Blood Wounds (17 page)

It was Alyssa who yelled, "Willa, it's for you."

"Who is it?" I yelled back.

"I don't know," she said. "It's some man. He says it's important."

I hoped it was Trace. I hadn't heard from him since I'd left Pryor. I'd given him my cell number, but he could have asked Faye for the home phone.

I went to the den and took the phone from Alyssa. "Willa? This is Sam Whalen, from Pryor."

"Oh, hi, Sam," I said. "Is everything okay?"

"Yes, it is," he said. "But something's come up and I need to talk to you about it."

It's the pin,
I thought.
Crystals family wants the pin back.

"Okay," I said.

I sensed some hesitation on Sam's part. "You're my client," he said, "but you're also a minor, and what I need to discuss with you is very important. Would you object to putting your mother on the phone?"

Its just a pin,
I thought.
And I don't mind giving it back
. "All right," I said. "Should Jack get on too?"

"If you're comfortable with it," Sam said. "It might be better that way."

I gestured to Alyssa and told her to tell Mom and Jack to get on the phone. She ran downstairs, and I could hear them picking up.

"Hi, Sam," Mom said. "Is Faye there?"

"No, she's gone for the day," Sam said. "And as it happens, she doesn't know anything about this. Willa, remember when you were in the office, how we talked about inheritance? How anything Crystal had would pass to Krissi and from Krissi to you?"

"There's nothing to inherit," I said. "I was at the house. There wasn't anything there."

"I'm sorry, Mr. Whalen," Jack said. "But there's no way Willa can accept any inheritance. However small."

"Mr. McDougal, that's not for you to decide," Sam said. "It's Willa's decision to make."

"What am I deciding?" I asked. "The house is a rental. I told Trace he could take Budge's guitar." I remembered the jewelry Trace thought he was slipping past me, but it was hard to believe any of that had value.

"It's not that simple, Willa," Sam said. "I got a phone call yesterday from Mitch Hamlin."

"I remember Mitch," Mom said. "His sister and I were friends."

"Mitch sells insurance now," Sam said. "He got a call from his home office. It seems Crystal had a life insurance policy she bought down in Center City. Her daughters were beneficiaries."

"Her daughters?" Mom asked. "Not Budge?"

"Not Budge," Sam said. "She took out the policy right after the twins were born. It could be she was afraid of Budge, what he might do to her. We'll never know. But Budge was never arrested for domestic violence, not with her or you or any of his kids, so there was no fraud. It was all perfectly legal, and the insurance company has to pay up. Mitch knew you and Faye were friends, so he guessed I might know who to contact about it."

"How much?" Mom asked.

"Crystal had two hundred and fifty thousand dollar policies for each of her little girls," Sam replied. "Seven hundred and fifty thousand dollars total."

"Seven hundred and fifty thousand dollars?" Mom said. "Willa inherits seven hundred and fifty thousand dollars?"

"That's obscene," Jack said. "Inheriting a fortune because of what Dwayne did. Willa's my daughter, every way but legally, and I can't let her accept money like that."

"Well, there's the rub," Sam said. "Every way but legally, Mr. McDougal. The law says the money is Willa's, so it's up to her to decide."

"What would happen if I refused it?" I asked. "Would Trace get it all?" I imagined him learning he was worth $750,000. That would buy him a lot of guitars and just maybe some peace of mind.

"Most likely he'd end up with nothing," Sam said. "I knew Dwayne wasn't married to Trace's momma, so I played a hunch and spent most of today tracking Mandy Sheldon down. She's living in Reno now. Turns out her parents put a lot of pressure on her to give Trace up for adoption and they instructed her to put 'Father Unknown' on the birth certificate, since they figured it would be easier that way. Only, like a lot of young girls, she took one look at her baby and refused to part with him. Biggest mistake she ever made in her life, she told me, and I gather she's made her share of them."

"But Budge is Trace's father," I said. "Everyone knows that."

"It doesn't matter what everybody knows," Sam said. "In the eyes of the law, you're Krissi's only surviving sibling. You stand to inherit everything."

"Could Trace sue?" Mom asked. "Wouldn't DNA testing prove paternity?"

"I'll tell you the truth, Terri," Sam said. "I've handled a few paternity cases in my day, but this is way past my area of expertise. What I do know is Trace would have to prove he and Krissi had the same father. He can't use any DNA samples from the house, because he's been staying there, so all that DNA is corrupted. Now, Dwayne and Krissi had autopsies, so some hospital has their tissue samples, but I don't know if DNA can be extracted from that. And even if it can be, it's not like Trace can walk into the hospital and demand access. Even if Willa turns the money down, Crystal's folks would most likely not allow Trace anywhere near Krissi's remains."

"They'd get the money?" I asked. "If I turn it down? Trace wouldn't get anything and they'd get it all?"

"Not without a fight," Sam said. "I'm sure there are lawyers who'd take Trace on as a client."

"So when Willa accepts, the money is all hers," Mom said. "She wouldn't have to share it with Trace or Crystal's family."

"Trace might sue and so might Crystal's family," Sam replied. "They might see it the way your husband sees it, that there's something wrong with Dwayne's daughter inheriting like that. And if they do feel that way, they can find a lawyer of their own to tell the courts that Crystal outlived all three of her daughters, which would make them the rightful heirs to the insurance money."

"I thought Krissi was alive when Budge took her," I said. "People saw them together in Ohio."

"It's easy enough to refute eyewitnesses," Sam said. "Autopsy results are tougher, and I hear the autopsy says Krissi died six to twelve hours before she was found in Budge's car. But if it comes to that, the Ballards can hire their own experts to prove otherwise. That's what experts are there for."

"So if Willa accepts the insurance money, she could end up in court for years," Jack said. "Trace suing her, the Ballards suing her."

"But Willa would win," Mom said. "And even with legal fees, she'd end up with hundreds of thousands of dollars. Isn't that right, Sam?"

"No one can guarantee what juries will do," Sam said. "But Willa certainly has a strong case. And there's always the option of an out-of-court settlement."

"Why should Willa settle?" Mom said. "She's the rightful heir. What happens next? Does the insurance company send her a check or does she have papers to sign?"

"Terri," Jack said. "You can't be serious about this. It's blood money."

"I don't care where the money came from," Mom said. "If Willa's entitled to it, then she should have it."

"I can see you folks have a lot to discuss," Sam said. "Keep in mind, though, this is Willa's decision. Willa, call me if you have any questions, or if you just want to talk."

"Thank you, Sam," I said. Or at least I think that's what I said. Because nothing felt real anymore, except the disgust in Jack's voice and the ecstasy in Mom's.

"T
HAT CHANGES EVERYTHING,
" Mom said.

"What changes everything?" Alyssa asked. "What's going on?"

We were all in the den. Everyone had gravitated upstairs, to me, to the money. The den wasn't built for five people, and I couldn't remember a time when the five of us had been there at the same time.

"Nothing is changed," Jack said. "Willa can't possibly accept the money. You must see that, Terri. How morally wrong it would be."

"Morals have nothing to do with it," Mom said. "Money doesn't have morals. It's what you do with money that matters. And you can't tell me Willa would do something morally wrong."

"What money?" Brooke asked. "There's an inheritance?"

"Crystal had a life insurance policy," I said. "Her daughters were the beneficiaries, but since they're dead too, the money goes to me. Or maybe me and Trace. Or maybe Crystal's family. Or maybe lawyers if we all sue each other."

"How much money?" Alyssa asked. "Will you be rich, Willa?"

"I don't know," I said. "I guess. There's a quarter of a million for each girl."

"Seven hundred and fifty thousand dollars?" Brooke asked. "Willa, you
are
rich."

"What are you going to buy?" Alyssa asked.

"Girls, please," Jack said. "I'm hoping Willa's learned something being part of this family and she'll turn the money down."

"Learned something?" Mom said. "You'd better believe Willa's learned something."

"Mom," I said. "Jack didn't mean anything—"

"Oh, no," she said. "We all know exactly what he means. He means it's fine for his daughters to have all the advantages money can give you. Private schools, dressage lessons, trips to Europe. But my daughter has to leave her home senior year, work her way through college, because Jack wants her to stay morally pure."

"We didn't ask for those things, Terri," Brooke said. "Mom gave them to us."

"Isn't that nice," Mom said. "You don't even have to ask. How thoughtful of Val to anticipate your every need."

"Terri," Jack said. "We don't talk about Val. Not in front of the girls."

"There's a lot we don't talk about, isn't there, Jack?" Mom said. "Because if we did talk about it, we'd have to see what we've done to Willa, expecting her not to talk about it either."

I looked at Mom, then at Jack. I'd seen her that angry before but I'd never seen Jack look that upset, that close to rage.

It was all about me, I knew. And there was nothing I could do to make things right again. I'd lose Jack if I accepted the money, Mom if I turned it down.

Brooke must have sensed my desperation. "I don't know if this will help," she said. "But I told Willa I'd take the North Carolina scholarship if she wants. That way you could afford to live here, at least until Willa graduates. And she could turn down the insurance money."

"Willa isn't turning down the money," Mom said. "If you loved her, if any of you loved her, you'd be rejoicing for her."

"We love her," Alyssa said, and she looked close to tears. "We love Willa and you, Terri."

"Terri knows that," Jack said. "And she knows taking the money could destroy Willa. It could destroy this family."

"What family?" Mom shouted. "Brooke? Alyssa? They can't wait to move out. You? You deserted us, Jack. You left us in a motel while Budge was on the loose. Me? I've never put Willa first. I've done what you wanted, what was best for your daughters. You call that a family? You call us a family?"

"We
are
a family," Brooke said, her voice quivering. "Willa's my sister, no matter what."

Mom didn't seem to hear her. "You remember Saturdays?" she asked Jack. "When the girls were little? You were always working, so it was up to me to get Alyssa to the club and Brooke to the riding academy. You know what Willa and I used to do? Sit in the car and wait. When Willa asked why she couldn't ride or play tennis, I'd have to explain how we didn't have the money, but wasn't it nice for the two of us to have some time together. Finally, I had the bright idea to ask you to take Willa with you to the ball games. You said yes, and Willa loved it. I've never seen her so happy. She was so happy that Brooke got jealous, so you took both of them with you. That was fine too. Willa loved spending time with Brooke. Do you remember all that, Jack? Is that part of your happy family memory?"

"Terri," Jack said. "Stop, please."

"You don't want to remember this part, do you, Jack?" Mom said. "How Brooke got so jealous, she complained to Val. And Val told you if you didn't spend time alone with your daughters, she'd go to court and petition for sole custody. So you stopped taking Willa. You remember what Val did next? She bought Brooke a horse. A horse! Brooke went back to the riding academy and Willa went back to sitting in the car."

"Mom wanted sole custody?" Alyssa asked. "She didn't want us to see Daddy?"

"She didn't want custody," Brooke said. "She just wanted us to hate Dad like she does."

"Brooke, that's not true," Jack said.

"Don't tell me what's true and what isn't," Brooke said. "You weren't there every night. You know what she'd tell me? That you couldn't be trusted. You'd cheated on her the entire time you were married. And you'd cheat on Terri someday, and she'd leave you too. I shouldn't love her or Willa, because they'd be out of my life soon enough."

"You cheated on Mom?" Alyssa asked. "With Terri?"

"No, not Terri," Jack said. "Terri and I didn't meet until after your mother and I were divorced."

"With some other woman, then?" Alyssa said. "Cheated means affair, right? You had an affair?"

"Lyssie, sweetheart, you're too young to understand," Jack said. "Brooke, I'm sorry. I had no idea your mother was feeding you that kind of poison."

"How could it be poison?" Alyssa asked. "If it was true?"

"Alyssa, please," Jack said. "Brooke, your mother and I, well, we were both young and we made a lot of mistakes. I don't know if I can explain."

"I wish you'd try, Dad," Brooke said. "I've been waiting for that explanation all my life."

"Fine," Mom said. "You explain yourself to your daughters, Jack. Because I'm sick of hearing you explain things. I'm sick of all of you. Willa, darling, I'm sorry. I'm sorry about everything. But I can't stay here. Not now. I've got to get out."

"Mom," I said, but she gestured to me to stay where I was. We watched as she stormed out of the den, heard her rush down the stairs and slam the front door.

"She's coming back, isn't she?" Alyssa asked.

"Of course she is," Jack said. "She's upset, that's all. It'll be all right, Lyssie. I promise you it will."

Promise it to me,
I thought, but Jack didn't. No matter how hard I willed him to, he didn't.