A Crying Shame: A Jesse Watson Mystery (28 page)

“I don’t think so, Missy,” Mom said.

Frank got up from the sofa and walked over to me. “Is there
anything I can do?”

“Thanks, but I don’t think so, Frank. Having a cop around to
protect us is enough.”

He smiled and then went back over to the sofa and sat down
next to the chief. He knew there was nothing he could do, but he offered
anyway.

Abby got up from the table and said, “Maisy’s asleep. I could
hold her all day, but I think she needs to be put in her crib. Where is it?”

I led Abby to my bedroom and showed her Maisy’s crib.

“It’s a portable crib, but it works fine for now,” I said.

“How long is she going to stay? Your mother and I were
talking about what happened to her mother. It’s a terrible thing for a child to
lose a parent in such an awful way.”

“People do some pretty bad things to each other, don’t they?”

“I’m afraid they do.” Abby laid Maisy down and then covered
her with the tiny baby blanket. “She’s such a sweet little blessing. I hope she
doesn’t lose her father as well.”

“Let’s hope not,” I said as we walked out of the room. I left
the door ajar. “You just never know what people will do.”

Claire came down the stairs with Benny and Carrie following
behind her. “What’s all the commotion?” she asked. “It woke up the kids and
when they saw that I was home, they woke me up. Mom, do you have any Tylenol?
My back is killing me and I have a splitting headache.”

“Check the cabinet in the bathroom behind the stairs. Did the
doctor say you could take Tylenol?” Mom asked. She looked at Abby and Isabel.
“Now that both of my girls are going to have a baby, I’ve got double duty.” She
looked back at Claire. “I don’t want you to take anything that would be bad for
the baby, even if it is Cole’s child.” The words were out of her mouth before
she realized it—you could tell from the expression on her face. “I’m sorry,
Claire. I shouldn’t have said that. I made a promise to myself that I would
give Cole another chance and that’s not going to happen if I have an attitude
like that.” She looked at me. “I promised a wise person that I would be the forgiving
person that she thinks I am, and open my heart. I’m sorry. It won’t happen
again.”

“Please don’t, Mother,” Claire said. “I need your support,
regardless of how mad you are at Cole. Give him a chance and if he screws up,
trust me, I’ll dump his…”

“I get the picture,” Mom replied. She turned and walked to
the kitchen. “It’s time to get this show on the road. We’ve got a lot of mouths
to feed.”

“Kids, go help your grandmother,” Claire said, ushering them
into the kitchen as she headed to the bathroom.

Benny and Carrie squealed at the prospect of being in the
kitchen with their grandma.

At the sound of Benny’s and Carrie’s voice, Spice Cat jumped
down from the mantle and sent the dogs into a tailspin. Athena and Thor came to
life for the first time since we had come home. They rallied around the kids,
licking and jumping.

“I bet you’re so glad to have your mommy home,” Mom said to
the kids as they walked into the kitchen. “Are you guys hungry?”

“I’m starving,” Benny said.

“Me, too,” Carrie added, agreeing with her older brother.

I introduced Benny and Carrie to everyone in the room.
Unfortunately, they didn’t appear to be interested in anything other than being
in the kitchen with their grandma.

Athena and Thor finally noticed that we had company. The minute
Abby extended her hand to one of the kids, Thor jump out in front and barked at
her.

“You don’t have to worry about me little doggie,” she said in
a kind voice. “I’m just a harmless old lady.”

“Don’t believe it, dog,” Frank hollered across the room, causing
Randy and the chief to break out in laughter. “She’s dangerous and she’s mean.
If you know what’s good for you; you’ll stay away from her.”

Abby looked in Frank’s direction and said, “Be nice, Frank,
or you’ll be walking home tonight.”

Thor stopped barking, went over to Abby, and then licked her
hand. He lay down at her feet.

Athena, leery as always, walked over to me and just stood
there. She’s always been the suspicious type and she doesn’t take to people as
quickly as Thor does. Yet, Thor is the first one to act when it becomes
necessary. He’ll jump on someone in a minute if he feels the need to protect
the homestead…or me. Animals can be so peculiar.

Spice Cat, after causing such a stir, was nowhere to be
found.

“Is your home like this all the time?” Isabel asked.

“What do you mean?” I said as I walked to the refrigerator to
get a drink. I pulled out a Pepsi and popped the top. “Anybody want a soda?”
Nobody spoke, so I took that as a no and closed the refrigerator door. I walked
to the living room and sat down on the hearth. Athena shadowed my every move.

“There’s so much going on all the time. There’s a crisis
every minute.”

“I guess that’s what happens when you have a close family,” I
replied. “When something happens to one of us; it happens to us all.”

“It’s nice to have a close family,” Abby said as Thor
continued to try to make friends with her. “I think your dog likes me now.”

Thor followed Abby around and tried to lick her every chance
he got. When she sat down in a chair by the fire, he flopped down on her foot.

“Stop it, Thor,” I said to him.

He looked up at me with those sad eyes, whimpered and then
got up and walked over to the fireplace. He lay down and crossed his paws out
in front of him. Athena, with her tail wagging, followed Thor, and then curled
up beside him on the floor.

“Oh, no,” I said. “I’ve embarrassed Thor and hurt his
feelings. I’m going to pay for it later. He’ll wake me up in the middle of the
night with his endless barking as payback. He’s so temperamental. And, of
course, Athena’s mad at me for hurting Thor’s feelings, so she’ll join in with
him. I won’t be able to sleep a wink… and they’ll do this to me on a day that
I’m dead-dog-tired. They’ll torment me until I make a fuss over them big time.
I’m doomed!”

“You have a good family,” Abby said. “There’s a lot of love
in this home. I can feel it. I see only good things happening for you. I see
love and lots of children in your future.”

“Is this one of
those
feelings you’re always having,
or is this another one of your visions? How many times have you called me at
the station and said something bad was going to happen? And, of course, you’re
always right, because something bad always happens somewhere, every minute of
the day. How could you ever go wrong?” Frank said from across the room.

“No dinner for you, you evil man,” Abby said, chuckling. “He
adores me. I know he does. If he wasn’t so crazy about my daughter, I’d think
he had the hots for me.”

“Now that’s a scary thought!” Frank said.

Everyone laughed.

“Abby, you’re such a trip!” I said.

“Yeah,” Frank added. “She’s a trip all right—a bad trip!”

“Maybe you should make Frank an honorary member of your
family, Abby. He’s been in your life for so many years; I bet you can’t
remember how long it’s been. He could be like the stepson you never had.”

“Perish the thought,” she murmured under her breath. “I guess
that means I’d have to let him live with me, huh? I’d rather walk across a bed
of coals.”

“We can arrange that,” I said, smiling. “You should come to
one of the Blackhawk’s gatherings. You might see something like that. Hey,
they’re Indians—there’s no telling what will go on at one of their shindigs.
The first time I went to one of their parties, we sat around at the end of the
day and smoked a peace pipe.” I looked over at Mom and said. “And it had
marijuana in it!”

“Now you listen here, Missy!” Mom said. “Shame on you for
saying that. You know it’s not true. Abby, it was Indian tobacco. Jesse just
said that to get me riled. She knows I would never…”

“Chill out, Minnie,” I said. “It was just a joke. I was only
kidding. Don’t get your blood pressure up.” I looked around the room. “These
guys know I’m pulling your leg.”

“You shouldn’t say stuff like that, especially not with a
policeman sitting on your sofa. He could probably arrest you, couldn’t you,
Frank?”

“If we were talking to a child, I would say yes as a
deterrent, Mrs. Watson, but in this case, I’m sure that your daughter knows the
law well enough to know that isn’t true. I can’t arrest her for admitting to
using drugs, but I can, however, follow her, harass her, and basically make her
life miserable until she drops her guard and I catch her in the act.”

“Why don’t you call me, Minnie? I think we’re past the point
of being formal.”

“If that’s what you’d like, I’d be honored. Your daughter has
already decided that I’m her new best friend, so it would be nice to have an
ally to protect me from her.”

“Is she that bad?” Mom asked.

“Oh, this conversation has really gone to the dogs,” I said
as I got up from the hearth and walked back to the kitchen.

Athena and Thor jumped up and started barking.

I turned around to them and sternly said, “Lay back down…
both of you. Do it now!”

And they did.

“Did you see that, Mom? They listened to me.”

“Just like Billy told you a while back,” Mom replied. “All
you have to do is show them who the boss is.”

“I have news for you; they already know who the boss is, and
it ain’t me.” I looked at Isabel and Sarah who were both helping Mom in the
kitchen and said, “You’re our guest. Why don’t you go into the living room and
relax? I’ll help Mom.”

“I don’t mind, really,” Isabel said as she looked at Mom and
then back to me. “From what your mother and Sarah have been telling me about
your cooking skills, maybe I should be the one to help. You go sit down and
rest. You need to keep up your strength. I’m sure it takes a lot of energy to
get into so much trouble all the time.” She looked at Mom and Sarah. They
turned their back to me and snickered.

“Turncoats! All of you!” I spun around and went back to the
living room, taking my rightful place on the hearth.

Claire came out of the bathroom and walked over to the chair
on the opposite end of the sofa and sat down.

“Did you get your Tylenol?” Randy asked.

“Yes,” she replied. “Now if I can just lay my head back and
close my eyes for a minute, I might survive.”

“Is there anything I can do, Claire?” I asked her.

“If I doze off, just make sure the kids don’t get into
anything. They’re a handful.”

“Maybe I can help relieve your headache,” the chief offered.

Claire looked at him and then back to me. “He did help you
when you hurt your back, didn’t he? Yes, I remember now. You said he worked a
miracle.”

“He sure did!”

“I’m game,” Claire said. “Just don’t kill me.”

“He hasn’t killed anyone so far,” Sarah said and then smiled.

“Don’t listen to that woman,” the chief said. “When I’m
finished with you, you’ll feel like a butterfly ready to spread your wings and
take flight. Now lay down on the floor.”

Claire lay on a blanket in the middle of the floor, while
Chief Sam Standing Deer worked his magic on her back. She moaned and groaned,
but when it was over, she had nothing but praises for him. “That was
wonderful,” Claire exclaimed as she got up off the floor. “The pain’s gone.”
She walked around in circles as we watched, and then headed back over to the
chair. She sat down. “Ouch… well, maybe not all of the pain is gone, but my
back sure does feel better.”

“It will take time to heal,” the chief said. “I will be here
to help you rid the pain if you need me.”

“It’s nice to have a medicine man in the family who is also a
chiropractor,” Claire said. “What else can you do?”

“I can see another child in your future, and you are going to
marry someone in this room.” He looked over at Cole and then at Randy. “Him,”
the chief pointed to Randy. “You will marry this man, but there will be great
conflict. You must be wise and not let fear stop you from having what you are
destined to have.”

His statement caught us all by surprise. A silence hung over
us as still as a church full of people listening to a preacher. Nobody said a
word.

Finally Claire spoke. “I think you’ve made a mistake about my
future husband.” She walked over to Cole and put her arm around his waist. She
looked at Randy and then back to the chief. “Randy and I are friends. We’re not
going to get married.”

“I think that was a crappy thing to say,” Cole said as he
looked over at the chief. “I can’t believe you would embarrass me like this.
What’s gotten into you? You know that Claire and I plan to marry.”

The silence in the room said it all. Deep in my heart I had a
feeling that when Cole slapped Claire on the front porch, their relationship
was over. It was doomed from that moment on, no matter how much therapy Cole
sought, or how many times the doctor changed his medication. There are some
actions you just can’t take back, and that slap was one of them.

“You are very troubled, my son,” the chief replied. “You must
look within your soul to find your demons if you want to rid yourself of them.
Only then will you find peace and happiness. You will not find it with this
woman.”

“I’ve had enough of your craziness,” Cole said. “I’m
leaving.” He looked at Claire and asked, “Are you coming with me or are you
going to stay here and listen to this foolishness?”

“Hold on a minute,” Mom said as she walked out of the kitchen
and over to Cole. “Let’s calm down and have a nice dinner. It’s almost ready.”

“The kids haven’t eaten, yet,” Claire said as she smiled up
at Cole. “Can’t we stay until the kids have had their dinner?”

Cole had a pouty look on his face, but changed his demand
upon her. “Okay,” he said. “We’ll stay for dinner, but after that, I’m going
home. If you want to be with me, you’ll have to leave when I do.”

The look on her face clearly said that she wanted to appease
him, but the underlying tension she felt showed in her actions. She became
nervous and fidgety. She walked into the kitchen and examined the progress of
dinner. She came back to Cole and said, “Dinner is almost ready.” She looked
over at me. “Are we going to wait for Billy?”

“No,” I said. “If he’s not here…”

Maisy interrupted me with a wail from the bedroom.

“I hear my name being called.” I excused myself and walked to
the bedroom. I heard the ring of a cell phone as I entered the bedroom, but I
ignored it as I closed the door. I bent down and looked at Maisy.

“You’re such a cute little thing,” I said to her as I began
the process of changing her diaper. That was the first thing I was supposed to
do when she woke up, at least that’s what Mom had told me. I was to change her
diaper and then check to see if her clothes or mattress was wet. I memorized
every step so that I would be sure to do it right. I wasn’t used to taking care
of an infant, but I was determined to learn. Poor Maisy was going to be my
guinea pig. “I hope I don’t do anything wrong,” I whispered to her. “If I do,
please forgive me. I’m new to this mothering thing, but I promise to be a good
substitute if you give me a chance.”

She cooed at me and melted my heart. A tear rose in my eye.

“Now look at what you’ve done to me. You’ve turned me into a
mother!” I was so delighted at the emotions I was feeling and it was all due to
this little wonder that had come into our lives. Then all of a sudden, my heart
sank at the thought of her leaving us. I knew this was going to happen! I would
fall in love with this child and then she would be gone. I resigned myself to
what had to be. “It’s okay,” I said. “You can stay with us as long as…”

A commotion in the other room caught my attention. I heard
loud voices and then I heard Claire crying. I finished up with Maisy and then
put her on my shoulder. I walked out into the living room with Maisy on my
shoulder and a wet, disposable diaper in my hand.

“What’s going on?” I asked as I scanned the room.

Mom walked up to me and took the diaper from my hand, turned
and then headed for the kitchen. Sarah, Isabel and Abby were sitting at the
kitchen table watching, but saying nothing. I looked over at the sofa. The
chief and Randy were sitting there with Carrie, Benny, the dogs and Spice Cat.
Cole, Claire and Frank were standing in the middle of the floor. Claire cried
as Cole comforted her in his arms. Frank stood next to them holding his cell
phone in his hand.

“I just got a call from my captain, who said that he had just
gotten a call from
Sherry
Lane
’s attorney. It
seems that she has confessed to covering up for Carl. She said that Carl was
the one who killed both women. She wants to make a deal. I need to get back to
the hospital and talk to her. I’m afraid that I’m going to have to leave. This
can’t wait.”

“You can’t possibly believe a word that woman says.” I looked
around and then back to Frank. “She kills two people, puts the blame on Carl,
and now she wants to make a deal. You can’t let that happen, Frank.”

“My job is to interview the woman; not believe her.” Frank
looked at me. “Give me some credit, Jesse. I’ll talk to the woman. I’ll even
make the arrest, but the D.A.’s office will make the ultimate decision as to
who they’ll prosecute.”

Mom walked up to me and said, “I’ll take Maisy.” She looked
around the room. “Dinner’s ready and nobody’s leaving this house until we’ve
eaten, and that includes you, Frank. I’m sure you can spare thirty minutes.
After dinner, I’ll see to it that someone takes you back to
UVA
Hospital
. Now everybody come find a place at
the table.”

The ladies got up from the table, walked to the kitchen and
then came back to the table with plates and silverware. They each went back to
the kitchen and then returned with the food.

Nobody said a word until we were all seated at the dinner
table. It was a little crowded, but we managed to make room for everyone. Mom
held Maisy as she said the blessing.

“Let’s pray,” Mom said. “Thank you, Lord, for giving us this
food and for watching over us. Amen.”

I looked up and smiled at Mom. “That was short,” I said.

“Just like my patience,” she replied. She looked down at
Maisy who had fallen asleep. “I guess the noise woke her up, but she’s asleep
now. I’ll go put her to bed. Y’all dig in.” Mom got up and walked to the
bedroom and when she returned she had a smile on her face. “She’s a good baby.”

Everyone started digging in. Food was passed along. Chicken,
potatoes, greens and cornbread filled our plates. By the time the meal was
over, we were all stuffed to the gills.

“That was delicious,” Frank said. “I haven’t had a home
cooked meal in a long time.”

“That’s sad,” I said, looking at him. “Everyone should have a
family they can sit down with and have dinner together. Anytime you want to
visit, you’re welcome.”

“I don’t know,” Frank said. “There’s too much going on with
this family. I can’t keep up with you guys. By the way, where’s your husband,
Jesse? He’s been gone a long time.”

“Yes, I know. I was planning to call him soon.”

“My son can take care of himself,” the chief said.

“I’m sure he can, but I’d like to make sure he’s all right.
He should’ve called a while ago. He’s been gone for hours. Maybe something
happened. I need to call him.” I got up from the table and walked over to the
phone on the computer table. When I went to pick up the receiver, it rang. The
minute it rang, Cole’s cell phone went off. At the same time, I looked up and
saw headlights coming up the driveway.

“Ah, Billy’s home,” I said. I picked up the receiver while
Cole excused himself from the table to answer his call.

“Hello,” I answered.

“Jesse, this is Billy.”

“Hi, honey. I know it’s you, silly. I was just about to…”

“Listen to me,” he said. “I’m at Benjamin Beard’s house. The
ambulance is here and they’re taking him to the hospital. Brian tried to kill
him, but, fortunately, he failed. He’s run off and I think he might be headed
to our house looking for me. He’s upset and unstable, so I don’t know what
he’ll do. He’s been through a lot in the last couple of days. Who’s there at
the house with you?”

“Everyone’s still here. We just ate dinner.”

“Who’s everyone?”

“Frank, Cole, Randy, the chief, all the ladies, and the kids.
Why?”

“Put Cole on the phone.”

“I can’t. He’s talking on his cell phone at the moment.”

“Put Frank on the phone and lock all the doors. That’ll buy
some time.”

“Okay,” I said as I walked over and handed the phone to
Frank. “Billy wants to talk to you.” I gave him the phone and then walked to
the front door.

A man I didn’t recognize got out of his car and started
walking up the walkway. It was dark enough outside to have the headlights of a
car on, but not too dark for me to see that the man looked disheveled. He
walked with a limp and his clothes were torn and ragged looking.

“There’s a man coming up the walkway,” I said out loud as I
locked the door. I turned and looked around the room. “Frank, tell Billy
someone’s here and he looks a little strange.”

Frank jumped up from the table, walked over to me and then
looked out of the window. “He’s here,” Frank said into the phone. “What do you
want me to do? Okay, but hurry up.”

Cole came rushing back into the living room. “I just got a
call from Sheriff Hudson. He said to be on the lookout for Brian Cherry. He
just tried to kill Dr. Benjamin Beard. He’s armed and dangerous.”

“He’s coming up the walkway,” I said. “Should we let him in?”

“All the women and children go into the bedroom and lock the
door. Let us handle this,” Cole said. He looked at me. “Where’s your gun?”

“It’s in the bedroom, why?”

“Get it and keep it close by your side just in case.”

I thought it was a little overkill, but I didn’t question
Cole’s motives; instead, I hustled everyone together and headed to the bedroom.
Even Athena, Thor and Spice followed us as if they knew there was eminent
danger lurking outside on the front porch.

Cole stood by the front door and watched us until I closed
the bedroom door. I locked the door and stood back. The kids and the dogs,
along with Spice Cat, crawled up on my bed and huddled together.

We heard a loud banging on the front door and the voice of a
man in the background. “Let me in,” he yelled. “I want my baby!”

Carrie began to cry.

“Don’t cry, sweetheart,” Abby said to Carrie, trying to
console her. “There’s nothing to fear. We have four strong men out there to
protect us. Nothing is going happen.”

“Why is someone trying to hurt us, Ant Jess?” Benny asked.

“No one is going to hurt us,” I said. “There’s a man out
there who is upset and he needs to talk to the other men. The best thing we can
do is stay in here and let them have their privacy.”

“I see,” Benny said. “It’s a
guy thing
, huh, Ant
Jess?”

“That’s right, Benny.”

“Momma told me all about
guy things
. Maybe I should be
out there. I’m a guy and they might need my help.”

“No, I think they have plenty of guys out there to handle any
problem that might arise,” I smiled and said to him. “Besides, we need a strong
guy in here to protect us.”

“You’re just saying that so I won’t go out there. I know you
have a gun, Ant Jess. You don’t need me.”

“Yes, I do, Benny. We all need you to make us feel safe. See,
even though I have a gun, nothing makes a woman feel safer than to have a man
around. Isn’t that right, ladies?”

“It sure is,” Abby said. “I don’t know what I’d do without my
Pete being around to protect me.”

“Where’s Pete now?” Benny asked.

“Ah, he’s out of town right now, but he’ll be home soon.”

“Then I guess I’ll have to protect you until he gets back,
huh?”

“You’re absolutely right, Benny. You’re such a brave little
boy.”