Diana Anderson - Entering Southern Country 01 - Famous in a Small Town (32 page)

Cal swallowed and pressed the intercom button. “Send him in.” He washed his bite of sandwich down with a drink.

A moment later, Cal’s office door opened, and Ted stepped inside. He closed the door behind him and walked over to Cal’s desk.

Cal nodded at the chair beside Ted. “Have a seat, and tell me what’s on your mind.”

“Thanks.” Ted eyed Cal’s sandwich as he sat down. “I don’t mean to interrupt your supper.”

“It’s all right. Not the first time I’ve had my supper interrupted.”

 Ted took a deep breath. “I need a big favor from you.”

“What’s that?” Cal leaned back in his chair.

“I need you to set up a safe place where Suzanne and I could have a meeting with Callie and Angus.”

Cal leaned forward in his chair. “Do what?”

Ted nodded. “I want to set up a meeting with them.”

“What on earth for?”

“Raven asked me to get with you on this.”

“Raven?” Cal eyed him.

“Yes, Raven would be there too.”

“She’s back? I thought she was gone for good. From the way she’d talked while she was here, she pretty much said that she would never be coming back.”

“She’ll be back in Cypress tonight.” His eyes expressed his seriousness. “She wants and needs closure.”

Cal nodded. “I understand, but I doubt having a meeting with these folks will help. I’m assuming you want to be here to lend your support … but Suzanne?”

“Suzanne and Raven struck up a friendship during the time they spent in jail together and the afternoon Raven had stayed at her house. Suzanne is very fond of Raven and wants to be here for her as well.”

Cal mulled it over.

81

“What the hell is she doing here?” Angus asked when he walked in the door of the conference room and saw Callie seated at the far end of the long table. Her wrists were cuffed, and she wore an orange jumpsuit. Deputy Porter stood at ease right behind her.

“Go sit over there,” Cal said to Angus as he pointed toward the opposite end of the table from Callie. Deputy Hendrix nodded at a chair in front of him.

“If I’m not under arrest, why am I here?” Angus asked.

“Just go sit down, and you’ll find out in a few minutes.”

Angus grumbled as he walked over toward Hendrix. He continued to glare at Callie as he stood beside the chair.

“Sit!” Hendrix said.

Angus glared at him and then sat down.

A minute later, Janie walked in and smiled at Justin.

Justin stood beside the door and smiled back. “Hey, Janie.”

Cal looked at her and said, “Mom, I’ll be with you in a minute. Just wait in my office.”

“I was told to meet everybody in the conference room. This is the conference room, isn’t it?”

“Who told you?”

“Raven. She called me early this morning and said that there was going to be a meeting at the sheriff’s department in the conference room, and she wanted me to be here.” She shrugged. “And here I am.”

Cal looked beyond Janie as Ted, Suzanne, and Raven walked in behind her. Ted had a manila envelope tucked under his arm.

Raven smiled at Janie. “Please, sit with us.”

Janie glanced at Cal and then followed Raven. Cal watched them take a seat away from Angus and Callie. He nodded toward Justin to close the door and then turned to see Callie standing.

“What is my daughter doing here?” Callie said as she gave Raven a dirty look.

“She’s not your daughter,” Suzanne said. “She’s mine.”

Angus turned toward Suzanne. “What? Don’t tell me you’ve adopted her.”

“No. But I will tell you this, while you were having your illicit affairs, I was having one of my own. The only difference, I loved who I was having an affair with.”

“What the hell are you talking about? Have you lost your mind?” And then he smirked. “You? Having an affair? With who? The park commissioner? That’s where you spent all of your time. Down at park.”

“With me,” Ted said. “I had an affair with Suzanne before my first marriage.”

Angus lost his smirk.

“Karma’s a real bitch, ain’t it, Angus?” Janie said with a smile.

“What the hell are you doing here?” He turned toward Janie.

“I have no idea, but I’ve got to say I’m glad I was invited.”

Cal glanced back and forth from Suzanne, to Angus, and then to Ted.

Angus turned his attention back to Suzanne. “You had an affair?” Angus pointed at Ted. “With this guy?” He shook his head. “What the hell! None of this makes any sense. What kind of meeting is this?” He looked at Cal. “You brought me in here just to humiliate me in front of everyone? Where are the reporters? Get some reporters in here, so I can be humiliated some more. Let’s put it on the front page of tomorrow’s newspaper.”

Cal raised his hand. “Let’s just hear him out.” Cal wanted to hear what Ted had to say.

Angus shook his head again.

Cal nodded toward Ted to continue.

“While Raven had been in town for the Neals’ funeral, she had been staying with me. I began to notice similarities, her eyes, her hair, the small strawberry shaped red spot that flares up on her forehead when she’s blushing or angry—”

“A strawberry?” Callie asked. “Similarities?” She gave a half-laugh.

“Shhh!” Cal said.

“Similarities to Suzanne,” Ted said.

“Ted?” Callie looked at him, “You’re angry with me, I understand that, but to bring Suzanne in on this?”

Suzanne’s eyes stared darts through Callie. “You’re despicable. You’re the most contemptible excuse for a human being who ever walked this earth.”

Callie’s eyes widened. “Long before I’d started working as Ted’s housekeeper, I had to work for you. I used to wait on you hand and foot. I’ve never done anything to you to cause you to say these things.”

Suzanne said in a deep low voice, “Don’t even pretend, Callie.”

Callie clammed up as she looked into Suzanne’s fiery eyes.

Ted continued, “So I took the liberty of getting hair samples from Raven’s hairbrush and had a paternity test done on them.” He held up a manila envelope. “The test results are in here.”

Ted held out the envelope to Cal. Cal stepped over to the table, reached across, and took it. He stepped back, opened the envelope, and pulled out the contents. Every eye was on him as he scanned the results of the paternity test. After a minute had passed, he looked up and across the room at Callie.

She swallowed hard. The color had drained from her face. She took a deep breath. “What?”

Angus looked at Cal. “What? What’s the results. Is she my daughter or not?”

“She’s Ted’s daughter,” Cal said.

Angus glared at Callie. “You screwed him while you were screwing me?” He pointed at Ted.

“Whoa!” Janie said and then clamped a hand over her mouth. She lowered her head and glanced around the room at everyone.

“And Suzanne’s daughter,” Cal continued.

Janie mumbled something behind her hand.

Cal looked at Raven. She was the only one, besides Ted and Suzanne, who didn’t appear to be stunned at what he’d just revealed.

Angus looked beyond Ted at Callie. Her mouth was gaped, and she looked terrified.

“How did she get … ?” Angus pointed at Callie but looked at Suzanne. “We buried our baby.”

“I believe we buried yours and Callie’s baby, but you’d really have to ask her.” Suzanne turned her attention back to Callie.

Angus’ eyes bulged as he looked at Suzanne and Ted. Ted clenched his fists ready for the confrontation, but Angus leaped from his chair, flung himself in the air, and belly flopped on the table. He struggled to get on his hands and knees and then crawled over to Callie. He reached for her.

Callie knocked over her chair when she jumped up. Her eyes were wide with fear. She fell back against the wall, raised her hands in front of her face, and tried to inch her body behind Deputy Porter.

“You bitch! You blackmailed money from me for over twenty years.” Angus said as he tried to climb off the table to get to her.

While holding onto Callie’s arm, Porter placed her body between the two of them.

Cal and Hendrix had already crossed the room. They grabbed Angus and wrestled him off the table. After they had secured his arms behind him, Hendrix led him back.

“You named her Agnes. You named her after me!” Angus growled.

Hendrix shoved Angus toward his chair and pushed him into sitting position. “Don’t get up again.”

Porter reached over and set the overturned chair upright, steered Callie to it, and said, “Sit down.”

Cal walked back to where he’d been standing. He looked across the room at Raven. Her face was void of color.

“I think it’s time we all got some answers.” Cal nodded to Raven.

Raven stood up. She swallowed hard, took a deep breath, and looked at Callie. “Momma … I mean, Callie … ?” Her chin quivered and tears welled up in her eyes. She tried to speak but couldn’t form the words. Suzanne stood, stepped over, and put an arm around Raven’s waist. Raven leaned in to her.

Cal looked back at Callie. “Just spit it out, Callie. We all know you’ve been lying all of these years.”

Callie had composed herself, but terror was still in her eyes. She looked up at Cal and asked, “Will I go to prison?”

Cal tilted his head. “Well, after murdering Gaylene and stealing two million dollars, I’d say you’re already going to prison.”

Callie dropped her head into her hands and began sobbing. “Oh no! I can’t go to prison, I just can’t. I’ll die there.”

“If you make it to prison before I kill you, you’ll be lucky,” Angus said through clenched teeth.

“Enough!” Cal said. “Callie, start talking.”

She sniffed and wiped her nose on her arm. She straightened her posture and looked across the room at Angus. “I
did
have your baby. I named her Agnes after you.” She looked at Raven. “She was born two days before Agnes, I mean Raven, or whatever Suzanne named you.”

“Amelia,” Suzanne said.

Callie looked down at her cuffed hands in front of her on the table. “Whatever. Anyway, one morning I looked in on her. I was surprised that she had stopped crying long enough to go to sleep. Her lips were blue, and when I checked her breath, she wasn’t breathing. The first thing I thought of was the DHS was going to be on my ass for neglect. I swear that baby never slept.” She looked up at Raven. “I have to admit, Raven was the better baby. She slept through the night and didn’t keep me or Virgil awake.”

“Finish the story. What happened?” Cal asked.

“She was ten days old when she died. I panicked.” She looked at Angus. “I knew if you found out that she was dead you’d stop the monthly checks. I sat for hours, trying to figure out a plan and then it came to me. I had quit working for the Rayburns when I was four months pregnant with Angus’ baby. I remembered that Suzanne had just had a baby girl around the same time that I’d had mine. So I took my dead baby and drove over to your house.” She looked at Suzanne. “The front door was unlocked, and I snuck inside, carrying my dead baby. I heard the maid, who was my replacement, talking with the cook in the kitchen. I have no idea where Angus was, but I never saw him.

“Since I had worked there before, I knew the place inside and out. So I went upstairs to the nursery. I knew where that was, because while I was still working there, Suzanne was always doting over that room. Anyway, I heard the water running and knew Suzanne was in the shower. Agnes … , or whoever, was asleep in her crib. I was amazed at the resemblance of the two babies, same dark hair and the same size. So, I swapped their clothes, made the switch, and hurried out of the house. I couldn’t believe that I’d gotten away from there without being caught.” She looked off in thought. “It was such an adrenaline rush. I couldn’t believe such luck.”

Suzanne’s eyes were filled with tears as she pulled Raven closer to her.

Ted stood up, stepped beside Suzanne, and took Suzanne’s free hand. She smiled up at him.

He said, “Your eyes are just like Raven’s. She’s the spitting image of the woman I’ve loved for over thirty years.”

“Raven’s eyes are blue,” Callie said.

Ted looked at Callie. “Raven has the same smiling eyes as Suzanne’s, but you’re right, they are blue, just like mine.”

“A lot of people have blue eyes.” Callie smirked. “I just want you to know that the only reason I came to you and applied for a housekeeping job was because your wife had died. I knew you were a lonely old man, and having a trophy wife would be right up your alley.”

“Lonely, yes, but you are far from a trophy wife, Callie. And the only reason you married me was for the money.”

“And you were such a tight ass with your money too. After Raven left, I divorced Virgil. The money Angus put into my bank account every month was not near enough to pay for the house I wanted. I was stuck living at an apartment and listening to the neighbor’s screaming brats day and night.”

Callie turned her attention to Suzanne. “I’d think you’d be appreciative that I took care of your daughter and raised her. Why, just look at her, she a famous author.” She looked at Raven. “I’d say I did a good job even though she turned out to be an ungrateful bitch.”

“That’s enough,” Ted said.

Callie rolled her eyes.

“I’ve paid you to keep quiet about our dirty little secret,” Angus said, glowering at Callie. “Even put her through college.”

“College?” Raven said.

Angus looked at Raven.

“I have you to know,” Raven said, “I worked and put myself through college.”

Angus turned back toward Callie, leaped from the chair, and headed around the table.

Cal stepped in front of him and put his hands up. “Go sit down.” Cal said.

“You don’t understand,” Angus said through clenched teeth. “She swindled me.”

“And you swindled Suzanne,” Cal said.

Cal looked across the room at Raven. Her eyes were on him. A small crease formed between her brows and a pained look crossed her face. He had thought that she would be relieved to know the truth. He had been relieved, but the look on her face confused him. He looked down at the floor. They weren’t related. They never had been. He looked back across the room at her.