26

“Clarence Hall? Mother, you’re dating Clarence Hall? The Clarence Hall?” Natalie opened another packet of sugar substitute, dumped it into her coffee mug, and stirred vigorously. Too vigorously.

Oh, my. Muriel took a sip of her coffee and leaned back in the booth. She hadn’t seen Natalie so agitated since they’d left the lawyer’s office. “Not exactly dating, Natalie. We just go out for a movie sometimes. Or coffee. Like this. He seems like a nice enough guy.”

Ax murderer. Recently released from jail. That’s what he must be. No wonder his wife died years ago. If Muriel could afford newspaper delivery, she’d know all about him. Sure it must have been on the TV news. But sometimes she went into the kitchen or the bathroom. If you missed a minute or two, you missed a whole story. Did Kevin’s parents know about Clarence’s criminal past? They seemed like such nice people. Maybe they felt he deserved a second chance. Well, it was a good thing Natalie was telling her now, because she was really starting to like him. She felt her hand shaking and put her mug down on the table so Natalie wouldn’t notice.

“Mother, honestly. You don’t know who Clarence Hall is? These days, if you start dating somebody, you at least do a search on the Internet for him.”

Muriel shook her head. She had never used the Internet to search for someone in her life. Not even herself. Ax murderer. Of course. That’s why he hung out at low-key gatherings like a teenager’s birthday party. He had nowhere else to go. No one would let him in. It was too dangerous. What else did Kevin’s parents know that she didn’t? Muriel picked up her mug of coffee again then quickly put it down. Her hand was definitely shaking too much. Even if Natalie didn’t notice, Muriel might spill something on her blouse. And it was a white blouse. Of all the days for her to wear something white. She had put herself in mortal danger. She was too trusting. Oh, Lord, what have I done? She couldn’t just stop seeing him. It was risky to make an ax murderer angry. It might make him go off the deep end. He had ingratiated himself with her. Just like on one of the police dramas she watched. She’d been conned. But maybe Clarence was reformed. Maybe his years in jail had taught him better morals. He did go to church. She’d already asked him how he spent his weekends. Lord, I really do like him. Muriel’s voice quavered again. “You say his wife died? Do you know how it happened?”

“His wife and two children all died, Mother. Honestly. It was all over the news when it happened. You really don’t remember?”

His wife and two children. How could anybody murder his own children? Now she’d have to move. Leave no forwarding address. Maybe go into a witness protection program. If they even took people like her.

“Do you recall how they died?” Muriel had to know.

“Mother, I’m surprised you don’t remember. Somebody who hates driving as much as you do?”

He cut the brakes in his wife’s car. She was going down a steep mountain, her speed increasing as she desperately banged on the brake pedal, unable to maintain control. She hurtled over a cliff to her death. The poor woman. She must have been terrified in those last moments. Did Clarence know his children would be in the car? Maybe he didn’t. Maybe he thought they’d be in school, and there was a last-minute change in plans. Muriel struggled to keep her voice even. “Sorry, Natalie. I really don’t remember.”

Natalie took another sip of coffee before she answered. “His wife was driving their two children home from a school play. They got hit by a drunk driver. The three of them died at the scene.”

“So Clarence isn’t an ax murderer?”

Natalie stared at Muriel as if she were losing her mind. “What? Of course not, Mother.”

“And he didn’t cut the brakes in the car?”

“No. Honestly. Where in the world did you get that idea?”

“So if he’s not a murderer, what is it about Clarence Hall that I should know?”

Natalie shook her head in disbelief. “I don’t believe it, Mom. Clarence Hall? Hall Developments? He’s one of the biggest real estate moguls around.”

Muriel tried her coffee mug again. It was just too heavy. Next time she’d ask for coffee in one of those insulated paper cups. But, no, those didn’t have handles. Either way, coffee was hard to manage when your hand was shaking. Maybe if she only filled the cup halfway. She could always go back for refills. But she didn’t know if she could get even a half-filled cup to her lips without spilling. Or if she’d be able to walk steadily enough to get a refill from the pot up front. “So you’re sure he’s not a murderer?”

Natalie laughed. “Nobody said anything about his being a murderer. You’ve really got to stop watching all those police dramas. Spend some time searching the Internet instead.”

“So his being a real estate developer is a good thing, right?”

Natalie took a sip of her coffee and made a face. “Too sweet. Honestly, I’m just so flustered.”

“But why, Natalie? Why are you so flustered? What have I done?”

“Mother, you’re dating a multi-millionaire.”

Muriel shook her head. “I’m sure that can’t be right. The Clarence I know is just a regular guy. Nothing pretentious about him at all.” The most dressed up she’d ever seen him was when he wore twill pants and a button-down shirt. He even drove really old cars. She was half afraid to go anywhere in them.

“Well, describe him to me. Hall’s a pretty common last name.”

“He’s about my age. Nice looking. Almost six feet tall. Gray hair. A little goatee.” Muriel had never imagined dating somebody with a little goatee. Howard always took pride in being clean shaven. Wouldn’t think of going camping when Natalie was nine and begged them to buy a tent and sleeping bags. He was afraid he might not have hot water for his morning shave.

Natalie shook her head. “That’s the Clarence Hall I’m talking about. That describes him perfectly.”

“But he can’t be rich. He drives really old cars.”

“Yes, Mom. He collects antique cars. They’re worth a fortune.”

“But Natalie, he lives in a tiny little house. Smaller than mine. We drove past it the other night.”

Natalie took another sip of her coffee and narrowed her eyes as she stared at Muriel. “Where was this house?”

“It was in some sort of park about half an hour out of town. There was a big structure behind it. Maybe a museum. Or a clubhouse. He just waved his hand and said ‘That’s my house over there.’ And I looked at the little house and thought it was smaller than mine. And then he dropped me off at home.” Muriel had felt so good seeing his little house. As if they were well matched.

Natalie’s mouth dropped open. “Mother. I’ve seen pictures of his estate. That wasn’t a clubhouse or a museum you saw. That big structure is his house. Everybody knows he has some cottages on his property. You know, for the servants.”

Muriel almost spit her coffee out. “But I thought…”

“Well, you thought wrong.”

Muriel finished her coffee with one long gulp. “I need to go home and mull this information over.” There was no way Muriel would date somebody like Clarence. They were at opposite ends of the spectrum. Filthy rich and dirt poor. No, they were too mismatched. Not that she was really dating Clarence anyway. Whatever dating meant nowadays. They were just going out for coffee and movies. Sometimes dinner. It wasn’t as if they were getting married or anything. Maybe they could go out just once in a while. Because she really did like him. He always made her smile. But they couldn’t go out as often as they had been. It wasn’t proper.

Next time he called, she’d say she was busy. She really was busy with all the tutoring she was doing. Now that school was starting soon, more and more of Kevin’s friends were calling her. Their parents wanted them to join one of her tutoring groups before they got filled up.

My goodness. She would miss Clarence. He made her feel ten years younger.

Why was it always so hard to do the right thing?