IT SEEMED AS IF I HAD SPENT THE ENTIRE LAST WEEK in hospitals.
Lavinia looked up as we walked out of the elevator. Her creased brown face was splotchy from crying, and in a few steps she was in my arms.
“How is he?” I asked, my gaze locked on the glassed-in area of the ICU.
A shudder passed through her body, and I could feel her struggling for control.
“Not good. It’s his heart again.”
“I need to see him.”
Lavinia took my hand and led me toward the nurses’ station. As we neared, Harley Coffin stepped out of the room.
“Bay. I’m glad you’re here, honey.” His somber look and sad eyes made my knees weak. Beside me, I felt Red’s arm encircling my shoulders.
“How bad?” I whispered.
Harley took both my hands in his. “It’s not good, I’m afraid.”
“Are they going to operate?”
“Let’s sit down.”
Harley guided us back to the empty waiting area. Lavinia and I sat side by side on the sofa, our hands clasped together. Red perched on the arm.
“He’s awake most of the time, but very weak. Even Dr. Utley doesn’t think he’d stand up to the surgery. We’re doing what we can. He’s on oxygen, and I’ve increased his medication. But I don’t want to give you any false hope. There’s a chance he’s not going to make it this time.”
I felt numb. The little girl inside was screaming for her daddy, but the woman I’d become couldn’t muster even a tear.
“How long?” I asked, and Lavinia put a fist to her mouth, only partially suppressing a sob.
“I can’t say for certain. He’s still a tough old buzzard, you know. He could pull out of this just like he did last time. But his body has been through a lot. It’s just wearing out, and there isn’t much we can do about that. I won’t tell you not to hope for the best. But . . .”
I forced a weak smile. “Thanks for leveling with us, Harley. Can I see him?”
“They’re changing his IV. Give them a few minutes. I’ll be here if you need me.”
Again I nodded, and he moved back toward the nurses’ station.
“What can I do, sweetheart?” Red’s voice seemed to come from far away.
I ignored him and turned to Lavinia. “I have to ask you something, and I want you to tell me the truth.”
I hadn’t intended to sound so harsh, but the time for lies and evasions was over. Perhaps we had a long time to deal with the secrets and half-truths, the illusions I’d grown up with. But perhaps we didn’t.
Lavinia reached for her purse sitting beside her on the floor and pulled out a clean handkerchief. She blew her nose and straightened her shoulders.
“I don’t make it a practice of lying to you, Lydia. I never did.”
Her use of my real first name told me I had angered her, but it couldn’t be helped. I glanced back at Red. His face held sadness, but his hand on my shoulder gave me courage.
And so I told my story, the edited version, about finding the newspaper clipping in her keepsake box, my several encounters with Elizabeth Shelly, and her hatred for my family. About Brooke Garrett’s death. And about Julia. Lavinia sat with her head bowed, as if in prayer. She asked not one question, made not a single comment until I’d finished. I slumped against the back of the sofa, all the adrenaline drained out of me. I felt as if I could have slept for a week. I reached for Red’s hand, and his strong fingers clasped mine. I expelled a long breath and waited.
“It was an accident. Emmaline never meant to hurt that woman.” Lavinia spoke so softly I could barely make out the words. “She only wanted to talk to her, to make her leave him alone. She was afraid she was losing your father. You were just a child, and she couldn’t even think about raising you on her own.”
“How did she find out?”
Lavinia’s sad face hardened. “A ‘friend’ told her.”
I remembered my conversation with Loretta Healey. Had that been what had caused the split between our mothers? Had Mary Grace Beaumont and her need to carry gossip been the catalyst for all this misery? Had her condemnations been directed at my father rather than at Emmaline?
I tried to work out the timing in my head. “But Daddy told me Brooke had broken it off long before that. There was no need for any confrontation.”
“It was an accident,” Lavinia said again. “Think what you want to about your mother, Lydia, but she would never have intentionally harmed anyone. And she knew nothing about the child. Neither of us did.”
A cloud passed over her eyes, and I wondered if she would be able to forgive my father for keeping Julia’s existence from her.
“Why did you keep the article about the drowning? Where did it come from?”
Lavinia looked off into the distance, to some other place and time. “It came in the mail. Anonymously. It was a couple of years after it happened, and I thought your mother might go mad when she saw it. She had no idea until then that the woman had died. It nearly broke her. That’s when the drinking got so bad. She confessed everything to me.” Her gaze drifted back to the waiting room, and she clutched my hand. “Emmaline tried to make up for it by doing good. She suffered for it as long as she lived.”
“And so did the rest of us. Did the Judge know?”
I heard her sharp intake of breath beside me. “No! Never! And you mustn’t tell him, Bay. Promise me!”
“How could you have protected her all this time? You’re probably the most moral person I know, Lavinia. How did you reconcile all those Sunday mornings in church with waiting hand and foot on a murderer?”
I opened my eyes to find her dear, familiar face twisted in anger. “It’s not your place to judge me, Lydia. I did what I thought was best. For all of us.” Her eyes softened into sorrow. “I know who I have to answer to. And so did your mother.”
I had no rebuttal to offer. We sat silently for a while, Red’s arm draped protectively across my shoulder. Finally, Lavinia spoke again, her voice soft and pleading.
“If Tally’s going to die, let it be peacefully, without this on his conscience. I’m begging you to keep your mother’s secret for a while longer, honey. Please.”
I rose and slung my bag over my shoulder.
“Bay?” Red stood with me. “Where are you going?”
“To get my sister,” I said.
I didn’t call Elizabeth, although Red had returned my cell phone to me in the car on the way to the hospital. Instead I dialed Erik’s number as I sped along Route 17 toward Jacksonboro.
“Where are you?” I asked the moment he picked up.
“I’m at the Hilton Head hospital. Joline’s sisters just got here a few minutes ago.”
I thought I had misunderstood. “Did you say sisters? Plural?”
“Yes. Apparently Contessa—or Ann, as she prefers—found Maeline with one phone call. They met up in Columbia and came down together. They’re both going to be tested.”
“Is Dr. Eastman there?”
“He’s taking charge. I think I can go back to the office now. How’s the Judge? I was there when Lavinia called.”
“Not too good.” I couldn’t talk about it. “How long before they know if either one of the women is a match?”
“It usually takes a week or more, they told me, but Dr. Eastman’s expediting everything. It could be as early as tomorrow.”
“Well, we’ve done everything we can for Kimmie and Joline. It’s out of our hands now.” I sent up one of my infrequent prayers and hoped someone was listening on the other end.
“I’ll be at the office for a few hours. You’ll let me know how the Judge is doing?”
“Of course. Talk to you later.”
I snapped the phone closed, and immediately Lavinia’s voice filled my head. Would I ever understand how she had rationalized protecting my mother for all those years? It was a logical leap from there to Jerry Eastman. Hadn’t he done the same for Joline? How could I be so certain my mother should have been made to pay and still be willing to let my client get away with murder? Lavinia had been right about one thing. No one had appointed me judge and jury in either case. Emmaline Baynard Simpson was beyond the reach of temporal justice. Joline Eastman was not. As painful as it might be for all of us, she had to answer for what she’d done. Red would know how to handle it. What the sheriff did once he had all the information was out of my hands. The mere act of making the decision shifted a fraction of the weight off my chest.
A while later I made the turn toward Walterboro, then again onto Holly Hill Road. There were no cars in the driveway at the Brawleys’ house, and I wondered if they had gone to Savannah to visit Joline or perhaps to Hilton Head to be tested along with Contessa and Maeline. So many tragedies and lost years. Reconnecting with her family might just give Joline the courage to face what she’d done. Justice for Deshawn Mitchell could be the catalyst that allowed them all to begin to heal.
Families belong together, I told myself as I bounced down the rough drive up to Covenant Hall. I braced myself for the onslaught of the dogs, but the place was strangely quiet. I stopped in front of the sagging verandah and cut the engine. A moment later, Elizabeth Shelly stepped out of the door. She folded her arms across her chest and waited. I braced myself and got out of the car.
“I need to see Julia,” I said before she could challenge me.
“Why?” There was no hostility in her voice, but she didn’t move as I climbed the steps to stand before her.
I drew in a deep breath, and the rightness of it settled over me like a blessing.
“Because she’s my sister. And she needs to meet our father before it’s too late.”
I waited in the front parlor, seated in the same chair I’d occupied the night before. There was a faint patch on the love seat where Elizabeth had attempted to wash away the blood that had dripped from my arm, but she’d been only partially successful.
I stood as the two of them walked into the room. Julia’s wild mane of hair had been restrained in a thick ponytail, but wisps had escaped to flutter around her unlined face. She looked about twelve years old. She wore the same red plaid shirt and blue jeans she’d had on every time I’d seen her. Elizabeth had changed into a pale yellow pantsuit that looked to be at least two decades out of date, but she’d made an effort with her hair and even wore a thin coat of lipstick.
I tensed as Julia registered my presence, prepared to fend off another attack, but she smiled and stuck out her arm awkwardly, as if she wasn’t used to shaking hands.
“Hello! I’m Julia Elizabeth Garrett. I’m pleased to meet you.”
It sounded rehearsed, but she seemed perfectly calm and rational. Beside her, Miss Lizzie relaxed her guarded stance.
I smiled back. “Hello, Julia. I’m Bay Tanner. I’m very pleased to meet you, too.”
“Are we going on a trip?” she asked, turning to her namesake.
“Yes, my dear. We’re going to meet some other friends. Will you be okay with that?”
“I don’t like leaving,” she said, her eyes roaming around the room. “It’s safe here.”
Miss Lizzie linked her arm in Julia’s and guided her toward the door. “We won’t let anything bad happen to you, will we, Bay?”
“Of course not,” I said and followed them down the steps.
Elizabeth let out a long breath and met my gaze. “Are you sure about this?”
“It’s the right thing to do. It may not mean anything to Julia, but it will to my father.”
“I’m not doing it for him,” she snapped.
Julia curled up in the backseat almost the moment we turned out of the driveway.
“That’s what she always does,” Elizabeth said with a sad smile. “I’ve tried to take her places, broaden her world a little, but she almost always falls asleep as soon as the car begins moving. I don’t know why.”
“What exactly is her condition?” I asked, my eyes firmly on the road.
Elizabeth was a long time answering. “They could never really tell me. For years after Beegie died, I dragged her from one doctor to another—psychologists, psychiatrists, neurologists.” She broke off. I glanced over to find her staring out the window. “Witnessing her mother’s death sent her over the edge. As I told you, she didn’t talk for almost two years after. That’s when I learned about . . . about the argument with the woman on the pier that night. I wanted to rush out and make someone pay, but I didn’t have any proof beyond Julia’s wild story. Who would believe her? Especially after all that time.” She sighed and turned back toward me. “You know it was your mother. She’d already been snooping around before . . . And then Julia’s reaction to you . . . There isn’t any other explanation.”
I didn’t answer. She was right, but there was no going back. Lavinia believed it had been an accident. Elizabeth would be forever certain that my mother had committed cold-blooded murder. Either way, all of us had paid the consequences. The only thing left now was to try and repair some of the damage.
“Bay?”
I glanced at Elizabeth. “Yes,” I said. “I know my mother was probably responsible for your friend’s death, although I don’t believe she went to Edisto intending that.” I looked over at her. “It doesn’t make your suffering any less. Or Julia’s.” When she didn’t reply, I asked, “How long has it been since she’s seen a doctor? About her mental state, I mean.”
“Why?”
“I was thinking last night that her symptoms sound like posttraumatic stress disorder. It probably wasn’t even on the radar screen when she was a child. There’s been a lot of research done since then. Maybe she can be helped now.”
I could sense Elizabeth’s anger. “We get along just fine. Most of the time she’s perfectly happy. Perhaps a little childish sometimes. She won’t hear of wearing anything but that same sort of plaid shirt and jeans. It’s what she had on the night Beegie died.”
Her lower lip quivered, and I waited for her to go on. “But she loves animals. We have a horse, and she’s learned to ride. She’s fond of music. She’s usually painfully shy, which is why we keep to ourselves, but she’s not dangerous. You’re the only person I’ve ever seen her react to like that.” I waited for her to continue. “And now she seems to have forgotten all about it. Perhaps confronting you has allowed her to get past that trauma.”
“I’d like to help,” I said.
“We don’t need your help. Don’t misunderstand what this is about, Bay. I haven’t changed my feelings about your parents. But I don’t believe you should be punished for their sins. And if a quick visit will make up to you for what happened yesterday, I’m willing to do it. But after we see your father, we’re going straight back home. And that’s where we’ll stay.” She paused. “I guess it would be all right if you came to visit once in a while.”
“Thank you.”
I’d settle for that, I decided. For the time being.
We rode in silence for a long time then, both of us lost in our own thoughts. As we neared the hospital, I could feel my hands trembling on the steering wheel. I parked illegally, and the three of us walked through into the lobby.
“We should take the stairs,” Elizabeth said. “Julia doesn’t like elevators.”
We climbed without speaking and stepped through the door of the stairwell to find Lavinia and Red sitting quietly on the sofa. Both of them jumped to their feet when they saw me. My heart plummeted at the look on both their faces, and Julia hid behind Elizabeth.
“He’s not—?” I couldn’t bring myself to say the word.
“No, but you need to hurry.” Red gathered me into his arms, and Lavinia wept quietly.
I went to her.
“I’ve said my goodbyes. He’s in the Lord’s hands now. Go to him, Bay.”
I swallowed down the tears and nodded. “Give me a minute,” I said to Elizabeth and moved slowly down the hallway.