Page 24 of Justice Delayed

He studied his children to gauge their reaction to the topic. Jillian merely toyed with her mashed potatoes while Jared cut his meat into ragged chunks.

“What’s to discuss?” Jared finished cutting his prime rib and set his knife down. “You said she’d never get out of prison, and yet, she’s been out for months. What’s that to us?”

Ruby gripped her now empty wine glass, fingers white with tension. “You’re forgetting that she hasn’t told us where your brother’s body is.”

Quentin started to respond, but Jillian beat him to it. “Mom, we all miss Jesse, but it’s time to move on.”

“I can’t.” Ruby’s voice held a fierceness Quentin had grown to hate. “She knows where Jesse is, and she has to tell me.”

“Why?” Jared’s question exploded across the room like a bullet.

Ruby whipped around toward Jared and glared at him. “How dare you ask such a question. To bring him home, of course. How can we leave him out there, God knows where?”

“You didn’t seem to mind leaving Melender.” Jared took a bite of beef.

Quentin winced at Jared’s caustic tone. His son rarely let an opportunity pass to needle his stepmother. He started to reply but his wife beat him to it.

“That was different. She’s not my child.” Ruby picked up her wine glass, noticed it was empty, and replaced it on the table.

“You’re the only living family she had left.” Jared pushed back a bit from the table. “For all your talk of family, you weren’t interested in helping your dear niece at all.”

“Who made you an expert on family? What about your mother?” Ruby’s eyes glittered.

Quentin wished his son hadn’t opened this particular can of worms. “She…”

Jared tapped his fingers on the table. “She left me with dear old Dad, but at least she calls, and she sends presents for my birthday and Christmas. And in case you’ve forgotten, I spent weeks with my mom during the summer. While you, on the other hand, left your family and never looked back. You didn’t even know that your grandmother had died until social services called about Melender.”

Quentin stepped in before things got any uglier. “That’s enough, Jared.”

“Is it?” Jared stood. “I think it’s more accurate to say I’ve had enough with pretending we’re one big happy family. Melender didn’t destroy this family. It was already rotting on the inside.” He snatched his phone from beside Quentin’s plate and stormed out of the room.

“If he can go, I can too.” Jillian rose, her hand hovering toward her phone, but Quentin pulled it out of reach.

“Not so fast.” His daughter’s expression darkened, but he held her gaze. “A reporter’s on the trail of what happened to your younger brother.”

Jillian huffed. “Mom told me. What has that to do with me?”

“He will likely contact you.” Quentin’s calm voice played counterpoint to his roiling insides.

“So?” Jillian wrinkled her brow. “I don’t have to talk to him.”

“Melender might contact you as well,” he said.

Jillian backed up a step from the table, her expression one of outrage. “Why would she want to talk to me? She knows I want nothing to do with her.”

“Because she’s maintaining her innocence and she has convinced that reporter to look into the case,” Quentin told her in measured tones. He couldn’t afford to believe Melender was anything but guilty.

“She’s guilty.” Ruby’s eyes blazed. “She always was a liar. Some of the things she said to me when she first came to live here were so outlandish. I blame it on Sudie. My grandmother made up more stories than Dr. Seuss.”

“The fact remains that Gilmore is likely to attempt to take a fresh look at the case.” Quentin didn’t bother to mention he would be orchestrating the direction Gilmore would take without the reporter even noticing.

Jillian shrugged. “So what?”

“Be careful if Gilmore does call you,” Quentin warned.

“I don’t know what you’re so worried about. It’s not as if I remember anything from that night. I was only three at the time.” She held out her hand. “Now can I have my phone back?”

Quentin gave her the device, and she flounced out of the room.

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