After Poppy had had Chase, almost any onlooker would have been excused for assuming that life had settled down for these two former wild kids.
Not so.
Though I’d always liked Poppy, and had often admired her terrifying habit of saying exactly what she thought, I didn’t approve of some aspects of her marriage. To me, marriage is the chance to put away the trappings of a single life and concentrate on making one good thing work really well. The cornerstone of this would have to be-in my view-faithfulness. There have to be some assumptions you make when you agree to bind your life to another person’s, and the basic assumption and maybe the most important of all is that this person will get your exclusive attention.
Poppy had had at least two flings that I knew about, and I would not have been surprised to hear there had been more. I had tried-real hard-not to judge Poppy, to enjoy the part of her I liked and ignore the part that made me queasy. I behaved this way for several reasons. The most important reason was that I was also bound to her by marriage, my mother’s marriage, and to make a family work, you have to be willing to keep your mouth shut and park your judgments by the door. The last thing in the world I wanted to do was complicate my mother’s life by causing trouble in our new family.
Another reason was my attempt to live my religion. When I’d dated our priest, Aubrey, he’d commented once or twice on my ardent wish not to cause trouble by speaking up about other people’s behavior. “You have to take a stand for what you believe,” he’d said. Well, that was true. What was the point of having beliefs if you didn’t express them and live them?
“I don’t have to take a stand by telling other people they’re wrong,” I’d protested. “What business is it of mine?”
“If you love them, it’s your business,” he’d said firmly. “If their misbehavior is intruding on the happiness and well-being of others, it’s your business.”
I don’t know what Aubrey would have said about Poppy and John David, because I never asked him. I always felt I had so many weaknesses myself that the last thing I should do was point out other people’s flaws to them. So I never mentioned their infidelities to John David or Poppy, and I didn’t want them to discuss those affairs with me.
For sure, I didn’t want that.
When other people would try to tell me what my in-laws were doing, I’d just hurry the subject right past my nose.
Avery interrupted these unwelcome memories to tell us that Poppy’s parents were on their way to Lawrenceton. John, my mother, Melinda, and I were sitting around the table in the kitchen, coffee mugs in front of us… trying. Trying to think what to do next. Trying not to talk about where John David might be. Trying not to think about what to do with Chase, a baby with a dead mother and a missing father.
“At least he’s weaned,” Melinda muttered to herself.
I raised an eyebrow at her.
“I bet Avery and I end up with him,” she said, then tried to sound happier about it. “He’s a sweet baby, but…” She struggled to keep the words “I already have my hands full” locked down in her throat. “Poppy’s parents are too old, Avery’s dad and your mom are too old, and I can’t picture John David raising a kid by himself, can you?”
No, I couldn’t.
“Poppy was a good mother,” Melinda said quietly. “You wouldn’t think so, but she was.”
I nodded. “Poppy had a lot of good qualities.”
“What-excuse me, Roe, but I need to know-what actually happened to her?” Melinda asked, keeping her voice hushed.
“I think someone stabbed her,” I said, not meeting Melinda’s dark eyes. I was actually quite sure about that, but I’m no coroner, and I wasn’t going to give any final judgment on Poppy’s death.
Melinda made a little sound of horror, and I winced in sympathy. How scared Poppy must have been… how much it must have hurt. Had she hoped Melinda and I would come to save her, arrive in the nick of time?
I snatched my mind away from this fruitless conjecture and gave myself a good scolding. Poppy must have died very quickly, perhaps within a scant few seconds. Melinda pushed back from the table and left the room. Avery followed her. After a moment, I could hear the murmur of their voices coming from the living room.
My mother was watching John like a hawk, on the alert for signs of heart trouble. John was staring down at the table, studying a tablet open to a blank page. He’d stated his intention of starting a list of people he needed to contact, like the funeral home and the church, but he’d stalled. I knew that couldn’t wait any longer. I went upstairs, carrying the cordless phone into my old bedroom. I called Aubrey’s house.
“Hello.” It was the cool, composed voice of Emily, Aubrey’s wife.
“Emily, this is Aurora.” I sounded just as calm and sweet. We couldn’t stand each other.
“Hey, how are you?”
“Well, I’m fine, thanks, but we have a family trouble, and if Aubrey is handy…”
“Roe, he’s over at the country club, playing golf. Jeff Mayo asked him to make up a foursome. You know, Monday’s supposed to be his day off…” Her voice trailed away delicately.
Bitch.
“Yes, and if my sister-in-law hadn’t been murdered, I wouldn’t dream of disturbing him,” I said somewhat less sweetly.
A long silence.
“He has his cell phone,” Emily admitted. “Let me give you that number.”
“Thank you so much,” I said with no expression at all. Why couldn’t I have dated a vet, or a bartender, or a farmer? Why had I dated a cop and a minister before I met my first and now deceased husband, Martin Bartell?
Who shows up in emergencies? Policemen and preachers!
I repeated the number to make sure I’d gotten it right, then bid Emily good-bye. I knew she would set the drums beating to alert the Women of the Church to the imminence of a funeral meal. Emily always did her duty.
I took a deep breath and called Aubrey before I could change my mind.
I don’t like cell phones, and I almost never turn mine on; to me, it’s an emergency tool, like a car jack or a rifle. But today I was really glad our priest had one.
He said he’d be at the house in thirty minutes.
Chapter Two
Aubrey made it in forty minutes, and he was wearing his black shirt and dog collar when he rang the doorbell. Aubrey had had very dark hair when I met him, and he was graying heavily now. He’d shaved his mustache the year before, which had changed his appearance drastically. And he’d gained a few pounds, even though he played golf, tennis, and ran three times a week. Still, Aubrey was an attractive man, and Emily was very watchful around the single female members of the congregation-and some of the married ones, for that matter.
Take Poppy, for example. Emily had always been markedly cold toward Poppy, who had laughed it off.
I took a ragged breath and hugged Aubrey out of sheer thankfulness for his presence. Then I took him into the kitchen.
Somehow, the appearance of the priest gave weight and substance to the fact of Poppy’s death. If the priest showed up, it had to be true. Aubrey’s arrival was both a shock and a relief.
I wandered in and out of the kitchen, keeping a sharp eye on John. He looked good, considering the horror of the day. He was practically vibrating with worry over John David’s absence. I thought he would not feel the impact of Poppy’s death until he could be sure of his son’s whereabouts and safety.