Heartless (8 page)

The next voice to chime in was Courtney's as she pranced
into the breakfast nook. "Momma, do I smell French toast? I
want some."

Raif and the four kids came into the kitchen. Courtney
stopped talking in mid-thought.
"Hello, all," Larkin said. "I didn't expect you before
dinner."
"We were bored at the house without Chris," explained
Raif.
"That's okay. Sit down, and I'll make some more food."
Larkin looked at Parker. It was obvious he was scared to
death with his eyes looking like full-blown balloons ready to
pop. Larkin stood behind him and patted his shoulders as she
began introductions. "Everybody, this is Parker Godchaux.
He'll be living with us from now on. Parker, this is Raif, Ray's
brother."
Raif shook Parker's hand but looked at Larkin strangely.
"Hello, Parker." Raif turned to his children. "These are my
kiddos, Patrick and Trista. The other two Munchkins are
Christopher and Courtney, Ray and Larkin's kids."
Larkin gave no further explanation until she placed a stack
of French toast on the table although the children bombarded
Parker with questions.
"Where are you from…How old are you…Where are your
parents…Why are you going to be living with us?"
When Larkin put the food on the table, she commanded
gently, "Okay, now, everybody stop. Leave Parker alone."
Once again, she stood behind him. She put her left arm around
him as if shielding him as she smoothed his untidy hair with
her other hand and kissed him on the head.
Parker had never felt anything so gentle and comforting.
Is
this how a mother is supposed to be?
He tilted his head
backward and looked up at Larkin. He asked timidly, "Are you
gonna tell them?"
"Yes, we don't keep secrets in our family. I had hoped Ray
would be here, but it seems we can't wait."
"You might explain these, too," said Raif, picking up the
baby shoes that still lay on the table. "They look a bit small for
Parker."
"Yes, well, we're having another baby. We will take him or
her in late June, date yet undetermined. Now, about Parker."
"Whoa!" Raif waved a hand. "Baby?"
"Yes, but don't blab it—any of you."
Raif ran a finger across his lips and gave each child a mock
glare. The kids laughed.
Larkin continued her explanation. "Ray and I met Parker
yesterday. There's a good chance that Parker is Ray's son with
Mia." Larkin looked at Raif, silent communication radiating
between them. "Ray and Parker had some tests done, and we'll
have the results Monday. Ask your questions now, but be very
careful exactly what you say."
Christopher said, "Mia? That was the woman Daddy was
engaged to a long time ago, right?"
"Yes."
"So, Daddy slept with her, and you aren't mad?"
"Why would I be mad?" replied Larkin. "It was before I
met Ray, and it was before Ray put his trust in Jesus.
Remember that."
"Okay, Momma. Don't get hot under the collar."
Christopher cocked an eyebrow much like his mother often did.
"Are you sure Parker is Daddy's son?"
"Not completely. That's why they did the tests."
"What if he's not?"
"Parker will still live with us. The only other man that
might have been his father was Mr. LaFontaine. Y'all know
he's dead." Her comforting hand stroked Parker's hair again.
"We have no idea where Parker's mother is. He needs a home. I
think we have a pretty good one, and I'd like to share it."
"Where will he sleep?" the elder Reynolds child continued
to probe.
"Right now Parker is in the second floor guest room. We
can make different arrangements later if necessary," Larkin
answered.
Courtney chimed in, "How old are you? Are you gonna go
to school? I think it will be cool to have another big brother to
pester."
"I'm seventeen," replied Parker. "My birthday is May
fifteenth. Yes, I'll go to school."
"Is that your motorcycle outside?" asked Patrick.
"Yes."
"Now, that's cool."
"Thanks. I'll give you ride if it's okay."
All the children began at once to beg their parents to let
them ride with Parker.
In unison, Raif and Larkin said, "Later."
Trista piped up, "Well, if Uncle Ray isn't Parker's daddy,
you could adopt him. Then, he'd be just like Daddy and Uncle
Ray. But I think Uncle Ray
is
his daddy. He's got the Raiford
eyes."
"Yes, he does," said Raif thoughtfully. "Parker, this is a
crazy, mixed up family, but we love one another. Larkin will
spoil you rotten."
Parker looked up at Larkin again. "She already has. She
made me the best breakfast ever, and she bought me some new
clothes."
Raif's heart broke for a boy that he felt certain was his
nephew
. If he feels spoiled by a simple act of kindness, the boy
has never known love.
Raif knew he needed to talk to his
brother. The expression on his sister-in-law's face confirmed
his thoughts, and she gave a discreet nod.

Raiford Reynolds carefully perused the files on his desk,
taking time to highlight several items of interest, finally
throwing the open file across the room as he muttered, "That
bitch." Ray rubbed his head as the migraine from the day
before lingered. Once again, he swallowed a rizatriptan before
he picked up his phone and called Chris Gautier.

Chris answered, "Hey, boss. What's up?"
"Have you found anything?"
"Nothing helpful. Salus and Vaughn colluded several times

"Well, I have two more names for you to add to your
suspect list. Pencil in the first one because I'm sure it's just as
absurd as mine and Larkin's. Are you sitting down?"

"Actually, yes. We're having lunch. Fire away. I've got my
notebook out."
"Okay, first name—Parker Godchaux. Vaughn was his
social worker, and Salus was both his family court judge and
his juvenile court judge. The Byrds were one of his foster
families. What happened with Parker is the reason their foster
certification was yanked." The chief of police released an
angry breath. "They beat the kid, and he fought back. It landed
him in juvey, but I've seen the scars. They're real."
"How does this connect to Robert?" Forks clinked on plates
as they talked. Baker's voice ordered a refill of tea for both him
and Chris.
"It's possible Robert is the kid's sperm donor. Robert
refused a paternity test. The next name will explain a lot. Prick
your finger and write this in blood. Even if she didn't kill
anybody, the bitch needs to just go away. Are you ready?" He
snarled the name. "Mia Godchaux."
"Mia?" Chris coughed as the shock made her choke on the
swig of tea she had taken.
"Yeah. Parker is her son. Are you beginning to get the
idea? I met the boy yesterday, just after you left. I took the
paternity test. Chris, the kid is mine. I'm sure of it."
"Why would Mia be a suspect?" The detective flipped her
notepad closed.
"She apparently got into drugs. The court took Parker from
her several times. She's never taken care of the child, even
before he was born. I've read his birth records. Barely over five
pounds and probable drug withdrawal at birth. I just know Mia
smoked the whole damned time, if not something harder. Even
now, Parker is small and very under nourished. While she was
in and out of rehab and jobs, he was in and out of foster homes
and juvenile detention. Maybe in her drugged-out brain, it was
her way of being a mother."
"Wow!" exclaimed Chris. "Does Larkin know about
Parker?"
"Of course she does." Ray gave a little laugh. "She insisted
we find him last night and bring him home. He's with her right
now. I'd put money on her having made him French toast this
morning. She’s already gone shopping for new clothes for him.
You know how she is with kids and lost causes like Raif,
Dupree, and me. My kids stayed at your house last night
because Larkin sprang a little surprise of her own. I hope
you're still seated. We're pregnant."
Chris snorted a laugh. "Well, happy Father's Day!"
Ray leaned back a bit in his chair.
Why does talking with
Chris always help me clear my mind and think straighter?
He
lifted one shoulder to his ear.
She's my BFF—that's why. Raif's
my twin, but Chris always remains impartial. She tells me just
what she thinks, no matter if it hurts my feelings. We're a lot
alike.
"Oh, you know I'm happy about the baby. I just worry
about Larkin's having another C-section at her age. I'm not
even mad if Parker's mine. I
am
totally pissed off that I never
knew about him. Damn it, Chris!" Ray slammed his fist on his
desk. "That boy has been through hell. Hard-knock life doesn't
describe his life, but no more."
"Take a deep breath, Ray. You'll develop a migraine."
He laughed out loud. "I already have one. You know how
to keep me in line. Listen, even if Robert turns out to be his
father, he's coming to live with Larkin and me. He's precious.
He tries hard to pull off a badass persona, but he is very sweet
and so well-mannered to have been through what he has. I just
want to hug him and keep him safe. I know he's mine, Chris.
I'm ready to accept that. We'll know Monday for sure. You and
Baker should be back by then. I want my family with me
Monday evening when we find out. Be there at six. I think I'll
wait on grandparents until after Monday, but I need you and
Raif there."
"We'll be there. Right now, I'm about to track down Mia."
"Thanks."
"Oh, one more question that you won't like."
"What?" The wariness in his voice hung like a storm cloud.
"Have you spoken to Lawrence about adding these two
persons of interest?"
"Shit. No. You do it. I
did
report it to you."
"I've got your back."
Ray hung up just as his personal phone rang. "Yeah," he
answered.
"It's Raif. Are you okay?"
"I take it you've met my son."
"Yes. So have his siblings."
"Great." Ray rolled his eyes. "How are they?"
"Handling it really well. They're all devouring French toast,
and after breakfast, Parker's going to give them all a short ride
on his motorcycle. Just up and down the driveway, so don't
panic."
"That sounds like fun." Ray laughed. "I knew Larkin would
make her favorite comfort food. Tell her to save me some."
"Yep. She's already being a mother hen, but this kid needs a
mother—period."
You are so right, my brother.
"Do you think he's mine,
Raif?"
"Absolutely. Like Trista observed—'he's got the Raiford
eyes.'"
"I just got off the phone with Chris. She's tracking down
Mom.
I asked for y'all to be there Monday evening."
"You know we will."
"Good. I need the support."
"Well, let's all go to a movie and out for pizza tonight."
"That sounds good. I'll be home in a couple of hours."

By the time Ray got home, the children had decided to see
the latest installment in the
Star Trek
franchise. Ray could tell
by the look on Parker's face that he was overwhelmed,
especially when the exuberant, over-assertive Courtney
grabbed his hand and commanded, "Come on."

Ray who smirked.
"Of course you, too," answered Christopher. "If you're my
brother, you're going. It's a family thing. We do this kind of
stuff all the time. Sometimes Grandma Audrey and Grandpa
Walter go with us. And when Meemaw and Papaw Reynolds
come, we always do something special." The boy's hands
waved constantly as he talked. "I really like spending some of
my summer vacation in Biloxi with them. Just wait until
Thanksgiving and Christmas. Dupree and Lindsay will be here,
and some of Aunt Chris's family from New Jersey might fly in.
It gets crazy with all the people."
"Grandparents?" Parker asked, eyes wide with both fear
and anticipation.
"Yeah," Christopher said with a half frown and his left
eyebrow dipped. "You might as well get used to it if you're
gonna be part of this family, Parker."
"Christopher is giving you good advice," Ray said as he put
a hand on Parker's shoulder. "Come on. We'll take the van so
we can all go together."

After the movie, the family visited a pizza buffet, and the
kids hit the arcade. An hour and a half later, they got back to
the Reynolds house, and Raif took his family home. Then,
Christopher gave Parker a complete tour of the house, talking
all the while.

"Momma and Daddy restored the house with Uncle Raif's
help. Uncle Raif is an architect. Momma says it was falling
apart when she bought it. There are twelve bedrooms,
including the master bedroom." The tour guide opened and
closed doors. "Uncle Raif and Aunt Chris have their own room
here, and the one over the garage, which was the horse stable
and now has like ten cars that Daddy tinkers on in it, is our
game room. It was the hay loft. Since the house is on the
historical register, Momma had to keep it as close to the
original as possible. So, one-horsepower stalls became megahorsepower stalls, but one is still a Mustang." Christopher
laughed at his own joke. "Daddy has a vintage 1967 Mustang
Shelby GT. We have a pool table, a ping pong table, a foosball
table, a card/board-game table, a separate chess table set with
pewter playing pieces of Union and Confederate armies, video
games, and a big TV in the game room. Momma forces us
outside often." The boys descended a flight of stairs to the
grounds after leaving through a set of French doors onto a
balcony. "Both Courtney and I play soccer like Momma did,
but neither of us is star quality. I play baseball like Daddy did,
and I'm pretty good. I'm a shortstop. Court plays softball,
which she likes better than soccer, and has a strong throwing
arm. She pitches. There's a closet in the game room with all
kinds of sports equipment, including Daddy's golf stuff. He and
Uncle Raif play every Tuesday afternoon, barring severe
weather. Momma has one room that's her writing studio. It's off
limits. Do you play any sport?"

"Not organized, but I run pretty fast."
Had to run to stay
alive sometimes.
"I think I'd like to do Motocross."
"Talk to Daddy about it."
Christopher opened and closed doors that led onto the
grounds in the back of the house to reveal rooms. "Momma has
written twelve bestselling mystery novels, a poetry anthology,
and a couple of technical books about teaching. One of them
she entitled
Rehydrating the Raisin
, which she dedicated to
Dupree because he didn't let his dream dry up like a raisin in
the sun."
They stepped into a covered passage leading from the main
house to the garage. "This house is huge and real old. During
the Civil War, it housed Union spies before they were hanged.
Momma says they tried to hang this one guy named Baxter
Pryor, but the noose broke. Then the gallows broke. The people
thought he had magical powers and let him live."
Parker asked honestly, "Do you and Courtney always talk
this much?"
"Yeah, I guess we do." Christopher laughed. "Courtney is
worse than I am, especially when Dupree is here. He makes her
ten times worse."
"Who is Dupree?"
"Dupree Parks."
"The singer?" Parker's eyes stretched wide, his voice rose
an octave.
"Yeah."
Parker barely whispered, "We're related to a black singer?"
Christopher cackled. "Yeah, he's Uncle Raif's son-in-law.
Lindsay, Aunt Chris's daughter that she had when she was real
young, married him. I told you this was a crazy family."
Parker nodded, mouth agape with shock.
Christopher went on with the family story. "Daddy and
Uncle Raif were adopted by two different families and were
both named Raiford. Grandma Audrey is their biological
mother. She went to prison for thirty-one years for killing six
guys that raped her when she was only thirteen. One of them
was Daddy and Uncle Raif's father. His name was Jesse
Gaitlin. All of Uncle Raif's adoptive family is dead. Grandpa
Walter married Grandma Audrey after she was paroled. He's
actually the father of Uncle Raif's old girlfriend. Uncle Raif
and Daddy didn't even know about each other until they were
thirty when a crazy woman convinced Uncle Raif when he was
sick to kidnap Momma so she could sacrifice her as a human
sacrifice in order to summon a demon." He took a quick breath
and went on. "Uncle Raif got better and helped Daddy stop the
crazy woman who escaped when she was being taken to prison.
Then, she tried to kill Uncle Raif and Momma and Daddy.
Momma ended up shooting the lunatic, but not before she
almost did kill Daddy and Uncle Raif."
Parker thought Christopher might develop laryngitis from
the long exposition.
I might as well listen. I don't think I could
get a word in with a ramrod.
The boys made it to the game room above the garage by
going up another set of stairs on the outside. Christopher pulled
a key from behind a loose board and showed it to his new
brother. "We can also get in through the garage, but Daddy gets
a little bent out of shape if we mess up his toys." He unlocked
the door and they entered. The younger boy plopped onto a
sofa in the room and kept talking. "During that time, Momma
started dating Robert LaFontaine because she thought Daddy
didn't love her, but he did. And he ended up punching Robert
out and proposing to Momma in front of hundreds of people."
Christopher looked up at Parker who still stood. "Are you sure
you wanna be part of this family?"
I have a million things to digest. What all did you say?
He
squinted his eyes, trying to decipher exactly what he had been
told. Parker nodded and started laughing. "I'll fit right in."