The Devil Has Dimples (16 page)

We left the building and stood outside for a moment.

“An early lunch?”  Grant asked.

“Sure.”  I looked at my watch.  “I have to open in about an
hour.  Maybe Naomi knows something about the fire.”

Grant laughed.  “I’m sure she does.”

Hank’s was hopping with business.  For a diner with few
visible parking places in front, it was amazing how many customers could crowd
into his place during lunch.

Grant was greeted with smiles, and when the gazes turned to
me, the smiles turned to frowns.

“What’s up?”  I whispered.

“You got me.  But Naomi will tell us.”

Grant looked around the Hole for our little waitress, as did
I, but I couldn’t see her.  A younger woman, in her forties, came over to our
table.

“Hey, Grant, what’ll it be today.”

Her name tag said her name was Della.

“Where’s Naomi?”  He asked.

“Oh, her and Bitsy took off for Hot Springs.”

“Hot Springs, in Arkansas?”

“Sure.  They do that every year about this time.  They swear
by it.  Spas, hot tubs, massages, the whole works.  So what’ll be.”

We both said.  “The blue plate special.”

“Sure ‘nuff.”  And she walked off.

“Well, at least we finally know where Bitsy took off to.” 
Grant said.

“I was starting to worry,” I said.

“Why the last minute, though.”

“What do you mean?”

“Usually Naomi announces any trip she’s taking months before
she goes.  Even if it’s only for a weekend.  We didn’t hear a word about this
trip.”

“You’re right about that.”

* * *

I felt like tackling the office after lunch, though a nap
would be even better.  A nap with Grant at my side.  Though I don’t think we
would nap much.

When I opened the store, I really felt proud of the way it
looked.  Making some coffee, I heard the bell jingle and turned to see Margie
coming inside.  She wiggled her hand at me and gave me a smile.

“Hi,” she said shyly.

“Hi back at ya.”

She laughed.  “I came to shop.”

“Wow.  That sounds promising.  Where are you going to
start?”

“The foyer.  I want to be able to envision each room as I go
from one to another.  They should complement each other in color and style.”

“You really should be a decorator.”

She blushed.  “No.  I’m not that talented.  But, I just want
something that reflects my likes.”

I waved my hand across the store.  “Lead the way.”

She put her purse down on the counter and walked over to a
large circular walnut table.  Lovingly, she ran her hands across the top.  The
pattern of the wood was distinctive and beautiful.

“I dreamed about this the other night.”

“That’s a new one.  I’ve yet to dream of furniture.”

Her gaze slid over to me, and she gave me a lopsided smile.

“You’re young, I’m sure you’re dreaming of better things
than furniture.”

It was my turn to blush.  I immediately bent over and
studied the pedestal on the table.  “This is a beauty.  Looks heavy as the
dickens, though.”

“I would imagine so.  Do you have a tape measure?  This top
looks large and I want to check the dimensions.”

“Sure.”  I’d seen a tape measure by the cash register, so I
searched for it briefly.  A good thing it was yellow, as it was easy to find.

I stood on one side of the table and threw the other end at
Margie.

“Sixty inches.  That’s five feet.  A rather large piece,” I
said.

 Margie stepped back from it and viewed it again.

“I didn’t think it was that big,” she said.

“You can always try it out, and if it doesn’t look good I
can easily take it back.”

“That would work.  I also want the crystal bowl on top.”

I laughed.  “I thought you would.  You moved it enough times
when we ‘redecorated.’”

“It is pretty.”

“It’s three-hundred-and-fifty-dollars pretty,” I responded.

“It makes a statement.”

“That it does and I’ll be delighted to ‘write out a
statement.’”

Margie ran her fingertip down the cut glass.  “I just love
the way it catches the light.  It’ll look lovely sitting in my foyer.”

“Is that going to be it?  Or will you be wanting something
else? Your foyer is huge.”

“That it is, but I want to start small and see what I have
and then add something when it pleases my eye.”

“When do you want it delivered?”

“Today would be nice.”  She looked eager.

“Let me round up my moving boys.  It will probably be late
this afternoon after they get out of school”

“That’s fine.  I only decided this morning to get on a
stick, so I need to clean the area first.”  She hesitated, then said.  “I’ll
take the bowl now, if it’s convenient.”

“Sure, let me wrap it up for you.”

“No need.  I’ll only unwrap it again in a few minutes.”

I walked over and grabbed the bowl securely in both arms. 
It was certainly heavy.  “Are you sure?  It’s heavy.”

“Oh yes, I dreamed about the bowl too.  It’s coming home
with me now.”

“Well, open the door and let’s get this sucker safely in
your car.  I don’t want to ‘drop’ a sale.”

Margie was grinning broadly as she drove off, waving at me.

It was good to see her so happy.  I looked up and saw Joanna
coming my way, and she was definitely unhappy.

“You!”  She pointed her finger at me accusingly.

Rats!  It seemed like she was primed to fight.

So I turned on my heel and went back into the shop.  I could
hear her yelling behind me.  I poured a cup of coffee and placed some cookies
on a plate.  As she sputtered in, I held out both out to her.  She was
definitely taken aback.

She looked at me suspiciously, but took the offered items.

“Sit down,” I said, indicating the small settee with my
hand.  I poured out a cup of coffee for me, then grabbed a cookie and sat on a
chair.  She slowly followed and sat.

I decided it was time to get tough.

“Unless you have something constructive to say to me,
Joanna, then I don’t want to hear it.  You’ve insulted me enough today.”

She snarled at me.  “I lost my job because of you!”

I took a sip of coffee to defuse the anger she threw my
way.  “Think about it, Joanna.  You yelled at me.  You made a scene.  You
called me a bastard.  I don’t think any blame should be placed on me.”

I took another sip of coffee.  My hand shook so much there
were ripples in the cup.

She had the decency to look down.  Ashamed, as well as she should
be.  She looked pitiful.

Almost.

I continued.  “You know Joanna.  We all make our own
happiness.  For some reason you are blaming me for something that I don’t even
know about.  Why don’t you tell me the truth?”

Joanna glanced at me briefly, then looked down at the cup in
her lap.  A deep sigh emitted from her, as though she was defeated.  “I guess
it’s about time.”

I waited for her to begin.

“Maudie dated Harold in high school,” she said.

“Harold?”  I asked.

Her expression was sad.  “My husband.”

“Oh.”  I didn’t know if I wanted to hear this story, but somehow
I knew it related to me in some way.

She put her cup down on the table beside her, next to the
untouched cookies, then leaned back, relaxing her tense muscles.

“He was so handsome.  Maudie always picked up the best-looking
men.  I hoped that he would ask me out.  But he chose Maudie.  They all did.”

She pressed the ridge of her nose between her thumb and
index finger, as though she had a headache.

“No wonder.  She was so pretty, always smiling, everyone
wanted to be around her, including me.”

She brought her hands down, and started to twist her wedding
band around her fingers with her fingertips.  It was painful to watch her.  She
seemed in agony.

“She’d date a guy for a couple of months, then drop them,
one day they were sweethearts, the next she couldn’t stand them.  They were all
crushed.”  She looked up at me with pain in her eyes.

“That’s when the rest of us would close in for the kill.” 
She shook her head.  “It was disgusting.  Vile.”

She shuddered.  “I…I couldn’t wait to get my hands on
Harold.”

She began to rub her hands together, roughly, as if she
couldn’t stand her own skin.

“Naomi.  Bitsy.  Me.”  She looked at me with sadness in her
eyes.  “Your adoptive parents.”

It took me a second to understand what she was saying.  “My
father dated Maudie?”

“Yes.  For a long time.   Six months, I think.  We thought
that Maudie finally found the right guy.  But she dumped him too.  Your mother
was thrilled to get him.”

“Do you have a clue as to why she would break up with all
her boyfriends?”

“I asked Harold once.  He never would tell me.  Just shook
his head, then stood up and walked away from me.”  She examined her
fingernails.  “I never asked him again.”

“Why?”

“I was afraid to, I figured he would leave me.”

“Why did you think that?”

A lone tear started in her eye, and slowly crept down her
face.

“He never stopped loving her.  Never.  I could see it in his
eyes.”  She broke down crying.

I got up and retrieved the box of tissue from the checkout
counter, pulled out several and handed them to her.

She took them gratefully and dabbed at her face, then blew
her nose.  She smiled weakly, then wiped her eyes again.  “I’m sorry.”

“It’s all right.  Is that the reason you don’t like me,
because of Maudie?”

She shook her head.  “No, no.  It’s because I think you might
be Harold’s daughter.”

Oh, no.  My heart began to hammer in my chest.  I felt a
moment of panic.  What had I started?  Where would it end?

“Have you asked him?”

“No.  I’m afraid.”

That answer stymied me.  What could she possibly be afraid
of at this point in time?

“Of what?”  I asked.

“I don’t know.  He’s been different since Maudie died, and I
don’t know why.”

“Just ask him.  Maybe he wants to talk to you, but doesn’t
know how.”

She looked at me with eager brightness in her eyes.  “Do you
think so?”

“I don’t know.  You should know him better than anyone
else.  Just talk to him.”

“I will.”  She stood up and brushed off her skirt.  She
looked at the wadded up tissues in her hand, confused as what to do with them.

I held out my hand and she deposited them there.  Joanna
then gave me one of her rare smiles, and stepped forward and embraced me.  She
whispered in my ear, “I wouldn’t mind calling you stepdaughter if you’re
Harold’s.”

Then she hastily made her retreat.  Leaving me in stunned
silence.  Tina the bitch could be my half-sister.  I shuddered.

I thought Joanna hated me.  What was going on here?  I’m
starting to get confused.

I threw the tissues into the trash, and pulling out my
notebook began to write down the latest developments.  I wish that Naomi and
Bitsy were here, so I could talk to them.  Why did Maudie dump all the
fellows?  Why dump my dad and then later give me to him for adoption?  She had
to have trusted him with my care, or was there something else going on there
that I didn’t understand?  Or was I really my dad’s daughter and Mom resented
me because of an affair?

Hesitantly, I leaned back in the chair and glanced in
Maudie’s office.  The tiger needed to be tackled, and I needed to get in there
and see if any of that mess pertained to me.

The phone rang.

I hesitated.  I almost didn’t want to talk to anyone.  My
emotions were pretty rough right now.  It rang again.

Sighing, I picked it up.  Before I could say hello, Grant said, 
“Sara, come to my office right now!”  Then he hung up.

I stood there looking at the receiver, wondering what was
going on.  I reset the receiver in its cradle, grabbed my purse and the keys
and turning over the open sign to closed, let myself out of the building.

I headed over to Grant’s office.  Everything looked so normal,
I wished that I felt normal.  I wished, in a way, that I had thrown Grant’s
notification letter away.  But then again, I was glad I was here.  My heart
began to beat a little faster just at the thought of seeing Grant.  I wondered
what he was doing at his office on a Saturday.

I trotted up the stairs to his office.  Alice sat behind her
desk, on the phone.  I headed for Grant’s office as she placed her fingers over
the mouthpiece.  “He left,” she said.

Left!  He called me just a few minutes ago.  Alice had a
frown on her face, listening to her caller, so I didn’t interrupt her.  Sitting
down in the chair next to her desk, I could feel her eyes watching me.  What is
going on?  Why was she working on a Saturday?

Her conversation finally ended and she turned to me.  “He
received a phone call from Bitsy after he called you and he had to leave.”

“Did he say where, or why?”

“No.  But he wasn’t happy.”

“Do you know why he wanted me to come over here?”

Alice snorted.  “He doesn’t tell me anything.”

“When will he be back?”

“I don’t know that either.  I surely don’t know how that man
expects me to run his office when he won’t tell me anything.”

“What are you doing here on a Saturday?”  I asked.

She snorted.  “Got us a big trial on Monday morning.  You
being here has messed up our schedule.  So I have to work on a Saturday
afternoon, thanks to you.”

“I’m sorry.”

All that got was another snort as she went back to her
computer screen.

I sat there a moment longer.  Then decided that I better go
back to the shop and search the office.  I’ve put it off for too long already. 
Getting up and walking to the door, as I turned the doorknob, Alice spoke. 
“You shouldn’t be here.”

I was getting tired of this.  I turned to face her.  “Make
up your mind. Just days ago you called me a coward when I was about to leave.
Now I ‘shouldn’t be here.’ Well, get over it.  I’m here, whether you like it or
not, and I’m here to stay until I get to the truth.”