Crazy as a Quilt (A Harriet Turman/Loose Threads Mystery Book 8) (24 page)

Harriet guessed he was referring to drug dealers but could only imagine.

“I had heard your sister was trying to clean up her act.” She was fishing but felt no obligation to be completely honest.

Jules laughed again, but the humor didn’t reach his eyes.

“Is that what she was telling people? She was in a court-ordered diversion program that made her to go to rehab a couple of months ago. I talked to her when she got out. She was looking for drugs. She did what she had to do to avoid jail.”

“That’s sad.”

“No, that’s genetics. You can’t fight science. We come from bad stock. All of us were born to be addicts. When both of your parents are druggies, you’re pretty much doomed. Nature or nurture, take your pick. My mom started doing drugs with us boys when my brother was thirteen and I was twelve. I’m pretty sure she slipped something into our food when we were even younger than that.”

“What about your sister who’s in college?”

“She’s a different story. We all have different dads. Aimee’s dad hooked up with our mother when he was young and she was turning tricks. His buddies took him down to the docks for his birthday. He was in a rebellious phase—or as rebellious as rich kids ever get. He had money, so she didn’t have to work the streets and that amused her for a while.

“He was naive, thought she loved him, realized she was using him for his money. The old, sad story. She got pregnant, and when a paternity test proved he was the baby-daddy, his family took over. They kept us in a nice apartment with a nice companion who made sure Mom stayed off drugs and even got her GED. We went to school and had clean clothes.

“As soon as Aimee was born, they took the baby, gave Mom a fat envelope of cash and six additional months in the apartment, minus the companion. She chose not to take the opportunity. She went back to her old life, and we went with her.”

“I’m sorry.”

He attempted a smile.

“Don’t be. I learned a long time ago this is my lot in life. Things got a lot easier when I quit trying to be something I’m not and will never be.”

“Do
you
have children?”

This time he really did laugh.

“As soon as I was physically mature enough for the procedure, I went to a doctor and had that possibility eliminated. It’s kind of funny, but when I asked how much money I had to have, and I told him why I wanted the surgery, he told me he’d do it for free, and he did. My life may not amount to much, but my one gift to the world is pruning this branch of our family tree. There will never be another me.”

Harriet didn’t know what to say. Jules wasn’t at all what she’d expected.

“Huh,” he said, more to himself than her. “I hadn’t thought about it, but now Marine can’t have kids. My older brother Alex will be in jail long enough that he probably won’t have kids. Maybe there is hope for our family after all.”

“It’s sad that Marine didn’t have a choice in the matter. Do you have any idea what happened to her?”

“I can tell you what didn’t happen. The animal doctor didn’t kill her.”

“Do you know who did?”

Jules leaned in and whispered in her ear.

“What’s in it for me?”

She stepped back away from him.

“Really? Your sister is dead, and my boyfriend is wrongly accused, and you want to know what’s in it for you?” Her voice got louder as she spoke.

He looked around to see if anyone had overheard.

“Hey, keep it down. There are cops here.”

Harriet started to walk away, but Jules grabbed her arm.

“Hey, if you mistook me for a guy with a conscience or something just because I know how I got where I am, that’s your problem. I’m a user in every way. Are you going to let a good man go to jail because you can’t accept that?”

She removed his hand from her arm with her free hand, but she didn’t move away. She looked at the floor.

“I don’t believe you.”

He leaned back and looked at her.

“Have I misjudged you? Are you not willing to do anything it takes to save the young doctor?”

“I’m willing to help Aiden. I’m not willing to negotiate with a con man. If you really had information that would solve your sister’s murder, I think you’d tell somebody. The fact that you’re trying to con me tells me you don’t really know anything. When you’re ready to tell me whatever it is you think you know, come find me.”

Now it was Jules who looked down at the floor. It was clear he was used to women being so charmed by his good looks and apparent honesty they gave him whatever he asked for.

“Okay, you got me,” he finally said. “What I really want—”

Harriet didn’t get to hear what Jules wanted. Not then, anyway.

“Get away from me!” Sharon screamed from across the room.

He brushed past Harriet and pushed through the crowd to reach the action. She looked in time to see Marine’s mother standing toe-to-toe with Sharon and screaming back at her.

“Oh, should I just tell all your new friends who the high-and-mighty Sharon really is? Is that what you want? They all think you’re this tragic figure, but I know who you really are. You’re no better than me. You just have nicer threads and a better car.”

Jules reached the two women and forced himself between them.

“Come on, Mom. Time for you to go home. Let’s not make a scene. Marine wouldn’t have wanted that.”

He stayed behind her, his arms wrapped around her, frog-marching her toward the exit doors.

She tried to break free.

“Wait, we didn’t get the money. They told me they took up a collection for us. We need our money.”

“Not now, Mom.”

Francine looked back over her shoulder, searching the crowd to find Sharon.

“We’re not done here.”

“I’m sorry,” Jules said, a look of embarrassment on his face. Harriet almost believed him—except for the extortion scheme he’d just tried on her moments ago.

The Loose Threads quickly gathered around Sharon, preventing any onlookers from approaching her.

“Are you okay?” Harriet asked.

Sharon shuddered.

“I’m fine.” She looked at Harriet as she spoke, challenging her to argue. “I have no idea what that woman wanted from me.”

Francine clearly had something on Sharon, and after Sharon’s earlier revelation, Harriet felt sure she knew what it was.

Marine’s mom knew about Sharon’s pregnancy.

“I think we’ll go powder our noses,” she told the group.

Jessica started to follow them.

“I got this,” Harriet told her and led Sharon out into the hall.

She bypassed the restrooms just outside the fellowship hall and continued on upstairs to the ladies room next to the sanctuary, where there would be less chance of funeral goers eavesdropping on their conversation. When the door was shut behind them, she turned to Sharon.

“You don’t have to say anything, but based on my interaction with Marine’s brother, I’m guessing Mom just tried to blackmail you.”

Sharon hung her head.

“This is a nightmare that won’t end.”

“If you don’t want to talk about it, we can leave. There’s a door at the end of the hall, and my car is outside.”

“I think it’s a little late for that, don’t you?” She sighed. “That family has been onto me since I got here. Marine must have told her mother my name, or maybe her mom saw the class list. We all received a list of class members before we got here, so people who lived within driving distance could carpool if they wanted.”

“I didn’t think she was that close to her mom. She was staying with Aiden’s sister, after all.”

“She couldn’t stay with her mom, but that doesn’t mean they didn’t talk. In the end, it doesn’t matter. Somehow, Francine found out I was coming, and she was ready.”

Harriet leaned against the sink.

“How does Francine know who you are, much less have any information to blackmail you with?”

“One giant stroke of bad luck. That small town I retreated to, where my aunt lived, it also contained the rock Francine crawled out from under. I don’t know how she ended up there, since I now know her parents were in Foggy Point, but it doesn’t matter.

“My aunt took me to a small clinic in town. They also ran a free clinic, and Francine was a regular customer. When a pregnant teen shows up in a town like that, only to leave seven months later, it doesn’t take a genius to figure out what’s going on. I assume she saw my modeling work in an ad somewhere after that and filed it away as a future opportunity.”

“Do you think she’s that bright?” Harriet asked.

“Clever is more like it. People like her can be really stupid in most facets of life, but when money’s involved suddenly they’re Einstein.”

“So, she saw your name, remembered you as an unwed teen turned successful model, and guessed you wouldn’t want the world to know about your past.”

“That’s it in a nutshell. She told Marine and had her approach me. Foolishly, I gave them some money, thinking that would be the end of it.”

“And of course, it wasn’t?”

“Not even a little. Once Marine was gone, mommy dearest contacted me directly.”

“That was her, yesterday morning?”

“I thought I saw your car, down in the industrial area yesterday morning. Yes, that was her, and I gave her more money and told her that was it.”

“For someone like her, no amount is ever enough.”

“I know that. I do. I don’t care anymore if people know I had a child. My career is virtually over. My fear is...and I realize it’s irrational...is that Francine knows who my baby is and where it is.”

Harriet stood up straight.

“Has she said that?”

“No. She’s taunting me with her threats to tell the world I had a baby. I just can’t be sure she doesn’t know more.”

“But you’ve no reason to believe she does.”

Sharon turned to look directly into Harriet’s eyes.

“I can’t have my child find out about me from some horrible drug addict.”

Harriet put her hands on Sharon’s upper arms.

“It won’t come to that. We’ll figure something out.”

Sharon’s face turned a blotchy red, and tears slid down her cheeks.

“It’s so unfair,” she sobbed. “One weekend. I’ve followed the rules all my life except for that one weekend so many years ago, and it just won’t end. Everyone else makes crazy mistakes in their teens, and they move on. I’m a good person. I give money to charity, I serve meals at the homeless shelter at Christmas. Now all everyone is going to remember about me is I got pregnant in my teens and hid it from the public. They’ll know all my fresh-faced teen modeling shoots were a lie.” She sagged against the counter, the agony etched into her face.

“I don’t think it will be as bad as all that. If people had found out when you were still doing those teen magazine shoots it might have been news for a few minutes, but it was years ago. It’s unlikely to make the national news, and your child probably has no idea who you are, in any case.”

“What if Francine knows the adoptive parents? What if she tries to blackmail them? She could demand money for her silence.”

“Let’s not borrow trouble. I doubt Francine is that clever. Did the adoptive parents ever come to the clinic where you did your prenatal care?”

Sharon sniffled. “No, they took the baby from the hospital; I never saw them.”

“Then Francine doesn’t know who they are, either.”

“She might know if someone adopted a baby in the area.”

“You’re assuming the adoptive parents lived in that small town. They could have come from anywhere. Are your parents or your aunt still alive?”

“My mother and my aunt are. My dad passed away a few years ago. But they’ve never talked about it. I came back to Oakland, and it was like it had never happened. Except in my dreams. My mother changed the subject whenever I asked. My therapist told me to leave it in the past and forget about it.”

“Maybe it’s time to get some answers from them. Time may have changed them, too. Your mom might like the idea of knowing more about her grandchild. And you aren’t a scared teenager anymore. You can demand answers. Even if they don’t know the adoptive parents personally, they probably know if they were from the area or not, and they can tell you who the adoption agency is. If it was a private adoption, they probably arranged it in Oakland. They could be in California.”

Sharon swiped at her tears. Harriet waved her hand in front of the towel dispenser and then caught the sheet it spat out and handed it to her roommate.

“Come on, splash a little water on your face while I use the restroom, and we can go back down before someone comes looking for us.”

Things were back to normal when Harriet and Sharon returned to the fellowship hall. Francine and Jules were gone, and people were standing in groups of two or three eating cookies and drinking coffee and lemonade.

Harriet found her aunt with Mavis and Connie by the silver coffee urn.

“What did I miss?”

Jessica came up and edged Sharon away from Harriet.

“Are you okay? Would you like some coffee or lemonade?”

Sharon indicated coffee, and Jessica poured and then walked her away to a quiet corner where she was partly concealed from the room by a potted palm. Beth watched them go then turned to Harriet.