The Man She Left Behind (29 page)

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Authors: Janice Carter

BOOK: The Man She Left Behind
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Leigh reached down for her purse on the wooden floor of the veranda. “Ah, here it is. You can’t see too much of me, but the shot of Janet is good. She looks much the same, only older.”
She passed the photo to Faye, then picked up her coffee, hoping she could gracefully make her exit now. All she could think about was Spencer, having his arms around her again, his lips on hers—
“I know her.”
Leigh stared at Faye. “What?”
“Her name isn’t Janet Bradley, though.”
“I...I know it isn’t,” Leigh stammered. “She changed it years ago. But—”
“It’s Mary Boone. That’s her all right. I’d recognize her anywhere.”
“Oh, Faye!” A nervous laugh tinkled from Trish. “How could you know Leigh’s mother?”
“’Cause she isn’t Leigh’s mother. She’s Mary Boone and she shared a room at the hospital with me for almost three years. That’s how I know she isn’t Janet Bradley!” Faye’s voice rose indignantly with each word.
Leigh felt the veranda shift. Black spots flickered across her line of vision. She listened to the two sisters and tried to shape words with a mouth that wasn’t cooperating.
“Leigh? Are you okay, honey?”
Trish’s face swam before her. Leigh blinked and pulled herself up in the cushioned chair. “I don’t understand,” was all she could get out.
“You’d better explain this, Faye,” Trish ordered.
“I knew Mary in the hospital. Like I said, we were roommates.”
“She could still be Leigh’s mother,” Trish insisted.
Faye shook her head. “No, because she told me the story about this picture a long time ago. Maybe she even showed it to me once. It looks familiar. She had a baby when she was seventeen and she’d planned to give it up for adoption.”
“See! It could be a strange coincidence.”
“No, Trish. The baby she gave up died when it was still an infant. Mary Boone never got over that tragedy, poor thing. That’s what sent her into the hospital, I think. That and her parents.”
Leigh waited for the roaring in her head to fade. “Then how...? Why...?”
Faye kept her face averted. “I’m sorry. I had no idea. It didn’t seem important at all, telling Mary about life in Ocracoke. She was fascinated by the island. And...and when I told her about the little girl I baby-sat for, who was adopted and had arrived wrapped in a blue blanket with yellow ducks on it from her own mother, Mary cried. She actually cried, Leigh!”
Leigh wanted to weep, too, but shock had blocked off all connections to important body functions—like thinking and speaking. She stared into Faye’s pinched worried face.
“What else did you tell her?” Trish demanded.
“The story about the note, too. And some things about the Randalls. All good, mind you.”
Of course, all good. Basically my whole life story.
Leigh ran her tongue over her lips. “So you told her everything you knew?”
Faye nodded miserably. “I’m sorry, Leigh. I didn’t mean for this to happen. It all came out in normal conversation. Just talk between two roommates. How could I know she was memorizing it all?”
And tucking it away for a rainy day?
“It doesn’t make sense,” Leigh whispered.
“Yes, it does,” Trish put in. “She gave up a baby girl and lost her. Maybe she blamed herself. Then she hears this tale about another girl who’s been adopted. Did you tell her what Leigh looked like, Faye?”
“Only that she had black hair and eyes.”
“General enough to do the job in a twisted mind.”
Leigh looked at Trish. The woman’s face was set and serious. She was a lot tougher inside than she appeared on the surface, Leigh thought. That led her to another realization.
You weren’t any better at reading Janet than you were Trish. Or Spencer, for that matter. You only saw what you wanted to see.
Leigh slumped in her chair.
“You sure you’re okay, Leigh?” Trish stood up. “Let me call Spencer for you.”
Yes. Have Spencer come and make things all right for you. Especially when you were so certain he was wrong about Janet.
“No! Trish, I’m fine. I’ll go home now and find out why Janet has done this. She’s—”
“A crazy woman!”
“Trish!” Faye sounded shocked.
Trish shot her an angry look. “Isn’t she? Was she discharged, then, before you?”
Faye shook her head and stared down into her lap. “No,” she whispered. “When I left, she was still there.”
“How long ago was that?” Leigh asked, though part of her didn’t really want to know.
“Three months ago,” Faye mumbled.
Trish’s eyes flashed. “You see! I bet she just walked out of the place. I bet they’re looking for her right now. And if you’re not going to let me call Spencer for you, honey, I hope you’re going to let me call the hospital. I have to do
something.”
Leigh agreed to the latter and got to her feet. Faye was weeping quietly. Leigh patted her shoulder and murmured, “It wasn’t your fault, Faye.”
Faye didn’t respond.
Leigh looked at Trish and said, “I’ll come back later to talk to your sister. Right now I have to go. I’m sony.”
Trish accompanied her to the car. “Sure you’re okay to drive? Now don’t get into a fight with that woman. Who knows what state of mind she’s in. Best to let her keep on thinking you don’t suspect.”
“But she knew I was going to see Faye. That’s why she had an excuse.”
Trish watched while Leigh pulled out of the driveway, then went inside to make her telephone call.
 
LEIGH SLOWED as her car approached Windswept Manor. She scanned the front veranda. No sign of Janet.
What did you expect? That she’d be rocking in her chair waiting to ask about my lunch?
When she’d pulled out of Trish’s drive, Leigh realized she couldn’t go home. The only person she wanted to see was Spencer. She knew he’d come through for her this time. The knowledge made her smile, in spite of the churning in her stomach. She had faith in him. About time.
She passed Windswept Manor and headed for Sam’s cottage. Spencer’s truck wasn’t there and Leigh hesitated, sitting in the car for a moment. Then she decided that even if Spencer had left, he’d come back. And Sam’s would be as good a place as any to hide from Janet. The thought of facing the woman so soon made her want to throw up.
She ran up the stairs, almost knocking over a mop and bucket. The door was unlocked and she stepped inside.
“Spencer?” Waited a heartbeat. “Jamie?” Another beat.
Okay, sit down and make yourself at home. Sam would want you to.
Leigh sagged onto the sofa and plunked her purse on the floor beside her. She let her head roll against the back of the sofa and stretched her legs. Her head and stomach were still waging war with each other. She couldn’t decide if she’d have to run for the bathroom or take a painkiller.
Painkiller. Again she thought of Janet and shivered. She closed her eyes and let the peacefulness of Sam’s cottage soothe her. Then a voice came from behind.
“I thought you’d come here.”
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
L
EIGH DIDN’T MOVE. She swallowed the acid that had pumped into her mouth when she’d recognized that voice. Very slowly she raised her head and turned it slightly to her right. Janet was standing in the doorway to Sam’s bedroom.
“Hello, Janet,” she said in a tone more matter-of-fact than she’d have thought possible. “Why don’t you come and sit down?”
Janet moved into the room. When she was standing in front of the sofa, Leigh was struck by the flatness of her demeanor. This unexpected meeting was no surprise to her, she thought. “Won’t you sit down?”
And Janet did, pulling up the easy chair adjacent to the sofa as if she’d been living in the cottage all her life. “Did you have a nice lunch?” Janet asked.
Leigh felt another mouthful of bile work its way up from her stomach.
She really is crazy.
“Yes, I did. Trish and Faye were sorry you couldn’t make it.” Especially Faye, she wanted to add, but decided to let Janet take the initiative.
“Another time.” Janet gave a small shrug, then leaned forward to whisper conspiratorially, “There
will
be another time, won’t there?”
“If you like,” she ventured.
It was the right answer. Janet smiled and leaned back in the chair. “I suppose you had a chat with Faye.”
“I did. She told me all about her stay in the hospital.”
“And the rest?”
“The rest, too.”
“Are you angry with me? You said you didn’t want any more secrets between us.”
And this was definitely the mother lode of secrets.
“Not angry. Disappointed, though.”
“Because I don’t look like the mother you expected?”
“I don’t understand what you mean.”
“You wanted a mother and I wanted a daughter. It’s really quite simple.”
She may be crazy,
Leigh thought,
but she’s not stupid.
“I guess you’re right about that. But I wanted the truth, too.”
A trace of a smile crossed Janet’s face. “The truth? If only we knew the truth about anything, Leigh. The truth is I had a daughter years ago and I gave her up for adoption. The truth is I didn’t want to, but my parents forced me to.”
Leigh waited until she was sure Janet had finished. She didn’t want to antagonize her. At the same time it was difficult to sit and listen. “The truth is—” Leigh paused “—your daughter died.”
A flame sparked in Janet’s eyes. Her voice rose in pitch. “My daughter didn’t die! They told me that so I wouldn’t continue with my lawsuit.”
“Lawsuit?”
“To get her back. I took them all to court. My parents, the owners of the home where you were born, the parents who adopted her.”
“The Randalls?”
Janet’s eyes narrowed to slits. She tilted her head slightly, as if sensing a trap. “I know who the Randalls are. Pete and Ellen. They adopted you. They adopted my baby.”
“Tell me more about the lawsuit,” Leigh said. She wondered how much longer she’d have to continue this bizarre conversation.
“They were so scared I’d win, you see. In those days people were just starting to get certain rights. I had the right to change my mind.”
“So you tried to get back your baby?”
“
You
! I tried to get you back, but they told me you’d died. Crib death. You were only four months old. But I didn’t believe them. You were a healthy baby! They lied so I’d drop the lawsuit.”
“And did you?”
Janet’s voice fell to a whisper. “I had no choice. No money. Later, when I fought my parents about it, they put me in the hospital.”
“Where you met Faye.”
“She was nice to me. She told wonderful stories about life here. When I heard about you and the blanket, I knew you were the one. But I had to wait, see. Because the Randalls had taken you.”
“So why didn’t you try to get me back years ago?”
“Because every time I talked about you, they lied to me. Said you were dead. Or else they gave me shock treatment. Then pills. I lost so many days...years.” She broke off, wiping her hand across her eyes.
It was a motion that wrenched at Leigh, in spite of the circumstances.
“Do you know where Spencer is?” Leigh asked.
Janet shook her head.
“Was he here when you arrived?”
“No one was here. There was a note for Jamie, telling him to go to a movie or somewhere. And a ten-dollar bill. I put that in my pocket for safekeeping. Spencer won’t mind.”
“No, I suppose not Listen, are you hungry? Would you like to go out for dinner?’
“Dinner?” Janet smiled broadly. “It’s only three o’clock, Leigh. Besides, didn’t you have a big lunch with Trish?”
“Well, then, I think we’d better go back home now.” Leigh stood up.
“Don’t go, Leigh.”
Leigh stood in front of Janet. She reached for her purse and slung it over her shoulder. “It’s time to go home, Janet.”
“Where’s home?”
“You know. My place.”
“So you’re not going to sell it, after all?”
“I don’t think so.”
“But you’re not going to go off with Spencer, are you? It’s just going to be you and me, together.”
“Sure, Janet.”
Just like the song.
“Come on. We’ll have some iced tea on the veranda.”
Janet rose from the chair, then stopped, wringing her hands. “I don’t know. What if Spencer comes back? Or Jamie? Sam’s gone, at least. He won’t take you from me.” She laughed aloud at the idea.
A chill rode up Leigh’s spine. “Are you sure you haven’t seen Spencer or Jamie?” Suddenly icy fear lodged itself in Leigh’s chest. She felt herself begin to hyperventilate.
Calm down. Stay calm and controlled.
Janet gave a quick cat-with-canary smile. “I might have.”
Making her voice casual was the hardest thing Leigh had done since entering the cottage. “So where are they?”
Janet giggled. “Spencer’s on his way to Hatteras, and Jamie—” she paused “—Jamie’s at an important meeting with someone.”
If only I could believe her,
Leigh thought. She held out a hand. “Come on. It’s stuffy in here. Iced tea and maybe a piece of that lemon cake we had yesterday. Sound good?”
Janet nodded. “It does sound good.” She followed Leigh to the door, but when Leigh placed her hand on the handle, she drew back.
“What is it?”
“I think I’d like to stay here a bit longer. Besides, I’ve left a little surprise for Spencer. He’s coming back here later to fix dinner for you. I want to be sure he gets it.” She giggled behind her hand.
The hairs rose on the back of Leigh’s neck. “What kind of surprise?”
Janet’s smile vanished. “I don’t know that I trust you. I know what it’s like to be in love. That’s how I had you. I believed what he told me, but I was wrong about him. Just the way you were about Spencer years ago. I don’t know the whole story, mind, but I do know you put your faith in him. And he betrayed you!” She was shouting now.
Leigh placed a hand on Janet’s arm. “That’s all in the past. Don’t worry about it.”
The woman shook her head. “I know he hurt you. Men are all the same. They can’t be trusted. Even that boy of his. I heard about that fire. That’s why I thought my little surprise would be so fitting.”
Fear made speech impossible. Leigh waited until it subsided somewhat. In as calm a voice as she could manage, she said, “Why don’t you show me the surprise? Maybe we can stay and enjoy it together.”
Janet smiled coyly. “Maybe. But I think Spencer would be startled to find you here. It was meant just for him.”
“What is it, then? Some special dinner?”
Janet’s eyes narrowed again to slits. “Dinner? Why would I make dinner for him? I told you—he’s planning a romantic dinner for you. That’s what he said before I sent him off on that wild-goose chase to Hatteras.” She laughed at the memory. “If you could’ve seen his truck tear out of your drive and off to the ferry.”
“Maybe he’ll be disappointed if I don’t stay.”
“Why should you care?” Janet’s face flushed. She moved closer to Leigh. “Didn’t you say that from now on it’s going to be just you and me?”
Leigh backed away. “Of course, Janet, and I meant it. I have to tell Spencer, though, don’t I? That it’s all over between us?”
Janet chewed her lip and considered this question. When she looked up, there was triumph in her face. “You don’t have to tell him at all, dear. When he gets the surprise, there’ll be no need for any explanations.”
Nausea rolled up from Leigh’s stomach. Where was the help she was supposed to be getting? Then she realized that help, if it came, would be going to Windswept. She held out a hand to the back of the chair she was standing, next to, steadying herself.
“Janet,” she begged, “I’d really like to see the surprise. So I can share it with you later. Over iced tea on the veranda.”
“Ahhh, that’s sweet, darling. You’re such a thoughtful daughter.” Janet reached out a hand to pat Leigh’s cheek.
Leigh fought to conceal her revulsion and smiled back. Her eyes never wavered from Janet’s.
After a long moment Janet nodded. “All right, then. Come into the bedroom.”
When Janet pushed open Sam’s bedroom door, gasoline fumes wafted out. Leigh coughed, holding her hand across her nose and mouth. Before Janet slammed the door again, Leigh caught a glimpse of a jerrican of gasoline and Sam’s bedding piled in a hummock on his bed.
“What have you done?” She turned to Janet, keeping her voice as neutral as she could.
Janet beamed. “After we’ve had our iced tea and chat, I’m going to come back here and wait for Spencer. He’s expecting you at nine. When I arrive, of course he’ll be disappointed and puzzled.” She thought for a second. “I’ll have to make some excuse to explain why you’re not there. Anyway, I plan to hit him on the head with something—maybe that conch shell over there—and when he’s knocked out, I’ll set the fire in the bedroom. Everyone will think it’s an accident.”
Leigh shook her head. “Not with evidence of gasoline.”
“It doesn’t matter. That’s what’s so perfect about this, you see.” Janet’s smile became cagey. She linked her arm through Leigh’s and drew her toward the screen door leading to the porch. “I found that jerrican outside in Sam’s shed. The police will think Jamie set the fire. Hasn’t he done it before?”
Leigh was so frightened she couldn’t think straight. Her single goal was to get out of Sam’s cottage before some spark accidentally ignited the fumes. She let Janet lead her out to the porch.
“What a pleasure to be going home with my daughter!” Janet squeezed her arm affectionately.
Leigh nodded. Her throat was too tight to speak. Partway down the porch stairs, she thought she heard the squeal of tires. Janet’s fingers dug into her arm.
“Is that a car?”
“Probably someone braking for a rabbit or something on the highway. Don’t worry. Come on, let’s go home.”
But someone was charging through the cypress trees behind Sam’s cottage. There was a shout.
Janet ran back up the stairs to the landing. She shaded her eyes against the sun. The shout came again.
“Leigh!”
“It’s Spencer!” Janet screamed from behind. She reached out a hand and grabbed the back of Leigh’s shirt, clutching it like a drowning person.
Leigh tried to break loose, but Janet was holding on too tightly. She was afraid to pull away in case the older woman fell.
Spencer leaped over the crest of the dune fronting the cypress trees. Sprays of sand plumed into the air behind him. When he reached the bottom of the porch stairs, he was panting. He held on to the railing while he caught his breath.
“You’re early!” Janet accused.
He frowned, looking first at Janet and then at Leigh.
Somehow Leigh found her voice. “Janet said you’d be back later to make dinner for me.”
“What?”
Janet moved to the edge of the stair and pointed a finger at Spencer. “You told me to have Leigh come over about nine for a romantic dinner. That’s what you called it. A
romantic dinner!
You men are all the same. Leading us on.”
Spencer climbed the first step and held out a hand. “Why don’t you come down here to talk, both of you? We can’t carry on a conversation like this.”
He stared at Leigh, but all she could do was nod her head vigorously.
“The three of us aren’t having a conversation. My daughter and I are going home for our own little chat. But now that you’re here, I don’t see why you shouldn’t come inside. I’ll make you some tea.”
“No!” Leigh cried. “He doesn’t want anything, do you, Spencer? He has to get home for Jamie.”

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