She was silent.
“You don’t know?”
“I’m not exactly sure. I think he might have been the artist I met at a beach party at Fort Lauderdale.”
“His name.”
“Gary … something.” She trailed off. “I don’t remember. He was an artist and going to Haiti the next day. What did it matter?”
“It matters to me.” But it obviously didn’t matter to Sandra. “So you were left alone with no money and a baby you found you didn’t really want after all. Why didn’t you just put me up for adoption?”
“I thought about it. But like you said, I didn’t have any money, and the people at the hospital said I could apply for more welfare if I had a kid.”
“Oh, yes, by all means, you had to be practical. That was in Miami. How did you end up back here in Atlanta?”
“I thought maybe my mother would come back here. I needed my money. She shouldn’t have taken it. But she wasn’t in Atlanta, and none of the people we knew had seen her. I never saw her or my father again. She meant it when she said that she was through with me. I had to get by on my own. It wasn’t easy.” She added defiantly, “I know I wasn’t what most people would call a good mother, but I did what I could. Don’t you blame me, Eve.”
“I’m not blaming you,” she said wearily. It was too late to condemn Sandra or hold her accountable. Too many years had passed, too much water under the bridge of life. This new knowledge might hurt, but she couldn’t change human nature. Sandra was what she was, and those traits and frailties had been formed by the life she had led. “I’m just trying to understand. You’ve thrown me a curve, Sandra.”
“I don’t know why. This isn’t really about you. It’s about Beth.”
And Sandra couldn’t see the domino effect learning about Beth Avery had caused in Eve’s life. “I guess that for you, that’s all it’s about.” She took a sip of coffee and tried to gather her thoughts. “Okay, let’s talk about Beth. You said she was a mental patient in Santa Barbara. How do you know? You told me that you’d signed papers giving her up, that they had total control of her.”
“And I did the right thing,” she said quickly. “When she had the accident, I would never have been able to give her the kind of care the Averys did.”
“Accident?”
“She had a skiing accident when she was seventeen and had a severe concussion that caused brain damage. That’s why they had to put her in that mental hospital to try to get her better.”
“Seventeen…” Eve was having trouble not only accepting her relationship to Beth Avery, but bringing into focus their separate pasts. “That would have been about the time I gave birth to Bonnie, wouldn’t it?”
Sandra nodded. “But I didn’t know much about her then. It was after Bonnie was killed that I decided I had to find out if my Beth was doing well.” She added in a whisper, “I missed Bonnie so much, Eve. I did love her. After I gave up Beth, I thought I’d never feel like that again, but Bonnie was special.”
“Yes, she was wonderful.” She looked out at the lake, remembering just how special and wonderful her daughter had been. “And when we lost Bonnie, you felt you had to reach out to Beth?”
Sandra nodded. “Not really reach out. It was too late. She was already in that hospital. But it made me feel kind of nice to find out things about her. Like she was really mine. I hired a detective to tell me all he could about her.”
“And what did he find out? I can’t imagine the Avery family accepting her.”
She shook her head. “They placed her with a couple, Laura and Robert Avery, who were distant cousins of Rick’s father and lived in a small town in Virginia. They were the poor relations of the family and were very grateful to be paid so well to take care of Beth. Nelda didn’t want anyone to connect Rick to her, so Laura Avery told everyone that Beth was the daughter of Nelda’s uncle who lived in Switzerland. That way they had an excuse to send her to different schools in Geneva and Rome. They didn’t want her in this country and have to answer questions about her. It was much easier to keep her in Europe as much as possible.”
“Why not all the time? Why that house in Virginia?”
“Well, after she was five, she was always at boarding school. But Rick wanted to go see her sometimes when she was little. He liked her.”
“What?”
“Why are you surprised? I told you he was a good guy. Why wouldn’t he care about my daughter?”
Eve wasn’t going to argue how that “good guy” had carelessly impregnated a girl who was little more than a child. “How do you know that was the reason?”
“He told me so. After I found out about the accident, I went to see him, and he told me all about her. I thought he’d be mad because I wasn’t supposed to get in touch with any of them after I signed those papers.” She smiled. “But he was real nice, just like I remembered him. He told me I was just as young and pretty as the day he met me.”
“And what did he tell you about Beth?”
“What I told you. He said that his mother wanted to keep her totally out of sight, but he’d fought her. She would have preferred to have Beth put out for adoption to a family halfway across the world, but Rick wouldn’t have it.” She shrugged. “So the relatives in Virginia were a compromise. He visited her whenever he could until they sent her to Switzerland, then he’d drop in at least a couple times a year wherever she was at school. Naturally, since he was in politics, he had to keep the visits low-profile, but he’d bring her presents, and he got to know her real well.” She added, “He said she was so smart. Good grades all the time. And she won trophies for skiing and swimming. She loved to ski.”
Her smile faded. “But she had that accident when she was skiing. Rick said she’d never be the same. The family sent her to that hospital in California, to some fancy psychiatrist, but she’s never gotten any better. He said that if she ever did recover, he’d let me know and take me to see her. That was years and years ago…”
And the seventeen-year-old girl who had entered that California hospital was now a little older than Eve. All the laughter and tears and experiences of those years had been smothered within the walls of an institution. She shuddered at the hideous picture that thought brought to mind.
“How did you find out that Beth had wandered away from the hospital?”
“The detective I hired told me.”
“The detective who gave you the initial report on Beth? He’s been working for you all these years?”
“Of course not. Don’t be silly. I couldn’t afford to do that. But Hermie said he’d make a couple contacts at the hospital and occasionally let me know how she was doing.” She moistened her lips. “There wasn’t much to tell me. She must be real bad. Hermie said they kept her on pretty heavy drugs. But a few days ago, he called me and told me that she might be in trouble. She’d left the hospital, and no one could find her. I gave it another twenty-four hours, but they still haven’t found her. So I came to tell Joe he had to help. He’s smart, and he’ll be able to locate her.” She let out a relieved breath. “There. I’ve told you everything. I hope you’re satisfied. Now call Joe and tell him that he has to help me.”
“I don’t have to call him. We’ll talk when he gets home. Who is this Hermie? The detective?”
She nodded. “Herman Dalker. He likes me. He said he understood how I had to give up Beth and that I was a wonderful woman to be so concerned about her even though she’s sick in the head.”
Eve flinched. “Give me his telephone number. And the name of Beth Avery’s school and anything else you can remember. Joe will need it.”
“Hermie’s number is in my purse. The school is some Catholic academy. St. Cecilia or something like that. Yes, that was it. St. Cecilia. I’ll scrawl it down when we go back inside,” Sandra added eagerly. “You’ll tell Joe to help her?”
“I don’t tell Joe anything. I ask him. You should know that by now, Sandra. Is there anything else I should know about this?”
“
That’s all.” She hesitated. “I don’t really know much at all about Beth, do I? Just what Rick told me and the detective … I should probably not worry about her. The Averys have taken such good care of her. They’ve sent her to all those neat foreign places and schools. And after that accident, they spent all that money trying to get her well. I’m sure that they’ll find her and take her safely back to the hospital.”
“But you’re not sure, or you wouldn’t have come to me and Joe.”
“As sure as I can be.” She shrugged. “Maybe it’s just that I’ve never been able to give Beth anything, and this is a way that I can do that.”
Eve shook her head in disbelief. “So you’re going to make a gift of Joe and me,” she said dryly. “That’s my choice, Sandra.”
“But you’ll do it. You have to do it. She’s your sister, Eve.”
“Blood may be thicker than water, but it’s difficult to embrace that concept when I’ve just discovered that she exists.” She waved a hand as Sandra opened her lips to speak. “Don’t talk to me any longer. Not right now. Just get in your car and go home. I promise I’ll discuss this with Joe.”
“Discuss? No, I want your promise to do it.”
“Go home, Sandra.”
Sandra stood there, gazing at her for a long moment. Then she smiled confidently. “You’ll do it. I know you, Eve. You won’t be able to help yourself. You can’t even keep yourself from working on those ugly skulls because you think it’s your duty. How could you refuse to help your sister?” She turned and headed for the door. “I’ll go in and get my purse and that telephone number and the name of Beth’s school. I feel much better about her now.” She suddenly glanced over her shoulder and the smile had disappeared. “I should have loved you more, shouldn’t I? You’ve done everything for me, and Beth is almost a stranger. I do care about you, Eve.”
“I know you care as deeply as you’re capable.”
“It’s just … she was first, Eve. I guess some people only have so much to give. Maybe I’m one of them.”
“Maybe you are.” She turned away and looked back at the lake. “I’ll take care of your Beth, Sandra. I can’t speak for Joe, but I’ll do everything I can.”
“Then it will all work out. I knew it would. Because she’s your Beth, too, Eve.” She disappeared into the house.
Her Beth? It was going to be strange thinking of Beth Avery as belonging to her. A sister? She had always been on her own as far as family was concerned. As a child, she’d had to fend for herself because of Sandra’s drug habit and general lack of responsibility. Then when she’d given birth to Bonnie, her daughter was her family. Jane MacGuire, her adopted daughter, had come into her life when the girl was only ten years old, but she was mature far beyond her years. They had been friends, not mother and daughter.
She sat down on the porch swing to wait for Joe. She’d have to try to absorb both Sandra’s story and the surprise and emotional upheaval that it had brought before she would be able to share it with Joe. Because she did not wish to share the pain, he had gone through too much already during the years of searching for her Bonnie’s killer.
A sister …
* * *
“SO WHAT DO YOU WANT ME TO DO?” Joe asked quietly, when Eve had fallen silent after telling him Sandra’s story. “If it were anyone but Sandra, I’d be a lot more shocked. But I can actually connect the dots.”
“So can I. Particularly if I think of Sandra as more of a child than an adult. She was wild and self-indulgent, but she was also a victim.” She grimaced. “Not that she’s not still a child in many ways, but I have to remember that she probably likes it better than being an adult.”
“And how do you feel about Beth Avery?”
“I’ve been trying to figure that out. Curious, surprised, sad for her condition … maybe a little cheated.”
“Cheated?”
“That I didn’t know her when I was growing up. Sisters are supposed to be … close.” She shook her head in bewilderment. “But I’ve never experienced that, so it might be a bunch of bull. How do I know?”
“You can’t.” His arm tightened around her shoulders. “You have to accept the relationship as it is now.”
“There is no relationship. And if there was any hope of one, it probably was destroyed when she had that accident.” She nibbled at her lower lip. “I don’t know anyone with mental trouble, and I don’t have a clue what kind of problems she has to deal with. Was it a physical brain injury? Or was it a mental illness caused by an injury? Or did she have the mental illness before, and it caused an accident? Does she have a chance of being cured? I can’t turn my back and walk away. I have to find out, Joe. I have to find her.”
“Then I have my answer, don’t I?”
“I said I have to find her. I won’t ask you to go along with me.”
“But you know that I can’t do anything else. We’re in this together for the long haul.” He gave her a quick, hard kiss. “So shut up. I’ll catch the next flight I can get out to Santa Barbara. I was thinking that I might have to do it anyway, after I finished those phone calls to the police department and the hospital.”
“You made the calls?”
“You asked me, didn’t you? I would have told you right away, but I could see that it was more important that you tell me what Sandra had been up to.” He shrugged. “I didn’t find out much. The local police made me jump through hoops to prove I was a detective with ATLPD, then they were brief as hell about any progress they’d made on finding Beth Avery. According to them, zilch. Then I was transferred to the captain, and he started asking me questions about where I’d received information about Beth Avery’s escape from the hospital.”
“‘Escape’?” Eve frowned. “That sounds … odd. It brings to mind padded cells and bars on windows. Sandra said she just wandered off. I got the impression it was very light restraint.”
“The word was ‘escape.’” He paused. “And I got the same word when I talked to Joseph Piltot, the human resources manager at Seahaven Behavioral Health Center. Only there it was accompanied by panic and a denial that there had been any escape from the hospital. He said I’d been misinformed, and I’d be wise not to spread rumors to that effect.”
“I don’t like that,” she said slowly.
“Neither did I. Of course, it could be that the Averys are trying to keep media coverage of a deranged relative to a minimum. If Richard Avery is going to run for president, a family mental-health issue could be awkward. There’s still a stigma out there that’s hard to overcome.”
Her lips tightened. “And if the media started digging, they might unearth the fact that Avery is a pedophile who impregnated a fourteen-year-old girl.”
Joe nodded. “That would be even more awkward.” He kissed her again and got to his feet. “But something that you told me is making me uneasy. I believe I’ll do some digging myself.”
“What?”
“It may be nothing. It’s just that all the years Beth Avery was growing up, the Avery family went to a hell of a lot of trouble keeping her out of view and away from anyone who might ask questions. She even spent most of her life in Europe.”
“So?”
“There’s nothing farther out of view than a mental hospital. Sandra said she was under heavy sedation.”
Eve inhaled sharply. “My God.” She felt sick as she saw where he was going. “They’d have to be monsters.”
“Yes, but we both know there are monsters out there.”
“She had an accident. Brain damage.”
“I’d like to see the accident report, talk to witnesses, and see the X-rays.”
“You’re jumping to conclusions.”
“I didn’t say I was going to do that yet. I’ll just put out feelers to see where I can put my hands on them.” He smiled recklessly. “You know what a suspicious bastard I am.”
Yes, she knew. Joe had been a cop too long to take anything at face value. He was always instinctively searching below the surfa
ce, probing, brushing away the lies until he glimpsed the truth. “I hope you’re wrong this time. I can’t imagine who could be that cruel, to condemn a woman for no reason to exist in a living hell like that for all those years.” She shuddered. “She was seventeen, Joe.”
“And everything Sandra was told might be true. I’ll fly out to Santa Barbara and see what I can find out. If it still doesn’t feel right to me, I’ll take the next step.”
“I’m going with you.” She got to her feet. “I’ll go pack.”
He shook his head. “I’m going to have to bulldoze my way on this one. It’s clear no one without police ID and title is going to be allowed at the hospital or the police headquarters. You’d just have to stay in a hotel room and wait.” He brushed her nose with his lips. “Stay here, work on Janelle, and I’ll let you know what’s happening and if there’s any reason for you to come out. It may end up with me asking you to man the phones and the computer to track down the details of how Beth Avery was injured.” He wrinkled his nose. “And stop looking at me like that. I’m not trying to protect you. I’m telling you the truth.”
“She’s not your problem. I’ve no intention of staying here while you do my job. She’s my sister, Joe.” Lord, it felt strange saying that. “I promised Sandra I’d take care of it. There has to be something I can do out there.”
“There may be something if I don’t get what I want. I have an idea that might pan out. But not if you’re going to be seen or identified with me. You’d blow it.” He tossed over his shoulder as he opened the door, “Hell, maybe we’ll get lucky, and by the time I get off the plane in Santa Barbara, the police will have found Beth Avery, and she’ll be safely back at the hospital. Then the job will be easy. I’ll just have to make sure she is safe and where she should be.”
“Why are you being so insistent about this?”
“Because you need some time to absorb everything that Sandra told you. I don’t believe you know how you feel yourself. Your instinct is to dive in and set everything right, but I don’t want you facing a situation that will tear you up more than you are right now, when it may not be necessary.” He smiled faintly. “Okay, maybe I’m protecting you a little bit. But I’m not lying about its being better if you come in later rather than sooner.”