Catherine's Cross (14 page)
The doorbell rang and Jenks placed the album on the coffee table. When she answered it, Crawford Forrest was waiting with a pie in her hand. “I made two apple pies, they're just out of the ovenâI thought I'd like to give one to you.”
“Thank youâthat's very thoughtful. Come in, Mrs. Forrest.”
“You are most welcomeâbut I can only stay a few minutes. I have to get back home.”
Jenks started to take the pie from her, but Crawford said, “Dear, it's still a little warm; please hold it with the potholders.” Jenks took the pie, holding it with the potholders, into the kitchen. The delicious aroma of cooked apples streamed into the air.
“Please have a seat, Mrs. Forrest. I'll be right back,” Jenks said as she walked back into the kitchen. When she returned to the living room, Mrs. Forrest was looking at the open photo album. “May I?” she asked as she reached for the album.
“Yes, most of the photos are of Gigi and me.”
Crawford thumbed through the pages and said, “You and your sister are beautiful. I'm so sorry about her, but I promise I do understand about loss.”
Jenks nodded and said, “It's so kind of you to bring me the pie.”
“Honey, I'm glad to. I didn't get to know your sister very well, but I thought she was a lovely girl.”
Crawford rose from her seat and said, “It's been years since I looked at my own photo albums from my youth. If I can find them, I'd like to share them with you.” She smiled and started for the door.
“Yes, ma'am, I'd like to see your photo albums.”
“There have been many changes since those pictures were taken,” she said as a look of sadness crossed her countenance. However, as she said good-bye her smile returned, and she said, “You let me know if I can help with anything.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Forrest.”
“I'd like for you to call me Crawford.”
“Yes, ma'am,” Jenks said with a smile.
After Mrs. Forrest left, Jenks went to the kitchen and looked through Gigi's pantry for spices to put on the roast she was going to prepare for dinner. While searching, she came across a bottle of Woodford Reserve on the top shelf behind several containers of sauce. She put spices on the roast and vegetables and placed the roasting pan in the oven to slow cook. When she finished dinner preparation, Jenks retrieved the bottle of bourbon from the shelf and pulled out the stopper. She inhaled the scent of the alcohol and then poured herself a glass. She took a couple of ice cubes from the freezer and dropped them into her drink.
Looking out the kitchen window, Jenks noticed the Forrests in their backyard. This was the first time since Gigi's death that she had seen Mr. Forrest outside. They were seated together on a teakwood bench. She had seen married couples who looked alike in the past. Side by side, the couple bore an amazing resemblance to one another.
Jenks took her bourbon with her back into the living room. She sat down on the couch and began to look through the photo album again. As she continued to sip her drink, uncontrollable tears began to fall down her face. She took another large sip from the glass, finishing the bourbon, and then put her head on a pillow on the living room couch.
Jenks was awakened by a knocking sound at the front door. She sat up on the sofa and looked at her watch. “Oh, my Godâit's eight o'clock!” She quickly walked to the door, and using the peephole, saw that Seth was standing on the porch. Opening it, she invited him inside.
She kissed him on the cheek, and he inhaled her scent. “Uh-oh, somebody's been at the hard stuff.” He walked her to the couch and sat her down near a lamp. “Your eyes are all swollen. You've been crying.”
“I started looking at a photo album this afternoon, and I got upset. After I put dinner in the oven, I had a glass of bourbon.” Suddenly she remembered her roast. “The roastâoh no!”
She sprang from the couch and almost lost her balance on the way to the kitchen. Seth stopped her. “Hold on nowâyou're going to burn yourself. Let me help you.”
Taking two potholders, he removed the roast from the oven. Since she had left the oven on a low setting, the roast did not appear overly done.
“See, you did just fine,” he told her as he cut into the meat. “I'm going to set the table and get you a plate. One thing is for sureâyou need to put some food in your stomach.”
“I bought a bottle of wine for dinner.”
“No, ma'am, it's time for a glass of water.”
After dinner, he led her into her living room and sat her down on the couch. “Lie down and put your head in my lap.” She relaxed into his arms.
She looked up into his beautiful eyes. “Seth, how old are you?”
“I'm thirty-two.”
“Why aren't you married? I can't believe some fortunate girl didn't swoop you up a long time ago.”
“Thank you.” He paused and a slight frown crossed his brow. “I was married while I was in the Marine Corps. I wasn't ready for a commitment, and it was my fault that the relationship did not last. I'd like to know the same thing about you.”
“I had one relationship that I thought was love, but it turned out to be a disappointment. I got hurt. After that experience, I decided to be cautious about getting involved with anyone.”
“I see,” he said with a smile.
She gazed intently into his chestnut eyes and ran her fingers down the side of his cheek. “I am being careful. I am waiting for the man who is right for me.” Suddenly, she got the hiccups and Seth lifted her up off the couch and placed his glass of water in her hands.
“Hold your breath and take small sips.”
“Yes, sir,” she murmured.
She took a deep breath and held it while she counted silently to thirty. Letting out the breath, she relaxed back into his arms.
He ran his fingers across her brow and she looked into his eyes. “Can I tell you something personal?”
“Yes, Jenks.”
“I'm crazy about you.”
He smiled at her words and then responded, “I'm crazy about you too.”
“I want to be with you.”
He stroked her hair. “Your hair is a beautiful shade of mahogany.”
“Thank youâbut are you changing the subject?”
He caressed her cheek. “Baby, I'm flattered that you want to be with me, but I think the alcohol could be doing the talking right now.” He paused and smiled slightly. “I'm being extra careful with our relationship.”
“You are?”
“Yes, ma'am. Now, there's something you must do for me in the future. When you get upset about what happened to Gigi, don't drink alcohol. It just depresses you. I know.”
He paused for a moment and then said, “I saw the bottle of Woodford Reserve on the counter. Gigi had expensive taste in her bourbon.”
“She had extra money from selling artifacts, and you already know about the insurance policy.”
“Yes, I remember.”
“When our daddy died at the construction site, there was a significant insurance payout that went to our family. Gigi's house is paid off.”
He cuddled her in his arms until she fell asleep.
During the night she woke up with a terrible thirst. She was in her bed with a light quilt pulled up around her. Seth was gone. She went to the kitchen for a drink of water and the dishes and cookware had been cleaned. The remainder of the roast that wasn't eaten at dinner was in the refrigerator, along with Crawford's apple pie, which was covered in plastic wrap and minus two pieces.
She took aspirin, drank her water, and went back to bed.
J
enks listed Gigi's home with Agnes Manning's company, Thompson and Thompson Realtors. Agnes put the lockbox on the front porch railing to keep it from hitting the wooden front door, and set out to market the property. Three days later, no one had called for an appointment to view the home. The housing market was struggling, and Jenks realized this. She'd prefer to sell the home before returning to Raleigh for the fall, but she was enjoying being with Seth. They were either together part of each day or spoke by phone.
When she asked him about her behavior the night he came to dinner, he told her, “Anything you did or any secrets you shared with me will forever be safe.”
“What secrets? What did I do?”
“Ohâyou performed the dance of the seven veils for me on the dining room table, with a long-stem rose between your teeth.”
She hit him with a pillow. He playfully wrapped her in a wrestling hold and kissed her on the face. Uncontrollable laughter burst forth from Jenks, and Seth held her tightly, sitting her up in his arms so he could look at her.
“I like that.”
“What?” she said as she continued to laugh.
“Your laughter.”
As she stopped laughing, a bout of hiccups started. “You must be prone to hiccups. I'll get you a glass of water,” he said as he slowly released her.
“Come right back.”
“Yes, ma'am.”
On Seth's next day off, he invited her to go fishing with him. He gave her the gate code at the Walker's property, and they agreed to meet at two o'clock. When she arrived, he was loading the boat. Seth was working without his shirt. Unable to break her gaze, she looked admiringly at his handsomely chiseled chest and arm muscles. When he saw her approaching, Seth slipped his polo shirt over his head and walked in her direction. “I'm glad you could come. Do you need to go inside before we go?”
“I think I'm fine.”
They launched the fishing boat that Seth explained belonged to Dr. Walker. He drove the craft upriver and anchored the boat at the edge of a salt marsh. As soon as he shut the engine off, the sound of jet aircraft passed overhead. Four F-18s from the Beaufort Marine Station were practicing maneuvers, and they passed by in slow flight formation. After the jet fighters departed, the marsh was quiet again. Seth was about to cast his line when his cell phone rang. After a few minutes, Seth closed the phone and said, “That was Mose Lafitte. He says he has something to show me and wants me to meet him on the north side of Nairne Point.”
“That's the place where Meta and Ida's cousin's Cadillac was found submerged. You know, the one who betrayed his family over land.”
“Nairne Point has an ominous history. The man it's named after, Thomas Nairne, was tortured to death by Yemassee Indians during an uprising. They put slivers of pine under his skin and set it on fire. It took several days for him to die. The Indians felt they were being cheated by the settlers and they were. Tragically, Nairne was one of the few Indian agents who dealt honestly with the Yemassee.”
“Oh, that's horrible.” Jenks shuddered.
Seth pulled the boat anchor out of the pluff mud and started the engine.
Mose Lafitte was waiting for them on the north side of the point, and he signaled to them as they approached. As Seth pulled alongside Mose's boat, he said, “Mister Seth, I's got something to show you.” He paused for a moment and added, “Miss Jenkins, how are you today?”
“I'm fine, Mose.”
“Come dis way,” Mose said as he drove his boat toward the point.
Once he was near the shore, Mose raised the motor on his boat and slowly landed on the point. He pulled the watercraft up on land and then helped Seth with Dr. Walker's boat.
“It's dis way,” he said pointing to his right.
They reached an area of marsh near the point, and covered with a tarp and heavy vegetation was a motorboat. “I was puttin' out crab pots, and I kept noticing how unnatural dat area with de tarp look. See somebody done covered up de boat with willow branches dey cut. I ain't touch nothing. My wife like dose criminal investigation shows so I knows better. I did notice dat de hull of de boat is cracked. I look around de area, and I find where somebody try to bury beer cans. I show you where dey are. I knows de folks dat was killed de other night on de river was run over by another boat dat jus kep' going. I tink dis may be it.”
