Pick Your Poison

be my biological parents. The couple had indeed died in a plane crash, but the article from the El Paso newspaper archives reported that they were survived by a ten-year-old son. No twin infant girls. I then placed a call to Aunt Caroline, and told her I needed to see her immediately, saying I’d had an accident—which was true.

She arrived within thirty minutes and knocked at the back door. I’d made it halfway there when she let herself into the kitchen and propped her umbrella against the wall.

“What happened, Abigail?” she asked, squinting at my forehead. “Did you and Steven finally come to blows after all your years of off-again, on-again romance?”

“This has nothing to do with Steven and everything to do with you.” I stared her straight in the eye.

She shifted her gaze, flicking at her sleeve before removing her raincoat and draping it over the back of the chair.

“I’ve uncovered some disturbing information,” I said. “I learned yesterday that Kate and I were deceived for a very long time.”

“Whatever are you talking about?”

But I could tell she knew. “I know about the adoption, so you can quit lying.”

Her gaze slid away again.

I went on. “Kate and I were stolen from our mother. She was murdered because she tried to find us, and I want answers.”

“You can’t possibly know she was killed because of anything Charlie may have done.”

“I want the truth!”

She gripped the back of the kitchen chair, then came around and lowered herself onto it. She suddenly looked old, the scars from her face-lifts, just visible where her jaw met her ears, standing out white despite her foundation makeup.

“Tell me,” I said. “Tell me exactly how it happened. How he fooled us all those years. You can start with the pictures. The ones Daddy showed us of the people who were supposedly our parents.”

Aunt Caroline stared at the table. “He got real pictures of the people that died in that plane crash. Went to El Paso for them. He knew you’d have... questions.”

“Why did you go along with this hoax?” I said, proud of maintaining my even, rational tone despite the rage whirling like a small tornado inside me.

“I didn’t have any choice. As I told you the other day, I had been less than discreet in my life.”

“I see. Daddy had more on you than those letters in the attic, huh? Was it an entire dossier, Aunt Caroline?” I was repulsed at the thought of my father blackmailing his own sister.

“I warned him this would happen. I told him he should tell you the truth. But he insisted you’d never find out.”

“And of course you never considered telling us yourself, because you’ve never had a clue about doing the right thing.”

“You are being unreasonably vicious. You and Kate never wanted for anything,” she said, her voice rising. “He gave you everything! He worshiped you. Oh, he threw money at me, that’s true, but none of the love he showered on you and Kate after Elizabeth died. Every time I suggested he come clean, he’d say ‘Keep your mouth shut, Caroline, and you’ll be well cared for.’ ”

“He paid you to keep his secrets. You must be so proud.”

She didn’t reply, just looked at her hands, twisting one ring.

“Did he kill her?” I said quietly.

She jerked her head up. “Are you crazy? He’d never do anything like that. I know this is a shock, but—”

“You don’t know the first thing about it.”

“Please try to understand,” she said. “I know we haven’t agreed on much, but I do love and care for you. I will always consider you my family.”

“If that’s true, which I doubt, I want the rest.” I sat down, every muscle tight with pain and rage.

“Okay. Where to start?” She hesitated, then said, “Charlie and Elizabeth desperately wanted a family, but she couldn’t have children, and because of her illness, because she wouldn’t last more than a few years at most, no agency would allow them to adopt.” “But surely some reputable lawyer rather than a criminal like Feldman could have arranged an adoption? Daddy was a better judge of people than to do business with him.”

“Desperation doesn’t make for clear vision, Abigail. Charlie knew Feldman was... an unsavory person, but he wanted to make Elizabeth’s dream of a family come true. He never anticipated that the woman would come looking for you years later.”

“That woman was my mother,” I said.

“Yes. I know. But Charlie didn’t kill her. He made mistakes, granted, errors in judgment, but he wasn’t a killer. Ask Willis. He’ll tell you. He was the one who found Feldman to begin with.”

Of course. Willis.

I pointed my finger at Aunt Caroline. “You can leave, but don’t you dare talk to Kate. She doesn’t know—and I’ll be the one to tell her.”

26

The rain had continued unabated for twenty-four hours and was threatening to send the bayous over their banks and flood the streets. But I had to see Willis before I told Kate the truth. She returned from school early— businesses and colleges were closing up shop because of possible flooding—so I borrowed her 4Runner to better maneuver through any high water, telling her I’d made an appointment for the much-needed tetanus shot. I didn’t feel too guilty about omitting the other part of my itinerary, because I really was going to the doctor.

The nurse at the clinic gave me the shot and samples of an anti-inflammatory medicine after the doctor pronounced me remarkably fit, considering my circumstances. I swallowed a couple of pills before leaving the office, and by the time I reached the CompuCan building, I was almost pain-free.

I paced nervously in Willis’s reception area while he finished with a client, and a few more pieces of the puzzle came together. Why hadn’t I seen through Willis’s attempts to stop me from investigating Ben’s murder, especially after he followed me all the way to Shade the day after it happened?

But before I could answer my own question, Willis opened his office door.

“Why, Abby,” he said, his client passing me on the way out. “I didn’t expect you. Say, what have you done to yourself?”

He made a move to touch my face, but I jerked my head away.

“You put on quite the dog and pony show, don’t you?” I brushed past him into his office and sat down in a client chair.

“What do you mean?” he asked, following at my heels and then perching on the desk.

“Tell me, Willis. How did you keep up this masquerade so long?” I crossed my legs, rotating my foot in agitated circles.

He straightened his tie. “Could you start again? Obviously you’re upset, but I’m not sure why.”

“I pegged Aunt Caroline as a liar and a cheat long ago. But you? No, you and Daddy had me buffaloed. Tell me... was he paying you to keep quiet, too, like he paid Aunt Caroline?”

I read sadness in his eyes and wondered if the emotion was for himself or for Kate and me.

His secretary poked her head in the door. “If you don’t mind, Mr. Hatch, I’ll head home. They say we’re in for heavy flooding, and my subdivision entrance fills when the weatherman even mentions rain. Can I get you anything before I go?”

“No, Dolores. Go on.”

I waited until she was gone, then said, “I want answers.”

When he finally spoke, he sounded resigned. “You couldn’t leave it alone, could you? I told you not to pursue this, Abby. Now you and Kate have been hurt.”

“What about the ones already hurt? The ultimate hurt. As in dead. Tell me, Willis, did you help Daddy... or did he help you?”

“What are you talking about?” Willis looked tired and confused.