A Shred of Evidence (5 page)

“Think what you want, man. But I’m telling you, something’s not right.

“Then why do you suppose Hank hired him?” Adam said.

Eddie lifted his eyebrows. “Good question.”

Julie Hamilton folded the last piece of laundry and was ready to get off her feet, when she remembered that a lady from J.C. Penney had called and left a message that her new bedroom curtains were in.

She walked into the living room where Sarah Beth was swaying happily to the music of a DVD. “Sweetie, I need you to come to the store with Mama.”

Sarah Beth jumped up and down and clapped her hands. “Yipeeeeee!”

Julie turned off the DVD player, then wet her thumb and wiped a smudge off her daughter’s cheek. “If you’re a good girl while Mama’s in the store, we’ll stop by the dairy and get ice cream.”

Sarah Beth giggled, seemingly beside herself, and dashed into her bedroom and came back clutching a white teddy bear. “Pwincess wants ice cweam.”

“Okay, she can go with us.” Julie picked up her purse and headed for the front door, aware that Sarah Beth had walked over to the bookshelves. “Mama’s ready to leave now. What are you doing?”

The little girl rummaged through a drawer and took out a string of bright blue beads and pulled them over her head. She picked up a pink yarn purse and hung the strap on her shoulder, then stuffed Princess under her arm and toddled back to Julie. “Weady now,” she announced, holding up her hand.

Julie smiled and took Sarah Beth’s tiny hand into hers, thinking this child deserved so much more attention than she had the energy to give.

Ellen walked out of the alteration’s shop carrying Guy’s new suit on a hanger and spotted a woman and a little redheaded girl.

“Julie!” Ellen waved and walked over to them. “Small world. What are you two up to?”

“I just picked up my new curtains at Penney’s, and Sarah Beth and I were on our way to the Old Seaport Dairy.”

“We go to ice cweam!” Sarah Beth held up a white teddy bear as if to show it off.

“And who is this?” Ellen said.

“Pwincess.”

“Are you going to share your ice cream with Princess?”

Sarah Beth gave a firm nod. “I nice to her.”

“Why don’t you go with us?” Julie said. “I promise you they have the best milkshakes in the known world.”

Ellen looked at her watch, already trying to decide which flavor she would choose. “Sure, why not? Guy’s at home working and I doubt he’ll come up for air for another couple hours.”

Ceiling fans whirred like helicopter blades above the white tile floor and red brick walls of the Old Seaport Dairy. Customers packed the booths and tables and the noise level made it impossible to be heard when speaking in a normal tone of voice.

Ellen sipped the last of her strawberry-banana shake, her eyes fixed on an old-fashioned metal sign in the middle of the back wall: a redheaded girl in pigtails sharing an ice cream cone with a puppy. She couldn’t quite make out the slogan.

“Isn’t that a cute sign?” Julie said. “The owner said it’s been hanging in the dairy for seventy years.”

“The little girl on the sign looks like Sarah Beth.”

“I guess she does. A little.”

“I’m really glad I ran into you. This has been fun, and the shake really is wonderful. Thanks.”

“I’m glad you like it,” Julie said. “I can’t tell you how nice it was to finally run into someone I recognize.”

Sarah Beth took her thumb and forefinger and pushed a glob of chocolate ice cream onto her spoon, then offered it to Ellen.

“Sweetie, Miss Ellen has her own ice cream,” Julie said.

“Oh, but I want a taste of Sarah Beth’s.” Ellen leaned over and pretended to take a bite. “Mmm … it’s delicious. Thank you for sharing.”

Sarah Beth giggled and repeated the offer several more times, then began to hum contentedly, stirring what was left of her ice cream until it was soupy.

“What an absolutely beautiful child,” Ellen said. “You are so blessed.”

Julie’s eyes turned watery and she looked away.

Ellen pretended not to notice but was no less surprised than she had been the day before when Julie got emotional.

Half a minute later, Julie looked up. “Sorry, I get teary-eyed over nothing lately. It’s probably PMS.”

Or depression
, Ellen thought.

Julie reached in a zippered bag and plucked a couple of wet wipes and began wiping the chocolate off Sarah Beth’s face and hands. “I need to get her down for a nap so she can stay awake till Ross gets home. His day will be ruined if he doesn’t get his time with her.”

“He works late?”

Julie nodded. “His Uncle Hank gives him the more detailed bodywork. That’s not a complaint. Until our house in Biloxi sells, we can really use the overtime. Sometimes I wish I were teaching again. It would make things a whole lot easier.”

“I don’t remember you mentioning you were a teacher.”

“Yes, I taught second grade for eight years. I quit when I got pregnant.”

“You haven’t been out of it long. Shouldn’t be hard to get back into it when you’re ready.”

“Well, actually, it’s been—uh, you’re right. It shouldn’t.” Julie lifted Sarah Beth out of the booster chair and stood her on the floor. “Mama’s ready to go. Can you tell Miss Ellen goodbye?”

Sarah Beth laid Princess on the chair, then wrapped her arms around Ellen’s legs, squeezed with all her might, and said, “Bye-bye, sweetie.”

Ellen laughed and then laughed harder. She squatted next to Sarah Beth and brushed the curls from her face. “Maybe your mama will let you stay at my house for a couple of hours when she needs a little quiet time. I have a tea set tucked away and no little girl to play with.”

“What a nice offer,” Julie said. “Are you serious?”

“Yes, very. Call me. I’d enjoy spending a couple of hours with her.”

Ellen pushed open the kitchen door, dropped her purse on the countertop, and carried Guy’s suit to the bedroom closet and hung it up.

“There you are,” Guy Jones stood in the doorway, his arms crossed. “I was about to send out a posse.”

“Sorry, I didn’t call because I didn’t want to disturb you. I ran into Julie and Sarah Beth Hamilton when I was coming out of the alterations shop. We went to the Old Seaport Dairy and had the best time. That little Sarah Beth is a character. I’d forgotten how cute two-year-olds can be.”

“What about Julie? Was she different this time?”

“She still seemed depressed to me, but she was more sociable. Going to the dairy was her idea. But it was the strangest thing: I expressed my feeling that Sarah Beth was an absolutely beautiful child, and that Julie was so blessed—and she got choked up. She passed it off as PMS, but I’m not buying it.”

Guy shook his head and came over to her and put his hands on her shoulders. “Honey, don’t take this wrong, but I’m really not interested in Julie Hamilton’s problems. Can’t we just have a nice quiet evening together?”

Ellen slipped into his arms and rested her head on his chest. “I did offer to keep Sarah Beth sometime—for a couple of hours.”

“Why don’t you focus on getting your book finished?”

“I am. But truthfully, I’d enjoy the diversion. She really is a sweet little girl. She’d have
you
wrapped around her little finger in no time.”

“Wrong. I’m not getting involved. I’ve got more than I can say grace over now. What little leisure time I have, I want to spend with you.”

“That’s fine. There will be plenty of time when you’re in Tallahassee for me to be a Good Samaritan.”

“I don’t know why you do this to yourself.”

Ellen leaned her head back and looked up at him. “Do what?”

“Try to fix people.”

“I didn’t say anything about fixing anyone. But it’s hard for me to ignore a need when I see it.”

“Good.” He kissed her forehead. “You can start right here at home because I
need
a relaxing evening.”

E
llen Jones sat on the veranda, mulling over Friday’s devotion in
The Upper Room
, and distracted by a huge plant that, for weeks, seemed as though it were begging to be moved out to the patio. She decided it was time to heed its call.

She got up and crouched next to it, gripped the sides of the pot with both hands, then slowly rose to her feet. She quickly realized it was too heavy. She slid her right hand to the bottom of the pot and lugged it over to the table and dropped it.

“Ouch!” Ellen felt as if someone had hit her hand with a hammer. She tilted the pot slightly by pushing with her shoulder and pulled out the throbbing fingers of her right hand.

Guy came out on the veranda, carrying a tray with her coffee and newspaper. “What’s wrong?”

Ellen held out her hand and barely found her voice. “I dropped the plant on it.”

Guy set the tray down and examined her hand. “You really mashed those fingers, honey. That thing must weigh forty pounds. What were you thinking?”

“Obviously I wasn’t.” Ellen winced when she finally saw her fingers. “I didn’t want to bother you with something so trivial. I should’ve just waited till you could help me.”

Guy took her by the arm and led her over to the rocker. “Sit down. I’ll get you some ice.”

Ellen sat staring at her fingers, bemoaning her impulsiveness and wishing she could turn back the clock five minutes.

“Here, put this on it,” Guy said, handing her a small ice
pack. “Maybe you should have the doctor take a look at it.”

“I don’t know what good it would do. Nothing’s broken. It’s more of a colossal inconvenience than anything else.”

Guy stood behind the chair and rubbed her shoulders. “You want me to set the plant out on the patio?”

“Please.”

Guy picked up the plant and carried it down the back steps. A minute later he was back. “Is the ice helping?”

“A little. At least it’s numbing the pain.”

Guy sat in the other rocker, his hands clasped between his knees. “I’m not sure what else I can do for you.”

“I’ll be fine. Get back to work.” She felt her face soften. “Brent’s going to be pleased when he sees all the data you’re compiling on the Brinkmont case.”

“I hope so. I’m glad he trusted me to take the lead on this one.”

“I’m so proud of you. God’s been good to us, hasn’t He?” Guy gave her a blank look. “I’m sure He has, but I’m not following you.”

“This move to Seaport has been a blessing. The Lord opened the door to everything you ever wanted
and
blessed us financially.”

“I’d like to think I had something to do with it, Ellen. I’ve worked hard for this. It’s not as though He just poured out the blessing and all I did was show up.”

“I just meant that His hand was certainly evident.”

“Well, He may have had a hand in it. Just don’t forget I’m the one who jumped in with both feet.” Guy got up and pressed his lips to hers. “I love you. I’ll be in my study if you need me.”

Ellen heard his footsteps in the hallway, then the study door open and close. She never quite knew how to discuss spiritual things with Guy. One minute he seemed on the same page, and the next it was as though he didn’t understand the most basic biblical concepts. At least he had made a profession
of faith. Why couldn’t she just be content with that?

Ellen tried to wiggle her swollen fingers and decided it hurt too much. She leaned her head against the back of the rocker. So much for working on her novel.

Julie Hamilton put a scoop of scrambled eggs and three strips of bacon on Ross’s plate and set it in front of him. “Why are you so quiet?”

“It’s early.”

“When I asked you the same question last night, you said you had nothing to say because it was too late.”

“Julie, don’t start. I’m busting my tail to keep us afloat till the house sells. I’m sorry I’m not conversational enough for you.”

Julie turned to Sarah Beth and forced a smile, then set some orange slices on her plate. “Think we could use a civil tone of voice when you-know-who is at the table?”

Ross reached over and stroked Sarah Beth’s cheek. “How’s my baby doll?”

She reached over and put her sticky fingers on one side of his mouth and pulled up. “Be happy, Daddy.”

Julie smiled in spite of herself and locked gazes with Ross.