Under the Moon's Shadow (34 page)

As she got ready for bed that evening, she thought back over her day with genuine pleasure. It had been months in coming, but she finally felt like herself again, and the road wasn’t calling her name for once. The last thought to cross Beth’s mind before she dropped off into a peaceful sleep that was maybe she had found her stopping place.

Chapter Forty Eight

The jail was dark and cold.  The January chill seeped in, despite the building being relatively new. As Ruby Sloane huddled underneath scratchy blankets, her mind raced. She was fuming over the article she’d read earlier that day. It was an editorial travel piece Beth Hudson had written, detailing the charm of New Mexico. The thought of the spoiled little bitch out gallivanting around the country when she should have been lying dead and cold in an icy grave literally made Ruby see red.

If things had gone the way they should have, Ruby would be the one out in the world, and the Hudson family would be suffering the way her own was now. She gave an instant’s consideration to accepting a plea deal the way her attorney had advised, but rejected it. She wouldn’t cower before the God-almighty powerful Hudson family and their cronies.

As she rolled onto her back, she thought about how she could punish the Hudsons further, discounting any suffering they had endured from the shooting as trivial. She had friends on the inside of the jail, many more than the average prisoner. Half the people incarcerated with her had come through the public defender’s office, and she had always treated them well.

Running through the list of who was present in her mind, she singled out a few who might be able to give her the answers she sought. As another cold draft brushed up alongside her cot, she pulled the blankets tighter around her body, a smile on her lips as she drifted off to sleep. She might be behind bars, but that didn’t mean Beth Hudson wouldn’t still get what was coming to her.

Chapter Forty Nine

When Beth went down to breakfast Friday morning a week after she’d arrived in Santa Fe, she was surprised to see a small frown on Hannah’s face. It was the first time she had seen anything other than a pleasant smile from her new friend, and Beth hurried to ask what was wrong.

Grimacing, Hannah answered, an angry flush spread across her cheeks. “I’m afraid I have some bad news. The B & B’s owner just called and told me that he’s booked every single guest room for the next two months. Some big-shot Hollywood director stayed here last year with his wife, and he’s coming to town to direct a movie next week. He wants the whole inn for the duration of the time, and the owner assured him that wouldn’t be a problem. Come Monday, you’re going to be out of a room.”

“I see.” Beth bit her lip. “Well, it isn’t like I could stay here indefinitely to begin with, but I hadn’t planned on moving on quite so soon. I feel more at peace in Santa Fe than I’ve felt in a long time, since even before the shooting.” Beth had told Hannah about the ordeal over lunch earlier in the week. “Do you know of any decent hotels or inns that rent rooms by the month? I’m not sure how long I’ll be here, but I don’t want to leave for another couple of weeks anyhow.”

Hannah eyed her with consideration, tilting her head to the side. “What about an apartment?”

“That would be even better, as long as there were some decent places for take-out food nearby. What are you thinking?”

“One of the apartments where I live has just come open, and it’s furnished. I think it even has a washer and dryer. The owner, Connie, does rent from month to month sometimes, and it’s in a decent neighborhood that’s close to everything.”

Beth’s eyes lit up. “It sounds perfect. How do I get in touch with this lady?”

Hannah grabbed the cordless phone from the desk and punched in a number. “I’ll see if she’s busy this morning, and if she isn’t, I’ll send you over there.” When the call was answered, she asked about the apartment. She gave Beth a thumbs up.

“Okay, I’ll send her over now.” Hannah hung up and reached for a piece of paper. “Connie will be glad to see you. I’ll write the address down.” Adding in the owner’s phone number, she handed it to Beth. As she told her how to reach the small complex from the B&B, she grinned.

“It’d be nice to have you as a neighbor. I’ll bet Connie would even teach you how to cook if you wanted. She’s retired and thinks mothering all of her residents is her job now.”

Beth laughed as she thought about her lack of skills in the kitchen. “She would more than have her work cut out trying to teach me how to cook. I’ll head on over there now. Thanks for the info.” She shrugged into her coat and hurried to the front door with Hannah following close behind her.

“What about breakfast?”

“I’ll pick something up. I’m not really that hungry this morning, anyhow.”

With a happy wave, she headed out to the Beast, eager to see the apartment. Even with the heavy morning traffic, it only took ten minutes to reach the small, U-shaped complex. Located in a cul-de-sac off a quiet street, the complex was small, only twelve adobe units. They were all one story, and the parking lot formed a courtyard in the middle.

After parking in an empty spot in front of the unit Hannah had specified, Beth got out. The quiet struck her immediately. The units themselves were very well kept, each apartment having its resident’s individual stamp. Walking to the front door, she rang the bell and waited. Within a minute, the door was opened by a tall, older lady of indeterminate age.

“Connie? Hannah sent me over. Beth Hudson,” she said as she held her hand out.

With a quick smile, Connie shook Beth’s hand with a firm grip and invited her inside. “I need to grab my coat and shoes, and I’ll take you over. You aren’t from here, are you?”

“No, I’m from Indiana.”

Ready to go, Connie led Beth across the courtyard toward the first unit in the complex. “Long way from home. How long have you been in Santa Fe?” They reached the apartment, and she unlocked the door. She pushed it open and let Beth go in first while she followed behind and flipped on lights.

“I’ve only been here a week or so.” Looking around the apartment, Beth was pleased with what she saw. The unit was small but tidy, opening into a small hall with a half bath immediately on the left. She walked straight ahead into the combination living/dining room, and glanced into the kitchen on her right. As Hannah had thought, the unit did contain a washer and dryer, tucked into the pantry on one end of the kitchen.

“How long are you planning on staying?”

“I’m not really sure. At least a couple more weeks, but probably longer. Hannah mentioned that you might consider renting month-to-month?”

Connie nodded. “Yes, but it’s more expensive than if you sign a six-month lease. Plus, I require an extra deposit in addition to the security deposit, if you’re wanting month-to-month.  That’s non-refundable.” She named a figure that was more than fair in Beth’s estimation. “Water, sewer, and garbage collection are included. You’re on your own as far as electricity and cable are concerned.”

“Do you have high-speed Internet available here?”

She assured Beth they did. “What brings you to New Mexico? Work?”

“No. Life, I guess you could say. I needed to spend some time on my own, and this is where I ended up. Bedroom through here?” She pointed to the short hall that led off the living room.

“Yep, and full bath. Go ahead and look.” The mattress and box spring were missing from the bedroom. Connie followed her into the room and explained.

“The tenant who was renting this apartment had one of those fancy, special-order mattresses with all the bells and whistles. The rest of the apartment is furnished, but you would have to provide your own bed.” She watched as Beth walked to the window, pulled the curtain aside, and looked out at the view of the mountains.

“How soon could I take it?”

“You could move in today as far as I’m concerned,” the older woman said. “I’ll have you do an application, and I’ll run a quick background check on you. If you get me the deposits plus first month’s rent, it’s yours. The electricity is already on, but you’d have to call and have it put in your name. Cable and phone are up to you.”

They walked back out into the living room and Beth smiled. “I’ll take it, but I’d like to do month-to-month if that’s okay.”

“Whatever makes you happy. Come on back over to my apartment and I’ll get you that application.”

As she locked the door, Beth stood on the small covered stoop and drew in a lungful of the fresh air and let it out slowly. It was still cold, but the sun was shining, and the sky was a deep blue that made everything underneath it seem bigger. There was something about Santa Fe that called to her, and she was determined to stay as long as she could and give the serenity a chance to work its magic.

~ * * * ~

To her surprise, her mother took the news about the apartment in stride, instead of responding with the concerns Beth thought she was sure to have. When she asked Jackie about her change of heart, she assured Beth she was still waiting for her to return home.

“I have every hope that you’ll come home someday in the not too distant future, but I can hear the change in your voice, read it in your articles and on your blog. You’re healing, and I am not about to argue against anything that brings my daughter back to me.”

Chapter Fifty

As January slid into February and Beth settled in at the apartment, she realized her mother had been right in her assessment - she was healing. Along with her enjoyment of life returning, she managed to acknowledge and deal with the anger and hurt she felt, pouring out her pain in letters she would never send. It was a therapy technique Sharon had recommended, and Beth found it to be very cathartic. She wrote several letters to Ethan, some filled with love, some filled with anger and loathing. At the end of the week, she would sit next to the small fireplace in her apartment and re-read each letter, opening her emotions and laying them bare without fear of reprisal. It was a ritual that usually required a good portion of a box of tissues, and afterward, she burned the letters one by one. As the smoke rose from the chimney, she let her demons go with it.

Her friendship with Hannah grew quickly.  It served as reminder of how much she missed Lauren and Annie. The three friends kept in touch via phone and email, but it wasn’t the same as being able to sit down and talk over a pint of ice cream. Hannah’s six-year-old son, Paulo, had quickly captured Beth’s heart, and Hannah swore Beth had done the same to him. He was a dark angel with black hair and eyes, a ready grin, and a laugh so contagious that strangers smiled when they heard it. On a handful of occasions when Hannah had been running late and Paulo’s regular babysitter had been unable to keep him, Beth had gladly stepped in to watch him.

She was honest enough to admit to herself that the boy made her think of Ethan and of the child they might have had, but she loved Paulo for himself and not because he represented a nebulous what might have been.

Additionally, Connie had indeed endeavored to teach her to cook, much as Hannah had said she would. Beth was not yet a master in the kitchen by any means, but she was learning to make simple dishes well, and Connie assured her that competency would come with practice.

Although the apartment had come furnished, there were a few essentials Beth still needed. Good cookware was one of those, now that she was using the stove for more than heating water for tea or ramen noodles. Connie had impressed upon her the importance of carefully selecting quality tools for the kitchen, and the three women had turned the quest for housewares into a shopping expedition. Beth had also needed to supplement her meager wardrobe, and the ladies turned her on to several excellent thrift shops and used clothing stores.

For the first time since the shooting, her appearance mattered to her, and she quickly started adding key vintage pieces to her closet from the shops she now frequented. Her hair had grown out into a sleek bob that brushed her shoulders, and she decided the new style suited the personality she was growing into. She had finally acknowledged that she would never be the same person she had been before the shooting, and to her surprise, she was okay with that.

Her uniqueness was still there - the flair for vintage clothing, the quirky sense of humor, and the love of a good debate, but she had matured. Her sharper edges had been smoothed down, and she found herself becoming much more introspective than she ever had been.

In the past, she had been a restless soul, always looking for the next story and not really taking time to enjoy the place where she was. Now, most of that restlessness was gone, tempered into a strong curiosity that afforded Beth the ability to sit back and relax, living in the moment.

Chapter Fifty One

Hannah’s birthday was at the end of February, and Connie decided to host a small party in her apartment to celebrate. Several of the complex’s other residents attended, and the party was a blast. Even though it was a Friday night, all the guests had left by eleven o’clock, leaving Hannah and Beth at Connie’s with the leftover cake and wine, and absolutely no desire to call it a night. Paulo was at a sleepover, and by mutual decision, the birthday party became a girls’ night in.

As Connie passed around an exceptional bottle of local wine, tongues loosened and secrets came out. Beth learned that Connie was a lesbian and had been in a long-term relationship with the love of her life until three years ago when the woman had died.