“I need you to take Alice for a drive,” Maisie said. “Right away.”
“I can’t wake her now,” Maude said. “She’s sleeping.”
“Zoey’s mother is coming in a few minutes. I want to speak to her before she picks up the baby.”
“I wish you wouldn’t.”
“I just have a few questions. No big deal. It won’t take long.”
“Nothing with you is ever a few questions. At least now I know why you’re baking again.”
Maisie grinned, winked.
A loud noise rang out from the bedroom down the hall.
“See?” Maisie said. “She’s crying now. She was ready to get up from her nap anyway.”
“If I agree to this, how long do you expect me to be gone?”
“I’m not sure. I’ll text you.”
Maude shook her head. “I don’t think so. If I haven’t heard from you in thirty minutes, I’m coming back.”
Maude secured the baby in the car seat she’d taken from the Marshalls’ nursery and backed out of the driveway. A few minutes later a rusty, tan sedan pulled alongside the curb, parking in front of Maisie’s house. A perfectly plump woman with a bumper sticker on the back of her car that said, My shih tzu is smarter than your honor student, stepped out wearing a tattered, cotton, tie-dye dress. Staring at Maisie through a pair of large, round, black sunglasses, she said, “Yoo-hoo, are you Maisie Fezzwih?”
“It’s Fezziwig.”
“Right, well, I’m Wanda, and I’m here for my grandbaby.” The woman rubbed her hands together, looking around the yard like she expected the baby to spring forth from behind one of the shrubs. “Where is she then? Where’s my granddaughter?”
Maisie paused, taken aback by the woman’s odd behavior.
Doesn’t she know her daughter is missing?
And if she does, why is she so damn chipper?
Annoyingly chipper.
“Did the police give you the details about Zoey and your son-in-law? Do you know what’s happened?”
“About my son, you mean?”
“Wait. You aren’t Zoey’s mother?”
“I’m Wanda, Lane’s mother.”
“I thought Zoey’s mother was coming to pick up the baby?”
“Well, I got the call about an hour ago. Looks like I got here first.”
Maisie wondered if MacDougal had been mistaken about which grandmother was coming for Alice. Given the level of stress he was under earlier, it was possible. Still, it wasn’t like him to get details wrong.
“I’m sorry about your son,” Maisie said. “I was the one who found him.”
“My poor boy. It’s so sad. So unexpected. I’m just glad the baby’s all right.”
She didn’t look like she was sad. She looked unaffected, like she either wasn’t close to her son, or the reality of his unfortunate demise hadn’t set in yet.
“What did the police tell you on the phone?”
The woman placed a hand on her hip. “They told me what happened to Lane this morning and said they were still searching for his wife.” She turned, stared down the street. “Which one is it?”
“Which one is what?”
“Which house belonged to my son?”
“You’re his mother,” Maisie said. “Don’t you know?”
“I wasn’t ... umm ... on the best of terms with my son before he died. We hadn’t spoken for a while.” She counted using her fingers. “Gosh, it’s been at least six months.”
“That’s a long time to go without speaking to your child.”
“I know. Too long. I’ve never met his wife before, or my grandbaby. Truth is, I didn’t know he had a wife and a baby until today.”
Maisie served up her very best fake smile, determined to get this woman into the house for further questioning. “My sister ran a quick errand with Alice. She’ll be back soon.”
“Who’s Alice?”
“Your granddaughter.”
“Oh, right.”
“Why did they call you instead of visiting you in person? This kind of news usually isn’t given over the phone.”
“They tried to locate where I live, but they went to the wrong place. The woman living there now knows me. She didn’t know where they could find me, but she gave them my number, and here I am. I’m kinda here and there right now. Renting an apartment with a few roommates on Dugway in Kearns.”
Was it a subtle way of saying she was homeless? She sure looked it. Everything about the woman raised red flags. From her long, unkempt hair to her lackadaisical attitude. “I’ve just baked some cookies. Why don’t you come in for a moment while you wait?”
Wanda shot past Maisie and entered the house, walking straight to the kitchen and helping herself to the plate of cookies on the counter. “These are fantastic. Truly. You must give me the recipe.”
Maisie stood next to Wanda, watching the crumbs from the cookies sprinkle over the counter as Wanda spoke. Wanda didn’t seem to notice, or if she did, she certainly didn’t care.
“Why didn’t you and your son have a relationship?”
Wanda shoved another whole cookie into her mouth, continuing to talk while she chewed. “It’s a long story.”
“My sister’s not back with Alice yet. You have plenty of time.”
“Maybe you should call her. Tell her I’m here, and I’m waiting. I have other things to do today. I’d like to get going.”
Maisie had serious doubts about Wanda having any kind of agenda that involved making appointments, but the cookies were gone, and a seemingly ADD-riddled Wanda no longer had an incentive to stay.
“If she doesn’t arrive within the next few minutes, I’ll call. Besides, the caseworker is also supposed to be here. Now, what’s the story between you and your son?”
“We had a falling out.”
“Over what?”
“I borrowed some money from him. I planned on paying it back, but when I tried to explain, he wouldn’t listen.”
“How did borrowing money make him mad enough to stop speaking to you?”
“When I say borrow, what I mean is, I kind of took it.”
“You mean you stole it,” Maisie said.
Wanda nodded. “It’s just ... he had so much. A giant, perfect stack of bills sitting in plain sight, right on top of his bedroom dresser, almost begging someone to make good use of it. I thought it was no big deal. There was plenty there, and I assumed he wouldn’t notice if I skimmed a little off the top.”
“But it wasn’t your money. It was his.”
“I didn’t think he’d mind, and even if he did, I figured ... I was his mother. I needed it.”
“You needed it. For what?”
She didn’t answer, which Maisie expected. The woman had an obvious addiction.
“Where did the money come from?” Maisie asked.
“His job at the time, I suppose. Something in construction.”
“Why keep it at home and not at the bank?”
“He didn’t like banks.”
“When he found out you took it, what did he say?”
“He said he was saving it for something important. If I didn’t return it to him in a week, we were done. He’d never speak to me again.”
“I’m guessing you didn’t give the money back.”
“I couldn’t. I’d already spent it.”
“How much money did you take?”
“I’d ... rather not say.”
“Skimming a bit off the top is much different than taking a sizable chunk of his stash.”
The front door swung open, and Maude walked in, balancing Alice in her car seat in one hand and a handbag in the other. Upon seeing her granddaughter for the first time, Wanda leapt off the barstool, her arms stretched toward Alice. Maisie stepped in front of Wanda, grabbing the car seat from her sister. Maude gave Maisie a look like she was astounded at her sister’s sudden interest in the child.
“I wanted to hold this little sweetie for a minute before she goes,” Maisie said.
Maude eyed her sister. “Is ... everything all right?”
Maisie leaned over, whispered, “When I hand Alice back, say she needs her diaper changed, and take her to the back bedroom.”
Though Maude was unclear of the circumstances, one glance from Maisie was all Maude needed to do what she asked. It was like a secret handshake, Morse code between sisters.
“Alice smells a bit fresh,” Maisie said, handing Alice over once again.
“I believe you’re right,” Maude said. “I’ll go back and change her diaper before she leaves.”
“Wait a minute,” Wanda said. “I haven’t even been able to hold her yet.”
Maude disregarded the remark and walked down the hall. Once she was out of sight, Maisie yanked the sunglasses off Wanda’s face. “Mmhmm ... mmhmm. Exactly as I suspected.”
Wanda swung for the glasses dangling from Maisie’s hand and missed.
“What kind of prescription pills are you popping, lady?” Maisie asked. “And how many have you had today?”
“I ... I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’d never—”
“Don’t lie to me. How long have you been abusing pills, or other drugs?”
“You have no right to—”
Maisie grabbed Wanda’s arm and led her to the front door, thrusting her outside once they got there. “It’s no wonder you have no emotion about your son’s death. You’ve probably ingested enough pills today to make all feeling in your body go away. Take my advice and get yourself straight.”
“I want my grandbaby! You can’t keep her from me. You’re not family! You have no right!”
“I’m not keeping her from you. I’m protecting her from you. Big difference. And I wouldn’t release her to you anyway. Not without the proper authority here to sign off.”
Maisie slammed the door, but Wanda wouldn’t go without a fight. She smacked her fists against it, yelling, “Get back here! Open this door! I’m not leaving!”
Maisie jerked the door back open, wrapping her hand around Wanda’s neck. “You pound your fists on my door one more time, I’ll return with a hammer. Use your imagination to figure out what I’ll do with it. I’m calling the police and my son, who also happens to be the mayor of this city. I suggest you leave now while you still can.”