truck for Caulfield Industries. The man was never charged. Basically walked off a free man. Prophet believes Adam Caulfield bought off the cops at the time so that the company would not be sued for wrongful death.”

“
That’s not-“

John held up his hands. “Look, this is all before our time. Just let me tell the story the way it was told to me.”

Mike frowned. “I’m still listening. So Prophet blames Caulfield. Then what?”

“
Being a preacher, when the law let him down, he took his grievance to the pulpit, calling Caulfield and anyone associated with him, the Devil. That cost him his church and so he took to the streets, still preaching the same message. And, according to my source, Prophet Jones is saying he saw the Devil on the bridge the night Jessup Sadler died. He says the Devil killed him. Prophet took something from the crime scene that he calls the Devil’s footprints. I don’t know what that means, but it could be evidence. The old man could have seen it happen and took something afterward for proof.”

Mike felt blindsided. He’d seen Prophet on the bridge during that rainstorm and even then the old man had been saying the Devil was on the bridge. He’d ignored the rant. But now-

“
Are you implying that Justin Caulfield murdered your father?”

“
I’m not implying anything, damn it. I’m just telling you what I heard. Besides, Adam Caulfield did not kill Prophet’s family, but he blames him for getting the killer off, so, I guess in his mind, anyone associated with the family could be the Devil.”

“
Okay, I see what you mean. We’ll definitely check out what you’ve told us. As soon as we can locate the old man, we’ll bring him in for questioning.”

John sighed. “Thanks.”

“
It’s our job,” Mike said. “Listen, let me go tell my partner where we’re going, and then I’ll take you to the morgue, okay?”

“
If you don’t mind, I’ll just follow you in my truck.”

“
Yeah, sure. Give me a sec.”

John watched him get out and jog back across the street to talk to his partner, then head to the next block to get his car. A few minutes later he drove past and honked. John pulled out into traffic and followed the dark, unmarked car to the city morgue.

****

As soon as John left the house Poppy got a fresh cup of coffee and settled into the living room in Jessup’s recliner. The chair had taken on the shape of Jessup’s body. It was as close to a hug as she would ever have from him again. After a sip of the hot, steamy brew, she opened the diary to the first page.

This diary belongs to Sunny Roberts, age 17.

It hurt Poppy’s heart to think of her mother at that age – how happy she must have been with her life stretching out before her. She wondered what that Sunny might have done differently if she’d known her life would be cut so short.

She flipped through page after page of childish entries, most of which dealt with who she was mad at, and who was in trouble, and how stupid a certain teacher was, and why she would never go out with someone named Tommy if her life depended on it.

The phrasing made Poppy smile. She could almost hear her mother’s voice just by the way she turned a phrase. There wasn’t anything in the diary entries which would have given Jessup a reason to hide the fact that he was reading it. She was beginning to believe that he’d hidden it simply because he was reading something that belonged to his wife without having asked her permission. He’d probably found it looking for articles of her clothing to take to the hospital, just as Poppy had found it while looking for socks for John.

Still, Poppy wasn’t going to stop reading. This was like getting to know a completely different side of her mother and she intended to treasure it along with the memories she would keep. Poppy read some more, noting the passing of time by the dates of the entries. It was, after all, her senior year – a remarkable time in any girl’s life. Then just after school resumed from Christmas break, the tone of Sunny’s entries began to change.

Monday, January 4
^th
.

He’s been watching me for days. I run into him everywhere I go, like he’s making that happen. Oh I wish he would say something. Anything. Even just hello.

Tuesday, January 5
^th
.

It happened! It happened! He stopped me in the hall at school and said hi. I thought I would die. Everyone was looking at him. I know what they were thinking. What’s a cool dude from the north side of Caulfield doing talking to a nobody from Coal Town?

Thursday, January 7
^th
.

He caught me after school to ask if I was going to the basketball game. When I said yes, he said he’d see me there.

Friday, January 8
^th
.

It’s late. I don’t want Mom to catch me still up and writing. I can’t tell anyone what happened tonight without getting both of us in trouble, so I’m writing it here. That’s almost like telling my best friend, only I can’t tell Gladys because she can’t keep a secret. It finally happened. HE KISSED ME!!

Poppy laid the diary in her lap and leaned back. She could almost feel the excitement in the words. This was Sunny before she was anyone’s wife or mother - just a teenage girl in high school on the verge of a great adventure. And in an odd way, it seemed like a story about someone else – someone she didn’t know. She didn’t remember her mother ever being this light-hearted and giddy. She couldn’t help but wonder what had happened between her and this fellow that had ended the young love.

Outside, a car sped past on the street in front of the house, which broke her concentration. When she realized how much time had passed, she was surprised, but had no need to panic. Thanks to the generosity of their neighbors, there was already plenty of food prepared. She wouldn’t have to cook for a week.

After John got home, she wanted to go back to the funeral home and see her mother again. The funeral was tomorrow. It was going to take all the strength she had to get through it.

She took the diary with her when she went into the kitchen to get something for lunch, and read it while she ate. The thing between Sunny and her secret boyfriend seemed to be heating up. Poppy could almost guess what the next big revelation would be and wondered how she would feel when she read it. She and her mama had never talked about her first time to have sex, although Mama had drilled it into Poppy’s head plenty of times about the dangers of having sex and then losing regard for your own reputation. Poppy had called it the ‘once you lose it, you begin to abuse it’ speech. She knew it by heart, but now she was wondering if something had happened to Sunny that had turned Helen into a guard dog for her own child.

By the time Poppy finished eating, she’d read the diary posts all the way through spring and according to the diary, it was little less than two months to graduation.

April 3
^rd
.

I snuck out last night after everyone else was asleep and met him at the bridge. We drove out of town and up into the mountains to a place where we could be alone. We have talked about this for weeks and he keeps telling me I have to be sure before we do it. (That’s how I know he loves me). I am sure. I’m still a virgin, but I want him to be my first.

April 4
^th
.

Last night I became a woman. It wasn’t exactly how I thought it would be. The first time it hurt and I cried. He cried, too, telling me he was sorry, that he didn’t mean for it to happen. But then we did it again and I felt my body take flight. This is the most beautiful thing that can happen between two people who love each other.

Poppy didn’t know until she stopped reading that she’d been crying. The joy in that single entry alone was a physical burn. For the rest of her life she would remember those words.
I felt my body take flight.

She put the diary aside and walked away, needing space to remember that this was something that had happened over twenty years ago – something that Sunny had experienced and Helen had filed away with the rest of childhood’s memories.

The phone rang as she was getting herself a cold soda and noticed it was Johnny.

“
Hey, you.”

“
Hey honey, are you doing okay?”

“
Yes, I’m fine. When are you coming home?”

“
In about an hour or so. I’m on my way to the morgue then I’m going to see Mom. When I get home I’ll fill you in on what’s going on. Do you want to go to the funeral home with me?”

“
No, I think you need to go by yourself the first time, Johnny. You can take me back tonight, okay?”

“
Sure I will, Poppy. I told you. You’re not alone in this anymore. Do we need anything at home?”

“
No.”

“
Okay, see you later.”

Poppy hung up, then grabbed her cold soda and carried it out onto the back porch with the diary. Even though the day was a little chilly, the sun was warm on her face. She sat down in the porch swing and then pushed off with the toe of her shoe before she took a drink.

This was her favorite place – the place where she’d come as a child to do all her thinking. It was as good a place as any to absorb what she’d been reading and remember that, while it was new to her, it was all in the past. Then she picked up the diary and once more, fell into Sunny Roberts’ world.

April 12
^th
.

It’s almost time for Senior Prom. Three boys have asked me to go, but I’m going solo. He said he wanted to take me but we both knew what that would cause. I didn’t want to get him in trouble with his family. They wouldn’t like him dating someone from Coal Town. But if we both go solo, then it won’t matter who’s dancing with who during prom.

April 14
^th
.

The prom was supposed to be fun. It was the worst night of my life. His family found out about me and they’re sending him away after graduation. He didn’t fight for me. They told him what to do and he just did it. He’s not the man I wanted him to be – just a figment of my imagination. I wish I was dead.

May 22
^nd
.

I’m pregnant.

At this point, Poppy gasped. The feeling in her chest was the same desperate, out-of-control feeling she’d had when she’d gotten the call from the hospital that her mama had died.

May 25
^th
.

Daddy knows. He’s going to see the family and make them pay for everything. I told him if he did I would jump off the bridge into the Little Man and drown myself. He reminded me I wouldn’t be just killing myself. I would be killing my child.

Poppy’s hands were shaking. She looked back at the entry date on the diary and flipped through the pages only to realize there were no more entries.

She stood abruptly and staggered into the house. The diary fell from her arms as she headed into the bathroom. Once there, she paused to look at herself in the mirror. The woman she saw had become a stranger. The dark eyes were wide with shock. The skin on her face was the color of ash. Not pale, but gray, like she was already dead.

And that’s exactly how Poppy felt. Mama and Daddy weren’t the only ones who had died this week. Poppy Sadler, daughter of Helen and Jessup Sadler, had just suffered an abrupt and unexpected death on the back porch of her home.

Cause of death – ceased to exist.

She glared at the woman in the mirror as if she’d just committed some unforgiveable sin, then stepped back and covered her face. The blood was racing through her body in a dizzying rush. The need to vomit was overwhelming, but nothing would come up. The betrayal of what she’d just read was overwhelming. She’d lost her anchor to her world.

Disbelief was swiftly followed by panic, then rage as she grabbed the closest object, which happened to be her hair dryer, and threw it at the mirror. It shattered, splintering her reflection. Now she was as broken on the outside as she felt on the inside.

Poppy staggered backward, her head still spinning. So, Sunny Roberts got pregnant and had herself a baby girl. This definitely meant Jessup Sadler was not her real father. She knew this because Jessup was years older than Helen. He’d been out of school, married, become a father, and widowed before she even graduated. Sunny wouldn’t have been seeing him in the halls at school and he certainly hadn’t come from the north side of Caulfield. Jessup was a native of Coal Town, just like her.