Blame the Car Ride Page 12

  I walked right up to her. “You must be Ruth.”

  Her eyes sparked truth and gladness, the same expression Edgy had when excited. I instantly noticed the family resemblance in the lines around the eyes and the smile that turned up more on one side than the other. A rush in my feelings startled me. I couldn’t speak.

  “Don’t worry.” Dean grinned at his niece. “Corinne has a hard time talking with strangers.”

  I nodded at him. “That’s right. Some people are just hard to figure out.”

  The brim of his Stetson didn’t cover the puzzlement in his eyes.

  I turned to Ruth and drew Marley up beside me. “This is my daughter, Marley. She loved your mom as her favorite neighbor lady as she grew up. She learned lots from Edgy.”

  Marley laughed. “All the fun stuff.”

  Ruth and Marley eyed each other for a long moment.

  Marley spoke first. “We’d love to have you stay with us so we can tell you all about your birth mother, but we’ve made arrangements for Dean at the hotel. This needs to be a girls tell-all visit.”

  A smile creased Ruth’s face. “I’d like that.” She looked at her uncle. “Okay with you?”

  “Fine by me. I’ll need a rental car.”

  My nervousness eased. I was glad Marley had made the offer and relieved Dean would be on his own. “I’ve reserved a car and rooms at the Kalispell Grand. There are restaurants within walking distance and a nice coffee shop in the lobby.”

  “I’ll keep both rooms,” he said.

  I instantly understood that Ruth had a place to stay if she needed it, and my opinion of Dean moved a notch upwards.

  After we picked up their luggage, I lagged behind Marley and Ruth, waiting for Dean to catch up. He took longer at the rental car counter than I had expected, and I finally just stopped and waited at the steps leading down to the parking lot.

  When he finally crossed the road, I whispered, “Why didn’t you show up at Millie’s like we planned?”

  “I wondered how long it’d take you to ask.”

  “I have to know why.”

  “We can’t talk about this now. Too many ears around. Meet me at the hotel coffee shop at seven in the morning. I have things you should know, and I need to hear what happened from you.” Dean wheeled away, hurrying to the rental car lot. He waved a hand above his cowboy hat before disappearing inside a white Ford Focus.

  Marley and Ruth were in the front seat of the Jeep, so I eased into the back while they chatted. The awkward moments I had expected never happened. I overheard only bits and pieces of their conversation and accepted that as a blessing. I needed to stew over Dean’s parting words. What on earth did he think I needed to know? If he had any information, Detective Langnecker should be told instead of me.

  I admitted to being curious, though.

  My familiar street with its overhanging trees, green lawns, and front porches seemed different with Ruth in the car. She brought a new dimension; a change was coming, whether good or bad.

  We parked in front of my house and were unloading when Ruth stopped short and looked up the street and then down. “Which one was my mother’s?”

  I pointed. “It’s the Tudor right over there.”

  Ruth stared at it as if seeing it bits at a time, then her eyes filled.

  I touched her arm. “Just say what you need to.”

  She drew a deep breath. “Did my mother tell you why she gave me away?”

  I slipped my arm around her shoulders to soften what I had to say. “Ruth, you need to listen carefully and let what I’m going to tell you sink in.” I kept my voice gentle yet strong in truth. “Your mother did not give you away. You were taken from her at birth by a court order. I’ll tell you what I know after we go inside.”

  Ruth remained motionless, gripping her case tightly with hands as large as Edgy’s. She didn’t have the height of her mother, but she had the strength. Squint lines from sun and wind had weathered her face, giving her the healthy look of a ranch hand.

  “Thank you,” she finally said. “It’s a relief to know that.”

  The front door closed behind us in a tight thud, holding us in safety. The time had come to tell Edgy’s daughter what we knew. I led Ruth into the living room, and we settled onto the couch, sitting shoulder to shoulder. Marley relaxed into a rocker, a slight motion of her feet swaying the chair like a cradle.

  Ruth’s green-tinted eyes met mine. “I’m not afraid of what you will tell me.”

  “I don’t know what your mother went through as a child. Just a few things, but I’m sure her husband, Fred, will share more with you. I do know they married shortly after she was discharged from the hospital. He brought her here to the place where he was raised. He and Edgy have lived in the same house on this street ever since. She finally had a stable home.”

  Ruth’s features grew blank. “And yet she took drugs, according to my uncle.”

  I pressed my lips together. “He doesn’t know anything about your mother. Marley and I loved her as family, and you need to know her as we did. She was our best friend ever.”

  A light smile touched Ruth’s lips. “I’m sure you want to know about me.”

  Marley nodded. “We do, but first let’s talk about Edgy. One of my best memories of her is when Patrick and I ran to her after Mom and Dad went all legal and wouldn’t let us have BB guns. She bought three Daisy Model 25s, one for Patrick, one for me, and one for herself. She took us shooting in the woods and kept them hidden.”

  “She did not,” I said in disbelief.

  “Mom, this is a girls’ tell-all, and that’s as true as Edgy was. She taught us how to go the extra mile for children and friends.” Marley paused a moment. “This isn’t against you and Dad, but you were so damned uptight. Right was right, wrong was wrong. We needed an in-between to grow up balanced and not ignorant of the world. Edgy gave us that.”

  Ruth straightened. “That sounds like living on a ranch, protected along with the livestock. I learned about life on the school bus.”

  Marley and I beamed. “Ruth,” I said. “You really are so much like your natural mother, up-front and candid.”

  “Figured I got my rebellious streak from her genes.”

  I had to ask, “Did you marry and have children?”

  “No, never did. I was isolated and knew mostly cowhands. I didn’t fit with the kids at school. I guess you’d call me a loner. I think that’s why I needed to learn about my heritage. Have something that belonged to just me. My mom kept everything secret. Never told me anything about the adoption or my dad. They divorced when I was little. I don’t remember him at all.”

  “And college?” I sensed she was holding something back.

  “That’s another story for another time.” She ducked her eyes, concealing something that hurt.

  Marley stood up like she needed a break from confessions and crossed to the bay window. “It is really nice out. Let’s go for a hike at Lone Pine. Your mom used to take Patrick and me for walks up there. It’s dizzy high, but we like it. You’ll get a bird’s-eye view of the valley Edgy loved.”

  Dressed in hiking boots and oily with bug spray, we crossed a cedar bridge spanning a brush-filled ravine and entered a groomed path. It wound upward to the viewing platform high on a bluff overlooking the Flathead Valley.

  Marley led us upward. She turned and called back to me, “When was the last time you hiked up here?”

  “Long time. Maybe ten years.”

  “It’s beautiful and only a few miles from home. You should come more often.”

  I held back a little and let those healthy women in their prime get ahead so I could just take in the beauty on my own and not grow short of breath. Bull pine, spruce, alder bushes and golden grass surrounded me on the trail. Some juniper, too. I stopped for a moment to enjoy the pungent smell of evergreens.

  Marley was right, of course. I should have been out in the fresh air of our beautiful Rocky Mountains instead of growing restless. When Randal
picked me up for card club and we drove up to Star Meadow, it wasn’t pinochle but the wilds of the forest that I really looked forward to seeing.

  I broke into the viewing area. At the same time, the haunting sounds of a Native American drum pulsed in the air from the crest of the hill. I caught a glimpse of several young women squatting proudly around a large, flat, leather-covered drum. From the volume, more drummers were hidden from sight. The calling to the soul reverberated against the pine trees. I hoped their ancestors were hearing their prayerful tribute.

  Suddenly, the vista of the valley appeared, and I crossed to the waist-high rock wall to gaze across the valley toward the Mission Mountains, the Swan Range, and the sharp peaks of Glacier Park.

  Ruth looked over vista of the valley as Marley pointed to the mountains, rivers and lakes. I couldn’t overhear what they said, but their laughter carried as Ruth was given an overview of where everything was located.

  I stayed at the wall, knees against it and bending forward to study the jagged rocks and wild brush running downward for a long way. The pulsing of the drums and the dizzying height captured me, drawing me into deep thoughts. I could understand how Edgy might have died from falling here, crashing down to the base of the bluff, but how could the fall down the hill behind Millie’s hurt her enough to take her life? The rolling would scrape skin, even break a bone or two, but death? It didn’t jibe with her fall. Like the newspaper said, something more had to have happened.

  I had been told she had a head wound. How? What did she hit hard enough rolling downward to kill her—or had someone hit her? Who? Why? I knew she’d been murdered, but how? What exactly had killed her?

  Marley grabbed my arm. “Come away from there before you fall.”

  I jerked up, surprised at her hand gripping my arm tightly. I hadn’t realized she was so close.

  “Mom! You’re scaring me!” She gripped harder and pulled me away from the wall. I stumbled into her, and we fell onto the gravel, skinning our knees and elbows. Instantly, Ruth helped me up. Marley rolled free and stood. No one said anything, and we immediately headed to the path and headed down. It was like leaving something behind. Maybe fear, maybe something more.

  Maybe Edgy had just said goodbye.

  Chapter 14

  T he next morning, I slipped away from the house without waking the girls to meet Dean. Luckily, a parking spot was open near the front entrance of the Kalispell Grand, and I zipped into it. Inside the historic brick building, updates and remodels had added charm, but I could easily picture robber barons smoking cigars and sipping whiskey in the heavy, dark leather chairs spread throughout the lobby.

  Dean was relaxing in an oak chair beside a round table, his back to the wall, watching me walk under the archway. His legs were stretched out, one booted heel on the tiled floor and the other crossed over his ankle. His tan Stetson rested on a knee.

  I stopped by an antique piano near the open oak staircase.

  He smiled and stood. “This way to coffee and doughnuts.” He indicated a room with his open palm.

  “If you think I’d be satisfied with that, you’re wrong. Come on, I’ll buy you breakfast at Sykes. It’s just a couple of blocks away.”

  And it’d give me a little time to adjust to seeing him before I demanded to hear what things he thought I needed to know.

  We entered Sykes through the small grocery store leading into the restaurant and spotted a table for two at the back. As we worked our way back to it, the buzz of voices, clink of tableware, and calling out of orders echoed throughout the dining area with a sense of eagerness. Regulars hungry for calories, caffeine, and conversation ate here.

  We slid into place at the table as if we ate together all the time. Ordering the food was effortless. Bacon and eggs, mine over medium, his over easy, crispy bacon for both. Hold the hash browns for me. He’d eat his.

  Trying to hide my fear at what he might say, I asked in a steady tone, “So, why didn’t you show up at Millie’s?”

  His whole attention centered on me as if he wanted me to listen without judgment. “I was there, walking across the parking lot to go inside, when Edwina hustled out the front door. She looked every which way, like she was searching for something or someone. I held back beside a truck so she wouldn’t see me.”

  “Why?”

  “I was curious. Edwina wasn’t expecting me, and yet she appeared to be waiting for someone. She paced around, back and forth, checking out the few cars parking or leaving. I wanted to know what was happening before speaking to her.”

  “Please call her Edgy. That’s the name she liked.”

  “And I’m supposed to know that?”

  “Okay,” I said. “Let’s go at this from a different angle. Did you see anyone else in the parking lot?”

  “Yes.”

  I frowned at him. “Who?”

  He shrugged and waited while the waitress plunked down our breakfasts. Our flow of conversation stopped as we ate silently for a few bites, and then he added, “Edgy talked with a guy in a red Corvette.”

  I choked on a bite of toast, gagged, coughed, hiccupped, and drank half a glass of water before I could finally ask, “Did you recognize him?”

  “Damn, woman, I thought I might to have to call the paramedics.”

  He wasn’t getting out of answering that easily. “Did you know the man?”

  “No. But she got drugs from him.”

  I didn’t like Dean’s tone. I laid my fork down. “And how do you know that?”

  “Because he handed her what looked like a plastic baggy through the window. She snatched it and backed away, shaking her head. He got out and grabbed her by the wrist. I heard him say he’d carried her long enough and to get him the money by tomorrow or she’d answer to the people he worked for.”

  “Are you trying to convince me that Edgy was buying drugs? Over that? Anything could’ve been in the baggy.”

  Dean sat back, looking at me like it was hard to believe how naive I was.

  I reached across the table and gripped his wrist hard. “What did this guy look like?”

  Dean didn’t pull from my grip. “An older guy, tall and thin. Had white hair.”

  Red Corvette? White hair? Knew Edgy? My thoughts whirled, and my fingers loosened on his arm. Randal? Surely it couldn’t be Randal. No way.

  Our eggs jelled on our plates as we studied each other. Dean’s hand gently covered mine where it lay near his arm. The warmth of his palm penetrated more than the back of my hand. I surprised myself by not pulling instantly away.

  “Do you know him?” Dean said.

  “No . . . maybe. I have to think about it.” I withdrew my hand from under his. “So, you left without Edgy knowing you were there? Why?”

  “Ruth had just lost the only mother she knew. How could I let her get mixed up with a drugged-out birth mother who gets into bar fights?”

  His description of Edgy annoyed me. And what he claimed he saw that night upset me even more. He might as well know it. “So why bring Ruth to the funeral?” I sounded angry. Couldn’t help it.

  Dean drew a deep breath and released it. “Because you called and told her about her birth mother’s funeral. I didn’t know she had died.”

  “But you told her you had found her mother?”

  “I had told her I found a woman who might be, but we needed time to make sure. Then Ruth told me about your phone call. She was bound and determined to come. I couldn’t let her come alone. It’s going to be hard on her when she learns how Edwina died.”

  “Ruth is forty-some years old and entitled to hear the truth. Last night, she learned about her mother from Marley and me, how much we loved and admired her. She needs to talk with Fred about the Edgy he knew. I also believe she should know what you saw at Millie’s.”

  Dean shook his stubborn head. “I disagree. Ruth is grieving over one mother, and I don’t want her upset over another one. She’s had enough to deal with.”

  “I need to understand more of your siste
r’s relationship with Ruth. From what I sense, Ruth’s searching for more than just a mother. I think she’s trying to find what makes sense to her.”

  He played with his fork and then put it down. And picked it back up again.

  “I won’t betray your confidence,” I said. “Whatever you say stays between us.”

  “I figured that, but it’s hard for ranch people to talk about family. We usually take care of our own. This time, though, I’m afraid Ruth is slipping into some kind of depression. She can’t let go of the fact she was adopted, and that’s what’s driving her to find out all she can about her natural family.”

  “Edgy had problems,” I said.

  “I read the info in the adoption records to see if I might find some way to pull Ruth out of her mourning. It was recorded that the authorities took the baby away because of a mental crisis. I’m worried mental illness runs in Ruth’s heritage. I have to know the truth and be prepared.”

  My heart softened for this proud man. He was trying to protect his family and didn’t know what was right or wrong for his niece. I said, “You’ve met Marley, and I also have a son who is forty-eight. I still don’t know how much to let them know about the past. It’s hard to keep painful things hidden, yet why make them dwell in them? Ruth seems to be strong and needs to know real answers, not just half-truths. She should know Edgy spent time as a teenager in a mental ward after accidentally running over her little nephew. The boy died from his injuries.”

  Dean rubbed his knees and then looked back up at me. “Damn, that’s a hard one.” He paused for only a moment. “My sister was the one who wanted to adopt. And, finally, her husband went along with it. It’s my understanding Ruth had colic as a baby and her father couldn’t stand the crying and insisted that Sis keep the baby upstairs away from him. She told me she spent the better part of Ruth’s first year upstairs and alone. The colic finally eased, and things were better. Then the rotten bastard couldn’t stand the toddler’s running and making noise. He’d spank her for it. That’s when Sis left him and brought Ruth home to us. Even after all these years, I’d still like to get that asshole centered in my rifle sights.”