The Puzzle (22 page)

“He told me at the beginning of our relationship that he lost all of his personal effects and records in an apartment fire while he was at the accounting firm he worked for, way before we even met. It was as though his whole life was erased in that one fire. He would never talk about his past and became upset when I even tried to bring it up, so I just left it alone. It was an area that was off limits in our marriage.” I sat there remembering our past heated exchanges.

Now, someone finally knew a truth of mine.

“I’m glad you confided in me, Sam. That means a lot to me. You know, you might even end up trusting me yet,” Clay offered, smiling.

I waved my hand in the air, dismissing his words. “Are you kidding?” I sighed. “Not a chance!”

Maybe. We’ll see.

Chapter 41

Behind Closed Doors

I waited until I knew Jack was gone to the construction site before confronting Barbara. I was taking a chance by not calling ahead, but hoping I would catch her at home to speak privately with her about Jack and possibly Stephen. My mind was running all over the map with the potential connections between the two of them.

Maybe, there was more to the story than Barbara was willing to share with Jack. Was she shielding Jack from more hurt or did she have knowledge she had not shared with anyone else? I figured the only thing I had to lose was possibly a bruised friendship with Barbara, but I was willing to risk it because of Stephen. She might know something that might help me.

“Samantha! How nice! What an unexpected surprise! I’m sorry, but Jack isn’t here. He’s working at the construction site.”

“I didn’t come to see Jack. I came to see you. Do you mind if I come in for a few minutes?”

She smiled hesitantly, but said, “Of course not. Come on in.”

After a few pleasantries, I began to relax. “I’m really sorry to barge in on you like this, but I didn’t want Jack around this time to see me talking to you.”

She tilted her head slightly. “Now, why is that, Sam?” she asked, suddenly attentive.

“I found out about your history with Jack and your sister.”

She let out a barely audible sigh, as relief slowly coursed through her. “Clay finally filled you in, didn’t he?”

“Yes. He said, he thought it was about time I knew. Apparently, I would have pieced enough information together and might have jumped to the wrong conclusions. I guess he wanted to set the record straight. I’m not sure why now, but I was grateful for anything he could offer. That is what brought me here to you. I thought you’d be upset if you found out.”

She clasped her fingers tightly in her lap. “Not at all. It was my idea for him to tell you.”

That surprised me. “I really didn’t mean to invade your privacy, but anything that has to do with Stephen has been my main priority. Since Jack was closely tied to Stephen, I guess I pushed some personal and emotional boundaries. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. Clay had my blessing in telling you. I’ve watched you going around in circles, running blind, and felt you had a right to know the extenuating circumstances concerning Jack’s assumptions and actions over the years regarding Stephen. It‘s been so painful to watch Jack every time he thought he had a lead, only to be terribly disappointed by another dead end.”

I didn’t quite know how to ask, but then realized Barbara would appreciate directness, as she had accorded me the same courtesy. “Was there anything you might have overheard from your sister or your parents during those years before you came back that might shed some light on where the baby might have been sent?”

“No. My parents were very tight-lipped and now are both deceased. As far as Anna and me, that relationship was destroyed when she and Jack were married. It wasn’t until afterward when I found out what actually happened that I had a better understanding and might have had the chance to speak to her, but it was too late by that time because she was already dead.”

“I’m sorry, Barbara, for digging up the past,” I said softly.

“No, it was bound to come out one way or the other. Too much has been behind closed doors for way too long. If any of us are to get beyond this and accept what is left of our lives, we need to make peace with our past. Don’t you think?”

“Yes, I guess you’re right,” I replied, nodding. “I’m beginning to see that now.” She was a remarkable woman who had obviously suffered while making emotional adjustments just to survive. I was amazed by her ability to understand and forgive all those past grievances. “I appreciate your being so honest with me, knowing that you personally had so much at stake.”

“At some point, Sam, you have to make a choice to either bask in offenses from the past or accept what the present and possibly what the future may have to offer. I chose a future with Jack rather than one without him. It was that simple. I couldn’t alter any of the pain of what happened years ago and had to let it go. I realized I never stopped loving him, and I like to think he never stopped loving me.”

I was impressed with her tenacity and, quite frankly, with my own too, for having held on this long in tracking down the truth. I guess I had changed in many ways. If there was a lesson I had learned from all this, it was one of not giving up and walking away. I was not willing to settle for weakness and allowing myself to be placed in a box with someone else’s parameters anymore.

She faced me squarely. “I don’t look back and you shouldn’t either. I told Jack, ‘
You
can’t go back and change your past. Move on and just accept it.’ ”

I looked back at her. “Barbara, I shut that door a long time ago.”

Chapter 42

Two Of A Kind

The overhead bell on the door rang. A few minutes later, after making a couple of minor adjustments, I came out of the back room, not very surprised by my two visitors. I knew it wouldn’t take them long to eventually make their way over to see me. I crossed the shop floor casually, taking my time. “Welcome to my shop, ladies. Well, what do you think?”

They were both very enthusiastic. “Samantha, what a charming place!” Betty remarked, as Hazel walked around, taking in everything.

“Thank you,” I replied. “I’ve worked very hard to get it just the way I like it.”

“Well, it certainly shows,” offered Hazel, admiringly.

“Would the two of you like some tea and cookies?” I suggested. “I believe it’s my turn to reciprocate your generous hospitality.”

“To tell you the truth, we were hoping you would ask,” laughed Betty.

“Just follow me,” I gestured. “We can sit it in the back, facing the gardens.”

When they entered the small back room facing the rear gardens, there was an audible gasp from Hazel. In front of the garden window was a tea table already set for
three.
I turned to face them. “Please, have a seat and I’ll pour us some tea.”

After everyone was comfortably seated, Betty spoke up first. “How did you know about us ahead of time? Psychic abilities? Your table was already set for three.”

I motioned toward the corner. “My new video security system comes in handy. You never quite know who will steal something from your shop nowadays.

Betty and Hazel exchanged looks and burst out laughing. “Oh, Samantha. You know, we saw you take the computer, don’t you? By the way, you were a dreadful thief. I suggest you keep your day job.”

I shrugged my shoulders, and then laughed myself. “I figured you two saw me. It dawned on me by the time I got back to my shop. Those were the longest two blocks of my life. I was a nervous wreck. I know it was a stupid spur-of-the-moment thing to do, but I was positive it was Stephen’s laptop.”

“It was,” said Hazel.

“Don’t feel bad, Samantha,” said Betty. “We almost botched stealing it from the auction.” She turned toward Hazel. “You know, Hazel, next time I suggest we use someone other than your nephew. That was not what I call a discreet theft. I heard there were so many police and firemen there, you could have had a parade.”

“I told you he wasn’t the brightest bulb in the box, but that was why we used him, remember?” Hazel shot back.

“Yes, that’s true enough, I guess,” said Betty.

I sat there in amazement. These two were bantering back and forth as though this was an everyday occurrence. Maybe it was. The women in this town amazed me. Obviously, I had a lot to learn here. “You knew I stole the laptop and did nothing?”

“Of course!” replied Hazel. “Why do you think we let you see the delivery and where it was stashed?” She turned to Betty. “That is the correct lingo, right?”

“Yes, I believe so. Stashed was an excellent choice.”

I sat there like I was watching a B-grade movie and, somehow, I had become part of it. “So, you two wanted me to take the computer?”

“That’s right,” said Betty, nodding. “We couldn’t gain access to it, even after replacing the cord and charging it. We were going to hire someone to come in and hack into it, but you showed up on our doorstep and we changed our plans, figuring you might have the access code and save us all a lot of time and money, considering the questions we might get from whoever we decided to hire.”

“There was only one problem with your plan,” I said.

“What was that?” Betty asked.

“Someone stole it from me when I was at the diner with Clay an hour later.”

Hazel slumped in her chair. “Yes, we know.”

“How did you know?” I asked.

“Clay,” replied Hazel. “The plumbing excuse was so lame, right, Betty?”

“Ah!” I said. My mind was spinning. I felt as though I was caught up in some great conspiracy. But that was ludicrous.

Or was it?

“You mean Clay wasn’t in on the theft from my shop?” I asked. “I thought he was a decoy to draw me away, so you two could steal it back.”

“We wish. We needed you to crack the code. You did have the password didn’t you?” Betty asked, hopefully.

“No. Unfortunately, I didn’t. Stephen was tight-lipped and secretive about everything, including both of his computers. He shared nothing of that nature with me.”

“You mean he had another computer?” Betty asked excitedly. “Where?”

“At the house,” I said. “But don’t get your hopes up. The hard drive was stolen from that one months ago.” Something dawned on me that was disturbing. “By the way, why were you two so interested in Stephen’s laptop?”

Betty and Hazel traded a fleeting glance.

“Well, if you must know,” said Hazel, “we were trying to figure out what disturbed Stephen so much just before his untimely death. It was Jenny’s dying wish to find out whatever we could to put to rest all those rumors about his odd behavior.”

“Oh. …So when I showed up, you two took advantage of a great opportunity, hoping I would inadvertently help you with your mission.”

“Well, I wouldn’t put it exactly like that,” admitted Betty, “but you were a gift that dropped right into our laps. So we helped things along when we saw you were obviously looking in the same direction. You were asking questions we couldn’t ask, at least not without causing undue suspicion.”

“I guess I was, wasn’t I?” I said, reluctantly. How could I be upset? They intentionally tried to help, by letting me steal back the laptop. Unfortunately someone else now had it, but
who
? “What a mess,” I reflected out loud.

“You can say that again,” replied Hazel, sympathetically.

“Well, we better go and close up the book store,” said Betty, sipping the last of her tea. “Clay is out of town, so it’s up to us. Samantha, it has certainly been interesting. We must get together again and real soon. Maybe we can come up with something between the three of us.”

Hazel stood up as well, and picked up her purse and coat.

“Yes, we might come up with some solution,” I said, as I escorted them to the door. “Thanks for stopping by.”

I switched the sign to read closed and leaned heavily against the door, thinking. There was something that was bothering me, but I couldn’t nail down what it was. I started to put things away to get ready to leave myself. As I moved around, closing up, I absentmindedly did some mental calculations. I suddenly spun around and stared at the entrance, laughing out loud.

“Why those two old cons! Stephen died
after
Jenny had died.”

I had been duped again
.

Chapter 43

Sparring Partner

Clay glanced around in admiration as I ticked off my upgraded improvements since that disastrous ice storm. Then he stood quietly, regarding me. “Okay, now what furniture do you need me to help move? Frankly, I wouldn’t touch a thing. It looks great just the way it is.”