A Crying Shame: A Jesse Watson Mystery (12 page)

Claire handed Maisy to me. “Hold her while I get the kids
back to bed.”

Maisy stopped crying the minute I cradled her in my arms.

“Wow! Did you see that? She stopped crying.”

“You’re a natural,” Russ said.

“I’m not so sure about that,” I replied as I turned to him.
“Russ, why don’t you make yourself at home while I show Billy how to change a
diaper?”

Billy laughed and said, “I have news for you, Missy, I
already know how to do that stuff.”

I heard Mom in the kitchen chuckling.

“I guess you do, partner, but it never hurts to practice.”

Billy turned to Russ and said, “I’m pretty sure there’s
coffee in the pot if you’d like a cup.”

“No, thanks,” Russ said. “I’ve have enough for one day. I
think I’ll be heading out. We’ll talk in the morning, but if anything should
happen before then, give me a call.”

“You don’t have to leave so soon, do you?” Claire asked as
she came down the stairs. “Mom would probably love to fix you a cup of hot
chocolate. It won’t take but a minute. ”

“I could do that,” Mom said from the kitchen.

“Well, if it wouldn’t be a problem, I guess I could drink one
cup.”

Billy and I smiled at each other as we walked to the bedroom.
Once we were in the bedroom, Billy closed the door, leaned down and kissed me.

“That was nice,” I said.

“I missed you.”

“I missed you, too. I’m so glad you’re home.”

Maisy let out a cry.

“Oops, sorry little one,” I said. “It’s your turn.” I placed
her in the crib and then reached down and grabbed a disposable diaper from the
bag, and the container of baby wipes. I removed the diaper, wiped her rear end
with a baby wipe and then put on a fresh diaper. I snapped her one piece pajama
set back together and then picked her up. “See, piece of cake,” I said. My
hands were shaking just a little.

Billy smiled when he noticed. “Are you a little nervous,
dear?”

“This is new to me, plus I do have a handicap,” I said as I
wiggled the fingers of my arm with the cast on it. “But I can handle it.” I
placed Maisy up on my chest and rubbed her back. “She hardly cries. I always
thought babies cry every time they wake up and continue to cry until they get
their bottle, but she doesn’t. See, she isn’t crying now. She’s a happy baby.”

“She has good parents… had good parents.”

“How’s Brian holding up?”

“He’s devastated about Vicki. She was his whole life. He told
me that if it wasn’t for Maisy, he wouldn’t care if he died in prison. He’s
lost his soul mate and has nothing to go home to, except Maisy.”

“It’s a sad thing, because you and I know that if the police
think Brian killed Vicki, they won’t be out looking for the real killer.”

“That’s what I’m here for. I promised Brian I would find
Vicki’s killer, and I plan to keep that promise.”

Mom came to the bedroom door and said, “Her bottle’s ready.”

“Thanks, Mom,” I said. I looked at Billy. “I guess it’s time
for me to feed her. Babies sure are a lot of work, but it’s worth it.”

We walked to the living room. I sat down in the rocking chair
and stuck the bottle’s nipple in Maisy’s mouth. I tried to relax as she sucked
on the bottle. Halfway through the feeding, she seemed to stop sucking, so I
placed her against my shoulder and patted her back. She belched a tiny burp,
and then we went through the procedure again.

“This is much easier than I thought.”

Everybody looked around at each other and then back at me and
laughed.

“You’re something else, Jesse,” Russ said. “You act as if
this is the first time you’ve ever taken care of a baby.”

“It is,” I said. I looked over at Claire. “Claire was too
fussy to let me take care of Benny or Carrie, and now I understand why. It’s a
big responsibility.”

“Consider this a chance to get some practice before your baby
comes,” Mom said.

The phone rang.

“Who’s calling at this time of night?” Billy asked as he got
up to answer the phone.

I looked over at the clock above the computer table and realized
that it was later than I thought. “It’s almost
midnight
. Who in their right mind would call at this time of night?”

Billy looked down at the phone on the table and said, “It’s
Cole. I was wondering what he was up to. I thought he’d still be here.”

“He was going to stay the night, but things changed,” I said,
looking from Mom to Claire and then back to Billy.

“Hello, Cole,” Billy answered. “What can I do for you? Okay,
just a minute.” Billy turned to look at Claire. “He wants to talk to you.”

“Please tell him that I’ve gone to bed,” she said as she got
up from the sofa and headed to the stairs. “I’ll see you all in the morning.”

“What was that about?” Billy asked me as he held the phone.
He placed it to his ear and said, “I’m afraid she’s gone to bed. You’ll have to
call her in the morning. What? It’s going to have to wait, Cole. I don’t think
she wants to talk to you. What did you do?”

We weren’t privy to the rest of the conversation. A second
later, Billy hung up the phone and walked over and sat down on the hearth close
to Maisy and me.

“She is so cute,” he said. He looked back over at Russ. “It’s
getting late. Do you want to stay the night? We have plenty of room.”

“Thanks, Billy, but I can’t. As a matter-of-fact, I need to
be leaving.” He stood and took his cup to the sink and then headed to the door.
“I’ll see you folks later.”

“Thanks, Russ,” Billy said as he got up to see him out. He
shook his hand and then walked outside. A few seconds later, he came back
inside.

“Whew! It’s cold out there,” Billy said as he rubbed his
hands together and then shut the door. “I’m ready for bed.”

“So am I,” Mom agreed. She got up from the sofa, walked over
to me and gave me a kiss on the cheek. “Maisy looks as if she’s ready for bed,
too. It’s been a long day for all of us.”

I looked down and Maisy was sound asleep. “Bless her heart.
She’s crashed. I guess I’d better put her in her crib.” I handed the almost
empty bottle to Mom and put Maisy on my chest. She stirred, let out a small
burp, and then went back to sleep.

“I’ll go with you,” Mom said.

“Count me in,” Billy added.

Once Maisy was settled in her crib, Mom left the room and
went upstairs to bed. Billy and I stood for a little while, watching Maisy
sleep.

“Pretty soon we’ll have our own little warrior to watch
over,” Billy said with a smile.

“Yes, we will,” I agreed. I turned to Billy and put my arms
around his waist. “I’m so glad you’re okay. I was really worried.”

“I had a few moments of doubt myself.”

“What happened at the police station?”

“Why don’t we talk about this in the morning, Jesse? It’s
late, I’m beat and I need to take a shower.”

“The last time you said that to me, all kinds of trouble
broke out. That’s not going to happen this time, is it?”

“Nope, nothing crazy happened. It went just as I expected.”

Billy started to undress as I watched. His body was firm, and
the bronze color of his skin added to his appeal. I marveled at the sight of
him as he stood half-naked in our bedroom.

“Where’s your T-shirt?” I asked.

“I voluntarily gave it to Captain Waverly for the K9 Unit. I
had to give them something or it would’ve slowed down the process, and I’d
still be there.”

“Well, I guess they’ll probably return it when they come back
in the morning.”

“I doubt if they’ll be coming back tomorrow. Like I said when
I got home, the blood on Jonathan’s shirt and pants was from an animal just
like we tried to tell them.”

“Did they let Jonathan go?”

“They didn’t have much choice.”

“How did you get that blood on your clothes?”

“While you were in the hospital, Jonathan and I had gone to
have a talk with Sheriff Hudson and on the way home someone had hit a deer.”
Billy turned and headed to our bathroom as I followed.

“The deer wasn’t dead, so I got out of the truck, shot it in
the head, and then Jonathan and I carried it into the woods.”

“Yuck!”

“We couldn’t just let it lay there and suffer. It was the
right thing to do, but it was a hard thing to do it.”

“I don’t think I have the courage it takes to do something
like that.”

“Oh, yes you do, Jesse. You could do it. It doesn’t take
courage; it just takes heart, and you have a heart.”

“That’s such a sweet thing to say... I think.”

Billy turned on the shower and went to step in.

“Do you mind if I join you?” I asked. “I’ll have to hang my
arm out of the shower, but…”

“By all means,” he replied.

The warm water felt wonderful and Billy’s kisses felt even
better. Later, as we lay cuddled together in bed, Billy rubbed my tummy and
said, “I can’t wait until we have our baby, `ge ya.”

I kissed him on the lips and said, “Me, too, Billy.”

I fell asleep in his arms, dreaming of things to come. I had
no idea of how quickly good dreams could turn into bad ones, and how life had a
habit of mimicking those dreams... but I was about to find out.

Billy shook me as he tried to wake me from the terrible
nightmare I was having. “Jesse, wake up,” he said. “You’re having a bad dream.
He shook me again. “Wake up, `ge ya.”

I opened my eyes and noticed the room was still dark. “What
time is it?” I asked.

“It’s
four
o’clock
in the morning.
I’m sorry to wake you, but you were obviously having a bad dream. You kept
tossing and turning. Twice you tried to yell out something, but I couldn’t make
out what you were trying to say. Are you all right?”

I sat up in bed and looked around. Slowly, the dream came
back to me. Cole had been chasing me around the house, waving a piece of paper
under my nose and yelling, “See, I told you so! I knew it all along! Wait until
I tell Billy!” The piece of paper contained the results from a paternity test…
my paternity test. I felt nauseated. I lay back down next to Billy and said,
“I’m fine. It was just a bad dream. It’s over. Let’s go back to sleep.”

I had barely dozed off when I heard a baby’s cry. At first, I
thought I was still dreaming and then I realized I wasn’t. Maisy was awake and
ready for some attention.

“I’ll get her,” Billy said. “You go back to sleep.”

“No, that’s okay,” I replied as I sat up in bed and tried to
come to life. “I’ll help. I need to get used to waking up at all hours of the
night.”

“I hate to tell you this, `ge ya, but it’s six-thirty. Half
the day is gone.”

“You always say that,” I said, laughing. “If you had it your
way, you’d never sleep.”

“I do like to get up at the crack of dawn. I like to see the
sun come up.”

“I’m not a morning person, but I’m working on it.”

Billy jumped out of bed and walked over to Maisy’s crib. He
bent down, picked her up, and then brought her over to me. He laid her on the
bed. “I’ll get a diaper and a change of clothes for her. While you do your
magic, I’ll go heat up a bottle.”

I had to laugh. “Magic, huh?”

“From what I’ve observed, you seem to be a natural.”

“Ah, you’re just trying to make me feel good.”

“That’s not true. I saw how Maisy reacted to your touch, and
I’m telling you, you’re going to make a fine mother.”

“I hope so,” I said.

As I changed Maisy’s diaper and clothes, not once did she cry
out. She lay there with a smile on her face. I couldn’t help but think about
how sad it was going to be for her to grow up without a mother. I brushed aside
those thoughts. I crawled out of bed, picked up Maisy, and then headed to the
kitchen. Billy handed me her bottle.

I stuck the bottle in Maisy’s mouth and walked over to the
rocking chair to sit down. “I haven’t had a chance to brush my hair. I must
look like a mess.”

“I’ve seen worse,” Mom said as she came down the stairs
dressed and ready for a new day. She walked over to where I was sitting. “I can
feed her if you want to go brush your hair.”

“That’s okay, Mom. I can live with unruly hair.”

“Where’s her car seat?” Mom asked. “We’ll need something for
her to sit in while she’s awake.”

“We can take turns holding her,” I said.

They both looked at me as if I was crazy.

“That’s not a good idea,” Mom said. “We don’t want to hold
her all the time. What we can do is put her in her seat and let her take in her
surroundings. Someone will always be near her. Besides, she’ll let us know if
she gets bored.”

“Okay, if that’s what you think we should do,” I said.

Noise from upstairs echoed down the stairway. A dog’s bark
accompanied the noise.

“I guess the kids and the dogs are up,” Mom said. “I’ll start
breakfast.”

Billy went to the bedroom and came back with Maisy’s car
seat. “Here you go,” he said as he set the seat down on the floor next to the
sofa, but away from the fireplace. He helped me place Maisy in it.

Athena and Thor hustled down the stairs, barked, and then
walked over to Maisy. They sniffed around and then lay down next to her just
like they had done yesterday. They were determined to be near our newly
acquired bundle of joy. Thor looked up at me with those big brown eyes and
whimpered.

“Don’t you dare lick that child,” I admonished him.

He laid his head down over his crossed paws and grunted as if
to let me know that he would do as I said, but he didn’t have to like it. Dogs
can be so strange sometimes.

Claire and the kids came down the stairs and walked over to
Maisy. Spice Cat slowly followed them. Benny and Carrie were excited to have a
baby around. Spice Cat couldn’t have cared less. He pranced over to the
fireplace, jumped up on the hearth, and laid down. The kids chatted with Maisy
as if they understood every gurgle she made. It was the cutest thing to watch.
Then Benny looked up at me and said, “Did you have your baby already?”

We all chuckled at his naivety.

“No, not yet, Benny. This is Maisy,” I said. “Don’t you
remember her from last night?”

“Is she going to be staying with us for a while?” he asked.
Before I had a chance to answer, he looked at his mother and asked, “Are we
going to live with Ant Jess and Uncle Billy?”

“No, why do you ask?” Claire said.

“Because we’re always here. I don’t mind if we do. I like it
here.”

“Thanks, sweetie,” I said as I bent down and kissed him on
the forehead.

“Me, too,” Carrie said. “I love Ant Jess and Uncle Billy. I’m
almost five years old.”

I laughed and gave her a hug. “You’re getting so grown up…
both of you are.”

“I’m going to be in first grade soon… real school… not like
the one I went to when we lived with daddy,” Benny said.

Claire looked over at me, but said nothing.

“I won’t have to go to school on Sundays,” Benny continued.
“We go to church on Sunday. Grandma says we have to, or the Lord won’t like
it.”

“I’m going to help fix breakfast,” Claire said to the kids.
“You guys watch over Maisy.”

“Okay,” they both said.

Billy sat down on the sofa to keep watch over the kids while
I went to the kitchen and offered my help. “What can I do?” I asked.

“Do you know how to fix a decent pot of coffee?” Claire
asked.

“I might not be the best in the kitchen, but I can fix
coffee.”

Billy laughed out loud and then tried to cover it up, which
only made matters worse. The next thing I knew, everyone was laughing,
including Benny and Carrie.

“I hear y’all laughing at me,” I said. “I won’t forget that.”

“Oh, Ant Jess, don’t be mad,” Benny said. “Mom says you try,
but you can’t help it. She says you’re an awful cook. That’s okay. I don’t know
how to cook, either.”

“At least, I have someone on my side.”

Benny got up from the floor and walked over to me in the
kitchen. He hugged my leg. “I’ll always be on your side, Ant Jess, no matter
how mad my mom gets at you.”

“I’m sure glad to hear that,” I said and glanced at Claire.
“Sisters get mad at each other sometimes, but that’s okay.”

“I know,” Benny said. “That’s what Mom says. She loves you,
but sometimes you can be so ornery. You’re stubborn, too.”

I glanced over at Claire and then winked at Benny. “Your
mother is pretty smart.”

Once breakfast was ready, we sat down at the table and
devoured bacon, eggs and grits. When the kids finished eating, I placed Maisy
by the sofa within eyesight, and let Benny and Carrie watch over her. Athena
and Thor could serve as watchdogs, according to Benny. Spice Cat hadn’t moved
an inch since he came down the stairs earlier. I figured it was time to bring
up the subject of yesterday’s events. The kids would be so involved; they
wouldn’t hear a word we would say if we kept it down.

Billy looked at Claire and said, “What happened between you
and Cole? Why wouldn’t you take his call last night?”

She stood and asked, “How about some more coffee?” She walked
to the kitchen and returned with the pot. She refilled her cup and stood there
waiting for a response.

“I’ll have some more,” Mom replied. “I just love the smell of
coffee.”

“I think I’ll have another cup, too,” I added.

Claire poured more coffee and then set the pot down.

“All right, out with it,” Billy said. “I know he must have
done something pretty bad if all of you are avoiding my question. What did he
do?”

“He slapped Claire,” Mom blurted out.

The three of us didn’t know what to expect from Billy. We sat
silently and waited for his reaction.

Billy looked at us in disbelief as if he couldn’t possibly
imagine that happening. He got up from the table and went to the bedroom. He
was gone for almost five minutes and when he returned, he had a weird look on
his face.

“If you went to the bedroom to yell, why didn’t we hear you?”
Mom asked. “I’ve heard that when someone wants to vent, they usually go
somewhere and scream.”

Billy sat back down and said, “Actually, that’s what I wanted
to do, but I figured it would scare the kids, so I left the room to catch my
breath.”

“Like I do sometimes?” I asked.

“Yes, and amazingly, it works,” he replied. “Now we can talk.
How long has this been going on, Claire?”

“The first time was when he shoved me and I fell against the
handrail on the porch.”

“I knew it!” I said. “I knew something was funny when Billy
touched your shoulder at the hospital and you flinched. I knew right then and
there that Cole had hurt you! I even asked him about it and he said he had
never touched you. I knew he had lied when I confronted you. The look on your
face was a dead giveaway. That’s when he took you out on the porch last night.”
I looked over at Billy. “Mom and I followed them outside and caught Cole in the
act. He slapped Claire right in front of us.”

“Jesse pushed me aside and kneed Cole in the groin. She
really caught him off guard.”

“Yeah, and then Mom tossed Cole’s duffel bag out on the
porch. He was going to stay the night, because we didn’t know when you’d be
coming home, but that changed when he hit Claire,” I added.

Billy looked at Mom and said, “I’m proud of you for tossing
that bum out. Anyone who would hit a woman is a jerk. I’ll have a few words
with him later.”

“To be honest, I think it’s the medication he’s taking that’s
making him violent,” Claire said. “He didn’t act like that at first, but then
later on, he complained about his pills and said they weren’t working. He said
they didn’t help with the pain and they made him feel angry. I told him I’d
take him to the doctor, but that just made him angrier. I didn’t know what to
do, so I didn’t do anything. I should’ve insisted that he see a doctor. Maybe
you can talk him into it, Billy. He’s a good man and I’m not going to desert
him without trying to get him some help. If that doesn’t work, I’m finished
with him.”

“I can’t believe you’re going to give him a second chance,” I
said. “Once they start, they don’t stop. You should know that by now. Look at
how Carl treated you.”

“I don’t believe that’s the case here,” Claire replied. “I
truly believe he feels badly about what he did and he needs help.”

“I’m sure he does regret what he did. They all do, every
time. I’m telling you Claire, you need to dump the guy, get over him and move
on with your life. You don’t…”

“I’m sure you’ll do what you feel is best,” Mom said to
Claire. “It’s not our choice to make. Whatever you decide, I’ll be right behind
you all the way. However, if he hits you again and I find out, I’m going to
hire someone to kick his rear end.”

That statement caught all three of us by surprise.

“I’m shocked that you would say something like that, Minnie,”
I said. “You’ve obviously been hanging out with the wrong crowd.” I winked at
Claire and smiled at Billy.

“Oh, don’t mind me. I was mad. You know I wouldn’t do
anything like that,” Mom said. “Next time I’ll hit him in the head with a
frying pan.”

We all started laughing. The tension in the room eased up.

“Let’s change the subject for the time being,” Claire
suggested.

“I’m going to need some more coffee if this chat session is
going to last all day,” Billy said. A big grin spread across his face.

“I can take care of that,” Claire said as she picked up the
pot and poured Billy some more coffee. “Your coffee turned out pretty good,
Jesse. I’m surprised. This must’ve been some of Billy’s handiwork. Did he teach
you how to make coffee?”

“I can take credit for that,” Billy said. “I am a good
teacher.”

“I was hoping that you’d teach her how to cook,” Mom said.
She caught herself and then looked up at me. “I’m sorry, Jesse. I didn’t mean
for it to sound like that.”

“That’s okay, Mom. I’ll be the first one to admit that I’m a
terrible cook.”