Darlene scurried away. Adam could hear her clomping up the steps in her designer shoes. When she returned with a small plastic bag full of jewelry, she said, “This is pathetic. This shit is all crap, and to think I thought it meant something. Go on, take it, you bastard!”
Adam took it, but he wasn’t finished yet. “While I’m gone, get together all those designer handbags and fancy shoes and the clothes you said you needed but never wore, and we’ll take them to a consignment shop.”
Darlene screamed her outrage. “What about all your junk—those fishing poles, your golf clubs, all that crap in the garage?”
“That’s going to go, too. How much do you think I can carry at one time on my motorcycle? Get it all together in the garage. I’ll take one load at a time. But first we have to get some food.”
“Don’t forget the cigarettes and beer.”
“Those aren’t necessities, Darlene. You are so stupid, I can’t believe I am actually standing here talking to you. When are you going to
get it
? And don’t start with the threats, either. This might be a good time for you to call your own mother or maybe your ex-mother-in-law to see if either one of them will take you in, because right now I’ve had enough of you and your shit. I rue the day I ever set eyes on you.”
Darlene slid down to the floor and started to howl her unhappiness. Adam ignored her as he whirled through the door like a tornado.
No one bothered to check on Olivia. The little ten-year-old simply was not important enough in their lives to care about.
Two hours later, Adam was back in the house with two meager bags of groceries and money in his pocket. Darlene’s greedy eyes sparkled. Adam couldn’t remember how much he’d paid for the special contact lenses that allowed Darlene’s eyes to turn various shades of green. He’d been so happy to have a green-eyed blonde on his arm, he would have paid any amount for people to look at him and envy him. It never occurred to him that the looks those people were giving him were not envy but pity.
“How much did you get?”
“Twenty-eight hundred. Did you do what I told you?”
Darlene shot him a look that could have killed him. “It’s all piled up in the garage.”
“Make us some lunch and fresh coffee. I got pizza for Olivia. Since the landline is still working, start calling around to used-furniture stores. We’re going to have to sell off the furniture, starting with my kids’ stuff since they are not ever coming back here, according to you. Do not open your mouth, Darlene. We need money to hire a lawyer. After you fix lunch, do the laundry. Give me any lip, and I’ll stick your head down the toilet and flush till you turn blue. Then I’ll dump your body in the well in the back. Then, again, maybe I won’t do that since those artificial tits of yours will just make you float to the top. I’ll bury you instead.”
“Do you have any idea how much I hate you, Adam Fortune?” Darlene spit.
“Only half as much as I hate you, you bitch!”
Chapter 16
“W
atching and listening to that was really terrible,” Annie said as she turned off the television in the guesthouse. That poor man was just cleared by the FDA, and now he’s dead. It’s sad because he was so generous, such a great philanthropist. I don’t mean to sound flip or uncaring, but it just goes to show: here today, gone tomorrow, so live right because you don’t know what’s around the corner.”
Myra nodded. She wasn’t in the mood to talk about dead people. “Let’s take a walk around the yard, Annie. I’m starting to get homesick.”
“I hear you, Myra. A walk sounds nice. Maybe the dogs will join us when they hear us outside. Julie isn’t back yet—unless she parked up front. This is really a gorgeous piece of property, with all the azaleas and camellia bushes. And I love that two-hundred-year-old Japanese maple tree. Everything is pruned so nicely. It’s like a very private oasis in the middle of town. You can’t see beyond the shrubbery. I like that,” Annie said.
“I do, too. Julie values her privacy just the way we do. I think I hear her truck, and here come the dogs!” Myra laughed as Julie stopped her truck just inches from where they were standing.
“I have news, ladies. Boy, do I have news!” A second later, she was out of the truck and standing, hands on hips, and about to explode.
“Tell us,” both women said in unison, as Julie threw Cooper’s ball for him to catch.
“I saw Darlene! Right there at the end of my driveway. She was walking with that greasy boyfriend of hers. Ooooh, she looks awful. So does he. She was screaming I did it, it was all my fault. Adam told her to shut up. I was
this
close to that . . .
that person,
” she said, holding up her thumb and index finger so that they were almost touching. “I even said, ‘Do I know you?’ or something like that. They were walking, and they were sweaty and cranky. I loved every minute of it. But that isn’t the best part. I got four phone calls while I was out. One of the secretaries at the police station called to tell me both Darlene and her boyfriend were there to file a report. They did file it, but it won’t do them any good. Darlene pitched a fit, to no avail. They told her to get a lawyer. Then Helen Masterson called and told me Adam went to Dollar Sam’s pawnshop and pawned a ring and some other tacky jewelry. She was getting gas next door at the station, and when she saw him, she beelined to the pawnshop and learned that he got twenty-eight hundred dollars.
“Then Sadie Wilkerson called to say Adam bought forty dollars’ worth of groceries at Food Lion and took off on his motorcycle. I no sooner hung up from Sadie than Hank Marshall called to say that Darlene called and asked him to come to the house to look at some furniture they wanted to sell. He told her they had too much inventory, then called two other shops like his and spread the word. They won’t be selling Larry’s furniture anytime soon. What do you think?” Julie asked, falling into step with Myra and Annie as they walked around the yard.
“I think we have her on the run,” Myra answered. “Now all we have to do is fine-tune our plan and set it in motion. We need to get the snatch-and-grab down pat, so nothing goes wrong. And we have to be ever mindful of young Ollie. But I think we need to let Ms. Darlene and her boyfriend sweat for a few more days.”
Julie agreed. “So what did you ladies do while I was off running my errands?”
“Not much; watched some TV,” Annie said.
“I haven’t turned on my television in days, or read the newspapers. The only thing they’re talking about is the nuclear power plant they want to build in Hollywood. Hollywood, Alabama, that is, just ten miles from here; and the hurricane that seems to be headed our way. Everyone is up in arms with meetings and petitions. I signed two of them when I was in town this morning. I don’t object to the plant, but it’s just a little too close to Rosemont for my liking. There are all kinds of places they could build it away from our little town. It will be years before anything is decided, so I’m not going to worry about it today, or even tomorrow.
“There’s nothing I can do about the hurricane other than to be prepared, and that I am. I just close the hurricane shutters, crank up my two generators, and I’m good to go,” Julie explained.
Both women nodded. “I love this little alpine cottage. Did anyone ever live in it, or is it just for guests?” Myra asked.
“I lived in it for well over a year. Actually, almost two years, after Larry died. For some reason, I couldn’t stay in my own house. In the cottage, I felt safe and insulated, for some reason. Sometimes even now, when things pile up on me or I get stressed, I go over there and just sit. Larry and Ollie loved it. Did you see her little playhouse in the back?”
“We did see it the other day. It’s wonderful. Just what any little girl could want,” Myra said.
“Larry . . . Larry had so much fun fixing it up. My daughters made those checkered pink curtains. We used to let Ollie nap in there, with Cooper and Gracie guarding her. But only in the summertime, and Larry and I were right outside drinking iced tea under that big old angel oak in the middle of the yard. She’s too old for it now, though,” Julie said sadly. “I’m never going to forgive Darlene for denying Ollie her childhood. Every day, I think about her and wonder what Darlene has told her. I hope she remembers us and knows in her heart that we fought for her and that we did everything we could. You don’t think she believes all the lies Darlene tells her, do you?” Julie’s voice was so fretful, so full of angst, the two women wanted to cry for her.
“Not for one minute!” Myra said forcefully. “Children—I don’t care what age they are—know what love is. They feel it, and that’s the one thing you can’t drive out of a person’s heart; I don’t care what age that person is.”
“Myra is right, Julie. I’m certain that little girl is pining for you just the way you and your family pine for her. I know in my heart she remembers everything just the way you remember. We’re going to get her back for you, but we have to make sure we do this right. We have to make sure that nothing bounces back at you and that DSS doesn’t take Olivia away from you. But then, we have Abner, our hacker friend, who will make absolutely sure nothing like that happens. We still have to be extra careful, though,” Annie warned.
“I understand. Impatience is my middle name these days. I never used to be like this. I just went with the flow. That’s not to say I didn’t rear up every so often.” Julie laughed, but it wasn’t a happy sound.
The tour of the yard complete, Annie and Myra followed their hostess to the house. Julie whistled for the dogs, both of whom came on the run.
“I think it’s time to take a break from today and everything going on for some iced tea and a visit on the veranda,” Julie said. “We’re having an easy dinner this evening. I bought everything in the supermarket already cooked. All we have to do is set the table. A picnic of sorts indoors, without the flies and ants.”
“Works for us,” Annie said.
Julie’s veranda was especially nice at that time of day, with the sun at the back of the house. The paddle fans whirled as the misters sprayed the opulent ferns hanging from the beams. The overall effect was that it was at least fifteen degrees cooler out there than anyplace else on the property.
The three women rocked contentedly, conversation at a minimum.
Julie broke the silence by asking Myra and Annie what they thought Adam and Darlene would use the $2800 for.
“A lawyer,” Annie said.
“Definitely a lawyer,” Myra agreed.
Julie laughed. “Well, then, that isn’t going to work. Every lawyer in town will turn them down. They’ll have to go to Huntsville, and the retainers will be five thousand and up. I am an authority on lawyers from back when I had to find one to represent me where Darlene was concerned. Five thousand dollars was a rock-bottom retainer. If the used-furniture stores won’t take her furniture, she might be forced to hold a yard sale and sell the stuff for pennies on the dollar. God, how I despise that woman! It breaks my heart that she’s going to sell Larry’s things.”
“I wonder what she’s doing right now,” Myra mused.
What Darlene Wyatt was doing at that moment was speaking on the phone and trying her best, to no avail, to cajole a lawyer into taking her case. She had gone through a list of ten lawyers in Huntsville. When she called, they informed her that their retainers were at least $7500. In three cases, they wanted $10,000.
Darlene cursed and smashed the table with her bare fist until she thought she had broken her hand.
“So we’re right back where we started,” Adam said. “This is all your mother-in-law’s fault, and you know it. I know you don’t want to hear it, Darlene, but it is. That’s where you have to start—with her. Take the bull by the horns and wrestle it to the ground. Otherwise, we don’t have a chance. We can pile the furniture out front and hope someone buys it, and if they do, the money is going to go to a lawyer. Your mother-in-law can make this all go away. We can get back everything if you just hand over that snot-nosed kid. Why can’t you see that?”
“Why can’t you see that this isn’t about Olivia; it’s about you and me. Julie knows I cheated on Larry. She’s blaming me for his death, and rightly so. I should have called nine-one-one, and I didn’t. She blames you as much as she blames me. What we’ve been through is just step one in Julie’s plan. Step two is something I don’t even want to think about. Step three will be the big finale, the very bitter end! By the time it’s all over, Olivia will find her way to Julie, and that you can take to the bank. This is
Julie versus Us,
and we are losing, big-time. In fact, we are getting our asses kicked all the way to Timbuktu.” Darlene shuddered to make her point.
“What . . . what do you think step two is?” Adam asked, a catch in his voice. It did not go unnoticed by Darlene that Adam was now in real time, and the fun and games, the threats and the belligerence, were things of the past.
“Do you really want to know, or are you just asking to hear yourself talk?”
“I want to know what we’re up against, so just tell me,” Adam snarled.
“I think she’s going to go after us until we are convinced that we’d be better off dead. Oh, she won’t do the job herself. No, she’ll find someone to do it for her. In fact, I think that she’ll find a lot of someones to do it for her. And, guess what, Adam. We don’t exist, so who can we get help from when she and her minions come a callin’?”
“Then make a deal with her. Do whatever it takes. I don’t want to live like this.”
“For your information, Adam, Julie Wyatt does not make deals. Her son is dead. That means she will never see, speak to, or hear from her son ever again. She holds me responsible. She called me a slut to my face. The fact that I cheated on her baby son with a known loser like you is something she will never forgive. She wants us both as good as dead.”
Adam leaned across the table to stare into Darlene’s green contact lenses. “Do you understand what you just said, Darlene? The police will not help us. We are on our own. And we are no match for your mother-in-law. Right now, she’s got money coming out her ears. Didn’t you see that segment on the evening news last week about our local food guru, meaning Julie Wyatt, hitting the big time with that Oprah deal? Sure you did, you mentioned it. Actually, you almost put your foot through the television.
“She’s going to hire the best of the best, drag your ass back into court every day of the week, then she’s going to buy off all the judges and just sit back while you and I wear orange jumpsuits. Then she’ll cruise on by and pick up Olivia and live happily ever after. The orange jumpsuits are step three, I think. There is no forgiveness in that woman’s heart. Trust me on that.”
“There has to be something we can do. Think, Adam. Maybe we can
kill
her. If we do that, it will all be over.”
“That’s crazy talk, and you know it. I’d love it if she dropped dead, but that isn’t going to happen, so we’re sitting ducks. She’ll be making her next move very shortly; that, you can count on.
“Why don’t you cook those pork chops I bought. I’m starving. While you’re cooking, I can take another run to the pawnshop and see what I can get for the fishing poles and golf clubs.”
Darlene sulked, but she got up and walked to the refrigerator.
Adam stopped midway to the door, turned, and headed up the steps. Time to check on Darlene’s daughter. She was sitting on the floor coloring in a coloring book. Adam dropped to his knees and tried to hug her, but she wiggled out of his grasp. He remembered how she’d said she hated him and Darlene. His lips tightened. “Be like that, then.”
The little girl looked up. “I had a dream about my daddy. He told me that you and Darlene are going to jail, and you’re going to die like he died, and he’s waiting for you. My daddy said you aren’t going to heaven where he is. He said he’s going to watch you and Darlene go to hell. You and Darlene won’t be angels like my real daddy is. If you and Darlene die, who is going to take care of me?”
Adam blinked, then blinked again. He slammed out of the room without answering the little girl. He didn’t see Olivia pull the white feather out of her Crayola box and hold it close to her heart. “I told him about the dream, Daddy,” Ollie whispered as she went back to coloring a squirrel climbing a tree.
Outside in the hall, Adam leaned up against the wall as he fought to catch his breath. A kid’s dream. What the hell did a ten-year-old know about life and the shit he was going through? It was just a stupid kid’s dream, and he didn’t need to pay attention to it.
Or did he?