He’d contacted one of Callie’s old babysitters, a retired teacher named Patricia Wayne, to spend time with Callie while he was on the road. Callie had no idea why he was leaving, only that he’d be back the next day, and she was excited to see Miss Patty again.
Now all he had to do was sleep – an impossible task. The bed in the apartment wasn’t as comfortable as his bed back home, but the library was still being cleaned. Apparently it wasn’t easy to get blood off of furniture and floors.
He fell asleep on the sofa watching the late-night news. When he woke up it was morning and the phone was ringing. He answered before his eyes were fully open just so he wouldn’t have to hear it ring again.
“
Justin Caulfield.”
“
Mr. Caulfield, this is Truman Epperson. I’m sorry to bother you, but we don’t know what you want done about Mr. Newton.”
Justin sat up, struggling to gather his thoughts. “You picked up his body, too?”
“
Yes. Were we not supposed to?”
“
No. Surely he has next of kin somewhere. I’ll have Frances get that information to you, although I would have thought the police made those notifications.”
“
They told us he had no next of kin and there was no one to claim the body.”
Justin’s eyes suddenly narrowed. “Cremate him. Send me the bill and save his ashes.”
“
Yes sir. Thank you, sir. Sorry to bother you.”
The call ended.
Justin glanced at the clock. It was already after 8:00 a.m. Time to get moving. Tiller lived in Clarksburg, which was a three-hour drive from Caulfield. With luck, he’d be there by noon.
****
It was just after twelve when Justin pulled up to the office of Tiller and Sons and parked. The building was neatly painted – white with red trim – and the area surrounding it had been enclosed by an eight foot privacy fence. Both garage doors were open with people working inside. On the surface, it appeared to be a thriving business.
He grabbed the envelope with Callie’s pictures as he got out. The sun was warm on his face, even though the air verged on cold – a reminder that fall was here and winter not far behind.
As he started toward the office, two tall young men in their mid-to-late twenties walked out. From their matching strides to the white-blonde hair and blue eyes, it was obvious they were brothers. When they saw him, they stopped. One turned and politely stepped back and opened the door for him.
“
Welcome to Tiller and Sons.”
“
Thanks,” Justin said. “Are you one of the sons?”
The young man smiled. “Yes sir. I’m Hank, this is my brother, Ben. There are two more of us, but we’re the cream of the crop.”
Ben laughed, which made Justin smile. He’d always imagined what it would be like to be part of a big family. They were lucky.
Hank eyed Justin’s car. “I’m not seeing a dent or a scratch on that fine Lexus you rolled up in, so how can we help you?”
“
I’m looking for Wade Lee Tiller. Is he your father?”
The smile slid off Hank’s face. “What are you, a process server?”
“
No, no, nothing like that. It’s personal business.”
“
What’s your name?”
Justin pulled a card from his pocket. “Justin Caulfield, of Caulfield Industries.”
The congeniality shifted to a protective formality. “Have a seat,” Hank said, and left the office through a back door while Ben stood guard.
Justin wondered how they would feel once they learned they had a sister. Would they still want to throw him to the curb, or even worse, try to claim custody? They wouldn’t win, but the notoriety would destroy her.
Justin scanned his phone for text messages while he waited. There were none. God bless Frances for standing between him and the chaos he’d left behind.
A few moments later the door opened. Hank was back, followed by a man he assumed was Wade Tiller. He was burned brown by the sun, making his blonde hair appear whiter than it already was. His features had been passed to both of his sons – and as Justin looked closer, his heart twisted – on to Callie, as well. It was shocking to see his daughter’s eyes looking at him from this man’s face.
Demon Jealousy raised its ugly head, but Justin wouldn’t acknowledge the presence. He stood up and extended his hand. “Mr. Tiller, I’m Justin Caulfield from-“
“
I know who you are.”
Justin froze.
Wade Tiller picked up the phone and dialed a number. “Penny. I need you back at the office. Yes, I know your lunch hour isn’t over, but it’s important. Tell Paul and Tommy to get to the house and tell Suzy to make extra. I’m bringing company.”
Hank and Ben frowned. Their interest in Justin had suddenly increased.
“
What the hell, Dad?” Hank said.
“
You’ll find out soon enough.” Then he looked at Justin. “Mr. Caulfield, we’re going to my house for this discussion. It won’t put you out any because it’s just across the street.”
Justin felt a little like Alice must have felt when she fell down the rabbit hole. Nothing was as it seemed. As they crossed the street in tandem, he couldn’t get past the feeling he was walking under guard. The fact that his presence might be received as a threat had never occurred to him and he was wishing he’d told someone where he was going. He couldn’t afford to leave Callie an orphan – not when she was so young and so sick.
To his surprise, the two-story white house across the street was not only pleasing from the outside, but the inside was warm and inviting, as well. As they entered, he smelled something tasty.
“
Yum, stew,” Hank said.
“
Show Mr. Caulfield to the bathroom so he can wash up. I’m going to the kitchen to talk to Suzy,” Wade said, then left the room.
It was obvious Wade wasn’t afraid or upset. More like fatalistic, as if he’d expected this might one day occur.
“
This way,” Hank said, and pointed to the last door on the right down a wide, airy hall. “When you’ve finished, follow your nose to the kitchen. Dinner’s waiting.”
“
Okay, thank-“
But the words went unheeded. Like their father, he walked away, leaving Justin on his own. A couple of minutes later he walked into the kitchen and then stopped.
Wade saw him. “You can sit here,” he said, pointing to a chair at his elbow.
Justin laid the envelope on the sideboard and sat.
“
This really isn’t necessary,” he said. “I just need to-“
Wade shook his head. “This is how we do everything in this family. We share food. It’s harder to pick a fight when your belly is full. And there are no secrets. Everyone knows what’s going on at once. Secrets tear family apart.”
Tears welled, shocking Justin into silence. The man was right about one thing, secrets were destructive.
Wade had not expected to see tears. His estimation of the man shifted somewhat slightly to the good, but he reserved the right to change his mind.
“
Mr. Caulfield, you’ve already met my two oldest sons, Hank and Ben. That’s Paul at the far end of the table and Tommy just to his right. Tommy is a senior in high school. Paul is a freshman in college. The two oldest have already graduated college and this fine woman on my left is my sweetheart, Suzy. She runs this house like we run the body shop. Neat, clean, and with no backtalk, right honey?”
Justin eyed them curiously. Wade Tiller had certainly put his mark on them. It was like looking at four different versions of the same man. The pretty, middle-aged woman sitting on Wade’s right smiled. The smile never reached her eyes.
“
Nice to meet all of you,” Justin said.
Wade picked up his spoon. “The stew smells good, Suzy. Hey Paul, pass the cornbread,” and so the meal began.
Conversation was awkward, but it eased as the meal progressed. The brothers chided each other about everything from girls and phone calls, grades and goofs on the job, to who ate the last piece of pecan pie last night. Justin could hardly eat for watching, wishing he’d grown up in a family like this instead of the sterile, polite environment of his youth.
Finally, the meal ended, the table cleared, and coffee and cookies were passed around. At that point, Wade gave the floor to Justin with a look.
Justin didn’t mince words. “It’s obvious you know who I am.”
“
Deborah’s husband,” Wade said.
Again, Justin felt side-swiped. Everyone had known about the affair except him.
“
How is she?” Wade asked.
Ah, so he didn’t know everything after all.
“
Deborah died in a car wreck more than six years ago.”
Wade paled. “I’m sorry to hear that.”
“
So were we. As I was saying, it’s obvious you know who I am. I, however, did not know you existed until a few days ago.”
Wade’s surprise showed, but he said nothing as Justin continued.
“
I found out during a fight with my mother. It was a shock, in more ways than one.”
“
I can imagine. Do your parents know that you’re here?”
“
My father’s been dead for several years. My mother was shot and killed two days ago.”
The collective gasp that went around the table shifted the energy again. Justin was gaining empathy, which was good considering what he’d come to ask.
“
Really sorry to hear that,” Wade said. “Was it a robbery?”
Justin reached for his coffee cup, unaware his hand was shaking. He took a sip, and then looked up.
“
No secrets at this table, right?”
Wade nodded.
“
Then to tell this right, I need to go back over twenty years. My senior year in high school I had a sweetheart from the wrong side of the tracks. Her name was Sunny. We sneaked around to see each other until my parents found out then it hit the fan. I was the only child, born with the expectation that I would follow in the footsteps of all the other Caulfield heirs who’d come before me and carry on the family business. It was no big deal to me until Sunny. My parents told me I’d be disinherited if I didn’t drop her. I said I didn’t care. Then they begged, threatened, and finally played their trump card. If I left them, there would be no one to carry on the family name – to take up the business that four generations before me kept flourishing. I was a kid. I caved in. I have regretted it ever since, but that was that. We broke up and I left for college bearing all kinds of guilt.”
Wade nodded. “I see that, but I don’t know what it has to do with me.”
“
You will. You wanted to know why my mother was shot, well it’s because the past came back to haunt her. After I left town, Sunny found out she was pregnant. My parents paid her parents off to keep it quiet. Years pass. I marry Deborah and come home to take over the family business from my ailing father, completely unaware of what had happened. Last week, Sunny died of cancer. I didn’t even know she was still in the city until I read the obituary. That’s when I had the fight with my mother. That’s when I found out about the daughter I never knew I had. At the same time, the man Sunny married found out about me. Ironically, he worked for my company and had just been fired. He went to my house to beg for his job back, but I wasn’t there. My mother stepped in and told him to get out. He threatened to tell everyone about the illegitimate child if he didn’t get rehired. She ran him off then sent her bodyguard to kill him.”
This time the collective gasp that went around the table was one of retreat.
“
The morning Sunny passed away, the police were pulling her husband’s body out of the Little Man river.”
“
Sweet Jesus,” Wade whispered.
“
I’ve given you more details of my sordid family than I’m sure you care to hear, but it bears on why I’m here, so forgive me. Bottom line, I began to suspect what had happened and by then, Sunny’s daughter found out about me. The police suspected me, but they didn’t know all I knew. I wore a wire and went back for a second round with my mother, during which time she admitted to what she’d done. I’m still trying to come to terms with knowing she killed a man who only wanted his job back. When the police came to arrest her and the bodyguard, the man decided to spare them both the shame and embarrassment of public trial and prison, by killing her and then himself right in the middle of the arrest.”
The room went silent, except for a faucet dripping into the sink and a cat fight in progress somewhere outside.
Ben cleared his throat then put a hand on Justin’s shoulder.
“
Really sorry, man.”
Justin sighed. “And that leads me to why I am here. Deborah and I had a daughter. It’s been tough raising her without her mother, but she’s my life. I would do anything for her. But I have a problem my money can’t fix. Last year she nearly died before the doctors were able to diagnose her disease. It took months for them to cure it. In the process, the disease and the treatment destroyed her kidneys. She’s on the transplant list, but so far down it doesn’t count.”
“
You can’t donate?” Wade asked.
“
I only have one kidney,” Justin said. “But even if I had two, it wouldn’t matter. I found out during that fight with my mother that she’s not my child. She’s yours, Wade, and I’ve come to beg for your mercy and your help.”