Ruin (16 page)

"Tell me everything you know about Stephen Parker." I sat on a stool at the bench and leaned my chin on my hands.

Mom toyed with the pieces of the photo, rearranging them. "Stephen is easy to remember, even after all this time. For one thing, he was clever and boisterous. A real boy, if you know what I mean. He loved to fish and play down by the river. He got himself into trouble sometimes. Nothing serious, mind you. But it wasn't only that. I remember him because of the rumors. His mother was Heather Parker. She used to clean houses for some of the big families back when Winter was an important mill town. I didn't really know her. I was young and my parents probably shielded me from the worst of the gossip, so I can only tell you what I heard from the other children. None of it was nice. Looking back, I suppose she was what you'd call a loose woman. I do remember that men liked her company. Most of those men were her employers."

"Including Ebenezer Merriweather?"

"Especially him. I found out later, when I grew up, that everyone knew he was a womanizer. Everyone. Including his wife. But back then I didn't understand what adults did. I just thought they were friends. Stephen Parker was the same age as me, as was Peter Merriweather. Stephen didn't have a father, but I never questioned why not. It's just the way it was. We three were in the same class together. Peter and Stephen were friends, until one day Heather Parker just left town with her son. I heard several years later that she'd been forced to leave Winter."

"Who forced her?"

"The Merriweathers, I suppose. By then I knew that Ebenezer had been having an affair with her as well as several other girls in his employ. It never occurred to me that Stephen was his son though. Until now."

I brushed the pieces of the photo into my hand and was about to stuff them back in my pocket when Mom produced a Ziplock bag from a drawer. "Put them in here. You're crushing them."

I thanked her. "You've been a huge help."

"Why? What does it all mean?"

"It means that Ben is a Merriweather."

"I realized that part."

"'Children often turn out like their parents'," I said, quoting Mrs. M.

Mom shook her head and shrugged one shoulder. "So?"

"Mrs. M knew that Ben was a Merriweather just by looking at him. She probably guessed from his name too. She knew all along why he was in Winter—to find his family. Maybe she's afraid that he'll try to take the house from Jane."

"But he can't. Jane is legitimate. He's not."

"It doesn't work like that, Mom. He has a claim on the house too and everything on that estate. Mrs. M would hate the idea of it not going to Jane." I waved the ziplock bag. "This proves it. She tore this photo up after he recognized it, angry that it had given him confirmation of what he'd half suspected—that he was Ebenezer Merriweather's grandson and entitled to a portion of the estate. Not that he'd take it from Jane, but Mrs. M doesn't know that."

Mom frowned. "I suppose."

I thanked her and ran out the door, ziplock bag clutched in my hand. I drove back to the Merriweather house and went straight in without knocking.

"Jane!" I called. "Jane, you've got to hear this!"

She came racing down the stairs. "Kate, you're back. What's going on? Who did you go and see?"

"Mom. She shed some light on the matter. I think I know why your Gran is accusing Ben of stealing that money. You're not going to believe it, but it's your fault."

"Mine? Why?"

"It's all to do with your inheritance. Come on, we have to speak to your grandmother," I said charging up the stairs. "And this time, I won't take no for an answer. Ben's future depends on her being honest with us." I stopped at Mrs. M's door just as it opened.

She leaned heavily on her cane and squinted back at me. "Kathryn Bell. I should have known all that noise came from you."

"Mrs. Merriweather, I need to talk to you. It's about Ben."

Her nostrils flared. "I'm tired. I don't want to talk about him."

"You have to. I'm not going to let you ruin his life over something that isn't his fault."

"Me either," Jane said.

"Not his fault?" Mrs. M said. "Of course it's his fault."

"He can't help who his parents are. Or his grandparents, for that matter."

She frowned, and her eyes squinted harder. "You've got the wrong end of the stick as usual, Kathryn Bell. Come into the drawing room."

I sighed and followed her back down the stairs. It was the longest, most frustrating journey of my life. It seemed to take forever with her slow, careful gait. The
tap tap
of her cane on the stairs echoed through the vast, empty house like the tick of a clock.

We finally made it into the drawing room. I hoped she wouldn't ask for tea. I didn't have the patience to wait for Jane to make it. Fortunately, Mrs. M didn't order any.

"Ben is your late husband's grandson," I blurted out.

I could feel Jane tense beside me, but I didn't care. We'd gone past niceties. It was time for answers. I wasn't going to let Ben sit in that cell for a moment longer than necessary.

For a long time, I didn't think the old lady would answer, but she finally spoke. "He is. His father is the son of that Parker woman. She used to clean my house."

I showed her the pieces of the photo and pointed to Ben's father. "Is that him?"

She hardly looked at it before nodding. "Of course it is. Anyone who saw that photo would see how alike those boys were. It was obvious they were brothers."

"You knew?"

"Of course. The entire town knew."

"Yet you still kept the photo on your sideboard with all the others?" I nodded at the sideboard with its array of silver, gold and wooden frames. The gap had been closed, and it looked as if nothing were missing.

"He was a Merriweather. Besides, it was a nice photo of Peter."

"It didn't bother you?" Jane asked.

"Of course it bothered me." Mrs. M held her head high, her palm rubbing on the head of her cane. "No woman likes to know that her husband strays. And with that Parker woman too."

She clicked her tongue. "I turned a blind eye most of the time, but as Stephen grew up, it became obvious he was Ebenezer's son. Everybody in Winter was talking about it. I could endure that. I'd put up with worse. But then that Parker woman came up here and demanded her son be treated the same as ours. Peter would attend a private school in Helena, so she wanted Stephen to go too. She even demanded he be given the Merriweather name." She grunted. "Can you imagine? Ebenezer refused and I stood by him."

"Then what happened?" Jane asked when Mrs. M didn't go on.

"Ebenezer paid her to leave, and she vacated immediately. She didn't care enough about her child to insist upon her demands. Weakness," she spat. "She should not have given in so easily."

"Did you stay in contact?" I asked.

"Of course not."

"Your husband didn't want to find out what happened to his son?"

"It was Ebenezer's wish that there be no communication. He thought of Stephen as a mistake, you see."

"That's harsh."

"Those were the times, Kathryn Bell, and Ebenezer Merriweather was a hard man. Sentimentality didn't sit well with him. And I...I thought it best if the boy didn't know that. I suggested to the Parker woman that she not tell him anything about his father or this town." She folded her hands in her lap. Her massive rings clinked as she knotted her fingers. "I thought it best for both Stephen and Peter at the time. In hindsight, that may have been a mistake."

I admired how she could acknowledge it and was about to say so when Jane spoke.

"Stephen must have remembered anyway and told Ben," she said.

"Heather Parker told him. Apparently she died only a few years ago, while he was in prison. He came here as soon as he was able."

"Actually he's been out twelve months," Jane said.

"I don't think the decision to come here after what had happened was an easy one."

"So why did you tear this photo up if you already knew who Stephen Parker was when you put it there?" I asked. "Or did Ben do that?"

"I did it," Mrs. M said. "Ben told me who he was the day after he arrived. I already knew of course, from the look of him and his name. What I didn't know was what had happened to his father. When Ben told me...I felt...sickened." The hand rubbing the cane head stilled. Her grip tightened. "Stephen Parker became a monster. I didn't want his face anywhere near my family. I tore up that picture. I wish you'd throw it away, Kathryn Bell," she said with a bitter sneer directed at the Ziplock bag.

I looked down at it and for the first time, saw it through her eyes. It wasn't just a photo of two boys smiling, but a picture of her son and another boy who'd become someone horrible, vile.

She was right. He didn't deserve to sit with the other Merriweathers.

"Mrs. M," I began and stopped. It wasn't making sense. She didn't speak about Ben as if she despised him. She did despise his father, however, not for being the bastard son of her husband, but for being an abusive husband and father. "Why are you doing this to Ben? Are you still so angry at Heather Parker that you don't want her grandson to have any entitlement on the estate? Look, I understand if you're protecting Jane, but he
is
a Merriweather too. I know it doesn't seem fair—"

"Silence, Kathryn Bell. You talk too much. Besides, you've got it wrong. You ought to slow down and think first before you let that mouth run away with you. Just like your father. James Bell wasn't a very good policeman until he learned to slow down and simply observe. I'm sure he's already worked it out."

"I can assure you, he hasn't," I said pointedly. "Or I wouldn't be here."

She
humphed
. "If I was jealous of Heather Parker and didn't want Ben to have a claim on the estate, why did I let him in my house at all? He was afraid I would throw him out, after he told me. That's why he waited until the next day to tell me, although I already guessed." She sighed. "I admit that I was worried at first. Worried that he was like his father and grandfather in all the wrong ways. Worried that he wanted to take Jane's home away from her. He assured me that he didn't and I...took a chance. I decided to believe him."

"You let him stay even after he told you he'd been in prison?"

"Oh yes. Actually it was because of that that I believed he wouldn't try to trick Jane out of what's rightfully hers. His past is not something to be taken lightly. I could see from the way he spoke about it that he was deeply affected by it all. And I felt responsible in a way. If Ebenezer and I hadn't insisted that Heather Parker leave Winter, none of this would have come to pass. I could have told Ebenezer to allow her to stay, and he would have given in. I had some influence over him."

"Okay, so I got it wrong," I said. "You didn't lie about the theft to get revenge on Heather Parker. So why did you do it? You seem to like Ben. Why are you doing this to him?"

"For a college girl, you're very stupid."

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Jane bite back a smile. It didn't seem like the right time to thump her. "Then please enlighten me."

"Ben has been like a brother to Jane since he arrived. She's been happy." She almost gave Jane a smile, but not quite. Mrs. M didn't smile. "I want her to be happy. I don't want her to be alone up here after I'm gone."

"But Gran—"

"Not now, Jane." She held up her hand for silence. "I won't live forever, and since you don't appear to be about to settle down anytime soon, I thought it would be nice for you to have a cousin around. He's a nice boy. He'll be good for this old place. Good for you."

"Ye-es," I hedged. "That still doesn't explain why you've made a false accusation of theft against him."

She sighed. "I suppose your father does know it's false by now. He's clever that way. Thoughtful." This she said with a frown at me that I assumed meant I was neither clever nor thoughtful.

"Whatever Dad thinks, he can't let Ben out until you withdraw the accusation, Mrs. Merriweather."

"Is that so? Then perhaps it's not all lost after all. He'll be staying."

Staying? Oh!
Now
I got it. "You want him to stay in Winter, so you got him arrested? Mrs. M, that's..." The dumbest thing ever. "That's not how it works."

"Kathryn Bell, you may think you know everything now that you've been to college, but this is Winter. Things work differently here. Let me explain." She shifted in her chair to face me.

I wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry. The woman was a nutcase, but she also held Ben's future in her hands. I needed to hear her out. "Ben's crime is a petty one. Your father won't record it if Ben gives the money back and someone reputable promises to give surety."

"Surety? What are you talking about?"

"He'll be released into my care. It's quite simple. I can't believe you're not following this."

"Gran," Jane said, patiently, "I don't think that's right."

"That's how it's always worked in Winter."

"When was the last time someone was released on surety?" I asked.

She stared up at the ceiling. Her lips moved as she counted. "Nineteen seventy-six. Thomas Locke, the assistant gardener, stole some vegetables to give to his wife. She was expecting their fourth child and had a craving for roasted potatoes. The store was closed by the time he got there, so he returned here that night and uprooted some from my garden. One of the maids saw him. He was arrested, but James Bell released him into my care since it was a minor infringement. I had to promise to keep Thomas Locke gainfully employed and under close supervision, and he had to promise not to leave town or reoffend."

"That was before Dad's time," I said. "My grandfather would have been the officer in charge then."

She waved a hand. "It doesn't matter which Bell it was."

I sighed. "This isn't nineteen seventy-six, Mrs. M. Dad can't release Ben unless you withdraw the accusation."

"If I withdraw it, he's free to go?"

I nodded.

"Then I won't. He's going to leave Winter. He told me so." She pointed at me. "That's all
your
fault, Kathryn Bell. Don't pretend it's not."