A Lethal Legacy (23 page)

I stared at Claire
for a long time before I could respond. "Why would she want all of
that?"

"She thinks you
might be trying to cheat her out of her fair share," Claire said.

I let out a long
breath of air. "You know I would have appreciated all of this attention
while I was trying to keep Aunt Susan safe and protected. Where was our little
Kristina then? Did she ever call one time to ask how her aunt was? Did she ever
offer to help me with all of the decisions?" I couldn’t keep my mouth shut
any longer

"Ed, please
don't be upset. I'm only passing on her request. You know Kris as well as me,
if not better. You at least always saw through her. And I'm certain that Pam is
somewhere behind all of this, pushing and prodding Kris at every chance."

"Claire, hold
off on the loan. If I do send Kristina any paperwork, I will take my sweet time
about it. I'm not required to send her anything, you know. And the next time
she wants to talk about Susan's estate, please tell her you don't know
anything, OK?" I tried to keep my voice soft so Claire wouldn't hear the
anger bubbling just beneath the surface.

That night I went for
a long walk and thought about the past. I thought about Gary for the first time
in months and was glad he wasn’t here to witness Kristina’s greed. I shuddered
when I remembered my passion for her and felt revulsion that I had ever touched
her body. However, I couldn't take it back. Kristina's contribution to the
family seemed to lie in her ability to suck up all the vile underbelly of our
desires and bring them to the surface as we watched them pus and curdle and
stink.

Good old Ed.
Everyone trusted me
and counted on me during times of crisis and times of strife. Me, who with one
soft word from a child twenty-seven years younger than me, crumbled at her feet
and gave over my self to the demons rising to the surface as I struggled to get
into Kristina's pants.

Just when I thought I
had conquered those demons lurking within my soul, Kristina would come back to haunt
me as I tried to make sense of my life. As I thought of her, I became filled
with disgust. I also fought against the images of her naked breasts pressing
against my mouth and her mouth forming around my rising betrayer. How could I
ever be free of her when those pictures could so easily float to the surface of
my consciousness causing me once again to be aroused and agitated?

I walked faster and
tried to push those pictures from my mind. Suddenly, I thought of Pam and her
late night phone calls during my marriage to Kelsey.

"Ed," she
said during one of her last calls before I left Ann Arbor, "I'm getting
married. And he wants to adopt Kristina."

I remembered the
words exactly, "And he wants to adopt Kristina." If Timmons adopted
Kris, as I assumed he had, was she still considered the daughter of Gary? Did
the law recognize bloodlines or legal documents?

The next morning I
called my lawyer to find out the answers. "Tim, if Kristina was adopted by
her stepfather, would she still be able to inherit Susan's estate?"

"Was it a legal
adoption? We’d need to see the birth certificate. If it was a legal adoption,
it means Gary signed away his rights as the birth father and the birth
certificate is changed accordingly."

"I don't know.
How can I find out?"

"Do you know
where Kristina was born and the approximate date?"

"I know
exactly."

"Then send for
the birth certificate from that state's department of records."

Four weeks later, the
birth certificate arrived in the mail. On the line next to name of father, it
read, "Oscar Timmons," with no mention of a Townsend anywhere on the
form. I immediately called Tim.

"I'll compose
the letter. Send over the birth certificate so I can send a copy of that, too.
It looks like you'll be getting the whole thing. It could make life
easier," Tim said when I called with the news of the birth certificate.

I put off telling
Claire anything until after my phone call with the lawyer. But I decided to
tell her before Kristina received her letter. There would be fireworks all
aimed at me.

"So, because
Gary's name appears nowhere on her birth certificate, she isn't seen as his
child, legally." I tried to sum up the news as neatly as possible.

"I'll be. Serves
Pam right. She's probably been putting Kristina up to all this nonsense."
Claire said.

"Now, Claire,
Kristina and Pam will most likely be upset about this. You'll probably hear
from one or both of them," I said.

"She didn't
deserve that money, and Pam certainly shouldn't have any part of it. It should
rightfully go to you. This is the right thing," she said before going to
bed for the night.

I waited for
Kristina's next move, but surprisingly we heard nothing for months. When Claire
received her bank statement showing the previous month's allowance check had
not been cashed, she tried calling Kristina's number, but it was disconnected.
Claire worried about her, but I felt nothing but relief.

One afternoon Cassie
interrupted my writing. "Ed, something's not right with Claire. She's in
her room resting right now, but she seems a little disoriented," she said.

"Claire, can I
come in?" I asked after knocking on her bedroom door several times with no
response.

I opened the door.
Claire seemed to be sleeping. I tried to wake her, but she was very groggy.
When I called the doctor, he recommended putting her in the hospital for
observation. The doctor deduced that Claire had been over-medicating herself,
forgetting when she had taken the last pill and then forgetting to take others.
When we explained to Claire what happened, she begged to be moved into the
limited care facility that had recently been built in the neighborhood.

"I swore I would
never be a burden to you two," Claire said. "Cassie can't take care
of the two little ones, work part-time, and take care of me. Please let me go
there. I'll still be close, but I can pay others to watch over me."

With much reluctance,
we agreed to her plan and moved her in the next week. She had a few friends
there already and even joined a bridge club the first week after her arrival. I
gave Claire Pam's address, and she addressed a letter to Kristina, giving her
new address and phone number. Soon Kristina was on the phone to Claire.

"What are you
doing there, Grandma?" Claire told me Kristina asked when she first
called.

"She's going to
come for a visit, Ed. She's worried about me," Claire said.

"When is she
coming?" I asked.

"Next
week."

"I'll make
reservations for her at a motel nearby. She can rent a car at the
airport," I said.

"Can't she just
stay with you?"

"I don't think
that's a good idea, Claire."

"Why? I was
hoping we could have some meals together, just like old times."

"I don't trust
her, and I don't want her around my children."

"I wish we could
just be a family." Claire looked at me forlornly. When I didn't respond,
she squared her shoulders before continuing. "But if you feel that
strongly about it then I guess that's that. We can have dinner together one
night though, can't we?"

"We'll see,
Claire. I'm sorry if this hurts you, but I have to think of my family. Besides,
you two have lots of catching up to do, and you don't need a couple of toddlers
and two pushy adults in the way. You'll have a better time without us
around."

"If you say so.
You know best," Claire said, as I bent down to kiss her good-bye.

He sat calmly on the
beach allowing the waves to wash over his feet. The salt water healed his
wounds leaving behind the gray slashes that now scarred his skin. As he gazed
upon the dead flesh, he found peace.

I kept my word and
stayed away during Kristina's visit. I'm not sure what Claire told Kristina,
but Kristina stayed away from me, too. I didn't hear anything until the morning
of her departure when I received a telephone call.

"Mr. Townsend?
This is Sally Hines, the nurse at Oakview."

"Hello, Ms.
Hines."

"This morning
when your aunt got up to go to the bathroom, she became quite dizzy and fell
against the tub. She's on her way to the emergency room at Monroe if you want
to meet her there."

By the time I arrived
at the hospital, they had already admitted her to a cubicle and were working on
her wounds. They wanted permission to do a CAT scan since she hit her head
pretty hard.

"Sure, do
whatever's needed, doctor," I said before pulling aside the curtain to
enter the small space occupied by Claire.

"What are you
trying to do, get some sympathy or get ready for Halloween," I said as I
came close to the bed and saw the bruises and cuts.

"Ed, I'm so glad
you’re here," Claire said before she burst into tears. Even though Claire
and I had been close for years and suffered together the tragedies of losing
those closest to us, this was the first time I had seen her cry.

"What's wrong?
Hey, don't cry. I was just joking," I said as I patted her back. She
grabbed my hand and pulled it close to her face. "Where's Kristina?"
I asked.

"We said
good-bye last night. Her flight was early this morning. Ed, I thought you were
mad at me. I'm so glad you're here."

"Now why would I
be mad at you? You're my best girl after Cassie and Tessa."

"Oh, you know,
all that stuff with Kristina. And then all week I expected you to call at the
very least, and I didn't hear anything. I thought you were mad because I let
her come."

"No, I told you
why I stayed away. I bet you had a much better visit without me around to mess
things up."

"We did have a
nice visit. Kristina took me all sorts of places. But that kid, she has such
bad luck. All the time."

"Like
what?" I asked.

"Last night, for
instance. She said she just wanted to buy her grandma a coke, so we drove down
to the 7-11 on the corner. She went inside while I waited. When she came out,
she looked puzzled as she handed me my drink. I said, 'What's the matter,
Kris?' She told me she had given the clerk a $50 bill for the drinks but now
she couldn't find the change."

"Didn't she go
back inside and ask about it?" I asked.

"No, I guess she
didn't. I told her, 'Since you just wanted your grandma to have a drink, I
think I can give you fifty dollars.' So I did. But you know, Ed, that's all the
cash I had. Do you think you can go to the bank for me?"

"Sure, Claire,
don't worry. Where's your purse?"

"I made sure
they brought it with me. A lady must never go out without her purse, you
know."

"Yes, I know. Is
your checkbook there?"

"Yes. Just take
it and write me a check for cash."

I took the checkbook
and attempted to account for every check written since Kristina's arrival. All
I saw was one written out for $350, which Claire told me covered Kristina's
airline ticket and car rental.
Not too bad and fairly reasonable
, I
thought. When I asked her about paying for the motel, she told me she charged
it. I would look over those statements carefully, too. On the surface, it
seemed on this visit all that Kristina had managed to scam had been the fifty
dollars that Claire could well afford. It was the means she used to get that
money that always amazed me.

Claire never fully
recovered physically from her fall. Her head wounds healed and her crying,
which continued for nearly a week, eventually stopped. Then she was her old
self once again. But she had done something to her left leg that left her
unstable on her feet. I purchased a walker for her, which she hated and only
used for the long walk to the dining room. Nearly every visit to Claire in the
next few months resulted in me lecturing her after finding her wobbling around
her room without a cane or the walker.

She become the child
and I the parent. I hated ordering her around, but I worried constantly that
she would break a hip. Even though that's what had brought about her own
mother's demise, she didn't seem to heed my warnings. She began physical
therapy but that didn't help. Increasingly she became upset about the care
center's staff who often times left her stranded in the activities room or card
room, which meant after a wait of a few minutes or longer, Claire would attempt
the long walk back to her own room sometimes falling but never enough to injure
herself.

As the weeks went by,
Claire began to tell me more about Kristina's visit, and I discovered the real
purpose behind her surprise appearance. It seems Kristina had a plan since
Claire was no longer living in her own home.

"Kris thinks I
should buy a small house, and then she could come and live with me and take
care of me full time," Claire said.

"What do you
think?" I asked.

"I think it's a
dumb idea. What's a young woman like her want with taking care of an old lady
like me. I told her I would think about it though."

"Have you heard
from Kristina since her visit?"

"No, and I
called after I was released from the hospital to tell her about my fall. I left
a brief message telling her what happened, but she never called me back. I did
hear from Pam though," she said.

"When?"

"Last week. She
called to tell me she was sorry I had to be living in a place like this, as if
she knows all about it. Anyway, she said I should move out to Las Vegas to be
near my only blood relative. She offered to let me live with her and
Oscar."

"That's a
surprise," I said.

"Sure is. That
woman always hated me. Now she wants me to come and live in her spare bedroom
so I can be closer to Kristina? That takes the cake. Then she went on to say
that even though you had been very good to me, you weren't real family, and
with her and Oscar and Kristina, I'd be with a real family. Can you believe the
nerve?"

"How did you
handle her?"

"You would have
been proud. I was gracious and told her I was very comfortable here and that she
shouldn't worry. She's a mess." Claire and I both laughed.

Soon after, Claire
became increasingly weak on her feet and was dissatisfied with the level of
care she was receiving. When we visited her doctor, he suggested that the time
had come to move to a nursing home that would be better equipped to meet her
needs. Claire agreed and within the week, I moved her to Magnolia Arms in
Ocala, the best facility in north Florida.

When she finally fell
and broke her hip, I wasn't surprised. I had expected it since she still
insisted in getting up and moving around without assistance. Short of tying her
in her chair there was very little to do. When I saw her in the hospital, she
explained that she only wanted to move the wheelchair away from her bed a
little way.

The doctor told me
they would have to perform a hip replacement since the hipbone had come out of
its socket. While we waited for surgery to be scheduled, I tried to call
Kristina. I eventually called Pam when I had no luck at Kristina's apartment.

"Thanks for
calling, Ed. I know Kris will appreciate it," Pam said.

"I just thought
she should know. It's pretty serious for an almost 90-year-old woman to go in
for major surgery. I'll call when it's all over."

Claire came through
the surgery with an excellent chance at recovery. Kristina called me soon
afterwards.

"I'm coming
there for Thanksgiving, Ed," Kristina said.

"Good, good.
Your grandmother will be happy to see you," I said.

"I'd like to see
you, too," she said.

I was silent for a
long moment. "Cassie and the kids would love to see you," I said.

"OK, if you want
to play it that way, Eddie, baby. I'll probably see you at the nursing home.
I've really missed you."

"Kristina,
please don’t do this."

"Haven't you
missed me just a little? Don't you ever think about us? Remember taking me
Christmas shopping?" She talked soothingly and softly lulling me back into
her web.

"For chrissakes,
Kristina, stop," I said.

"I will for now.
But you'll see me when I get there, won't you?"

"Yes, yes, of
course."

"Good, Eddie,
you won't be sorry, you know. Remember I've always told you it was bigger than
both of us." She paused. "I need to ask you something. Mom and Oscar
want to know if the nursing home might have been negligent." 

"You mean, could
they have prevented the fall that broke Claire's hip?"

"That's right.
How could it have happened if everyone there had been doing their job?"

"Kristina,
Claire is a very stubborn woman. One reason we moved her to the nursing home
was for more supervision, and short of restraining her in a wheel chair or bed,
they couldn't have stopped her from doing what she did."

"But was the
floor slippery? Did they leave the wheelchair in her way?"

"What are you
talking about? They feel awful about what happened. Claire fell. Restraining
her is illegal."

"Did you know my
mom just started working in a nursing home? She thinks maybe they were
negligent and are now covering up something."

"Have you called
Magnolia Arms?"

"I made some inquiries,
but evidently, you, as power of attorney, are the only one who can request
records. So we wondered what you thought."

"Kristina,
Magnolia Arms has given nothing but excellent care for Claire. Remember I've
had some experience with nursing homes, and this one is the best."

"I'm sure you'd
spare no cost for Grandmother's care, would you," she said, the tough girl
returning. "Oscar thinks you enjoy spending my inheritance."

"You can tell
Oscar to mind his own business. And since when did you start listening to him
anyway?"

"He's been very
good to me these last few years while I tried to get established in Vegas. He's
found me some jobs and sometimes he makes a lot of sense when he starts talking
about my money."

"If you are
coming here to cause trouble, then don't bother coming," I said.
"Claire is very fragile right now."

"OK, OK. I'm
just covering all the bases. I just feel so bad for Grandma."

"Good, she needs
your kindness. Besides, she's been talking about moving to the place where her
mother resided after she broke her hip. It was in a private home, and I've had
some people checking on it. Maybe a smaller facility would suit her more."

"Maybe. It might
cost less, too. And, Ed? I really miss you, and I respect you and think about
you often. Please don't shut me out when I get there. I really need to see
you."

"Kristina,
you've always known how I felt about you. I just wish you took more
responsibility for yourself. Aren't you almost thirty now?"

"Not quite. I'm
trying, Ed. So you'll see me while I'm there?" she asked in her familiar
little girl voice that still haunted and aroused me.

"It'll probably
be a mistake, but I don't see how we can avoid one another."

"Still can't
trust yourself?"

"I can't trust
you. I think I can handle myself."

"Yeah, you've
always handled yourself and me just fine, Eddie," came the seductive
reply.

"Good-bye,
Kristina. I'll see you at the nursing home on Monday afternoon. Are you going
to call Claire and tell her?"

"I already did
before I called you. I just wanted to ask you a few questions. I trust your
opinion, you know. I'm sorry if it upset you, but now I can get Oscar and Pam
off my back."

"Just come here
and be kind to your grandmother and don't hassle the nursing home staff. You
might not want to mention your mother's name around your grandmother. The two
of them never got along very well."

"Don't worry,
I'll be her perfect little princess. See you Monday, Eddie."

I walked into
Claire's room the next Monday afternoon bracing myself for a face- to-face
confrontation with Kristina. Instead, I found a very frail Claire lying flat on
her back with a box of homemade peanut butter fudge open next to her on the
night table.

"Hi, Claire.
Where's Kristina?" I asked when I saw Claire turn toward me.

"She went out
for some lunch. She'll be back soon," she said.

"Here, let me
roll the bed up some. Why is it down flat?"

"Sometimes I
just like it that way. Oh, that does feel better, Ed. Thanks."

"Where's your
roommate?"

"She went home
for the holidays this afternoon. It makes it nice for Kris and me to
visit."