A Justified Murder (Medlar Mystery #2)(45)

But I was a day late, Tayla thought. Charlene was alone for one whole day. Tayla’s body was beginning to shake. “Yes. Time to grieve.” Her voice was raw.

“Are you all right? You should call Mother and ask about the funeral arrangements. Maybe you can help with the headstone.” There was no answer. “Tayla? Is something going on? Is Charlene okay?”

“Everything is fine. I’m going to take her home with me.”

“I don’t think I can allow that. I’d miss her too much. I can’t—”

“Charlene needs a challenge. She needs something to occupy her mind.” Tayla was squeezing her eyes shut as she said the clichés. She had to get her niece away from...from whatever she’d done. “And you need a rest after what you’ve been through in the last months.”

“I could use some time to myself,” Diane said. “These past months have been stressful. With Garett’s job and Charlene’s pregnancy, I—”

“Six months,” Tayla said. “We’ll try it and if she’s unhappy I’ll return her.” She could almost hear Diane thinking.

“Walter won’t like sharing you.”

“Walter can go to hell. I have to go now. I have to do...uh, some things.” She hung up.

She went into Charlene’s room. She was asleep, snuggled in bed beside Rowena. The baby opened her eyes and looked up at Tayla. Without waking Charlene, Tayla lifted the child and held her. “Who are you?”

The baby was asleep before she got to the living room and turned on the big TV. It hadn’t been on since she’d been there. The first thing she saw on the news channel was a photo of Rowena. They were calling it the White Lily Kidnapping because a handful of lilies of the valley had been left in the stroller.

The ones from the pot outside, Tayla thought. The white dress and the little pink sweater were hanging in the closet in the nursery she and Charlene had put together. When Tayla had admired them, she’d thought how her sister had bought those expensive clothes for the baby but not a crib. But then, the baby wasn’t supposed to come home with them.

The news said there was a three-state-wide manhunt for the White Lily Kidnapper. They were talking prison and...and execution. Kidnapping was punishable by death.

For the first time in years, Tayla began to pray. She needed help in trying to fix this.



Eleven


AS JACK DROVE them home, he was happily listening to Kate’s chatter. Knowing that he’d cheered her up, that she and Charlene could possibly become friends, was all he wanted. He thought she spent too much time with just him and Sara. They had well-established lives in and out of Lachlan, but Kate didn’t. In the few months she’d been in the little town, she’d made progress in breaking away from her domineering mother but she still had far to go. Friends would help.

Kate was talking about the different styles of Charlene’s birdhouses. “I’ve never done any kind of crafting but Charlene made me want to try. I’d start with something simple. An adobe, I guess. Lots of flat walls.”

“I have tools you can use,” Jack said. He glanced across her to Sara. She was looking out the side window and saying nothing.

Jack had known Sara for years. They’d been through a lot together and he could see that right now she was upset. Really upset.

Tayla, he thought, then cursed under his breath. When he was in the barn, he’d wondered where Tayla’s horse was, but he’d been too concerned with Kate to think about anything else. Was Tayla there? Did Sara and she meet? Have a fight?

As Jack turned onto Nob Hill Road, he regretted not asking Charlene if Tayla was going to be there.

Kate was talking about Charlene’s chickens. “The boys gather the eggs every morning. Aren’t they great kids? So full of life. I’d like to meet her husband, Leland. Charlene seems to be madly in love with him. Do you like him?”

Jack was so deep in thought that the silence as Kate waited for an answer went on for seconds. “Yeah, he’s okay.”

Kate gave a big sigh. “Okay, what’s up with you two? I feel like I’m sitting between two statues.”

Jack wanted to save Sara from an interrogation. “We can’t get a word in around you. Leland is a good guy if you like old men. Nobody could figure out why she wanted an oldie like him. But then, when Charlene was fifteen she looked twenty-six. She—”

“Shut up.” Sara’s voice was soft but it was like she was shouting.

Kate turned to her, but Jack kept his eyes on the road. Now he was sure Sara had met with Tayla—and it had been bad.

“What’s wrong?” Kate asked her aunt.

Jack spoke before Sara could. “What I said reminds her of Cheryl Morris. I shouldn’t have said that Charlene looked older.” He was talking faster. “Truth is that Leland is a great guy. He was married before to a woman who did nothing but spend his money. He got away from her, found Charlene, and they now have their little farm. And a family. He’s a happy man. So are you and Charlene going to meet again?”

“I guess so, but we didn’t make any specific plans.”

“I’ll give you the materials I put aside for her and you can deliver them. It’ll give you a chance to meet Leland and spend time with the kids and the chickens.”

Kate was staring straight ahead. “Sure,” she murmured.