Oven Baked Secrets (Eugeena Patterson Mysteries Book 2) (3 page)

Jocelyn Miller and her family haunted me all the way home. I felt compelled to see her again. I did have a photo she may want returned. Plus, there were too many questions left unanswered. I consider myself a pretty transparent person. I have shared more details of my life with Louise than I would like to admit, but that’s what friends do, they share their lives. I could imagine the circumstances around the birth of this child led Louise down a road where talking about the situation didn’t help.

Did it ever occur to Louise that her child or in this case, the grandchild, would come looking for her? Why was Jocelyn doing the search instead of her mother?

I knew just the person who could help me find her too. If there was some way I could get back in touch with Jocelyn, Amos Jones was my man.

My man for getting to the bottom of a situation. Not my man.

I’d been married thirty-seven years and widowed five years. I’m just not interested in going back to being in a romantic relationship. Now I would love to see my two youngest children, Cedric and Leesa married. But me, I’m fine. Been there, done that as they say. Sometimes I felt like I spent way too much time trying to convince myself.

I drove my car down Sugar Creek with the intentions of starting on the Sunday dinner I’d planned for Amos and me. I couldn’t wait to show him the photo, quiz him about Jocelyn and get his take on my suspicions. I did like to hear that man talk. Kind of like my Ralph, he wasn’t full on words, but when he did talk, he had plenty to say.

I guess most men are like that, only choosing to say what’s most important. Women tended to chit chat and be all over the place in a conversation.

When I pulled up to the front of my home, to my surprise there was a very familiar aqua blue car in the driveway.  I don’t know why I would be surprised. My one and only daughter showed up at random.

I parked beside my daughter’s car and looked over to my right to see Leesa and her children on my porch. I love seeing my grandchildren, but was feeling suspicious about the Sunday visit. I babysat last week and there was no mention of a need for my free services. Leesa was known to drop off her kids and take off. A few months ago when she did this, I had no idea where she had gone and was worried sick enough to report her missing. Since that incident Leesa had moved to Charleston. I watched my grandchildren on occasion at an agreed upon time because while I was retired, a woman liked her freedom.

Besides I wasn’t that lonely anymore with my empty nest. After my friend Mary was killed this past summer, I inherited her spoiled Corgi. That little dog was like another child, just with four legs.

I climbed out the car and headed towards my porch.

Kisha came running down the steps. “Grandma, we came to visit you.”

For just a few hours, I hope.
I held out my arms to my one and only granddaughter. My other grandchildren were boys. Girls seemed a dime a dozen in my family. It was just Ralph and the two boys for the longest time until I had Leesa at age thirty-eight.  It certainly helped to mix up the testosterone monopoly with some estrogen. “How’s my girl doing?” I squeezed Kisha and then placed my hands on her small shoulders. “My, my I believe you’ve grown since the last time I saw you.”

Kisha jumped up and down. “Mama, let me mark my height on the kitchen door.” She stopped jumping and held her hand up next to the top of her head. “I grew this much.”

“You’re going to be tall as your mama and grandmamma soon.” I glanced over at my other grandchild, Tyric, who was now sitting up grinning. Almost six months old, Leesa’s son was a bundle of joy too. As I walked up the porch steps, I looked my daughter up and down to make sure we had some type of understanding. “Well, it’s good to see you. I’m about to make dinner.”

Leesa grinned. “I know. We were hoping to join you.”

I shook my head. I was just planning dinner for Amos and me, but I usually fixed extra because I never knew when my man child, Dr. Cedric Patterson, would stop by. Lately, now that he and his girlfriend, Carmen, were shacking, I didn’t see him as much. Cedric knew to stay away from me because I had some choice words to say about a man so close to forty not marrying a woman. Really, I thought I raised that boy better than that.

As I opened the door, my housemate came running and barking. My dearly departed husband, Ralph Patterson, would have never allowed any animal in the house. My little furry friend gave me some normalcy. While Kisha and Porgy went off to play, I changed out of my church clothes into a warm velour outfit that was suitable for comfort and entertaining guests.

I had laid the photo that I had acquired from the young woman on my dresser. Jocelyn’s comment about not stirring up the past still bothered me.
Why did the young woman feel compelled to see Louise today?
Why wouldn’t she let her mother know?
Maybe Louise’s long lost daughter had also tried to reach out to Louise but with unfavorable results.
 

I placed the photo in my trouser pocket and tried to put my thoughts on hold.  I had a Sunday meal to pull together in a few hours. The past and all of its secrets weren’t going anywhere.

I went downstairs and stepped into the kitchen. I already had some chicken thawing in the fridge. I did a lot of oven baked recipes since the fall weather had arrived. Something about a toasty kitchen from the oven made the house cozy and reminiscent of the days when it was full of family. Plus, it didn’t hurt to use the oven with my new healthier eating habits.

As I seasoned the chicken, I looked over at Leesa who was bouncing Tyric on her knee. A few months back she hadn’t adjusted too well to the newborn. Part of the reason for her moving closer to me was so she could go see a therapist about her postpartum depression.  As a teenager, Leesa suffered from depression, and I had always felt I should have been more vigilant about seeking help for her. Sometimes you need to place pride to the side and do what is best for a loved one’s mental state.

I covered the chicken with aluminum foil and placed the glass pan inside the oven. I pulled out a chair at the table and sat down to finish chopping up the vegetables. Since I’ve been retired, I’ve started to use social media a bit more. I loved using Pinterest to find lesson plans and activities my last few years in the classroom, but lately I’ve been pinning oven baked or roasted recipes.
The Wednesday Chef
had a great recipe for roasted vegetables that I have tried at least three times. I can’t say I was ever into zucchini and eggplant before, but I like them alongside the carrots and potatoes. Instead of onions I decided to substitute one of my favorite vegetables, squash.

While I chopped, I thought it was a good time to check on my daughter’s on and off again boyfriend. Chris Black was Tyric’s father.  On my first meeting with Chris the large, intimidating man and police officer didn’t meet my approval at all.  When Kisha mentioned Chris had hit her, I had questions about the man’s temperament and if he was really a good fit to be around my daughter and her children. I have seen him several times since our first meeting. He seemed to be trying. “Has Chris come down to visit you and the children lately?”

Leesa smiled. “Chris came to visit yesterday and we took the kids to the South Carolina Aquarium.”

“Oh well, that was nice. Sounds like you two are acting like a family.”

Leesa eyed me. “We working through some things, but Chris does love me and the kids.”

I wasn’t encouraging Leesa to do any more than make sure Chris was a part of his son’s life. I didn’t like when a man was irresponsible. I wasn’t one to encourage a woman to marry a man if there were signs of immaturity. Marriage is simply not taken seriously these days. Divorce is too easy and quick to choose. I responded. “I just want to see you happy and married to the
right
man for you and the children.” I stood from the chair and grabbed the pan for the vegetables.

“Well, what about you, Mama?”

I looked at Leesa. I knew what she was trying to ask me, but ignored her until I mixed all the vegetables into the pan. I placed the pan down and gave my attention back to my daughter’s face. “What? What about me?”

Leesa raised her eyebrow. “You sure me and the kids aren’t interfering with your Sunday dinner with Mr. Amos?”

“Who said I was cooking just for Amos? I have to eat too.” I covered the vegetables and turned my back to check on the chicken. I thought I was the mother and interrogating was my job.

Leesa laughed. “I’m just teasing you, Mama, but Cedric said we should give you some time with Amos.”

I shook my head and then reached for the pan of vegetables. “Your brother needs to tend to his own business. I still don’t see why he asked Carmen to move in with him. What happened to proposing, getting engaged, married and then move in together?” I placed the pan of vegetables on the rack above the chicken.

Leesa responded. “Geez, Mama! People like to do a trial period. I mean most marriages don’t work out. You and dad were rare.”

I closed the oven door a bit too hard and placed my hand on my hip. “Because we decided to stick it out and work through our issues.” I didn’t understand the world, but then again God gave us all free will. It was up to us to make our own choices. “Let me hold Tyric while we wait on the food to finish cooking.”

Leesa handed my grandson to me. “My, my you’re getting to be a big fellow already.” The men in our family and Tyric’s dad were well over six feet so I imagined my grandson would be a giant too. As I bounced him on my knee, my mind wandered back to Louise.

My friend had a baby many, many years ago. I wondered how often she had thought about that child. Did Louise even know that she had a little girl? The child that Louise told me she miscarried had been a boy.

From the facial features of the woman in that photo, I suspected the father was a black man, which made me all the more curious. Louise was a teenager during the 1950s when interracial relationships were practically impossible. There was no way a black man was even supposed to look at a white woman. So how did my friend manage to have this secret love affair?

I decided I would pay another visit to my friend. The haunted look in Louise’s eyes told me she longed for a child that she had lost for reasons far beyond her control.

I enjoyed Amos’ company not only because he was a great companion, but he enjoyed his food. As a cook most of my life, I liked to feed people and see them genuinely satisfied from the experience. Amos never disappointed.

I also liked that he didn’t mind cleaning off the table.  I have to say Amos and I had developed quite the Sunday tradition of eating dinner, cleaning up the dishes and then talking on the porch. We couldn’t talk on the porch as much anymore because fall had finally arrived. Once the sun went down, the temperature and the sun dropped for the evening. So we moved the conversation to the living room. I was still looking forward to our conversation tonight since I had a lot to tell Amos.

I walked Leesa and the children to the car.  Kisha held my hand extra tight like she didn’t want to let go.  No one would ever accuse me of having favorites, but this was my girl. My only granddaughter from my only daughter, us girls had to stick together.  I let go of Kisha’s hand and squeezed her until she giggled. Then I reached over and stole a kiss from Tyric. He giggled too. The smile on Leesa’s face warmed my heart. It was nice to see members of my family in a good place.

I pointed at Leesa. “Now you be sure to call me when y’all get home.”

Leesa grinned. “Of course I will, Mama. You sure are in a hurry to get rid of us. I hope I don’t have to tell my Mama to behave.”

I swatted at my child. “Girl, get those children in the car.”

After the Kisha and Tyric were buckled up safely in the backseat, Leesa winked at me and then climbed into the front seat. I waved as Leesa backed out of the driveway. With a sigh of relief, I turned and headed back into the house.

Before I opened the front door, I noticed another car coming down the street. I stood and watched the car turn into the driveway of Louise’s house.  It was William’s car.  He climbed out of the car and from what I could make out in the growing darkness William was still dressed in the suit. He stood and waited as another car arrived behind him.

Now who is that?
I didn’t know anything about cars, but it appeared the person was driving a sports car. I remembered that William said he’d found a buyer for the house. That meant I would have a new neighbor sooner than I thought.  Driving a car like that made me a bit apprehensive. Why didn’t William just move back home and let his mother live in peace in her own house? But that was my own selfishness, I guess.

I didn’t want to appear too nosey so I moved farther inside the house, slightly closing the screen door. I wanted to see who would step out of the car.  I heard the car door open, but it was kind of hard to see through the crack in the screen door.

I heard William say, “Hello. I’m so glad you could make it tonight. You’re going to love the house.”

“I can’t wait to see it. It’s just the way I remember it.” The voice that responded in the darkness was female.

So there was a woman driving the car?
Interesting. What did she mean by it’s the way she remembered it?

It suddenly occurred to me with the lights on behind me that they would be able to see me.
That’s not a good way to make a first impression, Eugeena
. Of course, intimidating my possible future neighbors sounded like a pretty good plan.  Maybe the woman would decide not to buy the house since there was a crazy neighbor next door.

Knowing I had Amos waiting on me in the living room I closed the front door. I had to laugh because I had really taken on too many of Louise’s habits. Now I was the neighborhood busybody. It was destined to happen. Long before I was head of neighborhood watch, Louise had that position and had pretty much helped established the watch. I still haven’t figured out how the position was passed to me this year.

Amos peered at me as I entered the living room. “What’s going on, Eugeena? You’ve been chomping at the bit all night.”

I sat down with a huff in the chair opposite from Amos. He liked to sit in the recliner which used to belong to my deceased husband, Ralph.  What was even stranger was how Porgy was sitting at Amos’ feet.  The Corgi looked over at me, but seemed to be content where he was lying.
My how life changes.

I leaned against the back of the chair trying to figure out how to start my story. “I wanted to say something earlier, but neither Leesa nor the children needed to hear this story. It has quite a few twists and turns.”

Amos raised his eyebrow. “Well, don’t keep it to yourself any longer. What happened?”

He didn’t have to encourage me anymore; I spilled the entire story of Jocelyn showing up at Louise’s room, claiming to be her long lost granddaughter. I had slipped the photo from my pocket and pulled it out for him to view.

Amos studied the photo that I handed to him. When I mentioned William had showed up out of the blue, he shook his head. “Sounds like our neighbor has a bit of family drama stirring. Who knew?”

I shook my head. “I know! The thing that’s really bothering me is there was a hint of longing in Louise’s eyes like she knew this girl was related to her somehow. I just don’t understand why Jocelyn changed her mind all of sudden.”

“Well, Eugeena, if Jocelyn’s own mother didn’t come to search for Louise on her own, maybe the past needed to be left alone. Plus, it sounds like William made her nervous and it was best not to rock the boat.”

I crossed my arms. “I agree William wouldn’t have taken the news very well. He’s over there now trying to sell the house. It just bothers me. Do you know how often I’ve heard Louise’s desire to have grandchildren?”

“Yes, grandchildren from William.”

I waved my hand. “That’s not going to happen. William is just plain selfish and in his own world. You know it was really strange of him to show up all of sudden. He’s up to something. The man was dressed up in a suit and looking like some businessman, which I doubt William has a single ounce of business sense.”

What was that about anyway?

I sighed deeply. “Louise has barely been in that nursing home a few months. That was her home for thirty years. He had no right.”

Amos nodded. “I know she’s been your neighbor and a really good friend, but all of us are getting older, Eugeena. Louise is his mother and his responsibility. I don’t know if my daughters would even come to look after me.”

I had sense enough to keep my mouth closed as Amos grew quiet. Amos was a good man, but he was caught up in his career as a police officer and then a detective while raising his children. Both of his daughters lived far away, one in California and the other one out in the Midwest somewhere.  I knew Amos also longed to have contact with his own grandchildren.

A loud bang shook both of us from the quiet moment of reflection.

Porgy started barking and running in circles.

I stared over at Amos. “What was that—” Before I could finish my question, another loud noise sent both Amos and I from our seated positions.

“Get down.” Amos hunched over. “That’s definitely gunshots.”

I whispered loudly, “Where are they coming from?”

Amos moved past me. “It sounds like it’s coming from next door. Stay put.”

Now that man knew better than to tell me to stay put. As Amos slowly opened the front door, I was right on his heels.

Amos hissed at me. “Woman, didn’t I tell you to stay put. We don’t know what’s going on out here. Call 9-1-1.”

“Okay, okay.” I went to reach for the phone by the door, but noticed a car speeding away down the road. “Amos, that car was just in Louise’s driveway. Can you see the license plate?”

Amos had already made his way outside and down the porch steps. At his age, I didn’t know the man could still move that fast. Was that really the same car that drove up behind William’s car a while ago?  Surely the gunshots didn’t come from next door. Maybe the woman was just scared off.

I was really concerned. I grabbed the cordless phone from the table in the hallway and dialed 9-1-1.

The dispatcher came on. “How can I help you?”

“I think there’s been a shooting in my neighborhood.”

“Can you tell us where you’re located?”

“2045 Sugar Creek Drive.” I hung up once I received confirmation that the police were on their way. I pushed open the screen door and peered into the darkness, but I didn’t see a sign of Amos or anyone. “Amos?” I continued to grip the phone in my hand like it was a weapon and crept down the porch steps. I noticed William’s car was still in the driveway, but the other car was gone now.

Did something happen to William?

I sure wish Amos would appear because I was really scared. I crept towards Louise’s house. I knew if Amos saw me doing this, he would have some terse words about me staying put. Suppose he needed help? Amos had saved my life a few months before from walking into a situation that I should’ve thought through a bit better.

I stepped around William’s car and noticed that the front door was wide open. I moved towards the door, hoping the police would arrive soon. As I drew closer, I peeked inside Louise’s home, recognizing the layout of the living room.  It was empty of all of Louise’s furniture, belongings and cats. I had always wondered how William managed to gather all the cats. Louise had at least four or five in the house.

Amos was squatting down over a man’s body on the floor. It took me a second before I realized it was William’s body.

I swallowed and asked. “Amos, is William okay?”

Amos stood and looked at me. “Stay over there, Eugeena. This is a crime scene.”

I had no intentions of walking anywhere near the scene. From what I could see from where I stood those bullets had landed in William’s body. 
But why?
  I swallowed before I asked my next question, already knowing Amos’ answer. “Does he need an ambulance?”

Amos shook his head. “He’s gone, Eugeena.”

As much as I didn’t care for William, I wouldn’t wish that kind of heartache on anyone. I had a feeling I would be the one to break my poor friend’s heart about her beloved son and until recently was known to the world as her only living child.