A Justified Murder (Medlar Mystery 2)

“No. Gil wanted that but my mom said it was a deal of ‘honor.’ And...”

“And what?” Jack asked.

“Mom said that maybe somed

ay I’d change my mind. I told her I didn’t want a kid hanging around me, but she said I might. I laughed, told her she was crazy.”

There was a pause as Jack and Kate thought of the ramifications of this lack of paperwork.

“What happened after that?” Kate asked.

“Mom and I moved to a nicer place and for years everything was fine. She made me go to rehab now and then but it never worked with me. I had a few jobs but I got bored and quit. Then...” She took a breath. “A year ago in May, Mom... Mom...”

“Passed,” Kate said gently.

“She didn’t even tell me she was sick again! Didn’t tell me the doctor said there was no hope.” Her voice was rising, her eyes filling with tears.

“When did you meet Janet Beeson?” Jack’s tone was gentler than it had been.

“Just a few months ago. After Mom...passed, there wasn’t much money left. I needed to cheer up so I threw a few parties. Not many, but the landlord told me I had to get out. I ended up getting a job as a waitress at a Denny’s and I had a one-room place that—” She took a breath. “Anyway, it was awful, but then one day I walked into the dining room and there sat my mother. Or that’s what I thought. I dropped my tray and screamed. The boss yelled that I had to pay for the broken dishes, but I didn’t care.”

“Was it Janet?” Kate asked.

“Yes, and she looked so much like my mother that I freaked. Her hair was pulled back like Mom’s and she had on a white blouse with a little blue and red scarf around her neck. I gave one like it to Mom when I was eight years old. She wore it all the time. And on the collar was a little butterfly pin like the one I gave Mom when I was eleven.”

“Did you talk to her?” Kate asked.

“Oh yeah. Sure. I was about to finish my shift so we went out to lunch to a real nice place. Talk about angels looking out for you! She was there because of Gil.”

“Gil knew Janet Beeson?” Kate asked. “Socially?”

“She was Sean’s Sunday School teacher and he’d told her—”

“Sean? Do you mean Quinn?” Kate asked. “Gil’s son?”

“I get the name mixed up, but he’s my son too! That’s something Janet taught me. She said a mother has rights and that children need two parents.”

Jack and Kate looked at each other, their eyes asking Why did Janet Beeson do that?

It was as though Zelly understood their silent question. “The boy, Quinn, told Janet he’d been born in Asheville, North Carolina, and that his dad said it was a really pretty place. That’s why Janet was there on vacation, and she was alone and I was alone, so we had a vacation together. I got fired from my job for not showing up, but I didn’t mind because Janet paid for everything. She even paid my back rent. It was like being with my mom again and I told Janet everything. I said I’d been totally sober ever since Mom passed but you know what? My life didn’t get any better. Rehab tells you that if you can just stay sober you’ll suddenly have a wonderful life, but mine was really boring. I hated it.”

They waited for her to say more but she was digging in the bags looking for food. She didn’t seem to like anything she found.

“So Janet offered you a new life?” Kate asked.

“I think it was more me asking her,” Zelly said. She picked up a banana, looked at it as though she’d never seen one before, then tossed it back into the bag. “Janet told me about Gil’s job and showed me photos of the kid’s birthday party. He’s cute and he looked real happy. And I saw pictures of Gil’s new house.” She looked at Jack. “Did you know that he built that house himself?”

“Yes.”

“So anyway, by the time Janet was ready to go back to Florida, I wanted to go with her. She said yes, but I thought...”

“Thought what?” Kate asked.

“That I was going to live with her but she said no.” Zelly leaned forward. “Between you and me, I think she had some secrets she didn’t want anyone to see.”

“So you moved onto my boat,” Jack said.

“Janet said it would be all right because you were Gil’s best friend and you were so busy with your red-haired girlfriend that you never used your boat. Janet said it was sad to waste housing when I needed a place so very much.”