A Justified Murder (Medlar Mystery #2)(85)

“No. But we didn’t believe them either. We thought the Nesbitt kids had told them what Kyle said.”

“The trickle-down effect,” Kate said.

“Exactly what did your boys tell you?” Jack asked.

“That Mrs. Beeson poisoned them.”

Jack, Kate, and Sara were too stunned to make a reply.

“I punished them for that. No iPads for a week. And to prove my point, I asked Janet to stay with them overnight.” He paused. “Today Tayla said Janet probably drugged the kids so she could search the house.”

“To get rid of them so she could look for secrets,” Sara said.

“Yes,” Leland said. “I think so.”

“And she found a big one,” Jack said.

“I didn’t know it—and neither did Tayla—but Charlene had an old tin box with newspaper clippings and the pair of booties in it.”

“I would imagine that it was so she’d never forget how fortunate she is to have her life today,” Sara said.

“Why was Janet so angry at Tayla?” Kate asked.

“I think it was because Tayla sold Sylvia a house.”

“You mean for charging too much?” Kate asked.

“No,” Leland said. “A few years ago, Janet went away for a couple of months. While she was gone, Sylvia bought a house through Tayla.”

“Why would that make Janet angry?” Kate asked.

“You ask me? My life is coming apart and I’m supposed to know why some old woman wanted to hurt people? Why did she bring up a twenty-plus-year-old...? I can’t even call it a kidnapping. Charlene was sixteen years old.” He stopped and looked away.

“Would you tell us?” Sara asked softly.

“I guess you deserve that.” Leland took a moment to collect himself. “Charlene shouldn’t have been left alone. I guess you know that just days before her parents left the country, she’d given birth to a stillborn baby, a little boy. She was still...” He made a motion around his chest area. “You know.” He looked up. “My wife is brilliant at concealing pain. She said all the things her mother and grandmother wanted to hear. She told them she was glad it was over so that now she could get on with her life.”

“The catch phrase that everyone thinks buries the past,” Sara said.

“Yes!” Leland’s hands were in fists. “Her mother shouldn’t have believed her, but...” He looked up.

“Tayla was coming,” Jack said.

“Yes, that was it. The problem and the solution all in one person. Tayla was supposed to arrive about two hours after the parents left.” Leland grimaced. “That whole damned family loves to dump responsibility onto Tayla. They think she can do anything, that she can solve any problem. So they turned over a frightened, half-crazy teenager to her—but they’d kept the whole pregnancy secret from her. Tayla walked into a monumental problem knowing nothing about any of it!” He got up, went to the window, and looked out for a moment.

When he turned back, he was calmer and he sat back down. “To be fair, I think Charlene actually believed she was okay. When Tayla left a message saying she’d be a day late, Charlene decided to get out of the house. She felt so good that as she left, she pulled up a bunch of flowers from a pot by the door.”

“Lilies of the valley,” Kate said.

Leland nodded. “Charlene slipped them into her pocket, then caught a bus to downtown. When she saw the sale signs at the store, she went inside. But...” He looked up, his eyes bleak. “Right away, she saw the children’s department. Infant wear.” He paused for a moment. “I think that’s when she realized what she’d lost. She was holding an outfit for a little boy, for her son, when suddenly boxes and racks collapsed.”

“And there was the baby,” Sara said.

“Yes,” Leland said. “A baby in a stroller, crying in fear at the noise, stopped at her feet. On its dress was embroidered lilies of the valley. It seemed to be fate. She picked the child up, put the flowers in the stroller, and went into the restroom. She changed the baby into boy’s clothes, then fed it, nursed it. She was a mother and that’s what mothers do.” Tears were rolling down Leland’s cheeks. “Charlene doesn’t remember hearing any sirens. It was just her and the baby.”

“And that’s how Chet saw her,” Sara said. “As a young woman who had found her soul.”

“That’s probably a very good description. I asked but she doesn’t remember seeing anyone.”

“How did she get the baby out?” Sara asked.

“The child went to sleep after it had nursed. Charlene held her under her big shirt and it looked like she was pregnant. She told the young police officer at the door that she was having contractions. He got her a taxi.”

“Sorry to say this,” Jack said, “but if she could come up with that lie, it sounds like she was beginning to realize what she was doing.”

“Yeah.” Leland’s eyes were downcast. “That’s exactly what the lawyer in me thought.”

“I don’t think Chet knew about a pregnant woman leaving the store,” Sara said.

“Probably another rookie afraid he’d screwed up,” Jack said. “Like Chet, he was afraid to tell anyone what he’d done.”