Town in a Blueberry Jam

truth — all of it. “There was nothing calculated about it, if that’s what you’re thinking,” he began. “It just... happened. After your father died, your mother went into a deep depression. I watched it happen from a distance and even tried to intervene. But nothing could be done. She dropped out of school and I lost touch with her.”

Cameron let out a breath and lowered his head. After a moment, he said, “She wound up in an institution in Portland and stayed there for six months. That’s where I was born, but she gave me up for adoption. That’s how I wound up with the Zimmermans.”

“And what happened to your mother after that?” Candy asked.

“I’m not really sure about everything that happened back then,” Cameron answered quietly, “but some time in the years after she left that place, she changed her name, started a new life, and tried to find out what happened to me. It took her a few years, but she finally traced me here, to Cape Willington and the Zimmermans. That’s why she moved up here five years ago — so she could keep an eye on me, she said. The Zimmermans told me I was adopted but they never told me who my birth parents were. Now I know. She waited until my eighteenth birthday to tell me who she really was.”

Cameron paused, looking back at Sebastian. “She also told me what you did.”

“And what is that?” Sebastian asked defiantly.

“Don’t pretend you don’t know. She told me all about it — how one day, years ago, she was browsing through a library in Portland and found a book of poetry with your name on it — Sebastian J. Quinn. She remembered you from USM, so she checked it out and read it that night. She was shocked. She knew almost immediately that the poems weren’t written by you, were they? They were all written by my father! You stole his poetry and published it under your own name!”

At this accusation, Sebastian blubbered and shook his head in denial, his face growing red, while Candy and Maggie gasped in shock and Amanda nodded vigorously, as if to give affirmation to Cameron’s words. “It’s true,” she said, glaring at Sebastian. “He’s a thief.”

“I am not a thief,” Sebastian said indignantly. “As I told you... it was not a calculated move. Somehow his papers got mixed up with mine. When I first came across them, I couldn’t remember writing them, so I set them aside. Later, when I was assembling a book of poetry, I discovered them again and spent some time reworking them. It was only later that I realized what had happened. By then it was too late. But I never regretted what happened. I know they were David’s poems, but without me they would have been lost forever. I gave them a voice and shared them with the world.”

“Under your name,” Amanda pointed out.

“That’s very true, Miss Tremont. But at the time I felt those poems were too good to go unpublished, and as far as I knew there was no one else in the world who cared about them. I tried but I could never locate David’s parents. Apparently after his death they had moved on. Susan — well, Susan was out of the picture by then. So I proceeded in the only way I thought possible. I spent a lot of time perfecting those poems, polishing them, assembling them in a book, promoting them. And yes, there were times I felt guilty about it. But after awhile the guilt faded. History is easily buried. Your father was dead, long forgotten, and your mother was... well...” His voice trailed off.

“How could you have done such a thing?” Maggie asked.

“It’s despicable,” Candy added. “I bet Sapphire was freaked when she found out. Is that when she started blackmailing you?”

Sebastian sat with lips pursed, obviously uncomfortable, frustrated, and humiliated by his current position. For a moment it seemed as if he had clammed up, but finally he cleared his throat and tried his best to hold on to what small bit of dignity he had left. “No. She did write to me, threaten me, but it was only later, after I started to gain some national recognition as a poet, that she started getting nasty. She smelled money, I suppose. It brought out the worst in her. She threatened to go public, to tell the newspapers what had happened. I had no choice. I offered to pay her to keep her silent. She’s been bleeding me dry ever since.” He paused, thinking. “I suppose that’s how she paid for that house of hers. She could never have paid for that on her salary as a part-time columnist, could she?”

“How long has this been going on?” Candy asked.

Sebastian shrugged. “Ten years? Twelve? I’ve lost count — and lost track of how much I’ve paid her.” His head dropped. “It’s been torment.”

Cameron let out a snort of derision. “Torment? You don’t know the meaning of the word. No matter what you’ve experienced, it’s nothing compared to what my mother’s been through” — he stopped abruptly, and corrected himself — “what she went through.” Struck by the sudden realization that his mother was really, truly gone, he shuddered, closed his eyes, and swayed perceptibly. For a moment he appeared overwhelmed, and any anger he had left went out of him then, gone forever.

Everyone in the room felt his grief. Amanda went to him in a rush, her hair flying out behind her, and gave him a hug, a tear falling down her cheek. Candy felt her emotions well up in her as well, and even Maggie wiped at her eyes. “Look at me,” she said with a soft, disbelieving laugh. “I’m crying for Sapphire.”

Candy put a hand on her friend’s shoulder. “So you’re human.”

Maggie gave her a teary smile. “Yeah, I guess so. Who’da thunk it, huh?” She paused. “You know, it’s funny...”

Candy looked at her inquisitively. “What?”

“Well... this might sound strange, but I think I finally understand Sapphire. She was a woman who lost the love of her life — both loves of her life, first David, then her child — when she was still a young girl. It must have nearly destroyed her. I’m sure it changed her mentally and emotionally. She must have never been the same after that. That’s why she changed her name. After David was killed and her baby was taken away from her, the girl known as Susan Jane Vincent must have died in some way, and the only way she could go on living was to change her name, her whole persona — to become someone else. Sapphire Vine was no Susan Jane Vincent. She was one tough cookie. She wasn’t about to let this world get the better of her. She decided to fight back — and she did until the very end.”

Sebastian cleared his throat. “I can certainly vouch for that,” he said, looking visibly moved. “She made sure she got what she wanted, right up until the end. It wasn’t a fluke I showed up here this summer, you know. That was her idea. She called me a few months ago and told me that if I did one last ‘favor’ for her she would leave me alone and wouldn’t contact me again. Naturally I agreed. She arranged for this ‘vacation’ and found this nice cottage for me. And then she made sure I conveniently got a spot as a judge for the pageant. I’m not sure how she pulled that off, but she was a very resourceful woman, as you by now have no doubt guessed. She set the whole thing up magnificently. Of course, it was all part of her plan to win the competition. She pretended she didn’t know me, treated me like a stranger in town. But she knew what she was doing. She had it all planned out.”

“So you threw your votes her way?” Candy asked.

“Of course. Isn’t that obvious?”

Candy nodded. Indeed it was. Herr Georg had told her that even though he voted for Sapphire, he didn’t think the votes of a single judge could decide the contest. But the votes of two judges...

“Did you see her after the pageant?” Candy asked suddenly.

Again, Sebastian’s lips clamped tight, and Candy was about to threaten him, but finally he relented and nodded. “Once.”

“When?”

“The day before she died.”

“You’re lying,” Cameron shot out.

Sebastian shook his head resignedly. “’Fraid not, kid. Yeah, I saw her — Sunday night, the day after the pageant. She called me after everything was over and insisted I stop by her place. I didn’t know what to expect, but mostly I was just hoping the whole thing was over, once and for all. But it wasn’t. Oh, she was thrilled to win the crown, of course. But when I showed up at her house, she told me she needed more money. Can you believe it? She was the Blueberry Queen now, she said. She had newfound status. She needed a whole new wardrobe so she could look good around town. And she wanted another five thousand dollars from me. Five thousand!”

He shook his head in disbelief. “I told her I wasn’t giving her any more money, that we had made an agreement. But she just laughed at me. She called me a fool. She threatened to tell everyone I was a fraud, that my Pulitzer Prize-winning book had been written by her long-dead boyfriend.”