“Tayla was coming,” Jack said.
“Yes, that was it. The problem and the solution all in one person. Tayla was supposed to arrive about two hours after the parents left.” Leland grimaced. “That whole damned family loves to dump responsibility onto Tayla. They think she can do anything, that she can solve any problem. So they turned over a frightened, half-crazy teenager to her—but they’d kept the whole pregnancy secret from her. Tayla walked into a monumental problem knowing nothing about any of it!” He got up, went to the window, and looked out for a moment.
When he turned back, he was calmer and he sat back down. “To be fair, I think Charlene actually believed she was okay. When Tayla left a message saying she’d be a day late, Charlene decided to get out of the house. She felt so good that as she left, she pulled up a bunch of flowers from a pot by the door.”
“Lilies of the valley,” Kate said.
Leland nodded. “Charlene slipped them into her pocket, then caught a bus to downtown. When she saw the sale signs at the store, she went inside. But...” He looked up, his eyes bleak. “Right away, she saw the children’s department. Infant wear.” He paused for a moment. “I think that’s when she realized what she’d lost. She was holding an outfit for a little boy, for her son, when suddenly boxes and racks collapsed.”
“And there was the baby,” Sara said.
“Yes,” Leland said. “A baby in a stroller, crying in fear at the noise, stopped at her feet. On its dress was embroidered lilies of the valley. It seemed to be fate. She picked the child up, put the flowers in the stroller, and went into the restroom. She changed the baby into boy’s clothes, then fed it, nursed it. She was a mother and that’s what mothers do.” Tears were rolling down Leland’s cheeks. “Charlene doesn’t remember hearing any sirens. It was just her and the baby.”
“And that’s how Chet saw her,” Sara said. “As a young woman who had found her soul.”
“That’s probably a very good description. I asked but she doesn’t remember seeing anyone.”
“How did she get the baby out?” Sara asked.
“The child went to sleep after it had nursed. Charlene held her under her big shirt and it looked like she was pregnant. She told the young police officer at the door that she was having contractions. He got her a taxi.”
“Sorry to say this,” Jack said, “but if she could come up with that lie, it sounds like she was beginning to realize what she was doing.”
“Yeah.” Leland’s eyes were downcast. “That’s exactly what the lawyer in me thought.”
“I don’t think Chet knew about a pregnant woman leaving the store,” Sara said.
“Probably another rookie afraid he’d screwed up,” Jack said. “Like Chet, he was afraid to tell anyone what he’d done.”
“What about Tayla?” Kate asked.
“By the time she got to Atlanta, Charlene was...was...”
“Living in a dreamworld?” Sara asked.
“That’s being kind,” Leland said. “She thought the baby was hers and for a while, so did Tayla. When she realized what was going on... I give it to Tayla. It was a miracle that she managed to stay calm. She left the baby at a fire station, then she took Charlene home to Philadelphia with her. They never told anyone what happened. At least not until right before we married, then Charlene told me.”
“And how did you react?” Sara asked.
“Shocked but it didn’t change my mind about her. Love is love.”
Sara was smiling at him.
“Looks like the family was right,” Kate said. “Tayla did fix the problem.”
“Right now, it doesn’t feel like it was ever fixed,” Leland said. “All the secrets were hidden inside a tin box that a vicious old woman went searching for.”
For a moment, they were all quiet.
Jack spoke up. “Did Sylvia remodel the house?”
“How would I know that?” Leland was puzzled by the incongruous question.
“It might explain some things,” Jack said softly.
“I don’t know...” Leland wiped his eyes. “No. Wait. One time Tayla made a remark about Sylvia’s new kitchen. It seemed to puzzle her. She said that when Sylvia bought the house she’d liked the kitchen very much, so why did she tear it out?”
When they were silent, Kate whispered, “Was my father...?”