Page 114 of The Lady on Esplanade
“I suppose it does.I’m not supposed to believe in…all that.But I’ve experienced enough things I can’t explain to know that there’s so much we don’t understand.What you told me about Sybil, about how she protected you and our uncle Patrick…that’s exactly who she was.And Mark…” She shook her head.“I loved him becausehe was my brother, but there was something loose inside of him.Our father was a wonderful, kind, and gentle man, unless he was drinking.Then he became a cruel brute.Joan and I were spared the worst of his brutality, but poor Mark, who had the misfortune of being his only son, wasn’t as lucky.”
She looked over her shoulder at the house, then took a step closer to me.“Mark learned things he shouldn’t have.Jessica told me stories…” Honey pressed her lips together.“He was violent toward women his entire life, including to his wife and daughter, so it’s no surprise that death didn’t change him.”
She took a deep breath.“To answer your question, I’ve always known Jessica and Lynda were alive.And that Mark was dead.I’ve known since the night of the murder.Jessica called me, hysterical.Mark had hit little Lynda, and when Sybil tried to stop him he killed her.His own mother!And then he turned back to Lynda.So Jessica did what any mother would do.”Honey’s face softened.“I couldn’t place any blame on her, and I knew I had to help her.If she called the police, she could go to jail, and then Lynda would go into foster care.Joan and I could apply to be her guardians, but that would take too long.And Lynda was too traumatized to be separated from her mother.I did what I thought was right.”
A small tear escaped from the corner of her eye.“I gave Jessica the name and address of an old friend in Summerville, outside of Charleston, where she and Lynda could go and be safe.And then we had to hide Mark’s body.I immediately thought of the storage facility.I got the lease on it after my husband died and I moved in with Joan and needed a place to store my things.My husband was a big hunter, so we had a giant meat freezer.”
I did my best not to focus on the last two words.
“I told Jessica to hide the key somewhere just in case they were stopped, because we couldn’t have the key being found anywhere near her.I didn’t know she’d hidden it in the doll until yesterday, when Jessica came to see me.She was worried that the key would be foundnow that the house was sold.That’s why you kept seeing their car.Jessica was trying to find a way to gain access without breaking in.Getting arrested wasn’t something she could afford.”
I nodded slowly, absorbing everything she’d just told me.“You did a good job of pretending you didn’t know anything—probably for your sister’s benefit.I’m guessing Joan doesn’t know any of this?”
Honey took a deep breath, her penciled-in brows knitting together.“My sister most likely suspects the truth but doesn’t look too closely because she doesn’t really want to know.She would feel compelled to alert the authorities if she knew the full story.Not because she doesn’t love Jessica, but because she has an exaggerated sense of right and wrong.She doesn’t understand the gray area between black and white.”With surprising strength, she gripped my upper arms.“Do you?”
I’d never seen the world in just black and white.I was a musician.A lover of old houses.Both things meant that I saw the world in terms of the possibilities that existed in the gray areas.I considered for a moment the men who’d used and abused my mother and had never been held accountable.She’d been an absent mother, her focus always on nursing her career disappointments with illegal and legal substances.But she’d been there yesterday, helping to protect me.Maybe this was the one chance I had to take a stand in her memory.
I took a deep breath and looked Honey in the eyes.“The truth is that I haven’t seen Lynda or Jessica.And I’ve never been to Guidry Moving and Storage.That’s all I know.And I would suggest destroying what is left of the doll before Mimi changes her mind and wants to hold it.”
She stood on her tiptoes and kissed me on the cheek with a loud smack.“I knew you were good people the minute I met you.”She stepped back.“You should be going.I need to say good-bye to my guests before Joan comes home.”
Our gazes locked in mutual understanding.“Good-bye, Honey.”Then I made my way back to the car where Cooper and Sarah waited.
“Did you learn anything new?”Cooper asked as he and Sarah helped me into the backseat.
“Not a thing.”
He looked at me for a long moment, waiting for me to say more, while I spent more time and concentration than necessary adjusting my seat belt and getting situated in the backseat.He’d known me long enough to know that I was a terrible liar.
Without a word, he closed my door and returned to the driver’s seat before putting the car in drive, then pulling out onto the street.I didn’t look back.
CHAPTER 35
During a spate of balmy weather two weeks later, Jolene and I sat in the rocking chairs on the front porch of my Creole cottage sipping hot chocolate with red and white peppermint sticks protruding from the tops of our mugs.On the floor between us lay Mardi, wearing yet another monogrammed sweater; this one had Santa hats with white pom-poms.Across the street, the Christmas trees in our neighbor’s coffin planters were festooned with fleur-de-lis ornaments and coated with sparkling tinsel that danced like a Las Vegas showgirl in the breeze.
We were waiting for a delivery of bedroom furniture for the two rooms upstairs.It was coming from the Past Is Never Past as a housewarming gift.Seeing as how bedroom furniture was the last thing I needed to move in, I gratefully accepted despite the fact that the items were antiques and Melanie and Sarah might have something to say about it.
I stretched out my leg, miraculously not too much worse for wear from my escapades in the house on Esplanade.My new boot was wrapped in a festive green-and-red-striped cover monogrammedwith a silver letter N on top—an early Christmas gift from Jolene.I was getting so used to not having full use of my right leg that I realized I might miss the boot when it was gone.Especially because then it would be time for me to learn how to use a stick shift and begin driving the Mustang convertible.The thought made my stomach churn.I couldn’t think about it now.Christmas was approaching, and I was finally going to spend my first night in my own house.
“I can’t believe I’m going to say this,” I said, “but I already miss Sarah.I’m actually looking forward to going home for the holidays.Cooper’s still planning to drive me, which could be interesting.”
“Hmm,” Jolene said noncommittally.She took a sip from her mug.“Sarah and I think a lot alike.If we were the same age, I’d say we were separated at birth.And then you and I would be sisters!Wouldn’t that be amazing?”
“That’s one word for it,” I said.“But I think one sister is enough for me.Besides, I like you as my roommate.And judging by the state of our love lives, we’ll stay roommates until they move us to a nursing home.”
She didn’t say anything, which surprised me.Usually she was ready with a strongly (for her) worded lecture about not thinking negatively.Instead, she gave me a smile that seemed perilously close to herbless your heartsmile.
“Is something wrong?”I asked.
“Actually, I think there is.”She looked inside her mug.“This tastes funny to me.Does yours taste funny?”
“No.I think it’s delicious.I can tell it’s homemade and you didn’t use a mix.”
Jolene wrinkled her nose.“I wonder if the milk was bad.”
“It’s fine,” I said.“Maybe you’re coming down with a cold.Colds always affect my sense of taste.”
She didn’t say anything but remained focused on the contents of her mug.
