Laina Turner - Presley Thurman 02 - Necklaces & Nooses (17 page)

“I take it that part never happened?”

“No.” She shook her head sadly. “He showed up and saw Solange, and it was all over. Both his relationship with Sheila, and the relationship between Sheila and Solange. So, like I said, he came to me and told me he couldn’t marry Sheila. That he would stay away from Solange if I told him to, but he couldn’t be in a loveless marriage, and I agreed. It wouldn’t have been good for Sheila or him. Though Sheila became so bitter, I wonder if it was any better.” She paused for a second, reflecting.

I took this moment to ask one of the questions I had been biting my tongue on. “So if he agreed to stay away from Solange, how did they end up together?”

“Remember I said he told me he would stay away from Solange if I wanted him to. I didn’t make him go away, though maybe I should have. And before you judge me for being a bad mother…”

“Lorraine, I’m not—”

She held up her hand to stop me. “I feel that we all need to make our own way, and life is not easy. I knew Sheila would be devastated and of course as her mother I didn’t want that, but I also didn’t want to deny Solange and James the chance for a happy life with each other, if they were really meant to be. I thought for a long time it was infatuation and would fizzle out, but they were so clearly meant for each other. No huge shock, as I didn’t think that James and Sheila were very compatible. Sheila was just so desperate to hang on to him she tried to change, but it would have come out eventually.”

I wanted to ask about the baby, but didn’t want to be too pushy. Plus, it was a bit of an uncomfortable subject.

“Shelia was too far along for any other course of action besides having the baby. She wanted nothing to do with it and was distraught, understandably so. I sent her away to my sister’s, and she took the next semester off from school. She had the baby, gave it up for adoption, returned to school in the fall, and pretended it never happened.
              Therapy wasn’t the thing to do as it is now, and no one ever really thought about it. But I wish I knew then what I know now. I would have insisted Shelia get some help. The emotional stress of giving a baby up, no matter how much Sheila tried to pretend she didn’t care, on top of losing to her sister the man she thought she was going to marry, I feel ruined her zest for finding another fulfilling relationship. We try to do right by our children, but being a parent is never easy, and it is so easy to second guess yourself when they turn out to be less than well-adjusted adults.” Lorraine smiled ruefully.

“Lorraine, I’m not a parent, but I think most people do the best they can. It’s always easy to second guess yourself after any decision you make.”

“Thank you, dear. You do the best you can, but it’s sure not easy living with the consequences of your actions, as Sheila and James have recently found out.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, another mistake I may have made is I helped Sheila hide the baby and subsequent adoption from James.”

“How? He knew she was pregnant and it was too late to not have the baby. I don’t think I follow.”

“I am not proud of this, but Sheila wanted nothing to do with James or anything related to him. When I sent her to my sister’s, she begged me to tell James she lost the baby. I think it was a pride thing to her. She didn’t want him to think she had gone through the pregnancy and then given something up. She wanted him to think she didn’t care. She hurt so badly I wanted to do something to give her some peace.”

“Lorraine, I think you did the right thing.”

“Well, maybe not, after I tell you the recent turn of events. The child that Shelia gave up for adoption twenty years ago just recently surfaced.”

“Oh.”

“Except that she somehow found Solange and thought she was her birth mother instead of Sheila.”

“Oh.” I was sounding like a broken record, but I was having one of those rare moments where I didn’t know what to say. And I had started to wonder why she had chosen me to tell this story to.

“What made this even worse was Solange never knew that Shelia had a child by James. She came to me when the girl found her, and I confessed that I had known all along. She was understandably angry at all of us. She felt betrayed. That was the reason for her wanting a divorce.”

That was news. James had said he wanted the divorce based on how Solange had acted, but then I guess indirectly he had caused the divorce through actions from twenty years ago. What a mess. I couldn’t believe Solange kept this all in. What emotional confusion she must have experienced.

“I tried to get her to see reason,” Lorraine continued. “James was also very upset with me because he felt I should have told him the truth all those years ago, and he was right. Both James and Solange tried to talk to Sheila, but she refused to listen to either of them. They might have had their differences, but they both agreed that they wanted the girl to be a part of the family. She was petrified the girl would find her, which she did. She came to the house several times, as Solange had told her where she lived and who she was, once Solange realized what was going on. She had no ill will toward the girl, Amber, and felt that Sheila and James should get to know her. She wanted to get to know her; after all, this girl was blood related and the child of James, and as mad as she might have been, she would never have refused to let Amber into the family. James agreed. He wasn’t happy, like I said that this had all been kept from him, and I think he has met with Amber a few times, and they are trying to build some sort of relationship. Shelia is still refusing. I just don’t know what to do with her.”

“Lorraine, maybe she just needs to figure it out herself. If she isn’t open to meeting her daughter, is it wise to push it?” I was sure Lorraine didn’t need or want my advice, but there had to be some reason she called me here, so I figured I had nothing to lose.

“I agree, Presley. I just hate to see Sheila miss out on what could be a great opportunity, but you’re right, I can’t force it. She is just so bitter about the whole thing. Sheila has just felt shut out of everything. Solange was the oldest, and she always doted on Steven. They were so close even as adults, probably too close, as Solange was always bailing Steven out, long after I washed my hands of him in an attempt at tough love. Sheila wanted to be the one Steven depended on. She didn’t understand why he didn’t, especially since Solange was adopted, a fact Sheila could never just let go.”

“I was wondering about that, Lorraine. What made you adopt Solange?”

Lorraine paused. After all she had already told me, I didn’t think I was overstepping my bounds, but then was second-guessing myself when she remained silent. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to pry,” I said.

“You’re fine dear. It’s just hard to talk about it, even now.”

She paused again, and I wasn’t going to push her. I knew she would tell me in her own time.

“You see, one of the reasons I was so understanding when Sheila and James came to me to tell me she was pregnant was that I had been in the same predicament.” She stopped to let the words sink in.

“You mean Solange was yours?” I was amazed. This was not what I expected at all. I didn’t even see any family resemblance, and you’d think there would be some.

“Yes. I fell head over heels for a young man when I was nineteen, and I thought that was it. We would be together, travel the world, eventually settle down, get married, have babies, the whole works. I thought he wanted that, too, and maybe he did for a time.” She paused again, seemingly lost in her own thought. I just waited patiently, which was not easy. “But I unexpectedly got pregnant. Through hindsight it should have been expected.” She laughed. “I was such a naïve, foolish girl back then. I didn’t have the sexual knowledge you young ladies have now. I was also naïve enough to think he would be as happy as I was. Sure, it rushed up our timetable, but I was ready to settle down. I thought I would tell him, and he would marry me. Instead, he enlisted in the service and said he would call when he got to boot camp. He never did.”

“Oh, Lorraine, I’m so sorry.” I reached across the table and put my hand on hers. What a heart-wrenching story.

“Oh, don’t be sorry dear. This happened a long time ago, and I got Solange out of it, and I ended up marrying a wonderful man I got to spend the best years of my life with.”

I smiled. “I guess I don’t understand then why Sheila and Steven think Solange is adopted?”

“Because that’s what we told them. Just like Sheila, I was sent to an aunt to have the baby. My aunt had a friend who couldn’t have children, so she was going to raise the child as her own. I wasn’t happy but didn’t have much of a choice, and I knew this was the best for the child. I was but a child myself and unwed at that. Back then an unwed mother didn’t have as many prospects as they do now. I soon met Paul, we fell in love, and got married. Within a couple years we had Sheila and then Steven. I thought of Solange often, but knew she was doing well through my aunt, and I knew she had a happy life. Then one day I got a call. The couple that had taken Solange in had been in a car accident and died. The family was going to send Solange to an orphanage, and I couldn’t bear it. I went to Paul and confessed, sure that he would throw me out, and in the moments after I told him I realized what an amazing man I had married. Not only did he not throw me out, when I told him that’s what I thought he would do, he scolded me for being silly, and he immediately said we needed to take her in. We decided to say we were adopting the daughter of an old family friend who had died, because Solange had no idea she had been adopted by them, and obviously Shelia and Steven had no idea I’d had a child before them, and we felt it easier.”

“So you’re telling me they didn’t know that they were half siblings?”

“Not until a few years ago when Solange found out. She was very understanding and didn’t feel she needed to cause family drama by carrying about old secrets. The others don’t know, and Solange wanted it that way. I’m afraid there wasn’t anything that made Sheila happy, and while I do worry that it’s from giving up that baby all those years ago, it did give her so many opportunities she hasn’t pursued. Instead, she has gone through life being bitter.”

“The positive is that her life isn’t over, and she still has time to get to know her daughter. Maybe she will eventually realize what she is giving up.”

“I certainly hope so,” Lorraine said, reaching across the table putting her hand over mine. “Thank you for listening to me dear, and I haven’t even ordered our proper tea yet.” She looked up in the direction of a waiter and one immediately came over.

“The usual, Mrs. Barker?”

“Yes, please, Josh. I hope you don’t mind me ordering for you, dear.”

“Not at all, Lorraine. I’m sure you know what’s best here.”

A few minutes went by and we kept chit chatting and I kept waiting for her to tell me why she wanted to meet me. Finally, my impatience got the best of me and I had to ask.

“Mrs. Barker, I appreciate your inviting me to tea and your company has been wonderful but I’m not sure why. Why you asked me to tea I mean. Is there something I can do for you?”

She smiled at me. “I guess I just wanted you to know the real Solange.”

Chapter 21

H
i, Willie. What’s up?” I was surprised to hear from him. I had just talked to him a few hours before and he said he would talk to me that night. Something must have been going on. Maybe he knew something about the case.

“Do you have any idea where James is? Have you talked to him today?”

“No. I talked to him yesterday, but he hasn’t made his daily call today.” James was the thorn in my side. I tried to be sympathetic, since he had just lost his wife, but he was so annoying, calling me incessantly and bugging me about the store. I cringed every time I saw his number pop up on my screen. I didn’t really think it was the store he was worried about. I thought he really missed Solange and having someone to talk to and yell at, but that was my personal assumption and didn’t make dealing with him any easier. “He usually calls about now, closing time, to see what the day’s sales were, but he hasn’t called yet. Why?”

“Well, after you told me about what Amy said, I wanted to have a chat with him and just get his side. I’ve called him several times and left many messages and haven’t heard back. That’s not like him, since thus far in the investigation he has been readily available to the point of hounding me.”

“That is interesting that neither one of us have heard anything when he usually is so good about bugging us both. I’ll let you know if I hear from him and will tell him to call you. What was your initial thought after talking to Amy?”

“Well, I don’t think she’s guilty of anything, except being completely without common sense.”

“I couldn’t agree more.”

I punched a set of numbers into my cell phone

“Hello?”

“Hi, Lorraine, it’s Presley”

“Hello, dear. To what do I owe the pleasure of this call?” The warmth of her voice came through the phone. She was truly a nice person. I was glad I had the chance to get to know her better, even if it was under these poor circumstances.

“Have you heard from James today?”

“No dear, I haven’t, not since the day before yesterday, though now that I think about it, it’s a little odd. He usually calls me a few times a day to check in on me. He’s such a good boy.”

So, Willie and I weren’t the only ones he called all the time these days. He must really like talking on the phone. “The detective on Solange’s case is trying to reach him, so if you hear from him, can you tell him to call Willie, I mean Detective Landon?”

“I sure can. What does he need? Maybe I can help.”

I hesitated to tell her as I didn’t know James’s side of things, and didn’t want to stir up any more gossip than was already floating around out there. But then, she seemed to be the kind of lady that just took it all in stride. “Well, there’s a girl named Amy who worked for Solange…”

“Let me guess, the detective wants to talk to James to see if there was any validity to her claims of them having an affair.”

It seemed like nothing got by Lorraine. “You know everything, don’t you?”

“At my age, dear, it pays to pay attention. That girl was a twit, she was nothing. Solange knew she was harmless, and James wanted nothing to do with her. Yes, he flirted with her, for which he begged for Solange’s forgiveness, but she knew he meant nothing by it, and he got his punishment as the girl made his life miserable for a while.”

“Solange knew about Amy’s behavior while she still worked there?”

“Yes. She was hoping the silly girl would wise up and come to her senses. Solange was always a softy. She knew the girl was just infatuated. A schoolgirl crush! Apt, since this young lady is a schoolgirl. Solange had hoped she would tire of it and learn her lesson. When she didn’t, Solange finally got fed up, and that’s when she let Amy go.”

“So, that had nothing to do with Solange and James…” I trailed off.

“Oh no, not at all.” She chuckled. “Though if James has gone incommunicado, I might know where he is.”

“Really? That would be a big help.”

“James and Solange have a cabin on the water in Crivitz, Wisconsin. I know the last few months when things had been bad between them, James spent a lot of time out there. He said it was calm and peaceful and gave him time to think. The only problem is there’s not a phone there, it’s very remote, and only when the wind blows right do you even get a cell signal. So if he’s not answering his cell you still won’t be able to get a hold of him.”

“Do you think you could call him and just let him know he needs to check in with Willie, er, Detective Landon? He might be more inclined to answer your call than the police’s.”

“I sure will, dear.”

“Thanks, Lorraine. I will call you in a couple days,” I said then hung up. Where did that come from? Maybe that was why James called her so much. She was such a warm person who just sort of sucked you into her circle where you wanted to be. Much more motherly than my own mother, except, maybe most people felt that way about their own mothers. Growing up, I always thought my friends’ moms were the coolest, and my friends thought my mom was awesome, and I didn’t see it. Though now as an adult she might annoy the heck out of me at times, I could at least see she was a pretty cool mom.

“Presley, you’re never going to guess my news!”

Anna called me and asked me to meet her for a drink after work. I told her it would have to be fast because Willie was coming over for dinner, and I was already on my way home. I tried to get her to skip the dramatics and just tell me over the phone, but she said it was important news she didn’t want to share over the phone. That it had to be in person.

“You got the promotion?” I said as soon as she walked up to me at the bar at Muldoon’s where I was waiting for our drinks. That’s the only thing I could guess would have her this excited.

“Not that. I won’t know for at least two more weeks. No, this is way more exciting than work.”

“You’re next on the waiting list for a Birkin purse?” I knew that was what would get me this jazzed—but also, so impossible for normal, non-millionaires like us.

“Stop being silly. This is important.”

“And a Birkin purse isn’t?”

She gave me a look.

“Sorry. Stop making me guess, then. Just tell me.”

Anna held out her left hand and waggled her ring finger. She was sporting a large square-cut diamond ring, at least two carats by my untrained eye. It was absolutely stunning.

“Do not tell me that’s from Jeff.” I instantly regretted my words as I saw Anna’s face fall, and she now looked close to tears. “Anna, I’m sorry. That’s not how I meant it. I was just shocked, that’s all.” Anna looked a little better, but I could tell she was still hurt. “I am so glad he finally came to his senses about how he was treating you and stepped up.”

“I know, Presley. And I understand why you would be skeptical, but he finally realized we belong together, and he has been a completely different person these last few days. I know it’s only been a few days, but we have such a history and I know him so well, I truly believe this is it. He has finally made a commitment to me.”

“Anna, I am so happy for you.” I grabbed her and gave her a hug. “Now, let me see this ring again. Wow, this is a gorgeous ring. I am so jealous.”

“I know, square-cut diamond on a plain platinum band. He actually did pay attention to me every once in a while when I talked about the rings I liked.”

“Interesting what men will pay attention to or hear when they act like they are ignoring you.” I laughed. “I really am happy for you, Anna. I know I haven’t always been the biggest supporter of Jeff, but he is obviously trying to change, and I can’t fault that.” I wanted to believe that he had realized what he had in Anna.

“Thanks, Pres, that means a lot. Now, you know you’re my best friend, so I have to ask. Will you be my maid of honor?”

“Of course I will! Think of all the great shopping for dresses fun we’ll have.”

“And the bachelorette party.”

“Oh yeah, that will be the best. Maybe we can go visit Jesse in Vegas?”

“That would be perfect.”

“When are you planning on setting a date?”

“Well. Don’t freak out, but we figured we’ve been together this long, so why have a long engagement? We were thinking… October?” Anna said tentatively, waiting for me to be shocked. She wasn’t disappointed.

“Three months from now! Not even three months. Are you nuts?”

“You know, you say that to me a lot. I’m starting to get a complex,” she said good-naturedly.

“I can’t help it. You are nuts.”

“Pres, I know it’s soon, but why should we wait?”

“Anna, this has nothing to do with you guys waiting. It has to do with planning. Planning a wedding in general is hard. I should know. I’ve been maid of honor more times than I care to count. But three months makes it stress times ten. Have you told your mom yet?”

“No. Jeff and I are going down there this weekend to tell my parents.”

“Anna, you’re mom is going to flip when she finds out she has three months to plan.”

“Wouldn’t you rather me be a bridezilla for three months than a year?”

“Good point. Okay, maybe we can do this.”

“Besides, his parents thought it was fine.”

“That’s because they love you and know how good you are for Jeff. Maybe his mom will help plan. That would make it easier.”

“So, for a color scheme I was thinking ivory and brown, since it’s a fall wedding.”

“As long as you don’t try to put me in an orange dress I will be fine. I have no desire to look like a huge pumpkin at my best friend’s wedding.”

“I wouldn’t do that to you. Though we could pass out candy and bob for apples at the reception.”

“Funny.”

Anna and I chatted for a few more minutes while we finished our wine, but then I had to go meet Willie. I told her I would call her tomorrow, and we would set up some dress-shopping dates. That part of the wedding planning I was definitely looking forward to.

I rushed home, hoping Willie wouldn’t be early and almost hoping he would be late. He was coming over for dinner, and even though I had made the lasagna before I went to work that morning—it was one of the only things I knew how to cook—I needed to warm it up and make the salad and garlic bread. I wanted to have it ready when he got to my house so we could eat and relax, if that was even possible. It seemed like something always interfered with downtime.               He wasn’t waiting in the lobby for me when I got to my building, so that was positive. I waved to John the doorman on duty and pushed the button for the elevator. Unlocking my door, I dropped my bags at the door and walked into my tiny kitchen. I set the oven at 350, took the lasagna and salad fixings out of the refrigerator, and grabbed the garlic bread from the freezer. I put the lasagna on the top rack to warm and pulled out a cookie sheet for the bread. I wouldn’t put that in until he got here, which was at that instant since there was a knock at my door and I wasn’t expecting anyone else.

I wiped my hands on a dishtowel and walked to the door. Opening it, what I saw made me smile. He was so cute in distressed jeans and a soft-looking gray T-shirt. “Hi there,” I said.

“Hi, yourself. Here, put these in some water.” He handed me a pretty assortment of daisies.

“Thanks, Willie. You didn’t need to bring me flowers, but I appreciate it.”

“I thought you might like something for the table, and these looked bright and cheery. What can I say? I like flowers. Just don’t tell my mom.”

“Your secret is safe with me.”

“It sure smells good in here.”

“It’s my famous lasagna.”

“Really?”

“It’s one of the few things I make well, so I have perfected it over the years.” I laughed.

“Then you’re in luck that I love lasagna.”

We ate until we were stuffed. I almost wanted to go put on elastic pants, but hadn’t known him long enough to go there yet. Then we took our wine to the living room.

“I think I found a connection linking Peter and Steven.”

“Really? How? What?” I was excited. Maybe this was the break we had been looking for. Things had been frustrating without much progress. Same reason I only liked fishing if I was catching something. Patience was not one of my virtues. I knew that Peter had to be involved somehow. It was too much of a coincidence his being around.

“I was canvassing the area, and the bartender at Rookie’s, a dive bar a couple blocks from here, remembered both of them coming in a few times. He said Rookie’s was a regular hangout of Steven’s, before his many attempts at sobriety and each time he had a lapse, kind of his home away from home. The bartender, Ted, said Solange had come in a lot to drive, or drag, Steven home. A couple of months ago, Ted remembers seeing Peter start coming in, and he and Steven would drink together. I think that coincidentally, Peter learned of Solange, maybe talked to her one of the times she came in to pick up Steven. Seems like he found out about her store and realized it was a perfect front for his smuggling. Peter then found a building close to the boutique, and somehow was able to switch out shipments, or something like that. I’m not entirely sure how he did it yet, but I just have a hunch there is something there.”