Middle River Murders (15 page)

“Of course, we’re not going,” Billy replied. “At least, not
today. It would be crazy for us to. The place is surrounded by
Greene
County
’s
best and we can’t get past them. If we want to check the place out, we’re going
to have to wait until the police pull out.”

“I bet there’s something big time going on up there,” I
suggested. “You know there is. Why else would the cops still be there? I bet
they left someone at the house all night. It’s good we didn’t go. What do you
think they found? Could it be a dead body?”

“I’ve been thinking,” Mom said. “I might be wrong, but I’ve
been examining the whole scenario over and over in my head, and I’m willing to
bet, if I were a betting person, that he had something to do with all those
missing animals.”

“Give me your reasons for what you say,” Billy said in
between feeding Maisy and wiping the applesauce from her face. “What causes you
to believe as you do?”

“We know he’s slightly unbalanced, mentally challenged, or
whatever they call it these days. Anyway, he’s not right in the head. He lives
way up the mountain isolated from everyone. I’m sure he doesn’t get many
visitors. The sheriff said most people don’t want to be around him.
Kansas
had a scar on his cheek, so I think
he could’ve been attacked by a dog when he was younger, and now he roams
Dogwood
Valley
after dogs and cats to torture as payback. Who knows, he could’ve spread out
and scoured other neighborhoods for pets. One thing I remember about him was
that he smelled bad, like a rotting corpse. He also smelled like urine. It was
nasty.”

“Yeah, and the M.E. said he had bites on his stomach. That
would explain his hatred for animals.” I added. “Rupert Hawkins said he saw
someone in an old, white pickup truck snatch up a black and tan, and that the
man had an older woman with him. Now if
Kansas
has a white pickup truck, I’d bet it was he and his sister, Daisy. If
Kansas
was the one who was killing off
these animals, you know his sister knew about it. Perhaps she liked killing off
people so much that she took up with him in his pursuit. She probably helped
him with the torture and killing.”

Billy looked at the both of us and said, “This is
speculation. You have no proof. Is it possible that your imagination is running
wild?”

“There has to be a reason why he broke into Mom’s house,” I
replied. “He knew someone was home. Our cars were in the driveway. He surely
didn’t break in to snag an animal. He was after Mom, but got two for the price
of one. He could’ve seen us and was sure he could do us both in without any
problems. He just didn’t know who he was dealing with. I’m Jesse Blackhawk. I
can kick some serious butt.”

“Oh, Lord,” Claire murmured. “Don’t start thinking you’re
tougher than you really are. You could get hurt.” She placed a stack of plates
on the counter and said. “Breakfast is ready. Help yourselves.” She took one of
Maisy’s small plates out of the cabinet, scooped up a helping of scrambled eggs
and put the pile on the plate next to the piece of dry toast. “Do you give her
jelly?”

“Just a tiny bit to keep the toast from being so dry,” Billy
said.

Everyone helped themselves.

I got up, went to the refrigerator and took out a small
carton of Juicy Juice. I took the straw from the cellophane, stuck it in the
paper carton and then set it down on the high chair tray.

Maisy grasped the carton with both hands and brought it up to
her mouth. Billy helped her with the straw, and after a few minutes, she got
the knack of it. When she let go of the straw, the juice kept coming and
splashed up in her face. It was all we could do to keep from laughing.

“Here, let Mommy wipe your face, Maisy.”

“Ma-Ma,” she said.

Mom and Claire gasped and looked at each other.

“Is this the first time she said Ma-Ma?”

“Nope,” Billy said. “Her first words were Da-Da.”

“How sweet,” Claire uttered. “It’s so wonderful when they
start talking. You get to see their personality come out.”

“Not to change the subject,” Mom interjected as she scooped
up a spoonful of eggs from her plate. Her hand hung in the air. “Are you going
back home today, Claire?”

“Will you be all right if I do?”

“Sure, I’ll be fine. Jesse’s going to make an appointment
with the head doctor for both of us so we can come to grips with our tragedy.
Right, Jesse?”

“Right,” I answered. I raised my eyebrows.

“There’s no need to look at me like that. I know you’re not
going to let this go, so we might as well go ahead and do it,” Mom snipped.
“Make the appointment.”

“I’ll call the doctor first thing tomorrow morning.”

“I guess Randy and I will be heading out after breakfast
since everything seems to be under control... for now,” Claire announced.

“I know it’s none of my business,” Mom said. “but I hope you
two don’t share the same bed at home.” She looked at Claire and Randy.

Nobody said a word.

“Kids pick up on everything. If you want to get married, let
me know. I’m sure Abby, Isabel and I can put together a nice wedding.”

“I can help, too,” I added. “I’m sure Sarah would love to get
involved.”

“Wait a minute,” Claire said. “You’re putting the cart before
the horse. Randy hasn’t…”

“If you’re not getting married, then stop playing house in
front of the kids.” Mom had a stern look on her face. She meant business.

“Ladies,” Randy said, holding up both hands. “This is getting
out of control.” He looked at Claire and said, “Finish your sentence.”

“I was going to say that you haven’t asked me, yet.” She eyed
him funny.

He got up from the table and then bent down on one knee.
“Claire, will you marry me?”

Without hesitation, Claire said, “Yes, I will.”

Randy looked over at Mom and said, “Thanks, Mrs. Watson. All
I needed was an opportunity and the nerve. You just gave me both.” He kissed
Claire, stood, and then walked over to Mom. He kissed her cheek and said, “Does
this mean I can call you, Mom?”

“You can call me, Minnie,” she replied. “I have three
children, and you’re not one of them. Billy calls me Minnie, so you can, too.
Can you imagine what people would think if all the adults in this family called
me, Mom?”

“What a way to start the day!” I said.

“You’re telling me!” Claire added. “We’d better hurry up and
leave before you change your mind.”

“It’s too late for that,” Randy said. “My heart has always
belonged to you.”

Before we finished breakfast, Billy said he had something
else to tell us. “I don’t want to put a damper on such a joyous occasion, but I
have some news I need to tell everyone. The phone call from Cole wasn’t just
about Kansas Moon.” He looked directly at me. “During their investigation, the
police discovered that Dr. Benjamin Beard’s receptionist, Belinda Hastings, the
same one I dealt with, falsified the paternity test. Benjamin Beard is not
Maisy’s father. It seems that Miss Hastings was not a good person. She
falsified quite a few other test results. She obviously never expected the kind
of trouble her meddling would cause, because she up and left her job, and
nobody has seen or heard from her since the good doctor was sent to prison.”

“How did they find out?” I asked. I was horrified by the fact
that two people had died as a result of that woman’s prank. “How could she do
something so terrible?”

“The doctor who took over Beard’s practice had a woman come
in and was told by one of the nurses that the tests showed she had a cancerous
tumor on one of her ovaries. The patient laughed at the idea and said she
hadn’t had ovaries in thirty-eight years. The patient was eighty-six years old.
After that incident, the doctor launched a full audit of each patient’s record.
Many inconsistencies were found and the police were notified. Beard surrendered
a vile of blood for retesting, and the results were conclusive that he wasn’t
Maisy’s father.”

“It makes me sick to think Maisy lost her parents because of
that stupid woman,” I said, furious. “If I could find her, I’d make my face the
last thing she ever saw.”

“That’s pretty harsh,” Claire said, amazed at how serious I
sounded. “Would you really?”

“Don’t ask.”

“That’s not all,” Billy continued. “
Geneva
paid to have a
DNA
test done. She supplied a toothbrush and hair from
one of Brian’s combs as soon as she found out about the errors. Cole said he
didn’t know how she found out, but since she’s in charge of Brian’s estate, she
had the right to do whatever she wanted.”

“So she wanted to know if Maisy was really Brian’s daughter,
and now that she does, she wants to be a part of her life. Would she be
knocking on our door if the paternity test had come back negative? I think not.
I’m beginning to have my doubts about
Geneva
.
Billy, I know she’s your mom’s sister, but that doesn’t mean she has good
intentions. It doesn’t make sense that after all this time she suddenly wants
to see her granddaughter.”

“I have a question,” Mom said. “Was
Geneva
a part of Maisy’s life before Brian
and Vicki died? She was separated from her husband, and I heard she was laid
up. Brian and his father were estranged.”

“I think the key issue here is whether or not
Geneva
and Eli were a part of Maisy’s life
when she was born,” Claire added. “They sure haven’t been since Vicki and
Brian’s death.”

“Yeah,” Randy said. “If I thought it was my grandchild from
day one, I couldn’t stop loving the child just because of what’s written on a
piece of paper.”

“What’s their agenda?” Mom asked. “It’s been months and we
haven’t heard hide nor hair from either one of them. Could it be that Brian
left everything to Maisy? When they found out Maisy wasn’t Brian’s child, they
knew she wouldn’t get anything, but now that it’s been proven that Maisy is
indeed Brian’s child, does she stand to inherit a lot of money? Could money be
what’s behind this sudden appearance of Grandma and Grandpa Cherry?”

“I say we investigate Grandma and Grandpa,” Mom said.

“That’s a good idea,” Billy said. “I’ll look into it.”

“But…” I started to say.

“You know you can trust me, Jesse,” Billy said. “You have
enough on your plate as it is. I’ll take care of this. You and Grandma Minnie
have to deal with the deputy today.”

“Hey, I like that,” Mom said with a grin. “If we add two more
grandparents to this family, the kids won’t know who to call Grandma. We need
specific names and mine will be Grandma Minnie.”

“I don’t think I like that,” Claire grunted. “Benny and
Carrie have always called you Grandma. Now you want them to call you something
else.”

“Claire, it’s not that difficult,” Mom said, rolling her eyes.
“Don’t you want them to know who you’re talking about? There’s already two
Grandmas in this family, add another one and then they’ll really get confused.”

“I like the idea,” I said, agreeing with Mom. “Grandma
Minnie, Grandma Sarah and Grandma Full of Sh...”

“You’re being ugly again,” Mom chastised me. “You’re also
being disrespectful to Billy. She is his aunt.”

I looked over at Billy and said, “I’m sorry. I didn’t think
of it like that. How insensitive of me. I hope I didn’t hurt your feelings. I
won’t say anything like that again unless she proves me wrong.”

“I can’t ask for more,” Billy replied. “If she turns out to
have an agenda that isn’t in the best interest of Maisy, we’ll give her a run
for her money. Pardon the pun.”

I got up and went to the sink to wash out the cloth I used on
Maisy’s face. I came back to the table and sat down in my chair next to her. I
wiped her angelic little face with the rag and kissed her on the forehead.
“Don’t you worry, sweetie,” I whispered. “Nobody’s taking you away from your
new parents. Your mommy and daddy loved you very much and when they went to
heaven, they gave us the honor of becoming your new mommy and daddy. You’re a
member of this family, and that isn’t going to ever change. And pretty soon,
you’ll have a Cherokee name added to the one you have now. It won’t be on
paper, but we’ll know it to be true. Your mommy, Vicki, and your daddy, Brian
would be so proud of you. You’re a wonderful child, except when you pout.”

“But that’s okay, sweetie,” Mom added. “Your new mommy was a
pouter, too.”

“I never was…”

“You were, too,” Claire agreed. “You were spoiled rotten by
Dad because he saw a lot of himself in you. He told me you would grow up to
have the gumption that Jack and I don’t have.”

“I’m sorry, Claire,” I said, tears coming to my eyes. “Oh,
Lord. Here I go again.” Tears started rolling down my cheeks. “I bet that
must’ve hurt y’all’s feelings. I’m sorry.”

“No way, Jesse. We loved it when you did all those ridiculous
things and got caught. We chuckled at you behind your back when you got into
trouble. Jack and I were the quiet ones, and you were always the first one to
open your big mouth. That mouth of yours got you into trouble all the time. And
you always had to get the last word in. Your questionable behavior and
subsequent punishment gave us such pleasure and made us feel as if we were
getting one up on you for being so much like Dad… and his favorite.”

“I was not,” I said as I continued to limply weep. “He loved
us all the same.”

“He most certainly did,” Mom said, defending my father. “But
I must admit he liked to see the rebel side of you show through. He said he
figured one day you’d need that rebellion to protect yourself and do good
things for others.”

“He did?” I cried. “I miss him every day.” I cried more.

Maisy saw me crying, turned up her quivering lip and started
crying, too.

I looked up and saw that Mom and Claire both had tears in
their eyes. For some reason, seeing all our tears and distorted faces made me
stop crying and caused me to start laughing. Minutes later, we were all
laughing. Poor little Maisy looked so confused.

“See what you’re getting into, Randy?” Billy asked.

“Are they like this all the time?”

“I’d say so.”

“I can handle it,” Randy responded. “Remember, my mother’s
Abigail Morgan. When her money can’t buy what she wants, she reverts to
pouting, and when that doesn’t work, she cries. Tears have gotten her more from
us than any amount of money—and she’s so good at it. My poor sister hasn’t
figured that out yet, but one day she will. Until then, she’s on her own.”

“Shame on you, Randy,” Claire said. “She’s your sister.”

“She’s also a pain when it comes to those kids. She’s always
too busy to visit Mom on her own, so when Mom calls and does her crying bit, my
sister hops to it.”

I took Maisy out of the high chair and gave her a big hug.
She stopped crying.

“You’re a natural with children, `ge ya,” Billy said. He got
up and put his arms around both of us.

Billy has big arms to go along with the rest of his physique.
He’s a typical Blackhawk man. Even his father, who is old as the hills, is
still in fine shape. Cherokee Indian men are like that… at least, these are.

I heard the tires from an automobile crunching in the gravel
as it pulled up to the front porch.

“Someone’s here,” I said, leery that it might be Daisy. I
knew it wouldn’t be long before Mom and I would have to confront her about what
happened to her brother, but I was hoping for a little more time. I was
relieved when I looked out the front window and recognized Deputy Kingsley as
she stepped out of her patrol cruiser.

“It’s Deputy Kingsley,” I said. “She’s here to take our
statements.” I looked over at Billy and asked. “Don’t we need a lawyer
present?”

As soon as the words were out of my mouth, Russ Shank pulled
up in the driveway and parked his car behind the deputy. He got out and
followed her to the front door.

“That’s why Russ is here,” Billy said as he went to the door
and opened it before either one could knock. “Come in, Deputy Kingsley. I’m
glad you could make it, Russ,” Billy said, holding his hand out to her and then
Russ. “Let’s get this over with.”

“Hey, I’m the family lawyer. I have to be here.” Russ smiled
and shook Billy’s hand.

“This shouldn’t take too long,” the deputy said. “It’s just a
formality. We pretty much have all the facts. It’s a case of self-defense.”

Billy introduced Claire and Randy and then took Maisy from
me. “And this is our little girl, Maisy. Our son, Ethan is asleep.”

“Why don’t we take Maisy upstairs with us,” Claire offered.
“Randy and I will be leaving soon, so she can hang out with us while we pack.”

“Don’t let her…”

“I know what to do, Jesse,” Claire said. “Don’t worry. I
won’t let her fall off the bed.”

“Like you did me when I was little?”

“Yeah, I’ve learned a lot since then.” She chuckled.

Claire took Maisy and she and Randy left the room, heading
upstairs.

“Why don’t we go to the family room and talk?” I asked.

“May I get anyone a cup of coffee?” Mom offered.

“I’ll have one if you don’t mind,” Russ said. “I’ve been on
the run all morning. I need coffee to keep me going.”

“Have you had breakfast? I can fix you something real quick.”

“No, thank you, Mrs. Watson, just a cup of coffee will do
me.”

“Would you like a cup, deputy?”

“That would be nice,” she said.

The four of us went to the den and waited for Mom to bring
the coffee before we started.

Forty-five minutes later, the deputy had all the information
she needed, Russ was satisfied we hadn’t said the wrong thing, and we were
headed to the front door.

“I’d like to say one more thing,” Deputy Kingsley said,
looking at Mom and then back to me. “I hope you’ll take my advice and talk to a
professional about what happened. Even if you don’t call the one I suggested,
please talk to someone.”

“Jesse’s going to call that doctor on the card you gave her,”
Mom said. “We’d already decided to take your advice.”

“If I need anything else, I’ll call.” The deputy said
good-bye and left.

Russ wasn’t far behind her.

“I think that went well,” Mom said as she closed the door
behind them. “Wouldn’t you say so?”

“Yes, I would. Now all we have to do is face Daisy,” I said.
“When she finds out we were involved in her brother’s death, the sky’s going to
fall, and it’s going to fall on us. She’ll come after us with a vengeance.”

“I’m not so sure,” Billy said. “She’ll be too busy covering
her tracks. I’m sure she’s the one who sent her brother to your Mom’s house.
Imagine what must be going through her mind. She sent her brother to his
death.”

“Are we sure about that?” Mom asked. “We really don’t have
any proof. The deputy wouldn’t elaborate when asked about the connection
between Daisy, her brother, and the assault on Jesse and me. I got the
impression one had nothing to do with the other. Perhaps they found something
at Kansas Moon’s house that caused them to believe he acted alone.”

“Daisy’s out killing off her friends, and Kansas Moon’s
helping her. I think they found something connecting the two, but the deputy’s
keeping it under wraps. She can’t tell us anything about an ongoing case. We
all know that.”

“You have a point,” Billy added. “The deputy wouldn’t tell us
anything, even if she had something to tell. She’d lose her job.”