When he went to the back of the car to get the basket, Kate followed him, Sara close behind her. “You think something is wrong, too, don’t you?”
Jack lowered his voice. “My instinct says that doctor is so protective of this place that if she found a body with a knife in its heart, she’d remove it and sew up the wound.”
“To protect the reputation of her worthy establishment.” Sara’s voice held disgust. “There were cameras in that entry hall. Every visitor was caught on film. I’d really like to see those tapes.”
Kate pulled the picnic basket forward. “When I went down the hall, I saw a room that said Video on it. Maybe we could...” She didn’t finish her sentence.
Jack looked from one to the other. “No.” His voice was calm and very firm. “Whatever you two are thinking, it’s no. Leave this to me and I’ll figure it out.”
As Sara and Kate took the handles of the basket, they headed toward the side of the building that contained the video room. But neither said a word. Jack stood over them as the women spread the cloth on the ground and began pulling food out of the basket.
It was only half-empty when Jack reached inside, withdrew a dark green notebook and handed it to Sara. “Why don’t you write what’s in your mind?” His voice didn’t allow any argument, and he didn’t step back until she was leaning against a palm tree, notebook in hand.
He picked up a couple of plastic-wrapped sandwiches and a cold bottle of white wine. He nodded for Kate to get the glasses and a corkscrew. Silently, they walked away until they came to a bench nearly hidden in the shade. It was on the edge of the canal that encircled the property.
Jack motioned for her to take a seat. He sat down at the opposite end of the bench, opened the wine and filled their glasses. “Have you changed your opinion of me yet or have I reinforced what you were told?”
Kate unwrapped a sandwich. Both halves of a thick French loaf were too many calories for her. She handed Jack the top half of the bread and he took it. “You think Aunt Sara will be all right?” she asked, ignoring his question.
“She will now.” He leaned far to his left so he could see around the shrubs. “Writing calms her.” He was staring at Kate, waiting for her answer, but she didn’t know what to say.
“When you first got here, I asked you who you’d talked to so I’d get an idea of what you’d been told about me. Stewart lived with a judge who despised Roy. Bessie used to work for the family. Tayla likes me but she’s scared of Sara.”
“Don’t forget Melissa.”
“How could I?” He gave a half smile. “If I piece it all together, my guess is that you were probably told that I’m a parasite who is after your aunt’s money.”
There was no answer Kate could give to that but affirmative, so she bit into her sandwich and looked at the water.
“I think I should tell you about Sara and me, about how we got together.”
“You don’t have to,” she said. “I came on too strong last night. With the booze and negative words after a pleasant evening, I broke. You didn’t deserve all that I said, and I can see that you and Aunt Sara care about each other.”
“It’s more than that,” he said. “I owe my life to her. And so do my mom and Ivy and—and Evan.”
When he paused, she said, “Go on. I love stories.”
He smiled. “Runs in your family. I’ll start by saying that Sara showing up in person when my family needed her the most was a cosmic happening. Fate. The stars aligning. Whateve
r it was, it all changed on Friday afternoon, the week of June the twenty-first, 2004. You see, Sara’s mother died the same week as my dad and they were buried the same day. Half the town came out for his funeral.”
“This was Henry Lowell.”
He was pleased that she hadn’t said Roy.
“What about Aunt Sara’s mother? Were many people there at my—my grandmother’s funeral?”
“Sorry, but no. Only Sara attended.” He gave a small smile. “Afterward, she said that that was the only time her mother ever did—” Jack rethought telling that part.
“What did Aunt Sara say?”
“That it was the only time in her life when her mother did something good for her.”
“Yeow! Not a nice lady?”
“No, she wasn’t,” Jack said. “But then, Sara’s hate-filled mother and Cal’s mean-tempered father were what bonded them.”
“Every cloud has a silver lining, that kind of thing?”