A Justified Murder (Medlar Mystery #2)(65)

“Oh?” She looked at Kate. “You’re smart to go after him. All that money!”

“I don’t—” Kate decided not to put herself on the defensive. She waited for Zelly to go on.

“Six weeks later I was throwing up. I was preggers. I thought I’d go to a clinic and you know, have it out, but Mom said she really wanted a grandbaby and we could raise it together. By that time her cancer was...” She looked at Kate to supply the word.

“In remission.”

“That’s right. You a doctor?”

“No. What happened?”

Zelly looked annoyed. “My mom made me eat foods I don’t like. She loved green. Anything green and she made me eat it. And no pills of any kind. She even flushed the Tylenol. And I’m not sure but I think maybe she was the one who called the police on the guy downstairs. He didn’t come back.”

“I like your mother,” Kate said.

For a moment, Zelly turned away to look out at the water. “Yeah, me too,” she said, then looked back at them. “I had the baby. He was...” She waved her hand. “Needy. Every minute of every day he needed something. Then my mom got sick again and...and...”

“So you contacted Gil,” Jack said.

“Mom did. She said the baby deserved better than the two of us. She asked me about the father and I told her about Gil, how clean he was and all that. Mom was afraid he was like Joe downstairs, but I told her he wasn’t.”

“And Gil came right away.”

“Yeah, he did.” Zelly shook her head in wonder. “He took one look at that baby and wouldn’t put him down. Even when the kid smelled bad, he still held him.”

“What about the money?” There was anger in Jack’s voice.

“Well... Everything costs a lot now.”

Kate spoke before Jack could. She could see his anger rising. “Gil had a DNA test done, didn’t he?”

“Yeah. He and Mom did all that. They talked about money and she wouldn’t let Gil take the baby with him to his motel. Gil kept saying no to the money but when the test came back and he saw that he was the father, he...” Zelly shrugged.

“Gil gave you every penny he had in his savings, sold the stocks in his retirement plan, and later put a second mortgage on his house. He sent you that money too.”

Zelly was unperturbed by the anger of Jack’s tone. “Gil got what he wanted so he was happy.”

“Were there any papers signed? A lawyer involved?” Jack asked.

“No. Gil wanted that but my mom said it was a deal of ‘honor.’ And...”

“And what?” Jack asked.

“Mom said that maybe someday I’d change my mind. I told her I didn’t want a kid hanging around me, but she said I might. I laughed, told her she was crazy.”

There was a pause as Jack and Kate thought of the ramifications of this lack of paperwork.

“What happened after that?” Kate asked.

“Mom and I moved to a nicer place and for years everything was fine. She made me go to rehab now and then but it never worked with me. I had a few jobs but I got bored and quit. Then...” She took a breath. “A year ago in May, Mom... Mom...”

“Passed,” Kate said gently.

“She didn’t even tell me she was sick again! Didn’t tell me the doctor said there was no hope.” Her voice was rising, her eyes filling with tears.

“When did you meet Janet Beeson?” Jack’s tone was gentler than it had been.

“Just a few months ago. After Mom...passed, there wasn’t much money left. I needed to cheer up so I threw a few parties. Not many, but the landlord told me I had to get out. I ended up getting a job as a waitress at a Denny’s and I had a one-room place that—” She took a breath. “Anyway, it was awful, but then one day I walked into the dining room and there sat my mother. Or that’s what I thought. I dropped my tray and screamed. The boss yelled that I had to pay for the broken dishes, but I didn’t care.”

“Was it Janet?” Kate asked.

“Yes, and she looked so much like my mother that I freaked. Her hair was pulled back like Mom’s and she had on a white blouse with a little blue and red scarf around her neck. I gave one like it to Mom when I was eight years old. She wore it all the time. And on the collar was a little butterfly pin like the one I gave Mom when I was eleven.”

“Did you talk to her?” Kate asked.

“Oh yeah. Sure. I was about to finish my shift so we went out to lunch to a real nice place. Talk about angels looking out for you! She was there because of Gil.”

“Gil knew Janet Beeson?” Kate asked. “Socially?”

“She was Sean’s Sunday School teacher and he’d told her—”

“Sean? Do you mean Quinn?” Kate asked. “Gil’s son?”

“I get the name mixed up, but he’s my son too! That’s something Janet taught me. She said a mother has rights and that children need two parents.”

Jack and Kate looked at each other, their eyes asking Why did Janet Beeson do that?

It was as though Zelly understood their silent question. “The boy, Quinn, told Janet he’d been born in Asheville, North Carolina, and that his dad said it was a really pretty place. That’s why Janet was there on vacation, and she was alone and I was alone, so we had a vacation together. I got fired from my job for not showing up, but I didn’t mind because Janet paid for everything. She even paid my back rent. It was like being with my mom again and I told Janet everything. I said I’d been totally sober ever since Mom passed but you know what? My life didn’t get any better. Rehab tells you that if you can just stay sober you’ll suddenly have a wonderful life, but mine was really boring. I hated it.”