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Mark Stevens
Porterville 16
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Britt had never seen his mother look the way she did at that particular moment. It was a look he absolutely could not read, nor did he think he even wanted to try. He said nothing more, waiting to see what she would say. When she did speak, he wasn't sure what to think.
"I suppose if Margaret chose to tell Alice her brother had died of some childhood disease, it was her business and her right to do so, wouldn't you agree?"
"You knew the circumstances surrounding the child's death." His words were in form of a statement, rather than a question.
"I did," she admitted. "As I told you, I've lived here all my life, and sometimes you just `know' certain things about people's lives. When that happens, it's their place, not yours, to discuss it. If Margaret and Tom wanted Alice to believe her brother had died of a childhood disease that was their choice and not my right to judge them."
"Maybe you're right," he said thoughtfully. "Then again, maybe you're wrong. Either way, I'm not so certain. What I do know is all these years Margaret has been supported by John and Elaine McKenzie, rather than an "insurance company" as Alice had been led to believe. Now that, even you have to admit, Mom, makes not a damn bit of sense."
"John and Elaine have been paying money to Margaret all these years?" she asked, surprise showing on her face.
Britt nodded. "That's right, all these years. It started the next day after the accident and doubled within a short time after Tom's accident. The payment stopped at Margaret's death," he finished.
"My God," was all she said, the words hardly audible. "My God," she repeated.
After a few moments Britt asked, "So, do you see, Mom, why this has been such a puzzle to me? I promise you, I am not just trying to dig something up here for the sake of a story. Yes, that's what I started out to do, I will admit. However, the more I have searched, the more things do not seem right. I have come to really know and like Alice, and I just feel she deserves the truth. Whatever that may be," he added.
"I knew Margaret had always said her son died from a disease when in actuality, his death had been an accident. I just surmised she had told the story that way because she couldn't deal with the fact that he had died because of her husband's carelessness. The human mind is funny that way, and I just thought that was her way of dealing with everything. However, I had absolutely no idea they were getting money from the McKenzie's each month. Then again, it really wasn't my business to know. Still..."
"Still, something doesn't add up here," Britt finished for her.
Suddenly Britt saw a look of fear on his mother's face. She took his hand, and giving it a squeeze, she said, "Please, Britt, promise me you will be very careful. I have always thought it would be very bad for anybody who was on the wrong side of Elaine McKenzie. If you're not there, you're pretty close."
"I think at the moment, the only thing she detests about me is that her son likes me," he said.
"That is enough right there to cause trouble for you," Catherine admitted. "That, plus the fact you are here in Porterville digging up facts for a book. I know for certain that makes her angry. She likes not only her own privacy, but the privacy of the town as well."
"I'll be careful, Mom," he assured her. "You need to as well," he added.
"Me?" she asked. "Why me?"
"You have already received two warnings, plus a break in here at the house," he reminded.
"Yes, but those warnings were for you, and as for the break in, well, they certainly wanted nothing that was mine; that was quite evident."
"Just the same, you need to be very careful, and if you notice anything at all that doesn't seem right to you, I want you to promise to tell me immediately."
As she promised to do so, the doorbell rang. "I'll see who it is. Finish your wine," she told him.
Catherine opened the door and smiled. "Hello, Devon," she greeted warmly. "Do come in," she invited.
"Hello, Catherine." Devon gave her a smile. "Do forgive me for dropping by without calling first," he said as he came inside.
"Devon McKenzie, whatever am I going to do with you?" she asked. "Have I not made it plain enough you are welcomed in this home anytime you choose to be here. You need never wait for an invitation."
"You are so kind." He leaned over and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "That son of yours around?" he asked.
"Out in the kitchen," she answered. "Britt, you have company," she called.
"Hey, Dev," Britt greeted. He had walked up quietly behind his mother.
"I'll leave the two of you alone," Catherine said. "I hope you will stay for dinner, Devon."
"Only if you twist my arm," he grinned.
"Consider it done," she said and walked back to the kitchen. "It will be ready in about half an hour," she called over her shoulder.
"So, how was your afternoon?" Britt asked.
"The usual," Devon answered. "I'm still trying to get everything straight in my mind concerning the business. I will have to admit, I never realized just how much effort and work my father put into the company."
"I'm sure it is a big job," Britt agreed. "I do not envy you in any way. I will just stick to my writing."
"Well, I don't envy you there. What I've seen thus far where your job is concerned, I could never handle all the mental shit that comes with the territory."
Britt had something on his mind. He asked Devon to follow him to his room. "I have something to show you."
Devon grinned. "Are you sure you want to do this?" he asked. "Your mother is here."
"You know how I am," Britt retorted.
Once inside his bedroom, Britt turned and said, "I want you to see this, Dev. I started thinking about it today, and I realized I had never told you about it."
Britt pulled a small silky cloth bag from his pocket. "I have kept this with me from the first day I found it. I think whoever it was that broke into Mom's house was looking for this."
Britt pulled the small bag open and dumped the contents into his hand. It was the diamond he had found at the sight of Margaret Cooper's accident. "I've been intending to show this to you, but I keep forgetting."
Devon looked down, and his face suddenly paled. "You found this at the Cooper place?"
Britt nodded. "Have you ever seen a diamond this big before?"
"Yes," Devon answered. "When my father gave it to my mother," he said quietly.
"Excuse me?"
"I'm pretty sure this belongs to my mother," Devon answered. "A setting in one of her rings," he added.
Britt thought it made perfect sense. A stone this big, most people in Porterville could not begin to afford. Elaine McKenzie could afford it. Made perfect sense that she would support a local town merchant by purchasing it from him, he thought. It would also make sense that if she bought it from George Carson, that he would recognize it, and would give her a call. So, that would stand to reason that if she hadn't been the one to break into his mother's home, she was at least responsible for the person or persons doing it.
"Why would you find it at Margaret Cooper's?" Devon wanted to know.
"You tell me, Dev. How well did your mother know Margaret?" Britt asked.
"Well, probably as well any she does any other citizen of Porterville, who has lived here as long as Margaret had," Devon admitted.
"They obviously go back to 1973 when the first accident occurred," Britt said.
"First accident?" Devon repeated.
Britt nodded and said, "There seem to be a number of those. "First the car accident where Alice's twin brother was killed. Then the accident that took Tom Cooper's life some five years later. And now another accidental death has taken place. Doesn't that seem like a pattern to you?"
"My God, you're right," Devon agreed.
"Dinner's ready," Catherine called a moment later.
"Coming, Mom," Britt answered. He looked at Devon and said, "Promise me something, will you?"
"Of course, anything," Devon said.
"Please promise me you'll keep all this under wrap for the time being. Will you trust me when I say I will make sure this diamond goes back to your mother if it really belongs to her? For now, I would like to hang on to it."
"Keep it as long as you like," Devon told him. "And you have my word. I won't say a thing about any of this. Like you, I would like some answers."
"The food is going to get cold if you guys don't hurry up," Catherine called once more.
"We're on our way, Mom."
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
The next morning Britt headed for another visit to the Funeral Home. During the night an idea had popped into his head, and he couldn't force it from his mind. It concerned the grave in the cemetery with only DDM inscribed on the marker. He had a question about it, and he hoped his visit would give him the answer.
He came inside the office and discovered the same man sitting at the desk as before. He gave what he hoped was one of his most charming smiles and said, "Hello again."
The man recognized Britt and said, "Good morning, Mr. Williams. What may I do for you this time?" He also had a smile, and that made Britt feel somewhat better.
"I'm sorry to keep troubling you, but I had another question that I thought perhaps you could answer for me."
"If I can," the man said.
"Do you have information in your records that states when the graves are opened and closed?" Britt asked.
"I can tell you when a grave is opened," the man replied. "Usually a grave is opened and closed the same day. Usually," he repeated.
"Great. I was wondering if I could ask you to look the Porter plot up one more time. Hopefully this will be the last time I will have to bother you."
Perhaps the clerk wanted to make up for being rude to Britt on his previous visit, for he smiled and said, "It would be no bother at all."
He typed something in on the keyboard and shortly had the screen with the information he needed before him. He looked up at Britt and said, "I would assume you are interested in the grave with the marker DDM, correct?"
"Yes, sir, I am," Britt answered.
"Let's see... Hum... That grave was opened June 6th, 1973. Nothing else is noted here, so I'm going to assume it was closed the same day. That is the usual practice, I believe."
Britt tried hard not to show any emotion at all as he listened to the man talk. June 6th, he thought. The day after the accident which had taken the life of Thomas Cooper Jr. The words stuck in his throat, and he couldn't get them out.
When he finally found his voice, Britt thanked the man and turned to leave. Then he had another thought. "One more favor, if you please," he said. "Do you have any information on Thomas Cooper Jr.?"
The clerk typed in the name and waited on the screen to come up. When it did, he said, "There is nothing on him. Thomas Cooper Sr. is listed. His grave was opened February 19th, 1978. There is nothing, however, on the son."
Britt thanked the man and left. He walked to the car and sat behind the wheel. Where to next, he wondered? His mind was cluttered at the moment, so many different ideas running through his head. He tried sorting them out, and getting nowhere, backed his car out and drove down the road.
Almost before he realized where he was heading, he found himself outside of town. He came to the cemetery and drove inside. He drove past his father's grave, even past the recently added one of Margaret Cooper, and drove on to where the Porter family was. He got out of his car and walked over to the Porter graves. He saw the newly added one of John McKenzie, and realized all of a sudden that Devon now knew what it was like to lose his father, the same loss Britt had experienced several years ago. He studied John's grave for a moment. There were still so many flowers on top, that even being outside, it smelled like a florist shop. He saw the empty space next to John McKenzie, and knew that's where Devon's mother would be placed when she died.
Britt walked over and noticed immediately that the marker with "DDM" on it was directly next to John McKenzie. He hadn't realized that before, because John had not been buried there at the time.
He thought that odd. Why would the grave of a distant relative be right next to John McKenzie? That made absolutely no sense at all.
Britt squatted down on his knees and studied the marker intently. There had to be a reason for this, he thought. Family or not, Elaine McKenzie would never have it in her heart to allow just anyone in the family to be buried and placed where this grave was.
"DDM" Britt read once more. Suddenly he had such a ringing in his ears he could hardly think. The ground spun around, leaving him dizzy, and for a moment he thought he was going to pass out. The truth had been right there under his nose all the time, yet he had been too blind to see it.