“Did you tell the police any of this?”
“No. I got no faith in the cops to take care of things. I’m still not sure what Jimmy was up to. Or if it was even illegal.”
“But you could save Angus!”
“I don’t want to get in trouble. Who would look after the kids if I was locked up?” She started crying again. “I’m afraid of the police. What if they thought I had something to do with it? I can’t prove I didn’t. I’m Jimmy’s wife after all.”
I bit my lip. I didn’t want to push too hard. I had to keep the lines of communication open if I was going to help Angus. But hey, I was an expert at treading on eggshells, thanks to Sarah.
“Reenie, it’s okay. I’ll try to figure things out. At some point we may need to talk to the police . . .” I held up a hand as she started to protest. Quiet in the classroom. “But let me see what I can come up with first.”
She wiped a hand across her eyes, and stubbed out her second cigarette.
“Look, why don’t you go take a nice shower?” I suggested. “Sarah and I will watch the kids. It’ll make you feel better.”
She started to protest and then nodded in weary agreement, and headed upstairs. I tipped the rest of my beer into the sink, and put the remaining bottles in the refrigerator, together with the fruit and yogurt. I noted with a pang how empty the shelves were, apart from some lovely big brown eggs in a blue-striped bowl.
I wandered outside and followed the sound of childish laughter to find Sarah and the kids over by the henhouse. My daughter smiled at me, the sunlight behind turning her blond hair into a hazy golden cloud.
I smiled back. “What are you doing?”
“Taking pictures of rug rats.”
She held up her camera so I could see, and scrolled through shots she’d taken of the children. Swinging on a tire swing, feeding the chickens, chasing each other round the big oak tree. She’d captured their wild laughter, the sweet softness of their rosy cheeks, and also the fleeting haunted look behind their eyes.
They laughed even more when Sarah mock screamed as the rooster came toward her.
“That’s Fancy Pants.” The boy bent and grabbed a chicken running by and clutched it to his chest, like he was holding an overweight cat. “And this is Miss Penny.” When he set it down, the chicken took off in a squawking hurry, and they both chased it, squealing, skinny arms and legs flying.
I quickly gave Sarah the CliffsNotes version of my conversation with their mother.
Sarah frowned. “Sounds kind of sketch to trust some guy out in the country that you don’t know to be part of such a scheme.”
“I was thinking the same thing. And I suppose it’s not completely illegal, but it’s not particularly ethical either.”
“But if Jimmy did figure out what the pens were worth, it might have been a good enough reason to risk keeping them. Look at this place, Mom. It must have been tempting.”
I nodded. “Good point. Of course, whoever it is was also taking a gamble that no one would outbid Jimmy. But at a Saturday night auction in Sheepville, who would have that kind of ready money? Only a specific collector who would be willing to cough up the big bucks.”
Sarah shuddered as she stared at the decrepit farmhouse. “I’d be freaked out about living here on my own with a killer on the loose.”
“Well, I guess there’s no reason for whoever did it to stick around now.”
As we shepherded the children back into the kitchen, and I was encouraging them to wash their hands and faces at the sink, Reenie came hurtling down the wooden stairs, carrying a suitcase.
“I found this in the spare bedroom. That bastard!”
I glanced at Sarah, and she quickly hurried the kids outside again.
“That son of a bitch was all packed and ready to leave his wife and family for some cash and a dozen old pens?” She paced through the kitchen, heaving for breath. “When I think about what I had to put up with, Daisy. The drinking every night, spending what little money we had at the bar, and now he does this to me? How dare he leave me in such a mess?”
She suddenly dropped the suitcase with a crash on the floor and hung her head, her wet hair covering her face.
I had no words, so I went over and hugged her. She clung to me like a child, crying noisily, her tears soaking through my shirt.
*
“After we left Reenie’s, I made a stop to see Betty, but the house was locked up tight with no lights on. She must have gone to visit her brother.
Sarah leaned back against the car’s headrest. “Can we go home now, please? Why are you taking care of all these people anyway, Mom?”
“It’s what I do, Sarah.”