Baby Love(83)

I looked over at Trey and saw a trace of amusement in his eyes.

"What did she mean about all that with the ring?"

Trey smiled.

"It would appear that Tristan had the foresight to get the ring from her bedside table where she had left it before she went to shower that evening. He packed it, along with the rest of his stuff and left her a note. He signed it 'Lucky Seven.' He wasn't about to let her add his ring to her collection."

Things calmed down once Libby had left. I wasn't sure that we had seen the end of her; she still harbored a lot of anger and ill will towards Gina and me in particular. I didn't quite get it. It wasn't like she had been with Tristan all that long. I probably shouldn't have made that statement alluding to Gina not catching any of her crotch rot from Tristan.

Trey was seated watching me.

"Yes sir, what can I get you?"

"Hmm, let's see. How about a "Kiss on the Lips?"

"Sure thing," I replied leaning in and kissing him.

"Uh, Tylar, I kind of meant that I would really like to try the drink?"

"Oh, okay," I laughed.

I fixed Trey his drink and then waited on a couple of other patrons before returning to him.

He had a serious look on his face and I knew that there was something he wanted to share with me.

"Tylar I had a call today from Judge Tylar."

I immediately stopped wiping the counter of the bar to look at him.

"Judge Tylar? Why was he calling you?"

"He had my contact information from the case file. It seems he wanted some information on you since he obviously saw that we were together."

'Trey," I breathed, my heart racing, "Does he think he's related to me?"

"Well honey, it's complicated. He saw the extreme resemblance that you apparently have with your mother. He noticed the antique pearl drop earrings and teardrop necklace that he had given to a girl named 'Marley' that he had known briefly years ago. He was wondering if your maiden name was 'Renaud,' though he hasn't quite drawn a direct connection to you and him. If I had to guess, I would say that if he is your father he had no idea that you even existed."

"What did you tell him?"

"I told him that your maiden name was 'Preston,' and that your heritage was sketchy at best."

"Trey it's time you took me to see Maggie. I will know the truth even if I have to beat it out of her."

"That might be difficult if she has had legal representation assigned or retained. I'm sure the guards would take issue with your beating her but maybe not."

He smiled and put his arm around me.

"I'll make some calls in the morning."





CHAPTER 30



I had just gotten home from spending the morning at the salon getting trimmed, highlighted, waxed, and manicured when Trey phoned from his office. Jean had watched Preston while I was out and managed to clean the apartment while she was there.

"Hi sweetie," I said when I answered the phone.

"You won't recognize your wife when you get home. I spent the morning getting a major overhaul."

"Tylar I have some news for you. With all that has happened recently I'm not sure if you will consider this bad news or not."

Immediately my heart dropped to my stomach. What could it possibly be now? I sat down on the couch waiting for Trey to continue.

"I talked to the Deputy D.A.'s office this morning to see what the status was on Maggie's arraignment. It has been postponed twice. I found out the reason."

"What is it Trey?"

(Did I even want to know this?)

I was afraid that he was going to tell me that she had escaped from the jail; or perhaps she had gotten bonded out because of some administrative error. With Maggie just about anything was possible.

"Maggie has been in the jail's infirmary. They moved her this morning to St. Matthew's. She is in the intensive care unit of the hospital. She is extremely ill and it is life threatening."

I didn't know how I felt about what Trey had just shared with me. Part of me wanted to feel happy; to hope that any threat she posed to me or my family was on the verge of being snuffed out like a candle that has burned too long. The very selfish part of me wanted her to linger long enough for me to interrogate her and gain the information that she owed me after the years of lying and deceit.

"Did you hear me Tylar?"

"Yes. I'm sorry Trey. I was kind of lost in thought there for the moment; trying to absorb all of this. Do you know the particulars of her illness?"

"Apparently she had an extremely high fever when she got here from West Virginia. No one is sure how long she had been ill but my guess is that since extradition was imminent, the authorities there didn't seek the necessary medical assistance for her. They probably preferred having it picked up on Georgia's tab since she was coming back here ultimately. The information I was given was that it likely started out being a low grade viral or bacterial infection that affected her internally. It may be somehow connected to that unassisted stillbirth. They just don't know for certain. They suspect she has been bleeding internally for awhile. It has now manifested itself into a major bacterial infection that has gotten into her blood stream. It could be fatal if she goes septic."