A Field of Poppies (31 page)

An old tobacco tin?

She eyed the faded red paint and the Prince Albert logo, remembering her Granddaddy Roberts had rolled his own cigarettes. Still, it seemed odd to hide something so ordinary. She opened the lid, tilting it toward the light and saw what appeared to be a piece of paper inside. When she turned the tin upside down, the paper fell out.

Her eyes widened, and then her heart skipped a beat. It was a check - made out to Helen Roberts - for the sum of fifty thousand dollars – and it had never been cashed.

When she saw the signature, her stomach rolled. She had a sick feeling she’d just found the identity of Sunny’s first love. Her pulse began to race from the weight of new fear.

She put the check in her pocket, dropped the floor back in place and set the pendulum into motion. Her legs might be shaking but her thoughts were clear. She had to call Mike.

****

Kenny Duroy was at the dentist having a root canal. Detective Harmon was doing follow-up on Tom Bonaventure out at Caulfield #14.

Mike was stuck at the desk catching up on paperwork, the only part of his job he disliked. When his phone rang, he was glad for an excuse to stop.

“
Homicide, Detective Amblin.”

“
I know who got Mama pregnant.”

And just like that, his heart was racing. “Poppy?”

“
I am going to talk to him. You can go with me, or I’ll go on my own.”

Panic set in. “Wait! You can’t go on your own. It could be dangerous. He may be connected in some way to your father’s death.”

“
Then I guess you better come get me, because I’m going, one way or the other.”

The line went dead in his ear.

“
Oh shit.”

He headed for the Lieutenant’s office on the run, then knocked once and poked his head inside.

“
We may have a break in the Sadler case. I’m going to pick up the daughter now.”

Green frowned. “Why do you need her? I don’t like getting citizens involved in police procedure.”

“
Because she’s the one with the information and all she told me was that she knew who got her mother pregnant and that she was going to see him, with or without me. I can’t stop her when I don’t know where she’s going.”

“
I don’t like this. Get the info and leave her at home.”

“
Sorry, sir, but you don’t know her. The woman has a mind of her own.”

“
Then make damn sure no one gets hurt. And take Duroy.”

“
He’s at the dentist, remember?”

“
Call him to meet you.”

“
Yes sir,” Mike said, and left the room running.

All the way across town he kept wondering what condition she’d be in when he arrived. She’d sounded mad and determined which, for him, was far better than hysterical or on the floor in a flat-out faint.

He had no sooner pulled up to the house when she came out. Her chin was up, her long hair flying, and the length of her stride was nothing short of forceful.

Yeah. She was pissed. That he could handle.

She opened the door and got in, then fumbled for the seat belt before she finally got it buckled.

“
Well?” she said, when he still sat there with the car in park.

“
I don’t know where we’re going, remember?”

She sighed, shoved her hands through her hair in quiet frustration, then took the check out of her pocket and handed it to him.

“
I found this hidden in an old tobacco tin.”

“
Son-of-a-bitch, so it
was
Caulfield.”

Poppy flinched. “You suspected him? You never said anything about it.”

“
It was part of our ongoing investigation. We had the list of boys your mother graduated with. It was a case of simple elimination to figure out who was from the high side of the city and who lived in Coal Town, then find current addresses. There weren’t all that many who would have been present the night your father died. And there’s still no proof that the person who killed your father was connected to the boy who got Sunny pregnant.”

Poppy frowned. “That’s not true now! You heard Prophet Jones yourself. You heard what he said. If he considered anyone connected with the Caulfields the Devil, and Justin Caulfield’s name is on the graduate list, and his father’s name is on that check you are holding, and he said the Devil’s minion killed my daddy, what else could you possibly want?”

“
We have to have more than Prophet’s eye witness testimony. Remember the time and the weather when Prophet claimed he was the witness to the murder? He was a good distance away under the bridge, in the dark, and in a torrential downpour. Any lawyer worth his pay would excuse all that away as nothing more than the crazy ramblings of a man with a grudge against one family.”

“
But you have the shell casings.”

“
Yes, but we don’t have the gun. Casings can’t prove ownership, and frankly, neither can a gun unless it’s been registered or used in a prior crime that might be traced back to a specific person during the commission of that crime.”

Poppy was angry. She wanted justice and all she was getting was the run-around. She unbuckled her seat belt.

“
Give me back the check.”

“
But-“

“
If you aren’t interested in finding out the truth then I don’t need you. Give it back.”

Mike sighed. “That’s not what I said and you know it. Besides, I didn’t say it never happened, I just said right now we can’t prove it. You are not going to confront a suspect on your own, regardless.”

He started to hand over the check and then stopped.

“
Oh. Wait. Son-of-a-bitch. She never cashed it. Talk about a statement. There was no doubt that she took it as the insult it was meant to be.”

Somewhat mollified by what he’d just said, Poppy nodded. “Ever since I found it, I’ve been thinking about that last entry in her diary.”

Mike nodded. “Where she threatened to kill herself if her father went to the family, and he reminded her she’d be murdering her own child?”

“
Yes, and obviously, Grandpa Roberts did go because here’s the evidence. But Adam Caulfield didn’t pay him off. Mama was the one he wanted gone. He made the check out to her. He wanted her to know
she
was the one who was unsuitable. I can only imagine how frustrated Grandpa was when he saw it, and I am guessing there was one great big fight when she refused to cash it. It was her way of telling all the men in her life that she couldn’t be bought.”

Mike handed the check back to her. “What are you going to do with this?”

“
Make sure he knows his dirty little secret isn’t a secret anymore. I hope it gives him nightmares. After that, he’s all yours.”

“
I’ll make some calls. Find out for sure where he’s at before we start what could turn into a wild goose chase, okay?”

“
I don’t care how you do it.”

“
Where’s your brother?”

“
Running errands. I left him a note.”

“
Sit tight. I’ll see if Caulfield is at work,” Mike said. He found the number for the company headquarters and called it first.

“
Caulfield Industries, Frances speaking. How may I direct your call?”

“
This is Detective Amblin with Caulfield P.D. It’s imperative that I speak to Mr. Caulfield.”

“
I’m sorry, but he’s already left the office for the day.” “Then I need the number to his cell phone.”

Frances hesitated. “We don’t give out the number to his private phone.”

“
Look, Frances, I’m not selling tickets to a raffle. This is police business. The number. Please.”

Startled, she quickly gave it up.

“
Thank you for your cooperation.” He hung up then before the secretary had time to think about what she’d done and call Caulfield herself, he made the call.

Justin answered on the second ring.

“
Justin Caulfield.”

“
Mr. Caulfield, this is Detective Amblin with Homicide. It is imperative that I speak with you, but your secretary said you’d already left for the day.”

Justin was a little curious, but nothing more. “Actually, I haven’t left the building. I’ve been staying in the apartment on the top floor for the past couple of days. Do you want me to meet you, or are you okay with coming here? All you have to do is go to the guard in the lobby. I’ll tell him to send you up.”

“
We’ll come there,” Mike said, and hung up just as John pulled into the driveway. “Hey, looks like your brother is back.”

“
Wait here,” Poppy said and got out.

Mike saw the frown on John Sadler’s face when he realized the police were back. Then he remembered Kenny needed to know where they were going and quickly sent him a text.

Mike watched their conversation without hearing it, but it didn’t take her long to state her case. When she started back to the car, John was behind her.

“
He’s going with us,” she said.

John got in the back seat without speaking.

Mike put the car in gear and drove away. When they got to the office building of Caulfield Industries, Kenny was waiting.

“
You made good time,” Mike said as they approached the building.

“
Mouff’s numb. You talk.”

Mike frowned in sympathy then glanced back at the Sadlers. John’s hand was on Poppy’s shoulder. She was standing as close to him as she could get. He got the message. Whatever happened, they were in it together.

“
Let’s get this over with,” he said, and led the way into the building and flashed his badge at the guard. “We’re here to see Mr. Caulfield. He’s expecting us.”

“
Yes sir, he already alerted me to your arrival. Follow me.”

The guard led the way to the bank of elevators, then paused at a single elevator door and used a key to open it.

“
As soon as the door closes, just press the button. There’s only one. It will take you straight to the penthouse.”

“
Thank you,” Mike said, and within moments they were on their way up.

He looked at Poppy. She was pale and tense, but her head was up, her shoulders back. She didn’t appear nervous so much as braced for a fight.

The car stopped suddenly. When the door opened, Justin Caulfield was standing on the other side. Mike watched the expression on his face go from congenial to shock as the car emptied. He glanced back at Poppy. She wore anger well. Her skin was pale - her chin was up - her shoulders back. Then she separated herself from the others to face Justin alone.

****

Poppy felt the impact of this full-circle moment. From Sunny’s betrayal to Jessup’s murder to coming face to face with a child he had denied, Justin Caulfield had run out of places to hide. And then something happened that she wasn’t expecting. He started to cry.

“
I didn’t know about you. I swear to God, I didn’t know,” he said.

She wanted to shoot him herself. “Ignorance is no excuse,” she snapped, and when he reached toward her, she slapped the check in his hand. “I believe this is yours.”

Justin’s stomach rolled as he recognized his father’s handwriting. If he had a snowball’s chance in hell of ever having a relationship with her, he had to dump his pride at her feet.

“
I loved Sunny with every pore of my body and when I should have been a man and stood up to my father’s threat, I buckled instead. I was a fool. I’ve lived with the shame of that ever since. But I didn’t know anything about what happened in her life after the break-up. I went away to college and didn’t come back. Not for visits. Not for holidays. Nothing. I was angry at my parents and that was my juvenile pay-back for what they’d demanded. I didn’t know she was pregnant. I didn’t know my father paid her off. I didn’t know about you, about any of it until just before your mother’s funeral.”

Poppy was so mad she was shaking. “I don’t believe you.”

Justin felt sick. “I don’t blame you, but it’s why I’m here instead of in my own home. Would you please come sit? All of you? I ask because I don’t think my legs are going to hold me much longer.”

“
I don’t need to hear this,” Poppy said.

John walked up behind Poppy. “Yes, you do, sister.”

“
No, Johnny, I don’t want-“

“
It’s to your advantage to know all there is to know about how you came to be.”

He took her by the elbow and led her toward the sofa while the others followed.

It never occurred to Justin that a police presence was unnecessary for this revelation. He was just grateful the secret was no longer an issue.

As for Mike and Kenny, they were curious as to where this was going. They had a better chance of gaining new information if Caulfield didn’t know he was a murder suspect.

Justin was transfixed by Poppy’s presence. She dominated the room with her righteous indignation and he applauded her for it. She had not come to insinuate herself into his moneyed world. She’d come to annihilate the man who betrayed both her and her mother.