Oven Baked Secrets (Eugeena Patterson Mysteries Book 2) (11 page)

Cedric Patterson peered at me over his gold wire-framed glasses, looking very much like his father. My middle child was once awkward and skinny for the longest until he seemed to morph into the handsome man that now stood before me. Cedric had always been more of a ladies’ man than I would have liked, but he was also a well-respected doctor who delivered babies.

I eyed my missing-in-action son. “So what brings you here, stranger? You used to just come in when you wanted to. When did you finally learn to start ringing the doorbell?” I crossed my arms. “Let me guess. You forgot your keys.”

Cedric grinned. “We’re all adults, Mama. I don’t need to be barging in on you. Besides, I thought you might have company.” He stepped inside and reached down to pet Porgy who was running around in circles.

I closed the door and called to Porgy, “Calm down, doggie.” It amazed me how that dog remembered everyone. “What do you mean by company? It’s just me and Porgy. Have you and Junior been talking?”

He strode into the living room over to what had to be the most popular chair in the living room, with Porgy right on his heels. “Sources have reported you and Mr. Amos have been spending many Sunday dinners together.”

I rolled my eyes. “Sounds
like
that source would be your sister, who along with her children, were well fed last week.”

Cedric sat down in his father’s chair. “She might have mentioned something about being here last weekend. I also heard William was killed.”

I sat down across from him on the couch. Porgy sat by my feet, keeping his eyes on Cedric. “It sounds like you’ve gotten pretty caught up despite being out of town for a weeklong conference.”

Cedric looked away. “I’m sorry; I probably should have mentioned that to you.”

“You’re a grown man, Cedric. You don’t need to tell me anything.”

“It looks like I should be checking on you more. By the way, Carmen told me you came by the place to help her with a friend, Jocelyn. I appreciate you helping Carmen.”

“I like Carmen.” I raised my eyebrow.  “She really would be a great daughter-in-law too, on a more official basis.”

Cedric’s caramel skin had a rosy glow creeping up around his ears, appearing as though I caught him in the act of doing something he wasn’t supposed too. “I have missed talking to you. You have a birthday coming up soon.”

I loved how my son subtly changed the subject. “Yes. Wednesday.”

“Any plans?”

“Nope. A nice quiet birthday works for me.” I watched Cedric rub his hands across the top of his head. “Did you come to ask about my birthday or was there something else on your mind, son?”

He laughed and then stood. “That’s why I miss talking to you, Mama. I can never really hide anything from you. You could always tell when something is up.” He stopped. “Carmen is like that too. I can’t hide anything from her.”

“She has good instincts and I can tell she’s in tune with you.”

Cedric started to pace. The eeriness of his pacing was too similar to when his father, Ralph, would do the same thing in that almost very spot.

I had to ask, “Cedric, you and Carmen have only been living together a few months. Are you having second thoughts?”

Cedric stopped pacing and turned to look at me. “I am having second thoughts, but not about what you think?”

“Okay. Cedric, you lost me.”

“Let me show you something.” Cedric reached in his pocket and pulled out a small velvet box.

I held my hand to my chest and pointed. “Is that –” I watched as Cedric flipped the top of the box open to show a diamond.

I clapped my hands together and then lifted my arms in the air. “Praise the Lord! Cedric, that’s beautiful. Carmen is going to love it. So when are you going to pop the question?”

He snapped the box closed. “Soon. I just need the right time. I’m glad you’re happy, but I’m not sure what Carmen’s answer will be.”

“Of course, she’s going to say yes. Why wouldn’t she?”

“I always thought I would marry her. To be honest, the moment I met her it was the first time marriage entered my mind. It’s like we were meant to be.”

“But…”

“I don’t know if she’s ready. I mean, I don’t want to pop the question and get that silence or even a flat out no?”

“What would give you the impression that Carmen would consider saying no?”

“She’s been pre-occupied for a while now. Carmen has been on a quest to search for her biological parents, which I totally support. I was hoping when we moved in together we could search together, but her friend Jocelyn has taken center stage now.”

“You sound like you’re not that fond of Jocelyn.”

Cedric shook his head. “No, I wouldn’t say that. Carmen is really close to her. They are really like sisters in a lot of ways. It’s just that, I get that impression that Jocelyn has not always been a good influence on Carmen.”

“Oh, I have met Jocelyn a couple of times. She seems like a sweet girl, well-intentioned like Carmen can be.”

Cedric looked at me. “You don’t know that much about Jocelyn’s history, do you?”

For some reason, a vision of Detective Wilkes all-knowing look flashed in my mind. What was it she said?

People aren’t always how they appear.

I closed my eyes. “Cedric, please don’t tell me after thirty years of teaching, I have become that bad of a judge of character.”

Cedric laughed. “Mama, calm down. I’m not saying Jocelyn is a murderer. Far from it, but according to Carmen, Jocelyn has been in trouble with the law.  From my understanding it was petty theft and she was caught with marijuana when she was in high school.”

“Mmm, I guess having a record made her more suspicious to the police. She’s an adult now and seems settled in her job. I forgot what Jocelyn said she did for a living.”

Cedric looked at me and shook his head. “You do know Jocelyn works at Hooters?”

“Hooters?”

Cedric turned a shade of red that I don’t think I’ve seen before. “Please tell me you know what I’m talking about.”

“Oh!” Then my mind started doing all kind of funny things. “Oh my word.”

“Mama it’s not that bad.”

“No, no. Would you say that’s the kind of place William would go?”

“William Hopkins? Probably.”

I slapped my thigh. “Maybe that’s where he saw Jocelyn.”

Cedric frowned. “Why are you asking? You’re not up to that snooping thing you were doing this past summer, right? I mean you’re not planning to show up at Hooters?”

“Why? Have you been going there?”

Cedric answered back. “I haven’t in a very long time.”

“You and me both know that Carmen would whip your tail.”

Cedric stood. “I agree. With that said, I’m going to head home now.”

“You didn’t stop at home first.”

Cedric held out his arms. “You’re still my number one girl, Mama.”

With the kind of week I had, I so needed to hear that and I gladly accepted my hug. Who knows when I would get another one? Children become so stingy with affection the older they get.

As I watched Cedric walk down the porch steps, I thought about what he said about Jocelyn. I really did find sincerity in the young woman, but I wanted her to be more honest about her activity up until I found her by Louise’s bedside last Sunday. Louise seemed at the center of all the mysteries of the last week, but Jocelyn was a catalyst.

I went back in the house and turned on my laptop. I noticed that Jocelyn had accepted my friend request on Facebook. Since I didn’t have a phone number for her, I sent Jocelyn another message.

Jocelyn, we need to meet soon. I have so many questions and I truly want to help you, your mother and Louise connect.

On Monday morning, I found a message from Jocelyn on Facebook.  I thought it was a good sign that she wanted to talk to me too. After my conversation with Cedric and hearing his thoughts about Jocelyn, I felt like it was imperative that I talked to her again, maybe with a bit more of an open mind.  Earlier this summer I let my guard down unknowingly with a person and missed catching significant clues about their character.

Jocelyn and I agreed to meet at my home around mid-morning. Normally, Amos and I would have gotten together, but he was still on a secret mission. I noticed his truck was missing when I peeked out the living room window. I told myself I wasn’t spying on Amos. Still, who stands by the window peeking out the blinds? Besides it was not any of my business what Amos did with his time. It would have been nice for Amos to finally meet Jocelyn in person and give me his expert opinion.

When the doorbell rang, I opened the door to find Jocelyn dressed in a navy sweatshirt, jeans and white sneakers.  I thought she looked more subdued than the last two times we had met in person. She was at least twenty-six years old, but somehow she seemed so much younger. I opened the screen door. “Well, I was wondering if you knew how to get here. Come in.”

Jocelyn didn’t step inside right away, but looked over her left shoulder to Louise’s house.  She turned to me looking sheepish. “I’ve been in the neighborhood before.”

I eyed Jocelyn. Now that didn’t occur to me. “I imagine you’ve been searching around for Louise for some time, haven’t you?”

Jocelyn nodded. “She’d been in that house for so many years. It seemed like a good place to start.”

“That’s a good point. Did you ever run across William while you were here in the neighborhood?”

“No, not here.” Jocelyn looked down at the porch floor as though something was more interesting to her.

She didn’t really answer my question. “Why don’t you come inside? It’s a bit chilly out there this morning.”

Jocelyn stepped inside and I closed the door behind her. I had purposely left Porgy out to examine the guest. I have learned to monitor the dog and how he reacted to people. His comfort around my family and Amos spoke to his behavior and doggy thoughts of people. He sniffed around Jocelyn, but he didn’t bark at her.

Jocelyn didn’t seem to mind. She reached down and scratched Porgy behind the ears. “Such a cute dog.”

“He’s a good little watch dog. I inherited him this past summer.”

Jocelyn smiled. “I miss having a pet. My family always had a dog.”  She looked around the living room. “You have a beautiful home, Ms. Eugeena.”

I don’t know why, but Jocelyn seemed nervous. “Thank you. I have some questions, so I appreciate you stopping by so we can talk.”

Jocelyn bit her lip. “I knew you probably had more questions after we talked over at Carmen’s last week. I thought it might be best for you to talk to other members of my family.”

“Your mother?”

“No, no. My aunts. Most of the information I have and that my mom knew came from my aunts Thelma and Ruth.”

“I would love to meet them.  When would be a good time?”

“Now. That’s if you can come.”

“Honey, I’m retired. I’m can come and go as I please. Let me get Porgy settled, and I will be ready to meet your aunts.”

About ten minutes later, I climbed into Jocelyn’s car. As she drove off, I hoped to get Jocelyn to talk more about herself. I really hadn’t learned much about her. “I don’t know why at my age I’m surprised by such a small world, but that’s nice you have a friend like Carmen.”

“Carmen is the closest person I have to a sister. One of the few people who has stuck by me through thick and thin.”

“Jocelyn, you didn’t tell me where you worked?”

Jocelyn kept her eyes on the road, but her skin grew reddish around the ears similar to my son’s when he was embarrassed. “I haven’t been as successful as Carmen. We both took the same college-level classes and I went to College of Charleston for a while.”

I commented, “Well, life happens. We all sometimes end up on a path we don’t plan.”

“I strayed off my path because I got caught up with the wrong guy. Carmen was always good about not dating and hanging out. She stuck to her studies. I guess that’s why she’s a physician now. I, on the other hand, got pregnant, dumped by the guy I thought loved me, lost the baby, and somewhere I lost myself. My mom wanted me to go back to school, but I have just worked different jobs over the years, mostly retail and waitressing.”

“It’s understandable. My daughter has had some difficulties after losing her best friend in a tragic accident. She’s just now finding her way.” I asked, “Is that what you do now? Waitressing?”

Jocelyn glanced at me. “I get decent tips. I have been saving to go back to school.”

“Good for you! I was asking because the detective seemed to be concerned about William recognizing you somewhere. I just thought maybe he saw you at work.”

Jocelyn was quiet for a moment “I have seen William Hopkins before last Sunday, but I didn’t know who he was at the time. I just thought of him as an obnoxious customer.”

“You served him at your job?”

“Yes, I did. He was there with some young guy. They always seemed to be talking business and I think I overhead something about some healthcare app. Sounded interesting.”

“How many times do you think you’ve seen William?”

Jocelyn shrugged, “Hard to count. Maybe about three or four times?”

“He must have really liked the food at the restaurant.”

Jocelyn glanced at me. “I’m sure there were other aspects that he liked. I work at Hooters. It’s known for very pretty waitresses who don’t mind showing…”

“I think I know.”

“You can see why my mother stays disappointed in me. I don’t even know if it was worth it to try to find my grandmother.”

“Why would your mother be so angry? It made sense to try again. It helps you know your own roots.”

Jocelyn was quiet again before responding. “I think my mother blames Louise, you know, for my grandfather’s death.”

Why blame Louise?
I wanted to say more, but decided to hold my tongue. It sounded to me like Louise and August naively fell in love at a time when it was not acceptable to be an interracial couple. They both were so young and I knew from personal experience becoming pregnant as a teenager wasn’t the ideal time to enter motherhood.

We soon arrived at the Manning sisters’ home. They lived in a neighborhood similar to Sugar Creek. As Jocelyn slowed down in front of a brick house, I heard her take in a sharp breath. “Oh no. She’s not supposed to be here.”

I leaned forward. “Who?”

Jocelyn pulled into the driveway behind a white Mercedes. She cut off the engine and sat staring ahead.

“Jocelyn, is this still a good idea to visit?”

She turned to me. “I don’t know, it maybe your lucky day, Ms. Eugeena. You will get to meet my grandfather’s sisters and my mother.” With that Jocelyn opened the driver’s side and stepped out, her face full of anxiety.

I opened the passenger door, feeling a bit nervous. I was about to meet Louise’s long lost daughter in the flesh.
How is Clarice Miller feeling about her biological mom now?
Would she ever want to meet her? She was Louise’s only living child.