just called. Someone is going around town asking questions about her relationship with Abby.”
I remembered Zack’s overly casual dismissal of the ‘background stuff’ he needed to check out. “You think the man’s a private investigator?” I said.
“The word is he’s from a big agency in Toronto,” Alwyn said.
I thought of Zack’s first rule of practising law: prepare, prepare, prepare.
Before he’d even filed the papers, Zack had hired somebody to dig the dirt that would undermine any claims Nadine had to Jacob. “What kind of questions is this detective asking?”
“Nadine says he’s focusing on whether Abby’s relationship with her was stable.”
“Was it?”
“Abby and Nadine didn’t draw others into their private lives, but this morning she told me that when Abby became pregnant, there were problems.”
“What kind of problems?”
Alwyn’s voice was heavy. “Nadine was opposed to the idea of bringing a child into their relationship.”
“And Abby still went through with it?”
“According to Nadine, she was determined.”
“She also must have been persuasive,” I said. “From what I’ve heard, donor insemination programs have a rigid screening process. Having a partner who was opposed to the pregnancy must have been an impediment.”
Alwyn sighed. “It would have been, but Abby didn’t go the donor insemination route. She got pregnant the old- fashioned way.”
“So there is a biological father in the picture?”
“Well, the father’s role certainly went beyond his contribution of a specimen in a test tube, but according to Nadine, he understood from the outset that he was simply accommodating a friend. She says Abby didn’t communicate with the man during the pregnancy or when Jacob was born.”
“That seems unlikely, doesn’t it?” I said. “If the man and Abby were friends, surely she’d at least let him know that she’d given birth to a healthy child.”
“One would think,” Alwyn said, “but Nadine says not. She also says that when she finally accepted Abby’s pregnancy, she and Abby were happier than they’d ever been.”
“And yet two weeks before her death, Abby changed her will to give Delia custody of Jacob,” I said. “There are still far too many blanks in this story.”
“I guess that’s why God gave us private detectives,” Alwyn said. She didn’t sound grateful.
I was making lunch when Noah arrived with Jacob. They were both pink-cheeked from the cold. “We walked over,” Noah said. “Check out Jacob’s new vehicle.” I stepped past him and spied a bright yellow-and-red sled on our porch.
“Very slick.” I lifted the sled into the front hall. “Also very tempting to sled thieves. This must be the deluxe model.”
Noah’s smile was boyish. “Nothing but the best,” he said. “Ergonomically designed, and that shield protects Jacob from the wind.”
I took Jacob in my arms. “What did you think, big guy?”
His dark eyes took my measure and then he gave me a gummy grin. “The sled’s a keeper,” I said. “And so are you. Now, let’s get you out of that snowsuit.” I unzipped him, and carried him into the kitchen. After Noah took off his boots and jacket, he followed. “I was just about to have lunch,” I said. “Can I interest you in a tuna-fish sandwich?”
“Me, definitely,” Noah said. “But Jacob brought his own lunch.”
“What’s on the menu?”
“Rice cereal mixed with formula. In the envelope Abby left with him, there was a list of suggested foods and of foods that were prohibited until he was older.” Noah went to the sink, washed his hands, and prepared the cereal. Jacob was on my knee, but he strained to keep Noah in sight.
“Every time I think about Abby sitting down and making that list… ” Noah’s voice was tight, but when he turned to us, he managed a smile. “Lunch is served,” he said. “Jo, there’s a bib in his diaper bag. Would you mind…? I’m a little out of practice with this.”
I handed him the bib. “You’re doing brilliantly,” I said.
Noah’s hands seemed huge against the baby’s small body. “Open up, Jacob,” he said. “There’s no meat-lovers’ option.”
I brought our plate of sandwiches and two glasses of juice to the kitchen table. Noah played a game where he took a bite of his sandwich, then gave Jacob some cereal. The baby was an enthusiastic eater, but he never took his eyes off the man at the other end of the spoon. “You two seem to have a mutual admiration society,” I said.
“So much depends on him,” Noah said softly. The words invited explication, but none was forthcoming. Noah took a washcloth from the diaper bag, secured the baby in the crook of his arm, then wet the cloth at the sink and cleaned Jacob’s face and hands. He was as gentle as he was efficient. “Now for the big job,” he said, and still holding Jacob close, Noah dropped to his knees, rolled out a change pad, and put a fresh diaper and sleeper on the baby, all the while giving Jacob a running account of exactly what was going on. Jacob rewarded him by gurgling, snorting, and finally erupting in a real belly laugh. When Noah picked him up, he quickly fell asleep. It had been an exciting morning.
Noah shifted position so that he could see the baby’s face. “Zack says you have an old university friend in Port Hope who knows Abby Michaels’s partner.”
“I do,” I said. “Her name is Alwyn Henry. I was talking to her this morning.”
Noah met my eyes. “And…?”
“Nadine Perrault is convinced Abby wanted her to raise Jacob.”
Noah’s expression hardened. “Nothing Abby Michaels did in the last two weeks of her life supports that claim,” he said. “Abby wanted Jacob to be with Delia and me. We’re prepared to do whatever’s necessary to make that happen.”
“I understand you have a private detective looking into Nadine Perrault’s background.”
Noah’s gaze was level. “I don’t like it any more than you do, Joanne, but that’s the way it’s done.” He drew the baby closer. “I imagine it’s simply a matter of time before Nadine Perrault returns the favour and hires someone to start digging up the dirt on us.”
“Is there dirt?”
“Everybody has dirt, and Ms. Perrault’s investigators will do what our investigators are doing. They’ll keep digging until they unearth something that will stick and do real damage.”
“Is there anything in Delia’s background that will stick?”
Noah’s answer was careful. “Not in Delia’s,” he said.
For minutes, we sat in the quiet kitchen, listening to the tick of the grandmother clock in the hall and the baby’s fizzy snore. I knew that Noah had reached what Zack called ‘the confessional moment’ – the moment when the need to reveal trumps the need to conceal.
When the phone shrilled, I lurched to grab it before it woke the baby. Zack was on the other end.
“Start your engines. I’m on my way.”
“Noah and Jacob are here.”
“Hmm. Well, that’s good – there are a couple of things we should talk about. I’ll be there in ten minutes. And, Ms. Shreve, I am home for the day.”
“Hallelujah.”
I hung up and turned to Noah. “That was Zack,” I said. “He’ll be in home in ten minutes, and he’d like you to stick around if you can.”
“I’m not going anywhere,” Noah said, and there was steel in his voice. In the time he and I had been sitting together, listening to the sounds of a quiet house and a baby sleeping, Noah had obviously made a decision. He had always struck me as a gentle giant, but as I looked at him again, I was reminded of his sheer physical power. Like the male bear he had carved as a totem for his lawn, Noah was heavily muscled, clear-eyed, and prepared to defend what was his. Jacob stirred in his arms and Noah’s face softened. Abashed, he smiled and became himself again. “Sorry if I sounded like Neanderthal man,” he said softly. “It’s just that I have a family and my job is to take care of them.”
