Ever Present Danger (6 page)

Ivy watched the boys skate around the bend, laughing happily and holding each other up. She couldn’t get over the irony that, of all the kids in Jacob’s Ear, Montana would connect first with the one boy she would’ve preferred he avoid.

It bothered Ivy that Lu was so quiet. She glanced over at her and thought she looked drawn and listless. “We need to get you home so you can rest.”

Carolyn gave Lu a double take. “Goodness, I didn’t realize we wore you out. Ivy, why don’t you drive Lu back to the house, and I’ll stay here with Montana? He’s getting along so well with Ian that I hate to cut it short.”

“How will you get home?”

“Why don’t you come back and pick us up at the deli at one? When the boys get hungry, I’ll ask if Ian can join us for lunch. If not, I’ll just enjoy the time with my grandson.”

With my grandson
. Her mother’s words penetrated her deepest fear like a healing balm. “Okay, Mom. Call if you need me to come sooner.”

Ivy sat on the side of the guest room bed and pulled up the covers and tucked them around Lu. “I know the doctor said it would be a matter of weeks, but I kept hoping he was wrong.”

“So did I,” Lu Ramirez said. “I’ve been trying really hard. I thought I could keep pushing myself until you got settled, but I just can’t anymore.”

Ivy sighed and felt her own strength waning. “I’m going to have to tell my parents about your leukemia so we can break the news to Montana. He’s going to be so sad.”

Lu looked up at her. Her dark eyes welled, and a tear trickled down the side of her face. “I’m sorry, Ivy girl. I wanted to see him
grow up. I wanted to be here to help you face the past.”

“You’ve helped me more than you’ll ever know. Now it’s my turn.” Ivy wiped the tears off her cheeks. “Do you want to tell Montana, or do you want me to?”

“I’ll tell him. But I’d like you to be there.”

“Okay.”

Lu held her gaze a long time, and then said, “I think it’s time for you to move me into hospice. I can’t help you with Montana anymore. And you don’t need to be worrying about me right now.”

“You don’t have to move. You can rest right here. Mom will help with Montana.”

“But
I
need help. You can’t take care of me. Your parents aren’t prepared to have a stranger die in their home, and I could never ask it of them. We’ve already been over this. You agreed to let me decide when it was time.”

“No! I’m not ready to let you go!”

“But God’s ready for me, Ivy girl.” Lu gently stroked her hair. “I’m not afraid. Really.”

Ivy clutched Lu’s arm, unable to verbalize the agony she felt—or the impending abandonment she feared.

“I know it’s hard. But if you won’t accept it, how can you expect Montana to?”

Ivy knew the answer, but the choice wasn’t fair. Life wasn’t fair. Death wasn’t fair. God wasn’t fair!

SHERIFF FLINT CARTER went into his office in the Tanner County Courthouse, pulled the blinds on the afternoon sun, and flopped in a chair. “I’ve been waiting ten years for a break like this!”

Lieutenant Bobby Knolls blew a pink bubble and then sucked it into his mouth and sat in the chair next to the sheriff. “It’s really gonna be somethin’ if our John Doe’s dental records match Joe Hadley’s.”

“I’m betting they will. How else could Joe’s class ring have gotten buried out there?” Flint leaned back in his chair, his weight balancing on the balls of his feet. “I suppose the ring could’ve fallen off Joe’s hand if he were the one who buried the victim. But he’s the only one reported missing.”

“Maybe we’ll get a bonus and the ME can tell us the cause of death.”

“Well, we know there was foul play. The kid didn’t bury himself.” Flint heard his administrative assistant’s voice on the intercom.

“Sheriff, Mr. Griffith has arrived.”

“Okay, Tammy, send him back.” Flint turned to Bobby. “I’ll handle Elam. Why don’t you go pull together everything we have on the Hadley case. If we reopen it, I want you handling the investigation.”

“All right.” Bobby got up and left the office.

A minute later, Flint heard a gentle knock on the door. “Come in.”

Elam Griffith came in and shut the door behind him and sat in the chair Bobby had just vacated. “How long are you planning to keep my building site restricted?”

“As long as it takes,” Flint said. “We need to sift through a lot of dirt and snow, but I’m thinking we’ll be out of there in a week or ten days.”

Elam shook his head. “Come on, Flint, you’re killing me. I have to have the model home ready for the Getaway Homes Show in July. I’m stretched as it is.”

“Sorry, bud, but I can’t do you a favor on this one. I promise I’ll pull out as soon as I can.”

Elam stroked his mustache and seemed to be looking at nothing. “There’s talk that the bones belong to Joe Hadley. What do you think?”

“I think it should be easy for the medical examiner to compare dental records.”

“Have the Hadleys been told about the discovery?”

“Oh, yeah. Right off the bat this morning. They want nothing more than to find closure on this.”

“Think they will?”

Flint smirked. “Nice try, but I’m not commenting till we know something. Did Ivy get in okay?”

“Yeah, on Saturday.”

Flint patted Elam on the shoulder. “You and Carolyn must be thrilled after all this time.”

“It’s awkward, but I suppose it will be for a while. She’s not pretty anymore, Flint—hard as nails and looks much older than she is. I didn’t even recognize her.”

“Sorry. Drugs can really do a number on a person. What about her son?”

“Yeah, he’s with her.”

“I figured that. Does he have a name?”

“Montana.” Elam rolled his eyes. “She couldn’t have picked a normal name like Jason or Scott or Mike?”

“Call me weird, but I kinda like the name.” Flint decided not to ask about the boy’s father. “Listen, be sure to fill her in on what’s going on. If the bones turn out to be Joe Hadley’s, I’ll need to turn back the clock ten years and do some more digging—no pun intended.”

Ivy Griffith sat at the kitchen table, waiting for her mother to react to the news about Lu’s failing health.

“I don’t know what you expect me to say.” Carolyn Griffith took a sip of decaf and seemed to grip the mug tighter than was necessary. “I’m very sorry about Lu, but equally upset that you concealed her illness from us.”

Ivy brushed a tear off her cheek. “I’m sorry. I was afraid if I told you, you wouldn’t let me bring her here, and there was no way I was going to leave her to die alone.”

“I’m surprised you didn’t get her into hospice when you were in Denver and just stay there until it was over.”

“I wanted to, but I didn’t have anyone to stay with Montana. Lu always did that.”

“How did Montana react when you told him?”

“I haven’t yet.”

Carolyn’s jaw dropped. “Ivy, what are you thinking? That child dearly loves her. He’s going to be hurt and angry if he hasn’t had time to say good-bye.”

“I know. I was in shock when the doctor told us Lu’s leukemia was acute and she didn’t have long—maybe only weeks. I didn’t want Montana worrying about it the whole time.”

“You don’t think he suspects something?”

“He knows Lu’s been really sick but thinks it’s the flu hanging on. That’s what we all thought. I told him that after we got to Jacob’s Ear, Lu would have to leave us and go someplace far away, but he doesn’t know she’s dying. I thought I’d wait and explain it to him when Lu started to look sicker. I guess it’s happening sooner than I thought.”

“Then that’s the only reason you came here?”

“No! I really wanted to come home. Lu and I have talked about it for a long time, and she’s encouraged me to come back and make things right. I wanted to try to save some money first. But when we got the bad news, I realized that without Lu’s Social Security, I wouldn’t be able afford the rent in Denver. And I needed a safer neighborhood if Montana was going to stay by himself after school till I got home.” Ivy sighed. “I had hoped to be settled here before Lu got really bad. After I get my first paycheck, I’ll rent a room in town and have hospice bring what she needs so she can stay with me and Montana.”

“How’re you going to handle that when you work?”

Ivy’s chin quivered. “I don’t know what I’m going to do. But I know what I’m
not
going to do. I’m not going to make Lu feel like a burden. She’s always been there for me and Montana, and we wouldn’t even be alive if it hadn’t been for her…” Ivy’s voice cracked. “She deserves to die in a peaceful place surrounded by people who love her. I won’t let her die with strangers. I just won’t!”

Ivy put her face in her hands and sobbed. She heard her mother get up and come around to the other side of the table, and felt a hand caressing her back.

“How long has it been since Lu was diagnosed?” Carolyn said.

“Five weeks, but she seems to be going downhill all of a sudden.”

“Let me talk to your father about this. Maybe we can arrange for hospice to get her set up here at the house.”

Ivy wiped her eyes and looked at her mother. “You would do that?”

“Lu has her own room, and I don’t see why it couldn’t work. Besides, the nearest hospice in-patient facility is probably in Durango. That would make it tough for you to work and drive back and forth to visit Lu.”

“What if Dad doesn’t want to do it?”

“Your father has a tender heart, Ivy. I can’t imagine he would say no. At least if you’re all staying here, I could watch after Lu the mornings you work, and you could spend as much of the rest of the time with her as you want.”

Ivy fluttered her eyelashes, but tears escaped down her cheeks anyway. She turned and buried her head in her mother’s breast, wondering how she was going to break the news to Montana.

Carolyn Griffith set the platter of roast beef and potatoes and carrots on the table and then sat down and bowed her head as Elam said the blessing.

“Too bad your friend’s not feeling well,” Elam said after he finished praying. “Maybe she’ll feel like eating later.”

Montana shook his head. “Gramma Lu’s never hungry since she got the flu. I miss her tortillas and frijoles. Maybe she could show Grandmother Griffith how to make it. It’s
real
good.”

Carolyn smiled. “I’ll ask her. Elam, tell us the latest on the discovery at the site.”

“Everybody I talked to thinks the bones are Joe Hadley’s. Of course, Flint won’t say what he thinks, just that he’s going to tie up my construction site for a week to ten days.”

“I would guess they’ll check dental records?”

Elam nodded. “We’ll just have to wait for the preliminary autopsy report. Wouldn’t it be something if it turns out to be Joe after all this time?” Elam glanced up at Ivy. “You ever wonder about him?”

Like every day of my life
. “Of course. He was a good friend of Pete’s. None of us were the same after he died. How are his parents doing?”

“Never did get over it,” Elam said. “Probably because there was always a possibility that he was still alive.”

“If this will bring them closure, I hope it turns out to be Joe,” Carolyn said. “I just hope it doesn’t present a whole new set of unanswered questions that makes their grief worse.”

Elam took a sip of water. “Surely we can find something more appropriate to talk about over dinner. So Ivy, when are you working for Jewel?”

“Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday from 6:00 a.m. till 2:00. My afternoons will be free, and I’ll have three week-days
off. That’ll give me lots of time with Montana.”

“Whatever happened to working two jobs?”

Carolyn reached over and touched Elam’s hand. “We can discuss that later. Did you know that Montana made a friend at the ice rink? Ian Carter. I told him you and Ian’s dad are good friends. The boys are going to be in the same class at school.”

“You don’t say?”

Montana bobbed his head. “The teacher’s name is Mrs. Leopard.”

“Shepard,” Ivy said. “Mrs. Shepard.”

Montana flashed her a smile framed with a milk mustache. “Yeah. Can I buy lunch at my new school? Ian says they have really good spasketti and meatballs!”

Carolyn saw Ivy wince and figured she was already worrying about the money and embarrassed by Montana’s seemingly obsessive references to food. “I’m sure we can arrange for a boy with a healthy appetite like yours to buy lunch at school.” Carolyn brushed the hair out of his eyes.

Elam shot Carolyn an I-told-you-so look and stuffed a big bite of roast beef into his mouth.

After dinner Ivy helped her mother with the dishes, then went upstairs to check on Lu and found Montana sitting on her bed, recounting every detail Ian Carter had told him about the new school and the teacher.

Ivy stood in the doorway and memorized the moment, thinking it might be the last normal interaction between Montana and his Gramma Lu. She swallowed the wad of emotion that rose in her throat, then pushed a chair to the foot of the bed and sat. Even Lu’s brown skin couldn’t hide the dark circles under her eyes.

“You and your mother are going to like it here,” Lu said. “This was a good move for you.”

Montana took her hand in his. “You like it, too. Right, Gramma Lu?”

Lu held his gaze, and then said softly, “This is not where I’m
going to live, Montana. It’s time for me to go to heaven, and I can’t take you with me.”

Montana let go of her hand and looked over his shoulder at Ivy, his expression like that of a helpless puppy, then turned back to Lu. “Why not?”

Lu gently pulled him down next to her and cradled him in her arms. “Because you haven’t lived your life yet. Don’t worry about me. Heaven is a wonderful place. I’ll be very happy there.”

“I don’t want you to leave.”

Lu nodded. “I know.”