Charity Begins at Home - Ch. 31-32

Excerpt from Charity Begins at Home by Pat Otterness

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

? Although I enjoyed greeting old friends and acquaintances, after a few hours without a break it began to take its toll. As one group waved good-bye, another pulled into the driveway. By six o’clock, with daylight fading, my energy was at a very low ebb. I’d had nothing to eat or drink since my sandwich and tea too many hours before.

Just when I was sure the procession of guests had ended, another car pulled into my driveway. I blinked in dismay. Who on earth could it be? The car looked familiar.?Of course, I thought, as Pansy Payne stepped out and looked around.

“I’m up here, Pansy,” I called, drawing her attention to the hillside where I was still standing after the departure of several old friends. “It’s too dark to see much,” I told her. Without sunlight, the blooms had lost their vibrant color and become almost monochromatic.

“I didn’t come to see the garden,” said Pansy. “I need to talk to you.” She waited while I came down the hill and closed the gate.

“Is it about Lizzie Beth?” I asked. “Have you seen her?”

“No. I tried, but she’s not allowed to have visitors yet. I couldn’t get anyone to tell me how she’s doing. I’m not a member of her family.”

“Does she?have?any family … someone who should be notified?” I asked her.

“I don’t think so. I think Dusty was all the family she had left.”

This talk had better be short and sweet, I thought. There was no way I was going to ask her to come inside. Tired and hungry, I wanted a meal and a rest, not a heart-to-heart with Lizzie Beth’s pal.

I leaned back against my car, aware of the evening darkening around us.

“What did you want to speak to me about?”

Pansy paced up and down the driveway, coughing and clearing her throat before she spoke. “The barn,” she said at last. “Lizzie Beth was always worried about the barn. Dusty kept it locked – wouldn’t tell her why – wouldn’t let her inside.” Pansy ceased her pacing and looked directly at me for the first time. “Maybe now that Dusty is gone, somebody needs to look in the barn,” she said. “I think Lizzie Beth was?afraid?to look.”

“But it’s locked,” I said. “Maybe you could mention the barn to the Sheriff, Pansy. He may have Dusty’s keys.”

“Oh, no!” Pansy backed away. “No. I don’t want to get involved. I just thought maybe you … you know the deputies … you could get someone to look inside.” She scurried to her car and opened the door. “I have to go,” she said, and did.

I wonder what that’s all about? I thought as I watched the tall, nervous woman drive off into the night.?The barn? Hmm??Maybe I ought to have a look at that barn. I went inside and locked my door.

I was too tired to cook. I popped a TV dinner in the microwave – Stouffer’s Chicken Tetrazzini.?Yum!?When the microwave pinged, I carried my entrée into the dining room and savored its crunchy goodness with a tall glass of iced tea.

The great thing about TV dinners is, there are no dishes to wash. I wanted to keep my kitchen Hiram-clean for as long as possible, so I washed my fork instead of tossing it in the sink. The phone rang just as I was rinsing it.

“Hello?” I said. I started to wipe my wet hand on my shirt, remembered I was wearing a new blouse, and reached for a dishtowel instead.

“Oh Chat! Thank goodness you’re home,” said Merrie. She sounded frantic.

“Merrie, what’s wrong,” I said. “Calm down. Tell me what’s happened.”

“Is Jordan there?” she asked. “I can’t find him anywhere. He’s not answering his cell phone.”

“Jordan?” I said. “No, he’s not here, Merrie. Are you worried about him?”

“No-o-o,” said Merrie. “It’s Hermione. Someone has to stop her.” Merrie was sobbing now.

“What are you talking about, Merrie? Stop crying and tell me what’s going on.” I used my no-nonsense Mom voice.

There was sniffling from the other end of the wire. Then, “Hermione has decided to abort her baby, Chat. She says she can’t bear to lose Harrison. Chat, if she does this, it will break her heart. Can you talk to her?”

????????????“I can do better than that,” I said. “She’s not going to do it tonight, is she?” Surely there was nowhere that did evening abortions on demand. Certainly not in conservative Amherst county.

“No, not tonight,” said Merrie. “Tomorrow … tomorrow she’s going to make an appointment. I don’t know how soon they’ll take her.”

“Okay, that’s fine,” I said, speaking calmly. Merrie must be as upset as Hermione. “Now listen. You just stay with her. Try to get her mind on something else. Rent a movie or something. She may change her mind by tomorrow. I’ll see what I can do to help.”

“Thank you,” said Merrie. “I’d better get back to her.”

“Order in pizza,” I said. “Hermione loves pizza.”

????????????Merrie laughed shakily. “Right! Bye, Chat.”

There goes my evening, I thought as I put the phone to my ear again and dialed a familiar number. “Harrison,” I said to the electronic voice that asked for my message, “this is Chat. Call me the?second?you get this message.”?You incredible jerk!?I hung up the phone.

Cheated of an opportunity to yell at Harrison, I fumed and paced. How could I help prevent Hermione from making a mistake she would regret later. She?wanted?this baby. …?a lot?… but I guess she wanted Harrison more.

I heard a car door slam, followed by a knock on my door. Not more visitors, I thought. With a deep sigh, I opened the door. “Jordan? What are you doing here?”?Uh-oh!?He had on his Sheriff’s Investigator face, the one that always brought out the worst in me.

“I’m responding to a phone message from you,” said Hunt. “A message admitting you removed evidence from the Kace home last night.” His green eyes were icy now, not warm and kind. Definitely not sexy. “Hell, Chat! I was right across the street! Why didn’t you call me?”

“Come on in,” I said, stepping back so he could enter.

He moved with me, and remained right in my face, red-faced and angry. Too close. It was all I could do to keep my hands off him. Now?that?was chemistry! I stepped back again, and put a chair between us.

“Jordan … or Investigator, if you’d prefer,” I said, “I’m tired. I’ve had a long day, and I expect you have too. Can’t we sit down and discuss this like adults?”

“No, Miz Chance, we can’t,” said Hunt. “It seems that?one of us?can’t behave like an adult.”

I’ll bet he means me, I thought, walking into the living room and forcing him to trail behind me. “Have a seat, Investigator Hunt. I’ll get the items I took from Harrison’s house.” I left him looking around in amazement at the cat-hair-free chairs, the gleaming furniture, the dazzling absence of clutter.

“What happened here?” asked Hunt. “Was there a robbery? Did Martha Stewart break in and haul everything away?”

“Hiram said he could have made a whole new cat with the hair he vacuumed up,” I explained. We looked into each others eyes for a long moment and both burst out laughing.

“Hiram did this?” said Hunt. “He must have been desperate for a clean spot to sit.” A grin.

“Jordan,” I said. “I’m sorry. Last night was traumatic for Hermione. I would have told you then if she hadn’t been so distraught.” I handed him the items I’d taken from Buddy Tucker’s rucksack.

“I know,” he said. “Merrie was upset, too. She’s barely spoken to me.”

“That reminds me,” I said. “Is your phone turned off? Merrie called here a while ago looking for you.”

He pulled the phone from his belt. “Looks like the battery’s dead,” he said. “How did that happen?” He frowned at the phone, then clipped it back on his belt. “Did she say why she wanted me?”

“I’ll let her tell you when you get home,” I said. “It was about Hermione.”

“Oh,” said Jordan. “I guess that can wait.” He set the bus ticket aside and looked closely at the medallion. “This looks like the one that was found in your garden.”

“I thought so, too,” I said. “That’s why I took Buddy’s things. I thought you should see them.”

“Where were they?” Hunt examined the two envelopes, then pulled a letter from one of them. “This is from someone called Tammy, inviting Buddy for a visit,” he said.

“Umm … Hermione?is?Tammy … or?was?Tammy,” I said. She changed her name legally. I guess the letter is from her.” Jordan passed the letter to me and I read it. It was a simple, sweet letter to a brother she loved and missed. I felt myself tearing up.

“Aha!” said Hunt, reading the second letter. Looking up, he smiled broadly. “Fantastic!” he said. “This helps explain Buddy’s death.”

“Who is it from?” I said, holding out my hand for the letter.

“Can’t tell you right now, Chat,” Jordan said, refolding the letter and sliding it into his pocket. “I need to take this to the Sheriff. This letter is evidence. It needs to be logged in.” He stood to go.

“I can’t believe you’re shutting me out again,” I said. “I should have?read?those letters before I called you!” I glared at him, furious at being excluded.

“Don’t be that way,” said Jordan. He pulled me into an awkward one-armed hug and dropped a brotherly kiss on my forehead. “Behave yourself. Let?me?do the detecting.” And just like that, he was gone.

?CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

? “Who’s the hunk that just left here?” asked my sister Hope when I opened the door to her a few moments later. “A new man in your life?” She waggled her eyebrows suggestively.

“Don’t I wish,” I said. “He’s a Sheriff’s Investigator … and he’s already taken.” I shut the door and led my sister into the living room.

“Isn’t that some sort of … detective?” said Hope. “Well, don’t despair. There’s a cute little man outside in the bushes. I believe he thinks he’s hiding. Is?he?yours?”

“That one you can have for the taking,” I said. “What are you doing here?”

“I came to see the garden, of course. I needed to pick up Rick’s shirts, too. Okay if I spend the night?”?A rhetorical question? Hope looked around. Her eyes widened. “What on earth has happened here?” she said.

“It’s a long story, and I’m too tired to tell it tonight,” I said. “The short answer is ‘no, I didn’t do it myself’. Okay?”

“No need to be snippy,” said Hope. She plopped down on the clutter-free couch and slipped out of her shoes. “I’m on my way home from Charlotte,” she said. “You remember my old roommate, Gloria? I’ve been staying with her this week. New baby- her first – which is no small thing after forty, let me tell you.”

“Oh, God! Don’t remind me,” I said.

“What, you’re not pregnant, are you?”

I scowled at her. “No, but Hermione is.”

“Uh-oh! Is Harrison pleased?”

“Yes, he’s eager for another child.”

“Sarcasm doesn’t become you,” said my sister.

“I’ve been chosen to talk Harrison down off the ledge,” I said. “Hermione is taking his tirade badly. She’s actually planning to do his bidding in order to keep his love.”

“Love? Harrison? Surely you jest. You mean she’d abort her baby to keep that selfish moron?”

“Aptly said, dear sister. And my mission, should I choose to accept it, is to see that that doesn’t happen. Excuse me a minute. I need to make a call.”

“Hello, Blanche,” I said. “This is Chat Chance.” I exchanged the usual greeting small-talk with Alan Cook’s mother. “Blanche, I need a favor,” I said. “Didn’t you tell me that Harrison Kace was your dentist?”

“Yes, that’s true, Chat,” said Alan Cook’s mother. “What’s the favor?”

“Can you think of an excuse to be in his office tomorrow? If money is involved, I’ll pay whatever it costs.”

“I can do that, of course, but why?” said Blanche.

I filled her in on the situation. “Don’t tell anyone about this …?please,” I said. “I need you for damage control.”

“How will a dental visit help?” she asked.

“Here’s what I want you to do. When you first go in, tell his receptionist how happy you are to hear about the baby. She won’t know, of course, but she’ll be thrilled. Other patients in the waiting room will hear the two of you, and they’ll congratulate him later. When you actually see him, tell him everyone is talking about it. Mention how much Hermione has wanted his baby. Not ‘a’ baby. Be sure you say ‘his’,” I said.

“Wow! You’ve thought this out, haven’t you?” said Blanche.

“Let’s say I’ve had previous experience. Will you do it?”

“Of course I will, Chat. I’ll call first thing in the morning.”

“I owe you one,” I said, and rang off.

“Devious as ever,” said Hope.

“I do my best. Do you want something to eat before bed?”

While we munched on cookies and milk at the kitchen table, I brought my sister up to date on the week’s happenings.

“I can’t believe all this has been going on and I never heard a peep,” she said. “Do your kids know?”

“No, and don’t you dare tell them. They’re getting ready for exams. I’ll tell them all about it when exams are done. By then, maybe it will all be over with.”

“So that’s why the hunky cop was here? Too bad. I was hoping you had a new man in your life.”

You and me both. “Don’t call him a cop. He’s a Sheriff’s Investigator, and he’s in my life all right … at least until this case is solved.”

I watched as my younger sister washed our milk glasses and put them in the drainer. It amazed me the way this came naturally to her. I had to overcome all kinds of inner resistance to complete the same simple task.

We parted at the foot of the steps, and Hope made her way upstairs alone. I heard a squawk, and called up to see what the problem was.

“Chat!” said Hope, “Come up here!”

Curious, I climbed the stairs and gazed in awe at the cluster of junk piled in the hallway. Well, now I knew what Hiram had done with my clutter. “I see,” I said. “I guess it’s better here than downstairs.”

“Are there any more surprises,” Hope asked.

“Look, I didn’t put it there, okay? The guy who cleaned for me must have moved it here to get it out of the way.”

“Guy??You had a?guy?clean your house?”

“The man outside in the bushes,” I said. “He did it.”

Hope shook her head and marched into the guest room. I heard a shriek … a?male?shriek.

Oh, God! What now??I followed the racket and found my sister verbally abusing a half-naked Chance Cassidy.

“Hello Chance,” I said. “I see you’ve made yourself right at home. Hope, this is my neighbor, Chance Cassidy. Chance, my sister Hope.”

There were no “pleased-to-meet-you”s exchanged.

“I can explain,” said Chance, drawing the sheet tighter around his torso..

“And you?will,” I said, “Believe me, you?will. Put on some clothes and come downstairs,” I told him. “Come on, Hope.” We left Chance to cover himself and went back down the steps. “Wait here,” I told her. “Something I have to do.” I stepped outside and beckoned to not-so-hidden Hiram. “Come inside, Harm,” I said. “There’s someone I want you to meet.”

When Chance finally emerged from the stairwell, Hiram was there to meet him. Startled, Chance jumped back, but it was too late. Hiram grabbed him with both hands and pulled him into a bear hug that seemed to squeeze all the air out of him.

“I thought you’d be mad,” said Chance, pulling free from Hiram’s embrace.

“I?am?mad,” Hiram said. “But I’m happy you’re alive and safe. I can save the mad for later.”

“I seen you out in them bushes,” Chance said. “You cain’t hide worth shit, Harm.”

“Maybe I?wanted?you to see me.”

“Mebbe you hide like a little girl.”

The two old friends grinned at each other. There was a lot of back-slapping and verbal skirmishing. “When you’re done, boys, I need to talk to you,” I said. Hope and I left them to it.

“You didn’t introduce me to bush-boy,” said Hope.

“Well, I introduced you to Chance, and you didn’t act pleased to meet him. Why did he shriek when he saw you?”

“I flipped on the light, and saw this strange man lying on the bed stark naked with his eyes closed. I said ‘nice package’, and his eyes flew open … it was really funny,” Hope said.

“Weren’t you frightened to see a naked man … a stranger … in my house?” I said.

“Well, it’s been a long time since I?saw?a naked man,” said Hope. “Besides, I thought maybe?you?knew him. I was right, too, wasn’t I?”

“I don’t know how you lived to grow up,” I said, grinning and shaking my head. “Lord knows what Chance made of that.”

“I’ll bet he doesn’t forget me in a hurry,” laughed my sister.

“I’ll bet he doesn’t either,” I said. “You’ll be figuring in his fantasies for years to come.”

“Where am I going to sleep?” said Hope. “I’m not sharing a bed with?him.”

“He’ll be so disappointed,” I said. “Don’t worry, I’m going to send him home with Hiram. If you want, you can go ahead and put clean sheets on the bed.” I went to the linen closet and handed her a set of fresh sheets.

“Here, I’ll do that for you,” said Hiram, who had just entered the room. He plucked the sheets out of Hope’s hands and left again.

“Is he for real?” asked Hope.

“Afraid so,” I said. “Get used to it. I’d better go talk to Chance. Why don’t you go upstairs and help Hiram? Get to know him better.”

“Okay, why not?” said Hope. She trailed after Hiram, and I went into the kitchen to find Chance.

As I expected, his head was in the refrigerator. “Okay, Chance,” I said. “You’ve got some explaining to do. Get your head out of the fridge and tell me why you did this.”

Chance backed out of the refrigerator with an orange he’d unearthed from somewhere. I don’t even eat oranges. Maybe it was Hiram’s. Anyway, he joined me at the table and began peeling the orange with his thumb.

“I did somethin’ real bad a while back,” he said. “I borried a bunch of money against the mortgage we had on Harm’s business. See, we sort of owned it together. I had the greenhouse side, and he had the nail salon, but it was all one mortgage.”

“Okay,” I said. “You borrowed a lot of money. Then what?”

“Well … I bought me?this?place, you see, to grow my daylilies. You know how pretty it is here on the creek. I had my heart set on it, but I didn’t plan too well. I had to pay way too much, right off, ‘cause the owners didn’t want to sell. Had to borrie money from some other folks, too, so I could build my house.” Chance looked to see if I was following his story.

“So what happened?” I said. “What went wrong?”

“I couldn’t meet the payments on that big mortgage,” Chance said. “See, I didn’t tell Harm what I done, so he never knew ‘til it was too late.”

“So he lost his business?”

Chance nodded. “His house, too, ‘cause he sold it to try to meet the mortgage … but it was too late.”

“Sounds like you screwed him over pretty good,” I said.

Chance reddened. “When I heard he was on his way here, I thought he’d be mad. You ever seen Harm when he’s mad?”

“Nope, I never have,” I said.

“Hope you never do,” said Chance. “Harm’ll surprise you. He’s got a whole other side to him you ain’t never seen. I don’t like to cross him, and that’s a fact.”

I tried to imagine a scary Hiram, and came up empty. “Is that why you were hiding??From?Hiram?”

“From him and some other guys I owe money to. Kenny Byrd come up here from Texas lookin’ for me. I think he wants?his?payment in blood.”

“What did you think you’d gain by hiding? “

“I wanted Harm to see how nice it is on the creek,” said Chance. “Wanted him to start lovin’ it, so he’d understand why I done what I done. Thought it’d give him time to cool off, too, so’s he wouldn’t be so mad at me.”

“You planning to make it right with him?” I asked.

“I don’t rightly know how.” Chance shrugged. “What can I do?” He pulled a section of orange free and put it in his mouth. Juice dribbled out at the sides. He wiped it away with a sleeve.

“You were partners, right?” I said. “Owned the two businesses together?”

“Yep!”

“Well … make him your partner again. Fifty-fifty. Put his name on the mortgage for your place here. That seems fair to me.”

Chance’s face brightened. “I could do that,” he said.

“Talk to Hiram about it. The two of you can work something out.”

“I’ll do it,” he said, his enthusiasm growing. “But what about Kenny and them others?” His smile changed to a frown.

“Talk to Hiram about that, too,” I said. “He’s smart. He’ll come up with something.”

“Harm’s good people,” said Chance, taking another orange section.

“Yes, he is,” I said. “And Chance … you owe me! You can’t just be breaking into my house and making yourself at home.”

“I’ll make it up to you, Chat,” he said. “What can I do to make it right?”

“Tomorrow,” I said, “I want you to pick a lock.”