The twins eyed me, but at least this time neither Annie Mae or Willie Mae assaulted me with questions. With Kisha holding tight to my hand, and behind me, Cedric holding little Tyric, we walked up toward the front of the church sanctuary. I knew Amos was behind us. He mentioned wanting to stay in the back of the church to observe. I’m glad Cedric pulled some time off to come this morning. It meant a lot. I felt okay, but with so much was on my mind, I had difficulty picking my feet up to walk.
As we drew closer, I focused on the beautiful baby blue casket. I was trying to process that Mary’s body was in there. An empty shell of a woman I would sorely miss.
“Psst, Eugeena.” I pulled my eyes from the casket. Cora waved me over to where she had saved seats. Cedric, the children and I squeezed into the third row. I hugged Cora. She clutched my hand as I sat down. With her on one side and my son on the other, my uneasiness wasn’t quite so overwhelming.
This church was where Mary and I really met. Later, we learned we lived in the same neighborhood. Not too long after that Mary made the transition from working at the high school down to the middle school. We sat in each other’s classrooms talking about our students, the curriculum and our families.
“Grandma.”
I looked down and Kisha. “Yes, honey.”
“What’s that?”
It didn’t occur to me until now that Kisha had never been to a funeral. The four year old had sense enough to know this wasn’t like a regular church service. “Someone special is in there. She’s sleeping right now. God decided to take her home with him.”
“Why?”
“God wanted her home. She has people waiting for her in heaven. Don’t worry, she’s happy.”
All this time I thought of all my regrets. It certainly wasn’t pleasant the way Mary died, but she was with her Jennifer again. Her precious Jimmy too. Tears sprung to my eyes.
“So, why do they have the box? Is she okay in there?”
“Honey, her body is in there, but she’s with God in heaven. We’ll talk more later.”
Pastor Jones rose, “Church, we come to lay to rest our dear sister Mary Fleming. This is not an occasion to be sad, but one to rejoice in her homegoing. Some of us have loved ones on the other side. So, we rejoice because Sister Fleming is with her Creator and loved ones.”
As Pastor Jones continued, I felt a little hand come up near my face.
Kisha peered into my eyes. “Grandma, you crying?”
I touched my face; sure enough it was wet.
The choir stood and sang “Precious Lord.” I looked down at the program and almost had an inclination to run out of the church. My name was on the program.
Lord, what do I say? What do I say when I was the one who found her? My daughter is wanted for questioning.
Mary reached out to my daughter before she reached out to me. What did that say about me? In all my self-righteousness had I built my own wall so high, Mary wasn’t willing to try to climb?
Before I knew it, Cedric prodded me from the side and looked with concern. I nodded I was okay. It was time to say something.
Lord, don’t let my legs fail me.
I grabbed the microphone from the side podium and looked at the audience. Not sure why, but I saw Amos’ face first despite him being in the back. His eyes were warm and supportive. I smiled back at him.
“Church, thank you for coming. I’m not really sure what to say.”
My eyes swung around the church, noting most of the pews were filled.
“Mary was a kind, sweet person. She and I became friends years ago. I can’t say we kept in touch as much, but I always still enjoyed seeing her smile. She was one of those people when she smiled it truly lit up her eyes. And …”
I caught sight of Carmen. I wasn’t sure why she was there. She didn’t really know Mary. Did she?
“Like pastor said. She loved her family. She is probably ecstatic to be with her husband and daughter.” I choked on the word daughter, not knowing where mine was located. “We should rejoice with her.”
My eyes fell back on Amos. Something about that man stabilized me. All the years I was married to Ralph, despite our struggles, he was my rock. Not the Rock of Ages, mind you, but someone God sent to be by my side and me by his.
“You know, I think sometimes we get caught up in people being just like us. Mary was always herself. She willingly became a vessel God could use. No matter what she went through, she kept her heart open, willing to love anyone who let her. The church will miss her spirit. I will too.”
As I sat, Cedric handed Tyric over to me. I noticed he gazed across the pews. I turned to catch Carmen staring back. When she saw me looking, she turned her head back to the choir.
I curled the baby in my arms and looked over at Cedric who had also turned his head to the choir. What was that about?
After the eulogy, Cedric took the children back to the house. Neither of them needed to be out in the heat and I couldn’t take any more of Kisha’s questions. Not then.
As Cora and I walked through the cemetery gates, she had hooked her arm into mine. I was grateful for the support. Across the cemetery plot I caught sight of Amos. He seemed to be in deep conversation with… Detective Wilkes.
Before Cora and I had walked three yards, Amos and Detective Wilkes were on the move. In my direction. Amos nodded when he walked up and planted himself next to me. I peered into his eyes. He turned away and looked into the crowd. Detective Wilkes cleared her throat and glanced over at Cora.
“Mrs. Patterson, do you mind if we talk to you? Alone.”
“I’m family. Whatever you have to say to Eugeena, you can say to me.” Cora crossed her arms.
With that we followed Detective Wilkes. Amos was strangely solemn next to me. Once we were a good bit away from the burial plot, Detective Wilkes stopped. “Mrs. Patterson, I understand you reported your daughter missing in Richland County on Tuesday.”
I looked at Amos, who seemed to be studying a tombstone. I hoped to find Leesa before this woman did. “Yes, I went to her apartment Tuesday. I talked to a neighbor and thought it might be a good idea to get some help.”
The woman frowned, “Mrs. Patterson, you could have told me on Sunday.”
“It wasn’t twenty-four hours yet.” I lowered my voice, so not to attract attention from the funeral attendees. “Plus, you came into my home telling me my daughter was a suspect.”
“Not a suspect. Just a person of interest.” The detective pointed to the open grave where Pastor Jones stood talking under the tent. “She might have been the last person to see Mrs. Fleming alive. With Mrs. Fleming being somewhat of a recluse it’s been hard to piece together the woman’s activities leading up to her death.”
The detective did have a point. “Detective, I can’t believe my daughter …”
“Eugeena.” Amos took hold of my elbow.
The gesture stopped me cold. Why did these two pull me to the side at the cemetery? My shoulders sank. I’m not sure I wanted to know. “You have something to tell me.”
Redness creeped around Detective Wilkes’ freckled face. I’m sure it was more than heat-related. “Yes, Mrs. Patterson. I received a call from the Richland County Sheriff. Does your daughter drive an aqua blue Nissan Altima?”
I slapped my hand to my mouth. All I could do was nod.
Amos’ hand moved from my elbow to draping his arm around my shoulder. “Now don’t panic, Eugeena. They found her car, but not Leesa.”
My hand shook now. I gasped, “What does that mean?”
Amos quietly said, “She still out there.”