A Field of Poppies (27 page)

And while they still had the two teenagers who’d stolen Sadler’s car in custody, after learning about the diary, Mike was of the opinion they’d had nothing to do with Sadler’s murder, just the theft of his car.

He’d been thinking that he might make a low-key appearance at Helen Sadler’s funeral just to see what happened. It paid to cover all the bases where murder was concerned.

After clearing it with Lieutenant Green, he headed across the bridge to the Church of Angels where Pastor Louis J. Harvard preached the word of God with all the fervor that a Pentecostal preacher could bring.

****

Justin woke with a sense of confusion that quickly morphed to a grim understanding. He was in the apartment above his office. A glance at the time sent him into overdrive as he threw back the covers and headed for the shower. Less than ten minutes later he was getting dressed. The first of his earliest employees would be arriving soon and he had no intention of letting anyone know where he’d spent the night. Within a few minutes he was out the building and on his way to pick up some breakfast at a fast-food drive-thru.

Although there was a full day of work on his schedule, he had only two things on his mind – finding out the date of Poppy Sadler’s birthday and getting the name of Callie’s father.

If it turned out that Poppy was his child, then he had another problem - whether to share the news with her or not. Today she was burying her mother and after her father’s body was released she would be burying him, too. Now was hardly the time to let her know he’d knocked her mother up then chose his father’s money over his first love.

And then there was Callie. He didn’t care what anyone thought or what a cuckold he became if people learned she was not his, as long as she got her chance at a new life. But he had to go through Amelia to get that info, and after a night to think about their fight, knowing her, she was probably out for blood - his in particular.

****

Amelia hadn’t fainted last night. In fact, it was quite the contrary. The shock of hearing her own child tell her he didn’t care if she lived or died had fueled anger, not despair. Once she’d gotten past Oral’s outrage on her behalf and calmed him down into lapdog submission, she’d begun to make plans.

The only drawback in making them work was that everything hinged on Justin’s desire to keep Callie’s well-being at the forefront. The Caulfield estate had been her home before Justin was born, and he was not going to kick her out like the poor relative looking for a handout. Even though she hadn’t wanted to come back, she was the one who would make the decision as to when she would leave, and she wasn’t above using a sick child to make her point.

She got up at her usual time and dressed for the day at the hospital, making sure to take the new card games she’d purchased, as well as another angel figurine as a surprise gift for Callie. She went down to breakfast with her chin up and purpose in her step, ordered a waffle and fruit along with her usual café au lait, and began to read the paper.

It was a name in the obituaries that caught her eye. Once she began to read, everything about Justin’s behavior was suddenly clear.

Sunny Roberts was dead.

She scanned the rest of the obit, noting Sunny’s husband has passed on the same day, and that she was survived by two children – step-son John Sadler of Atlanta, Georgia, and daughter, Poppy Sadler of the home.

Amelia’s heart skipped a beat. So she’d had a child. That didn’t mean it was Justin’s. More likely, it belonged to the man she had married. Still, she had to tread lightly. What she needed was information, and she knew where to get it. The family lawyer was a font of information. What he didn’t know, he could find out.

When she heard Lillian coming from the kitchen with her food, she calmly turned the page to an EPA study on water contamination and strip mines. In their line of business it paid to stay on top of the new regulations.

“
Good morning, Mrs. Caulfield,” Lillian said, as she set the food and coffee at her place. “Is there anything else I can get you?”

Amelia glanced at the plate. “No, it looks fine. Would you tell Newton that I’ll be ready to go to the hospital as soon as I’ve eaten?”

“
Yes, ma’am.”

Amelia took her first bite. “Delicious.”

Lillian smiled. “Thank you, ma’am. I’ll be back in a few minutes to refill your cup. In the meantime, enjoy your breakfast.”

Amelia did just that, right down to the last bite of strawberry and waffle, finished off her coffee and went to get her things.

Newton was waiting by the limo as she left the house. He opened the back door.

“
Good morning, Mrs. Caulfield.”

“
Good morning, Newton. It’s a beautiful day.”

“
Yes, ma’am, that it is. Do you need to stop anywhere else before we go to the hospital?”

“
I think not.”

He shut her door as she got inside, and they were soon on their way to St. Anne’s.

As soon as Amelia buckled up she called the company lawyer on her cell, using his private number to bypass the secretary. It rang twice before he picked up.

“
Graham Ring.”

“
Graham, this is Amelia Caulfield.”

“
Good morning, Mrs. Caulfield. How are you this fine morning?”

“
I’m well, thank you. I’m on my way to the hospital to visit my granddaughter.”

“
I hear she’s better, which is such a blessing. So, what can I do for you?”

“
Yes, it is a blessing. What I need is a little information. There’s a young woman here in Caulfield named Poppy Sadler, daughter of recently deceased Helen Roberts Sadler. I need to know Miss Sadler’s place of birth and birthday. And call me back on this number.”

“
Oh. Yes, ma’am, Poppy Sadler. I’ve already met her. Sweet girl.”

Amelia frowned. “Really? In what capacity, may I ask?”

“
Just company business. Her father’s murder struck a chord of sympathy with your son, Justin. He ordered me to make Miss Sadler the beneficiary of Mr. Sadler’s pension rather than her mother, who had died that same day. Peculiar circumstances, then both dying on the same day like that, wouldn’t you say?”
“Yes. Peculiar. I’ll be waiting for your call.”

“
Of course,” Graham said, and hung up.

Amelia’s gut knotted as she dropped her phone back in her purse. So Justin had gone all soft and doled out a pension to a family member other than a spouse, and that was before she’d let the cat out of the bag.

He was already tying himself to the girl just because she’d been Sunny’s child. Now that he knew she might be his, she wouldn’t be surprised if he tried to insinuate himself into her tawdry life – or even worse – bring her into theirs. She quickly shoved the thought aside. There would be time to deal with that issue, if and when it happened.

By the time she got to the hospital, she was gearing herself up for the day ahead.

****

Justin swallowed the last bite of his second sausage and egg biscuit and then washed it down with a big gulp of coffee. He tossed the refuse in a drive-by trash can and then put in a call to the company lawyer on his way back to the office. Like his mother, he bypassed the secretary, using Graham’s personal line.

“
Graham Ring.”

“
Good morning, Graham, it’s Justin.”

“
Justin! I suppose this is my morning for the Caulfield family!”

Justin frowned. Damn. His mother had called the lawyer? He couldn’t help but wonder what was she up to now, but wasn’t going to ask and have it appear something was happening that was out of his control.

“
I have a task for you,” Justin said.

“
Certainly. What do you need?” Graham asked.

“
Remember the Sadler girl I had designated as the recipient of her father’s pension?”

“
Poppy Sadler?”

“
That’s the one. What I need is her official date of birth as well as where she was born.”

Graham laughed. “Obviously you and your mother didn’t cross paths this morning.”

Justin’s frown deepened as he braked for a red light. “What do you mean?”

“
She’s already called in the request. I just spoke to her about ten minutes earlier. I believe she was on her way to the hospital.”

“
I see,” Justin said. “When you get the information, you call me, not her. I’m the one who needed to know. I suppose she was trying to help.”

“
No problem,” Graham said. “In fact, I already have the information right here. She was born December 9
^th
, 1973.”

“
December 9
^th
, 1973?”

“
That’s correct,” Graham said.

“
Thank you,” Justin said. “No need to call Mother. I’ll do it myself.”

“
You’re welcome. Have a nice day,” Graham said.

The line went dead in Justin’s ear, but it took a few moments for the fact to soak in. His head was spinning as he sat at the intersection, counting backward from the date of her birthday. Sunny had been pregnant before the prom, which meant the child had to be his. It wasn’t until someone honked a horn, urging him to drive through that he realized the light had already changed.

He felt blindsided by the news, and at the same time an overwhelming sadness for what he’d missed. Sunny had been pregnant. He wouldn’t let himself think about what she’d gone through alone, or the hell her family must have given her. It was too late to apologize to her. All he could do was make things right for the child - their child. It wasn’t until he felt tears on his cheeks that he realized he was crying.

****

The parking lot at the Church of Angels was in overflow. Arriving cars were now parking up and down the streets. The pews inside were already full, and extra seating had been set up along the sides of the sanctuary and some out into the hall. Helen Roberts had been a well-loved member of this church, as well as the community, but it was her husband being murdered on the same day she died that had caused the influx. Morbid curiosity was a big draw. Would the family grieve more at this service, knowing there was another soon to follow? Suspicious whispers went back and forth throughout the church while they waited for the services to begin. What if Jessup’s killer was among them? What if it was someone they knew?

When Pastor Louis J Harvard got the nod that the family was coming into the church, he stood.

“
All rise,” he said, as the family, which consisted of only John and Poppy, were seated.

Confident of his role in this gathering, he opened the service with a prayer.

****

Poppy was trembling. She had been ever since the long black car had pulled up in front of their house that was to bring them to the church. This was it. The last act needed to render her mama into the realm of what people referred to as ‘the dearly departed.’

She looked up at the pulpit without focusing on the casket - to the sunlight coming through the stained glass window above Pastor Harvard’s head.

So beautiful.

So peaceful.

And the flowers - all the flowers Justin Caulfield sent were on the railings, and on the floor, and sitting on little pedestals so that it almost appeared that Helen’s casket was sitting in a field of flowers. At that moment, all of her resentment about the flowers slid away. This was no longer about Poppy’s indignation. This was for Mama, and she would have loved it.

The preacher was talking, but her only focus was the grip John had on her hand. Today he was her anchor and she was afraid to let go. As if sensing he was the source of her thoughts, John gave her hand a gentle squeeze. She laid her head against his shoulder, and when someone began to sing, she closed her eyes against the tears running down her face.

****

Mike Amblin had slipped into the church and was standing against a wall in the corner of the room. He’d known the minute he entered the church that he’d come because of Poppy, not because he thought he could magically finger someone in this crowd as a killer.

He’d never been in this church before, but he recognized a lot of familiar faces – some of whom were people he and Kenny had interviewed during their investigation, like Mel and Gladys Ritter, and Carl and Hannah Crane. He saw Tom Bonaventure, the manager at Caulfield #14 sitting at the end of a pew and remembered from the info in their case file that the man was divorced. Bonaventure kept eyeing John and Poppy instead of the preacher. Mike guessed he was suffering some guilt at having been the one who fired their father from his job.

Or he could consider Kenny’s theory that Bonaventure could be Poppy’s father and that he was the one who Jessup had fought with, and the man who’d ultimately killed him. Of all the ones they’d interviewed, Tom was the only one who’d turned up the next day with wounds from a brawl.

When someone began to sing, Mike saw Poppy lean against her brother’s shoulder. To his surprise, his eyes welled with tears. He took a deep breath, trying to calm the swell of his emotions. He couldn’t imagine what she was thinking, but he knew that she was sad. It was enough to hurt his heart.