Baby Love Lite (37 page)

I was confused by all that she was telling
me. It sounded like crazy talk. What the hell was a ‘caul’? Was
this one final way that Maggie was going to fuck with me before she
died? Why would I believe or trust her at this point? Why should I
even care? It sounded bizarre. Her story had a flavor of voodoo or
witchcraft. I hadn’t seen that about her growing up. It was if she
could read my mind on her death bed.

“
You do as I ask, Tylar, and
you'll put your mama’s killer away. You find your daddy. Judge
Tylar will help you, if need be. You let him know it was his wife
and her friend that paid Matthew all of that money. When she died,
the money stopped. Your mama loved you and that's the God’s honest
truth. I never did. I’m sorry, I wish that I had, but by the time
you were born, I was just too fucked up. Please tell Daniel that I
loved him.”

She breathed her last breath as her eyes
closed. The screen that had been beeping suddenly flat-lined into
one constant audio tone. A nurse came in right away and ushered me
out.

“
Aren’t you going to call a
‘Code Blue’ or something?” I asked.

“
Your mother had a DNR
order. It’s what she wanted. She’s at peace now. I’m sorry for your
loss.”

I wasn’t about to mention that my loss had
occurred twenty-one years ago. It made sense to continue playing
the daughter role for now.

“
I don’t want her body moved
until my husband gets here,” I said. “My mother left explicit
instructions with me. Let me remind you that I'm her next-of-kin.
She has no one else.”

I called Trey at home immediately. My hands
were shaking.

“
Tylar,” he said as soon as
he picked up.

“
Trey, I need you here now.
Maggie is gone. Please drop Preston at Gina’s and get to the
hospital. There's something that you need to see, immediately. I
need a lawyer.”

Trey was at my side in less than an hour. I'd
managed to have my way with the nursing staff. Sandy had returned
to the jail to start the process of releasing Maggie’s personal
effects to her next-of-kin, which to her belief, was me. I wasn’t
sure what the protocol was which is what I needed to ask Trey. Did
a niece trump a half-brother as far as next-of-kin?

Trey and I went into the chapel located on
the same floor as the ICU. Thankfully no one else was in there. I
played the video for him of Maggie’s deathbed conversation.

“
Tylar, I don’t see any
problem in requesting the autopsy. It's customary for the hospital
to do that in cases where the patient has been hospitalized at that
particular hospital. Given her young age, I don’t believe that
they'll be reluctant to accommodate. We can assure them that
there's no concern about malpractice where they're concerned, that
our suspicion lies in a totally different direction.”

“
Good,” I said relieved that
we would get past the first request Maggie had made.

“
Here’s the thing though,
Tylar. I’m not sure how to define a post mortem request to look for
bayou poisons, as Maggie mentioned. It seems a bit eccentric I
guess, for lack of a better word.”

“
I know,” I replied. “Can
you somehow talk to the medical examiner and find out if there's a
way to preserve something for later testing maybe? I think that
this Miss Trinity LaFleur may fill in some of the gaps where this
bayou stuff is concerned.”

“
I’ll do the best I can,
sweetie,” he said, hugging me.

“
Am I legally the next of
kin or is Matthew?”

“
That’s a tough one, even
for me,” he replied.

He thought for a moment, raking his hand
through his sleep-tousled hair. “As long as Maggie’s contact
information listed you as next-of-kin with no mention of Matthew;
and provided that Matthew hasn’t been keeping tabs on her and
doesn’t suddenly surface here to lay claim as next of kin, I really
don’t think you have any concerns. If he truly poisoned her I doubt
very much if he wants to show his face now. He probably doesn’t
think under the circumstances that you'd even be in touch with her
after she took Preston and headed down to Mississippi.”

I hadn’t considered that angle of it. Matthew
had been the contact for the LLC that had been established for my
trust and for the house in Kentucky. Matthew must've been the guy
that Trey had talked to when he hung around the post office last
year for nearly a full day in order to make contact. Matthew must
also have been the ‘business partner’ she'd told Daniel about when
he questioned the phone calls being made to Mississippi. Matthew
was likely a co-conspirator in the abduction of Preston.

I looked over at Trey as he was watching me
figure it all out. He apparently had arrived there first.

“
We need the proof, Tylar,”
he said.

I had a phone call to make once Trey and I
got back to the apartment. I pulled Daniel’s number up in my
phone’s contact list. I hoped that he hadn’t changed it. I heard
his voice on the other end when he answered.

“
Daniel, its Tylar Sinclair.
I’m afraid that I've some bad news.”

Once I'd broken the news to him about
Maggie’s death, I filled Daniel in on the specifics concerning
where she wanted to be buried; I shared with him her message that
she'd loved him. He was silent for several moments.

“
I guess if she said it on
her deathbed then it just might be the truth, for once,” he said
solemnly.

I explained that an autopsy was to be
performed and the body would be released in a couple of days for
transport to Indiana. I asked Daniel if he minded making the
arrangements with a local mortuary at his end; I'd do the same here
to handle the transfer of her remains to the mortuary in Indiana. I
told him that we would pay the cost for everything. The cash in
Maggie’s possession had turned out to be a little more than $15,000
which would more than cover it.

“
No, Tylar,” Daniel replied
startling me. “I'll cover the costs for this. She's taken enough
from you. I want to do this.”

“
Are you sure, Daniel?
Aren’t you back in school?”

“
I held back some of the
reward money you and your husband gave me, so I’m good. I’ve
straightened my life around because of that money. I want to do
this for Maggie, as well,” he said.

“
Well, okay then. I’ll call
you as soon as I get notification that the coroner’s released her
body.”

“
Sounds good,” he replied,
“I’ll contact the local mortuary up here, as well and put them in
touch with the county coroner’s office down there. Is there any
particular reason why they're doing an autopsy?”

“
It’s what Maggie wanted.
She told me that before she passed away. She felt she'd been
poisoned.”

“
No shit,” he said with
surprise.

“
That reminds me, Daniel. I
remember you telling me that Maggie had run up your cell phone
bills with calls being made to Mississippi last year?”

“
Yeah,” he scoffed, “she
claimed she had some business partner down there.”

“
Is there any way that you
can get those phone records? I’d like to have that phone
number.”

“
Yeah, I sure can. I'll
request copies of my cell phone log and get them to you. Do you
think her business partner had anything to do with her
death?”

“
Just making sure I cover
all of the bases in carrying out her last requests.”

I gave Daniel Trey’s office address and told
him to send the cell phone records there to Trey’s attention. I
assured him Trey would get to the bottom of this and I'd keep him
posted on our progress.

“
I appreciate that. I know
Maggie wasn't good to you. The fact you even give a damn about
carrying out her dying wishes is, well, it’s
impressive.”

“
She was my mother’s sister
Daniel, and if what Maggie told me on her deathbed is true, I’ve a
score to settle myself, on my mother’s behalf.”

We left it that we'd be in touch with one
another in the next day or two. I needed Trey at the moment. I felt
vulnerable and scared with all that Maggie had told me.

Trey was in his office; his Cell phone was on
speaker mode and I recognized Tonya’s voice on the other end.

He looked up at me and smiled; he waved for
me to come in. I climbed into his lap and buried my face against
his shoulder. The tears started flowing.

“
Tonya, let me call you back
in thirty and we’ll continue updating my schedule.” Trey ended his
call and pulled me back so that he could see my face.

“
I know, sweetheart,” he
said gently, kissing away my tears. “I know it hurts, baby.” Trey
lifted me from his lap and took me by the hand leading me to our
room. He sat me on the bed and removed my boots and socks. “Climb
under the covers, baby,” he instructed.

I did as he said and he tucked me in. He sat
beside me on the bed gently stroking my face with his fingers. He
leaned over and kissed me warmly. “You’ve been through a lot these
past few days, Tylar. Why don’t you take a nap while I go and pick
up Preston from Gina’s? The three of us will spend a nice quiet day
together. I’m having Tonya clear my calendar so we'll have the
whole week together, okay?”

“
Thank you, Trey. I love
you.”

“
I love you too, baby. Now
close your eyes. I’ll sit here with you until you fall
asleep.”

I wasn’t sure how much later it was when I
awoke. Someone was on the bed with me. Someone fussing and saying,
“num-num” over and over again. Trey was sitting on the edge of the
bed and Preston was crawling towards me.

“
Sorry, baby,” he said
smiling. “I was trying to feed her some pureed carrots but she
wants num-num.”

“
That’s okay,” I said
pulling the covers back to let her in. “She’s just what I need at
the moment. What time is it?”

“
It’s nearly noon. Are you
getting hungry?”

“
A little bit. Have you
eaten?”

“
Not yet. How about if I
make some tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches?”

“
That’s my favorite comfort
food,” I said smiling up at him. Trey was also just what I
needed.

“
OK, then lunch will be
ready as soon as Preston finishes,” he said on his way to the
kitchen.

I thought about what Maggie had said the
other day when Trey and I saw her the first time about Preston
vomiting every time she finished nursing from Maggie. I recalled
how resistant and reluctant Preston had been when we got her back
to nurse from me. Suddenly I was filled with fear at the
possibility that if Maggie was being poisoned Preston may have
ingested some of whatever poison it was through Maggie’s breast
milk.

I needed to stay calm at the moment. I'd
discuss this with Trey to see if he thought she should've blood
testing done. The problem was we didn't know what to look for as a
specific poison.

Trey returned to our room a little while
later lifting a sleeping Preston from my arms to put her in her
crib. I pulled my sweater on and went out to the kitchen. Trey
joined me momentarily. Over lunch, I discussed my concern about
having Preston tested in case Maggie had been poisoned during the
period of time that Preston was with her.

“
Christ,” he said shaking
his head. “How in the hell do we explain
that
to her pediatrician? I suppose
it’s worth putting a call in to see if anything can be done when
nothing is conclusive on Maggie’s assertion, at this
point.”

He looked over at my worried face and took my
hand into his. “I really think the baby is fine, though,
sweetie.”

“
I know Trey, but it would
put my mind at ease knowing that some slow-acting poison hasn’t
infiltrated one of her organs.”

“
I suppose you want me to
make the call to the doctor, right?”

“
Please? I’m too
embarrassed. Apparently, there’s some bayou trash amongst my
mother’s siblings, it would seem. I’m too emotionally drained at
the moment.”

“
Alright, baby,” he said,
“but there's a call that I think you need to make
yourself.”

“
What call?”

“
The call to Judge Tylar. I
happen to have his cell phone number. He left all of his contact
information when he phoned me at my office last week.”

I was reluctant to make that call. What would
I say? What if he didn’t like the message? What if he rejected me
like a lot of others had in the course of my life? I couldn’t take
a rejection like that. What if he didn’t believe me?

“
Tylar,” Trey said, watching
me toss around the ‘what ifs’ in my mind.

“
I know. I know that it's my
call to make. What do I say to him?”

“
How about: Congratulations
Your Honor; it’s a girl?”

It was 7:30 p.m. Monday evening. I'd cleaned
the kitchen up after dinner; bathed and dressed Preston for bed;
showered and put on clean pajamas. Trey was playing with Preston in
the living room before Monday night football. I'd no reason to put
off making the phone call to Judge Tylar.

I took my iPhone to our bedroom and sat down
on the bed. I took a deep breath and pressed the keys for the cell
phone number that Judge Tylar had given Trey. I recognized his
voice when he answered his phone.