Barbara McMahon – Truth Be Told (страница 3)

Eliza stepped around Jo and pushed open the screen door. “Come in and meet Jo. She just showed up.”

Sam stepped inside, his expression guarded. He took off the sunglasses, and Jo was surprised at the velvet darkness of his eyes. His assessing look, however, was one she was familiar with. The good sheriff didn’t trust her. He gave her a look law enforcement the world over knew. But if the mood took her, she could give as good as she got.

Right now, Jo felt a spurt of amusement. She knew what he thought. She had left her gun at home, not wanting to have to explain it on the airplane. But she did have her badge and credentials, and courtesy demanded she tell the sheriff. An imp of mischief stilled her tongue.

“Jo Hunter, of Los Angeles?” he said.

She inclined her head.

“We had a hard time locating you.”

“She ended up coming home without us,” April said. “I never got an answer on her phone. She just showed up.”

“I heard about Maddie,” Jo said quietly. “How is she?” She held her breath, hoping she wasn’t too late.

“Me, too,” Eliza said. “That’s why I came, because of her stroke. She’s doing better. Then I found April’s number and called her. We’ve been searching for you for weeks. It’s so good to see you!” Eliza reached out and rubbed Jo’s arm. Jo remembered Eliza had always been a touchy person. No one had touched Jo in friendship in a long time.

Jo looked around the old kitchen before she got all sentimental. “Not much seems to have changed. You’re still cooking.” Then she looked at April, in a gauzy sundress that floated around her legs, and smiled. “Fancy dress for lazing around the house,” she said.

“Same old Jo—two minutes getting dressed and then you’re ready for the day,” April replied.

Jo laughed, then swung her gaze to the sheriff. “I’m not here to cause trouble, Sheriff. I heard about Maddie and came back to see her.” She turned to Eliza. “Is she really doing better?”

“Recovering more and more every day,” her friend answered. “She’ll want to see you right away. We told her we were searching. She hired a private detective to find you and April a few years ago. That’s how I located April, but the detective didn’t find you.”

“Mary Jo Hunter,” Sam murmured. “Everyone thought Jo was your only name.”

“Yeah, well, Mary is only used on official documents,” she said. It felt odd to be standing in the kitchen, talking as if they hadn’t been away for more than twelve years. She half expected Maddie to come in to ask if they didn’t have something better to do than stand around wasting time.

“Oops, better check dinner,” Eliza said, dashing back to the stove. “Bring in your suitcase, Jo, and plan to stay here. April and I are both already in residence. You won’t believe what’s going on. The house is being renovated, so it’s a mess. We’re planning a fund-raiser at the Independence Day fair for Maddie’s medical expenses. We have so much to catch up on! And after dinner, you can go see Maddie. She’s doing a lot better than when I first saw her—she’s walking with help and can sit up on her own. She can’t talk very well, though.”

“Aphasia,” April said. “Scrambled lines between her mind and her mouth. But she understands everything—at least we think she does. And she can write, after a fashion, but it takes her forever to get a sentence down. There’s hope one day she’ll fully recover.” She turned to Sam. “Can you stay for dinner?”

“Thanks, but not tonight—I’m on duty,” he said. “Is Jack coming over?”

“Of course.” April smiled at him and then at Jo. “I just got engaged!” She waved a sparkling diamond in front of Jo’s face. “To the most wonderful man in the world. When he isn’t driving me crazy, that is.”

Jo grabbed her hand and looked at the ring. The solitaire looked feminine and delicate on April’s slender finger.

“Congratulations. Anyone I know?”

“Jack Palmer, former correspondent for CNN and the department head for a new project starting next month. You’ll meet him at dinner.”

“And you’ll see Cade again,” Eliza said. “Remember him?”

“Sure. You two have a bunch of kids now?” Jo asked.

“No. Things happened. Actually, before I came home a few weeks ago, I hadn’t seen him since that day—” Eliza stopped suddenly.

Jo knew exactly what day she meant.

Into the awkward silence, Eliza waved her left hand again and announced, “But we’re getting married—as soon as Maddie’s able to attend. Sorry you can’t stay, Sam. Another night, then.”

“Count on it.” He nodded to Eliza and April and gave Jo another thoughtful look before returning to his car and leaving.

Things were not what she’d expected, Jo thought as April handed her a glass of iced tea and told her to sit at the table. She tried to grasp the various nuances. The sheriff was a friend. Of course, he was nothing like the sheriff who’d held office when she was a teenager. April lived in Paris. As in France? She’d have to get that straight. It seemed as if a time warp had happened. Eliza and Cade were getting married—about ten years later than Jo had expected. She had a lot to catch up on.

“This will simmer for a while,” Eliza said, putting the wooden spoon on a holder on the counter and turning back to Jo and April. “Let’s get your bags and find you a room. The second floor is a mess. I figure you can have that back corner bedroom. I don’t think they’ve started in there.”

“It’s pretty small,” April said.

“I don’t have to stay here,” Jo said. She felt uncomfortable. They acted as if she weren’t to blame for breaking them up. Didn’t they know? If not, she knew she’d have to explain the events that led up to their being sent to different foster homes twelve years ago. She was surprised the topic hadn’t been the first thing out of their mouths.

“Of course you’ll stay here,” April stated. “Where else would you go? Besides, Maddie will be coming home before too much longer. Think how much fun it will be to have all her girls under one roof.”

“I can’t stay that long,” Jo said quickly. They obviously didn’t know. This welcome and friendliness was all going to change when she told them what she’d done. No use setting herself up for the fall.

“Well, for however long you are in town, plan to stay here,” Eliza said. “Is your suitcase in your car?”

“Just a small one.” Enough for a couple of changes of clothes. How long could it take to apologize and make sure Maddie didn’t need anything? She probably wouldn’t want anything from Jo even if she did need something. But there were ways to get around that.

“I’ll get it,” Eliza said. “April, find some sheets that aren’t layered in dust.”

“What’s with all the construction?” Jo asked.

“This house is going to become a home for pregnant, unwed teenagers,” April said. “It’s Cade’s idea, but one Maddie was all for. And no wonder. Oh, there’s so much to tell you!”

“Wait until I get there,” Eliza warned, heading out the back door toward Jo’s car.

Five minutes later April and Jo were working together to make the single bed in the small upstairs room. It had not been used when the girls lived in the house. The windows looked over the backyard. The entire room wasn’t much bigger than a closet, but it would be fine for one short-term visitor.

“Okay, so bring me up to date,” Jo said, sitting on the newly made bed.

“You first. Whatever in the world possessed you to tell Sheriff Halstead that Maddie beat you?” Eliza asked, standing at the foot of the bed, her hands on her hips.

Jo glanced at April, who also stared at her. They did know! She hated to talk about it but knew she had to offer some explanation. She glanced at her finger.

“Remember this?” She raised the finger and showed her scar.

Eliza stepped forward and touched her finger to Jo’s. “I have a scar, too.”

“Me, too,” April said, reaching over to complete the ritual. “All for one and one for all.”

Jo heard the echo of younger voices. They’d become blood sisters that day.

“I messed up,” she said, slowly bringing down her hand.

“I’ll say,” Eliza concurred. “Why?”

“I told Maddie what happened and she didn’t believe me.” Even after all these years, Maddie’s refusal to believe her had the power to hurt. “Accused me of lying, of trying to protect one of the boys from school, of trying to—” Jo stopped. The words would resound in her mind forever. “Never mind. I need to talk to Maddie. I was punishing her by telling the authorities she’d beaten me. When I tried to tell the sheriff the truth later, he threatened to put me in jail for lying. How could I know back then that it was a bluff? I believed him.”

“We wondered why nothing beyond sending us away had happened,” April said. “Eliza had Sam look into it.”

“I say we use the fund-raiser in July to set the record straight,” Eliza said.

“What do you propose—a banner declaring Maddie innocent?” April asked.

“So she didn’t get into trouble for my lies?” Jo asked. The fear that Maddie had gone to jail or lost her home or worse had always hovered over her.

Eliza sat cross-legged at the foot of the bed. “Nope. We got sent away, and that seemed to be it. And we don’t need a banner. We just need to be ready to answer questions.”

April nodded, perching on the other side of the bed. “Sam told Jack that the whole thing was badly documented. There didn’t appear to be any attempt to make an arrest. And who, even back then, would believe Maddie beat you up? You were taller, younger, athletic.”