Half Past Mourning (28 page)

“I suppose there’s no easy way for me to say this, Nina.” She shifted in her chair and twisted the wide gold ring on her left hand. The action was so familiar that for a moment Nina missed the ring she no longer wore. “I’d best just say it and be done with it.” Marigold paused, took a swallow of her tea, and drew a breath. “I didn’t get a telegram on my birthday two days ago. For the last two years I’ve had one. And it was always signed, ‘Love, Danny.’ But this year I didn’t get one.”

For the first time, Nina noticed the haggard lines in Marigold’s face. In spite of the flawless makeup, Marigold looked tired. She seemed edgy and less certain of herself.

“You didn’t get a birthday greeting?”

“I didn’t.” Marigold’s lower lip had a hint of unsteadiness. “And feeling a bit low, I went and looked at all the telegrams I’ve had in the two years that Danny’s been gone.” Her head dropped down like a top-heavy dandelion, and then she looked straight into Nina’s eyes. “I’ve been fooling myself, Nina. Danny never sent those wires. Not a one of them. There’s nothing of Danny to them. Not the way he’d say things, not the words he’d use, nothing. And that phone call I had right after he left could have come from anybody, just anybody.” She ran her fingers over the smooth fall of her linen skirt. “It’s like you and the sheriff said. Something happened to Danny when he went off to get the car after your wedding. He may have run away from the marriage. Maybe he really did realize that he didn’t want to be married. But whatever he planned, it didn’t work out that way. My boy’s dead, Nina. I can’t doubt it anymore.” She sat ramrod straight in her chair as if she’d reached the end of a long internal discussion. “I’ve been a vain, foolish woman clinging to a fantasy. I didn’t want to lose Danny to you. Well, not just you, but any woman. Somehow I always thought he’d be my little boy forever. But he grew up. He wasn’t the man he should have been; I knew that. I laughed at the way he carried on, thought it was proof of how clever he was, that he could fool you and a half dozen other girls. Then he married you after saying he wasn’t going to. I didn’t know what to think. When he didn’t come back, I was sure he’d taken off and would be home in a week or two. But he didn’t, Nina, he didn’t come back.” Her voice broke. “And now I know he never will.”

Marigold buried her face in her hands. Hard, racking sobs tore through her till it seemed as if she’d break apart from the grief that ripped through her. Nina had never felt kinship or even sympathy for her mother-in-law, but at that moment her heart was breaking for the sorrow that shattered Marigold’s world. Dismayed by the woman’s anguish, Nina glanced around for Marigold’s handbag and slipped it into her mother-in-law’s lap.

At last the shuddering woman regained some control, opened her bag for a handkerchief, wiped her eyes, and straightened her spine. “I didn’t mean to come apart like that, Nina. I haven’t let myself go since my husband died almost twenty years ago. And I won’t do it again.” She put the grey leather bag on the floor beside her. “Somebody called me, used Danny’s name, sent those telegrams to me to keep me from demanding a real investigation. Someone knows what happened to my boy. I want the culprit found and made to own up to whatever he’s done. I’ll nag the sheriff, I’ll hire private investigators, I’ll pound on the doors of heaven itself if that’s what it takes to learn the truth. But I will find out where Danny went and why he never came back.” Marigold wiped her eyes one last time. “I’m going home now, Nina. I just wanted to tell you that I’ll do anything the sheriff suggests to help find out what happened to Danny. I’ll cooperate every way I can.” She stood up, ready to leave. “And, Nina, while I still don’t think you’d have been the right wife for Danny, you deserve to have a normal life. Whatever you want to do about your situation—date that professor, get your marriage set aside legally, or just wait to see what the sheriff finds out—I’m behind you. Nobody will hear a word of criticism from me, no matter how you decide to handle this. You were Danny’s wife, and the Wilson family owes you the courtesy of supporting you through this painful situation. That’s all I came to say.”

Chapter 17

Nina found no comfort in her snug little house that night. Too much had happened during the day; too many questions kept taking a carousel ride in her head. Betty’s theory that Danny was forced into his own car trunk put terrible pictures in her mind. Marigold’s realization that her son was very likely dead carried its own nightmare quality. Ron’s unexpected proposal, Tinker’s interest in the Lassiter museum and his sudden affection for the Michaels girl, and her own unresolved feelings for Peter Shayne all added to Nina’s sleepless night. In the early hours of the morning, when she realized sleep was unobtainable, Nina pulled a thin robe over her shorty pajamas, made her way through the shadowy house, and curled into the big armchair by the window.

No cool breeze eased the night’s sultry heat. Sinbad stretched his full length along the window ledge, catching any breath of air that slipped by. Nina rubbed his ragged ear. He graced her with a one-eyed glance and prepared to continue his nap. She tucked her feet up in the chair and rested her head on her arms, looking out at the star-spattered sky.

“You have a hard life, don’t you, old fellow?”

Sinbad turned his head away and ignored her.

“Someone puts out your cat food, lets you sleep all day and play at night, and all you have to do is show up for an occasional ear rub or purring session. Some hard life, my friend.”

The cat seemed to agree that life was difficult. He rippled down from the window and sauntered toward the bedroom as if suggesting people should respect a cat’s privacy, especially in the middle of the night. A moment later she heard the soft plop of furry feet landing in the center of her bed.

Left alone with her thoughts, Nina watched a wisp of cloud trail across the moon. Was Tinker just looking for an easy way to advance himself? She found it hard to believe, but she knew Ron had doubts and Peter echoed them. Ron had no reason to distrust the boy with the troubled past unless he truly felt something was amiss. He’d been on the wrong side of society himself not too many years back. Very likely he understood better than anyone how hard it was to give a leopard a snowy white coat. Yet Nina had to admit she held a deep affection for Tinker. Believing that he’d betray the people who cared for him came hard, and though she had reason to question her own judgment, she wouldn’t accept this darker picture of Tinker just yet.

Nina settled into her armchair and listened to the sounds of the night. Crickets and small frogs made a pleasant chatter and the infrequent call of the night birds drifted through the trees. Gradually they lulled her to sleep.

When Nina woke, cramped and stiff from her night in the chair, her head ached and her brain worked as if it were filled with quilt batting. It took a moment for her to remember why she was in the living room with bright summer sun spilling over her instead of in her own bed.
Too many things pulling at me, too much confusion in my life.
Stretching to ease the twinges in her long legs, she let the hardwood floor cool her bare feet. A few tentative steps took her to the kitchen to start coffee and reach full wakefulness. The coffee had just begun to perk when the jangling phone made her wince.

“Hey, Nina,” Peter’s voice greeted her with far too much enthusiasm. “I know we have the big car show on Friday, with the rally on the weekend, but do you have anything planned for this evening?”

“Planned for tonight? I don’t even have my eyes open enough to plan today, Peter. What’s going on?” Nina looked with longing at the coffeepot perking brightly in the other room. The scent wafted to her, making her caffeine-starved system wail for the cup beside the electric pot.

“Something of a professional obligation, I’m afraid.” Peter paused as if he expected a response. Nina stared at her coffee, the steam rising softly from the spout of the percolator.

“Nina?”

“Peter, hold on for a second, will you?”

With a coffee cup in her hand and two swallows clearing her mind, Nina was able to give Peter more attention. “A professional thing, you said?”

“My department chair is having a little informal get-together at his place this evening. Wants to show off his new swimming pool, I think. Anyway, it’s a good idea for new faculty members to put in an appearance, and I think I’d enjoy the party more if I had a pretty girl with me. Can you make it?”

“A pool party?” Nina thought of the heat that had already drained all coolness from the morning. “That sounds like a great idea. What’s the agenda?”

“Just snacks and drinks, lounging around the pool, an evening of faculty gossip and politicking, probably. Ten couples, at most. Not a big event, so anyone who doesn’t come will be obvious by his absence. Afterward, we might take a drive and look at the moonlight on the river, or whatever people do when the night is young and a guy and a girl are alone together.”

“It sounds much cooler than staying here at my house. I have some things to tell you about the people who crossed my path yesterday. It turned out to be quite a day.”

“News about Danny?” Peter’s tone sounded apprehensive.

“No, not about Danny but, well, in some ways a little disturbing. Come early enough that we can talk about it.”

“Now you have my attention, Miss Kirkland. I’ll be at your house by five. Will that give you time to pour out all the details? We have to be at the Millican house by six-thirty.”

“Oh, it won’t take all that much time. I guess it really isn’t earthshaking or anything, and I’m probably making too much of it.” Now fully awake and a little uncomfortable with some aspects of the things she’d be telling Peter, Nina tried to downplay the events of the day before, especially her encounter with Ron Reeves.

“If it matters to you, Nina, then it’s something I want to hear. I’ll see you around five. Bring your prettiest swimsuit. I want to show my girl off, let my colleagues know that Shayne isn’t such a dull dog.”

“I only have one, Peter, and that doubles as a playsuit. It’s pretty ordinary.”

“I’ll bet you’ll be the best-looking girl there, even if you turn up in a flour sack. See you at five?”

“At five,” Nina agreed, then hurried to the mirror over her dressing table to see what a night spent in an armchair had done to her. Were there dark smudges under her eyes? Did her complexion look grey and sallow?

Though she’d planned a number of errands and had intended to spend the afternoon looking at possible routes for the upcoming rally, Nina put all projects on hold and spent the day pampering herself. If Peter planned to introduce her to his colleagues at San Felipe College, she owed it to him to make a good impression. Not admitting that the way he’d slipped that “my girl” comment into the conversation gave her a warm glow inside, she put extra effort into her appearance for the evening.

A long soak in the tub, immersed in fragrant bubbles and her favorite citrus scents, eased the kinks she’d acquired from her night in the armchair. Making an indulgence of pancakes and apple butter, she took her plate to the front porch. Under the shade of jasmine vines and with a host of hummingbirds for company, Nina ate a leisurely brunch and followed it with a session in front of her mirror, trying to coax her riot of curls into a more sophisticated style. After an hour of smoothing wayward curls only to see them spring back into tight swirls, she tossed her comb aside. “I’m just never going to be a sophisticated
femme fatale
,” she told Sinbad. He circled his frayed tail around his nose and ignored her. Frustrated with the unruly tendrils that kept escaping, she slipped into her thin robe and joined the cat on the bed for a restorative nap.

****

“Is that what fourth grade teachers wear these days?” Peter’s grey eyes held a wicked sparkle as he looked Nina’s attire up and down. “If my teachers had looked like you, I’d still be in grade school.”

Nina felt herself flush a little at his admiration. “It’s the same thing I’ve been wearing for two years. Nothing special about it.” Though she wouldn’t admit it, the simple swimsuit with its peacock feather print and halter strap was becoming and made the most of her trim figure. With a matching circular skirt buttoned over it, the outfit could have been a casual sundress. “I’m glad you like it.”

Peter nodded. “I like it, and the girl wearing it is pretty nice, too.”

Nina sensed his intention to kiss her, and as his lips brushed hers, she realized how natural, how easy, it was to step into his embrace. Easy to linger there, as well, she discovered.

Breaking his hug by stepping away, Nina glanced at Peter’s subdued royal blue beach set. Tailored but casual, it accented his russet hair and long-limbed height. “Too bad you can’t wear that to the rally on Friday. Much cooler than a coat and tie.”

“Much,” he agreed, then took her hand and led the way into her small living room. “So what’s been happening? You seemed a little distressed when I talked to you this morning. Did the sheriff make any headway with finding the judge’s Corvette?”

“No, but he’ll be on the warpath if it doesn’t show up soon. He’s taking this latest car theft pretty personally.”

“So what has happened?” The twinkle in Peter’s eye faded as he sat next to her.

Beginning with Ron’s surprising offer, Nina told him about her day. “It really knocked me for a loop, Peter. I mean, I’ve known Ron since I was eight or nine years old. He’s like a cousin or some kind of family member to me. I don’t mean really related, not that kind of family, but he’s just not somebody I ever looked at in that way...a personal way.”

Peter raked long fingers through his hair and shook his head. “Nina, you’re a beautiful girl. I’d bet lots of men take more than one look at you and you don’t notice it. You’re not out hunting for that kind of attention, but you do draw it. I’m not surprised that somebody who’s known you most of your life developed an interest, but I’m damn surprised that he didn’t make his interest a little more obvious. I would, especially if I knew you were wasting your time with a man who was playing around on you. Most men would at least test the water under those circumstances.”