“Is there anything you’re not telling me about Scott?”
“No. I don’t think so.”
“He ever tell you anything about his past?”
“His mother died when he was young. Christa told me she tried to talk to him about his childhood, but he was always guarded about it. He prided himself on being a self-made man.”
Muscles in the back of Brody’s neck tightened. “Where is he, Ms. Bogart?”
“I don’t know. Like I said, I haven’t seen him since the funeral. Have you checked his work?”
“He was fired yesterday. And the GPS on his car and phone aren’t working.”
Her shoulders slumped, as if the weight of the news was too much for her. “I don’t know. I don’t know. He always seemed to care about Christa.”
Brody pulled his card from his pocket and handed it to her. “You call the instant you talk to him or see him, you hear me?”
She accepted the card, nervously flicking the edges with her fingertip. “Did he kill Christa?”
Brody rested his hands on his hips. “I don’t know anything for sure yet, ma’am. But he is number one on my list of people to talk to.”
Two years of thinking and planning and the pieces were coming together for Robbie. Smith had taught him how to plan dozens of steps ahead and it was finally paying off.
Chapter Twenty-One
Friday, April 19, 9:00 A.M.
Jo yawned as she leaned over the kitchen counter, her chin resting on her hand as the coffee machine dripped out her third cup of the day. Her head pounded and her eyes were bloodshot. She couldn’t put in her contact lenses. She’d been with her mother all night and had hoped to coax out more information. She thought once or twice her mother might talk to her but her sister had returned and her mother shut down completely. Her sister had stayed through the early morning hours until their mother had fallen into a deep sleep. Both sisters, at the urging of the nurses, had left just before dawn.
The coffeepot stopped gurgling, and she poured herself a cup, hoping the caffeine kick would get her through the day. She’d finish her coffee. Shower. There’d be paperwork to do at the office for a couple of hours. Shift appointments. Postpone meetings. By noon or one she could get back to the hospital if she hurried.
Her doorbell rang. Annoyed by the unexpected, she took another gulp of coffee, set the mug down and went to the front door. She peered through the peephole and saw her sister standing on her front porch.
Jo groaned. She needed coffee before getting into round two with her sister. She unlatched the door and opened it. “Is Mom okay?”
“Just called the hospital. She’s resting comfortably.” Her sister came in as if she owned the place. “I smell coffee.”
“Made a fresh pot. Would you like a cup?”
“God, yes. But I can’t stay long. I’ve got to get to the salon and get ready for the day.” Ellie followed Jo into the kitchen.
“Can you manage the place by yourself?”
“With my eyes closed. I’ve been working in the place since I was twelve. I’d go back to the hospital, but I know Mom will rest easier if the shop is taken care of.”
Jo poured Ellie a cup of coffee and handed it to her. She dug sugar out of the cabinet and milk out of the refrigerator. Ellie liked her coffee sweet and cut heavily with milk.
While her sister doctored her cup, Jo sipped from her own cup. There’d been a strained truce between Jo and Ellie at the hospital in the early hours but she suspected Ellie was here to finish the argument.
Ellie took a long sip of coffee. “I was a bitch yesterday. I was freaked out about Mom and was still mad about the stuff you’d said about Aaron.”
A heavy weariness settled on her shoulders. “My intent was to protect you from him.”
Ellie frowned into her cup. “I’ve called him several times since we talked, but he’s not answered. I did a little digging on him. Didn’t take much. The story of his wife is everywhere.”
“He’s not a good man, Ellie.”
“I really feel stupid now, Jo. And when I think about our date I realize he was kinda creepy. I brushed it off. Bad habit of mine.”
“What did he say?”
“He railed on about his wife, but a lot of guys bitch about their wives.” She sipped her coffee. “But then he said he hoped wherever she was that she was happy. Maybe near water because she loved the water.”
Jo remembered from Sheila’s file that she’d hated the water. She couldn’t swim and was terrified. And yet she’d been found in water. “I’m sorry.”
Ellie released a sigh as if letting go of a dream. “What’s the deal with you and Mom? And please, Jo, don’t bullshit me. I know there is something simmering between you two.”
“Honestly, Ellie, I don’t know what exactly is going on.” She thought about Smith’s letter and wondered if he’d written it or if Robbie had made another forgery.
“Shit, Jo, I hate being on the outside of this.”
“When I know the whole story the three of us will talk.”
Ellie set her cup on the counter hard. Coffee splashed on her hands. “Mom tried to kill herself yesterday. Mom, the-rock-of-all-rocks, cracked. You must know what is going on.”
“I thought I knew, but I don’t have the whole picture.”
“If there was a big problem, Mom would tell you. She always talked to you about money matters, Daddy’s estate . . . big picture. Our conversations go as deep as perms and hair dyes. But you two. There’s always been a kind of respect. You may drive her crazy, but she respects you.”
Jo grabbed a paper towel and handed it to Ellie.
“You’re more like her than you realize. I’m like Dad. I’m easily fooled. Not you or Mom.”
Jo sighed. “When Mom opens up . . .”
Ellie shook her head. “You’ll keep me out of the loop like always. Big picture Jo. Little picture Ellie. I am not stupid, you know.”
“I never said you were.”
“Not with words but your actions. I can handle what Mom is going through.”
“I don’t know what it is exactly.”
Colorful bracelets jangled on Ellie’s wrist as she threaded her fingers through her hair. “I may not have a huge IQ but I saw things when I was a kid.”
Jo remained silent, not sure if she could speak without betraying emotion.
“I know Mom wanted you in pageants and you hated it. I know you’d try to talk to Dad about a book you read or something you learned. He’d listen and be patient. But he never got it. Never got you.”
“Mom thought the pageants were my ticket to success. And Dad, he was tired after a long day.”
“It was more than that, and you know it. She didn’t push the pageants for you because it was a ticket to success. It was like she was trying to mold you, change you from a brain child into a beauty queen.” She shook her head. “I’m sorry I said you weren’t one of us. You are totally us.”
“Thanks.”
“I tried to imagine what it would be like for me if both our parents were like you.”
“Like me?”
“An egghead.” Her brow rose at Jo’s frown. “What? It’s the truth. You’d rather read a book than get your hair done. God, I can’t imagine a life where I was forced to study all the time.”
Her sister’s
backhanded compliment made Jo smile.
“I’m not as smart as you, Jo, but I’m not stupid. I get that you were out of sync with the family.” She hesitated. “Is Dad your biological father? Is that what this is all about?”
Jo stilled, fearful the smallest change in her facial expression would reveal her own worries.
Ellie sighed. “It’s not the first time I’ve thought it. Only seven months separate their wedding date and your birthday.”
Jo folded her arms over her chest. “We shouldn’t have this conversation without Mom.”
Ellie planed her hands on her narrow hips. “Can’t you take the shrink hat off for a moment and tell me?”
“I can’t talk about what I don’t know. Mom is holding a secret, but I don’t know what it is. I swear to you, I don’t know what it is.”
The tension in Ellie’s body eased. “I can’t believe a paternity test would freak her out like this. Even if Dad were alive, she’d have figured a way around it. She could make him believe anything.”
“Whatever she’s facing now is not easily dismissed.”
Ellie nodded. “We can figure this out together. We can double-team Mom.”
Jo smiled. “I don’t think we should push hard right now. But we need to encourage her to talk.”
“Understood.” She pointed a manicured finger at Jo. “But don’t shut me out, Jo. Let me help you and Mom. Troubles and all, we are all each other has.”
“I know. I know. And when Mom is ready to tell us what drove her to this, I’ll encourage her to include us both.”
“Thanks.” Ellie hugged Jo. “I need to head to the salon. I plan to go back to the hospital around noon.”
“Me too.” Jo squeezed Ellie close.
“See you then?”
“Yes.”
“Okay.”
Jo walked her sister to the door and hugged her again before she watched Ellie head to her car. She waved goodbye and closed the front door.
She’d returned to the kitchen, finished her coffee and poured what remained of Ellie’s coffee down the sink. She’d wiped up the counter when the doorbell rang. Ellie. What have you forgotten? Jo did a quick sweep for Ellie’s bejeweled purse, glasses or wallet but she didn’t see anything.