Chapter Sixty-One

Still wearing her hospital gown, Beth sat in the vinyl-covered chair next to her hospital bed and tried to keep her mind busy by watching television. As she’d done a thousand times within the past few hours, she glanced at the clock attached to the wall at the foot of her bed. Only three o’clock, yet it seemed days had passed since she learned Jillie was on her way.

She’d just turned toward the window when Jillie burst through the door, ran to her, and threw her arms around her neck. The sisters hugged each other, broke into tears, and simultaneously tried to speak.

Beth laughed then said, “You go first.”

“I thought you were dead,” Jillie said.

“And I thought you’d been kidnapped, or worse.” Beth pushed her little sister back and looked into her eyes. “I’m so proud of you, Chili Bean.”

“We all are.” David walked into the room followed by Mrs. Potter and two other elderly women who looked identical, yet didn’t. “Beth, I want to introduce my aunts Dix and Lil.”

“I’m Dix, the nice one.” Dix tapped an index finger against her chest then pointed to her sister. “She’s Lil.”

“The smart one,” Lil said.

Beth smiled at the group. “I can’t thank you enough, all of you.” Tears poured down her cheeks. “If you hadn’t—”

The afternoon charge nurse chose that moment to bustle into the room carrying a huge plastic bag bearing the hospital’s insignia. She placed the bag on the bed and smiled at Beth. “The Physician’s Assistant will review your aftercare instructions then sign you out after your doctor’s final visit. He’ll also answer any questions you may have, what to watch for, that kind of thing.”

“Thank you for all you’ve done,” Beth said to the nurse. “Everyone has been so good to me.”

“It’s been my pleasure. But you’re the one who refused to give up.” The nurse sent a smile around the group. “Everyone on the floor calls her The Feisty One in Four-Ten.” She stepped to Jillie and bent at the waist. “You must be Beth’s sister. You know she hasn’t stopped talking about you from the moment she woke up?”

Jillie beamed.

The nurse smiled back. “Have you decided what you want to be when you grow up?”

“I’d like to be a veterinarian.”

“You’ll be a good one.” The nurse looked at Beth. “I don’t know if you’re aware of it, but some of the state universities offer full scholarships to kids who’ve been in foster care for at least one month. It’s something worth looking into.”

Doctor De Bruin came into the room as the nurse left. “One last check up.” She looked around the group, smiled, and said, “It’s great to see such a support base.”

After the doctor left, the Physician’s Assistant returned carrying a clipboard and pushing a wheelchair. Documents were signed, and conditions of aftercare were discussed. “Who’ll be driving you home today?”

Beth looked confused. “I hadn’t really thought about—”

“I’ll be driving her,” David said.

Mrs. Potter chimed in, “Beth and Jillie will be staying with me until they can decide what to do about the farm.”

“And we’ll make regular visits. She won’t lack for caregivers.” Dix patted Jillie’s shoulder. “Neither of them will.”

Mrs. Potter held a small overnight bag toward Beth. “We brought a change of clothes Jillie picked out. The police still have the outfit you were wearing when you were brought in.”

Beth accepted the bag and stepped into the bathroom. Within a couple of minutes, she stepped back into the room. “It feels so good to be out of that bed. Let’s go.”

With Jillie walking beside the wheelchair and holding her sister’s hand, the troop made its way toward the exit.

In the elevator, Lil cleared her throat. “Dinner tonight’s at our place, and you’re all invited.” She smiled at Beth and Jillie. “Two sets of sisters have been reunited, and I propose a celebration.”

Dix’s mouth flew open, and she tapped an index finger on her sister’s cheek. “Who are you and what have you done with my twin?”

Lil held her hands out, palms up. “Just because I’m right ninety-eight percent of the time doesn’t mean I can’t admit when I’m wrong the other two percent.” She grinned at David and Beth, then patted Jillie’s shoulder. “And from now on, you can call me Aunt Lil.”

****

Per Jillie’s request, dinner that night was spaghetti and meatballs followed by Banana Split Bread a la Dixie. The house rang with laughter as the new-found friends chatted and joked. After-dinner coffee was served on the patio.

“So, the skeleton Jillie found was Toby’s mother?” Beth asked David.

“According to dental records it is,” David said.

“What happened to her, how’d she die?” Lil said.

“Toby says he killed her accidentally, but Mort says otherwise. Mort said the two of them were building a fort out of scrap lumber lying around the back yard when Chlorine came flying out of the house, screaming and cussing, calling the boys everything but human. She claimed to have plans for the lumber that didn’t include building a fort for two useless boys. After a few minutes of the tirade, Toby picked up a hammer and, cool as you please, bashed her head in. Then he bullied Mort into helping him bury Chlorine’s body and all her stuff in the desert at the back edge of the Elliott property. They hauled rocks of all sizes to cover the grave, to hide the over-turned dirt.”

“The thought of those two little boys digging a hole to bury a body…” Dix said. “How did they know to bury it deep enough so coyotes wouldn’t get to it?”

“Television,” David said. “But that’s not the half of it. Sometime later, Toby dug up the body, dismembered it, then arranged it inside the toolbox. He made Mort help him move the chest to the shed.”

“Why move the body when she was already so well-hidden?” Lil said.

“Mort says Toby wanted her to be close so he could talk to her from time to time.” David said.

“It’s sad that no one reported her missing for several weeks,” Mrs. Potter said.

David nodded. “It was long enough for the weather to settle the soil on the grave and make it invisible.”

“Creepy,” Jillie said.

“Didn’t the police question that boy about his mother at the time she went missing?” Mrs. Potter said.

“Yes,” David said. “But Toby told them she left without telling him where she was going. That rang true, given her background. And since all her stuff was gone as well…”

“I don’t understand how it took so long for people to figure out she was missing in the first place,” Lil said.

“Seems everyone in town steered clear of her,” David said. “And she pretty well confined herself to her trailer after her husband left, so no one noticed. In fact, it seems the local populace heaved a sigh of relief when they realized she was gone.”

“Why did Mort never come forward?” Dix asked. “They may have been kids, but they were old enough to know right from wrong.”

“Whenever Mort’s conscience acted up and he started making confession-noises,” David said, “Toby threatened to tell everyone that he was the one who’d killed dear old mom. He claimed to have hidden the hammer with Mort’s prints on it and wouldn’t hesitate to take it to the police.”

“So, Mort’s been afraid he’d be the one going to jail for the murder,” Lil said.

David nodded. “Remember, these guys were only kids at the time of the murder. And Mort had been using the hammer while Toby sawed up the lumber. By the time Mort matured enough to realized he’d been scammed, he thought he was already in too deep.”

“Mort was always nice to me. He kind of acted sorry about the way Digger treated us,” Beth said. “What will happen to him?”

“He’s made a deal with the District Attorney,” David said. “In return for his testimony, he won’t spend much time in jail.”

“What about Cleg?” Dix said.

“Probably not much to worry about there, either,” David said. “He did risk his life to help Aunt Dix and Jillie escape, but on the other hand, he kept quiet after Jillie ran away in the first place, so that might come back to pinch him a bit.”

“The words Stockholm Syndrome come to mind.” Dix said. “That man was one of the most beaten-down people I’ve ever run across.”

David looked at Beth. “You’ll be interested to know that Margo Elliott was admitted to ICU at the same hospital you were in.”

“Margo’s in the hospital?” Jillie said.

“She’s suffering from multiple organ failure as a result of snake bite,” David said. “Her name will go on the lists for various organ transplants. But unless she gets an almost miraculous break, she’ll be lucky to survive two or three years.”

“…two or three years during which she’ll have to spend three days a week undergoing hours of dialysis.” Mrs. Potter said. “Sounds like Margo’s life is going to be a nightmare.”

After a couple of minutes during which the group digested Mrs. Potter’s words, Dix murmured, “And Cleg’s finally free.”

Jillie looked at Beth. “Margo told me they had to hire people to clean the house up. Should we pay Cleg back for that?”

“Not necessary,” David said. “The cleanup didn’t cost the Elliotts a cent. The county has a fund that kicks in when the victim’s family can’t cover those expenses.”

Jillie shivered. “The day Digger hurt Beth so bad, I saw that big mama snake under the Sumac.”

Mrs. Potter spoke up, “I read a bit about the Western Diamondback rattler. They give live birth to as many as eighteen little ones, all armed with venom and dangerous as all get-out until they learn how to tell the difference between a real threat and just some innocent intruder. Did you know the Diamondback is responsible for most deaths due to snake bite in the United States?”

“And to think, this whole mess got started because of a rumor,” Dix said.

“I don’t understand why Pops would care if people knew where he got the extra money,” Beth said. “He taught us not to pay attention to what other people thought.”

“We all have a glitch or two,” Mrs. Potter said. “Your pa was a proud man. He couldn’t stand the thought that his girls might think less of him because he couldn’t make a decent living off the family farm. Working the oil rigs in Oklahoma and Texas paid good money, enough to provide the extras. Then when the rumor mill ginned up and everyone thought he’d found some missing treasure or other, he never denied it. I think it tickled him that everyone looked at him as an adventurous treasure-hunter.”

“What about Toby?” Dix said. “Is there a statute of limitations? He was just a kid.”

“There’s no statute of limitations on murder. Toby’s going to spend the rest of his life locked up for killing his mother. And thanks to DNA found at the trailer, along with Jillie’s life-like drawings and written testimony, he’ll be charged with murdering the man in the trailer. We’ll see what happens after his psych evaluation. This whole episode seems to have finally pushed him over the edge.”

Dix shook her head. “…so sad.”

“Sad?” Lil harrumphed. “The guy was seconds away from killing all of us.”

“Yes, sad. I’m not excusing him. I just can’t help but wonder why no one recognized the warning signs when he was still a child, why no one stepped up to help.”

“All I know is you’re the reason I still have Jillie,” Beth said to Dix. “If you hadn’t been willing to risk your own life—”

“I didn’t do much,” Dix interrupted. “This amazing young lady saved our bacon with her quick thinking.”

“I hate to admit it,” David said to Dix, “but you did a good job of figuring out where to find Jillie.”

“She’s a real sleuth.” Mrs. Potter clapped Dix on the back. “And nervy as all get-out. My kind of people.”

A disgusted look on her face, Lil pushed her chair back, stood, and looked toward the garden. “Hey Gumshoe Granny,” she pointed toward the herb patch, “is that a tiny space-boot print I see next to your chives?”