The Waking Bell Page 18

  As quickly as I thought it, I dismissed it. He loved me, and I loved him. There was nothing I wouldn’t do for him nor he for me. I knew in my heart there was absolutely no way that Matt had hurt Moria.

  Time was irrelevant waiting for law enforcement to return. I tried to prepare myself for the revelation of the brooch when they discovered it still in my vanity case—I knew exactly where it was.

  I had the distinct feeling Matt was being set up. To me, the brooch did nothing to show Matt’s guilt, but once proclaimed that it did, the stench would be impossible to wash off. Everyone would believe he was.

  My feet hurt; my back ached. It seemed forever we stood in silence. Then lights appeared, turning into the drive. Deputy Lytte opened the door and rushed out. Matt looked back at me.

  Strange, I knew exactly what he wanted. I turned, running right into Mrs. Pritchard.

  “Go,” she whispered. “I will cover for you.”

  I didn’t look back. I ran straight to our room and to my vanity case. I jerked out the vanity case from underneath the bed, withdrew the brooch, and placed everything back like it had been. I stared at it for a brief moment. Where could I hide it?

  The answer came swiftly. I rushed into Moria’s room, knowing I couldn’t turn the lights on. They would have noticed immediately. Outside, I saw three sheriff vehicles parked in the driveway. The officers were heading toward the garage.

  My eyes adjusted and fixed on the window cushion. Underneath…no…no…too easily found. There again, the cushion’s cover was detachable…within the cushion.

  I pulled off the cushion, but something cut my finger. Instinctively, I put it in my mouth and stared down at the spot.

  I couldn’t make anything out, but felt around slowly, I found it to be a splinter on the side of the windowsill. I pushed against it, and it popped open. My heart leaped into my throat. I hadn’t expected to find a hidden compartment.

  Immediately, I reached inside and felt some other items. I pulled out an old toy soldier. Satisfied with the spot, I sat the brooch inside and closed it. I placed the cushion back in place along with the pillows. I prayed no one found it.

  My heart pounded until I made it back down the back stairs undetected. In the kitchen, I made some refreshments. A few minutes later, I walked into the living room with a tray of iced tea and cookies for our guests, who were preparing to look through our house.

  No one seemed to have noticed my absence. I glanced at Matt and gave him a smile, confident they would never find the brooch.

  It was well past midnight when Matt found me in the pink room, as I had begun to call it. I stood watching the taillights fade into the distance.

  I was exhausted, mentally and physically. They had gone through every room—literally. The house looked like a tornado had blown through—all except this room. I imagine someone must have looked in it, but they didn’t tear it up like the rest of the place.

  Our room had been ransacked. Matt had threatened them that while they were looking for one specific item, if any others turned up missing, he would report it. I had raced into our room after they were done to ensure that my wedding gifts were still in the jewelry box. The first thing I saw was my vanity case dumped onto our bed.

  They found nothing. They left with nothing.

  Sheriff Brawner had to realize that a brooch would hold little value unless it could be determined who had possession of it when it was lost. Yet he made the appearance that it had been Matt. He made a grand effort to find it. When it was evident that he would never find it, he had done as much damage as he could to the house.

  The sheriff had to know after this Matt would never support him in an election. He should have let the suits come in, I thought, but he was afraid he would lose his power. Someone powerful had manipulated this, more powerful than the Pritchard name.

  Goldie had always said that Sheriff Brawner tilted justice to whichever side would benefit him the most. The sentiment was felt by all mountain people. It was the reason no one on the mountain trusted lawmen.

  Matt walked up behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist. I laid my head back against his chest. “Is your mother settled for the night?”

  “I helped her put together her room,” he said. “I doubt she will get much sleep, though.”

  I took a deep breath, knowing no one under this roof would tonight. There would be no more denying that they would accuse Matt of being responsible for Moria’s death.

  Placing my hands over his, I didn’t turn. I was afraid he would see doubt.

  “It’s going to be fine,” he said in a low voice. “They have nothing but speculation. It’s going to be alright.”

  “The brooch,” I whispered. “Was it Moria’s?”

  The room became deathly quiet. The only sound I heard was his breathing; the only thing I felt was his chest taking those breaths.

  “I suspect it was.”

  A sudden fear gripped me that I might lose him. In one way or another, my world would change on the next words he spoke.

  “There is so much to say to you,” he said. “I should have told you my concerns when I realized that it may have played a bigger part in Alfie’s disappearance…and that’s what I believe.”

  “You’re not making sense.”

  “Yes…yes…I should start at the beginning when you found it.” He took a deep breath. “I wasn’t lying. I had never seen it and never suspected it to be Moria’s. It was only afterward when I got home after the search that things changed. I expected that Moria and I would fight. It wasn’t unusual for us to disagree. Matter of fact, it was more commonplace than not. But I was beyond tired and already angry at her for not showing up at the revival until after it was over. She was waiting for me on the porch. I was just going to walk by and get to bed, but she stopped me. Asked me if I knew anything about the boy. She was visibly upset when I told her that we hadn’t found him. She asked where we had looked. I told her by Two Oaks.”

  He closed his eyes for a second, as if remembering something, then continued, “I was touched with her concern. It was a side that I didn’t see often, but honestly, all I could think about was getting some sleep. The last I saw of Moria, she was muttering I wish I could have seen something to help. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. The last thing I told her was it would be okay. We would find Alfie. She was desperate to talk and all I did was walk away. My head hit the pillow and I slept. I don’t know for how long. My mind was racing with thoughts about what I could have missed. Where could that boy have gone? But as I did so, I kept going back to Moria on the porch. The conversation had been odd. Then I put together that Moria still had on the clothes she had worn to the revival. Then, it struck me, I bolted up— Moria must have seen something.”

  He clenched his jaw, staring at nothing—Moria’s ghost, I thought, thinking about what Coy had said. His eyes returned to me. “I had suspected that she had a lover for a long time, but I never found any proof. Mysterious phone calls. Going out without telling me where she went. The thought crossed my mind that she had been up at Two Oaks with him and saw something. You holding the brooch had flashed in my mind, and then the realization that I had gotten a bill from Goddard’s a month earlier for a brooch.

  “Moria and I had fought about it because it cost a lot of money. She already had plenty of jewelry. I shut down the account and told her that I wouldn’t pay for her lifestyle anymore. No more trips. No more expensive clothes or jewelry. It was over. I wanted a divorce. She burst into tears and flat out refused to even talk about it. I had come to the conclusion whoever her lover was didn’t have the resources I had, but I couldn’t live this way anymore. I went to see an attorney in Knoxville. He told me I needed proof of her affair. I hesitated. It was a big step, admitting failure. I wasn’t raised that way. Grandpa would roll over in his grave for the shame I was going to bring on our name. It would be a blight on our reputation. No one in our family has ever gotten a divorce before, but at that moment, when I realized that Moria must have be
en with her lover, I knew I had to make the move.”

  I listened intently, watching as his eyes traced the room, seemingly reliving the night.

  “I ran into my study and took out the receipt. Before I had only seen the cost, now I looked at the description—a diamond peacock brooch. I needed to see it again. That was why I came to you that day.”

  I had a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach at the mention of that day. Yet, for all my anxiety, the situation sounded true. My suspicions faded.

  “I wonder what would have happened if I put it together sooner. Perhaps we could have found the boy. Perhaps Moria would still be alive. In the end, it would become a sea of what ifs. Moria was dead before I could ask her. Sometimes I feel like I keep spinning around and around where nothing is like it’s supposed to be.” His voice was filled with anguish and guilt. “The way I was raised to believe was that when things don’t go your way, you fight through it. If you’re knocked down, you get back up with your head held high. Stay the course and it will work out. I don’t know if I believe that anymore. “Moria. Moria,” he cried. “What have you done?”

  A chill swept through me. He was falling into a darkness, and I didn’t know if I could bring him back. I turned and hugged him tightly.

  He kissed the top of my head. “What I tell you now is the truth coming from my heart. I don’t want to hurt you, but you need to hear the truth.” He stroked my hair. “I fell in love with Moria the moment I saw her. She was beautiful, sophisticated, and charming. Ever so charming. Mother loved her like I did. I held no doubt that she loved me also. She told me so. I placed my faith in her words. That belief almost killed me. It does something to your soul when the one you love doesn’t love you. That fact became quite evident after the wedding—she didn’t love me…and I wanted it more than anything. I had dreams of the life we would share. Do you know what it feels like when the person you love winces in pain when you even look her way? When I returned from Europe, I foolishly thought I could redeem myself in her eyes by having volunteered to fight against the face of evil. I talked myself into believing if I did what she wanted, we would have the marriage I dreamed about. But on my return…I truly think she would have been happier if I had come back in a box.”

  He dropped his head. “Nothing I ever did satisfied her, except staying away. I wanted to know…deserved to know at the very least what I had done that was so wrong. I never found out. I failed.”

  “No…no, Matthew. You’re a good man.” There was desperation in my voice, a plea for him to come back to me.

  He looked down at me and forced a smile. “You’re the best thing that has ever happened to me and look what I’ve done to you.”

  “You saved me,” I said in a low whisper that carried in the stillness. “Despite making it worse for you, and I know it did, you saved me from those vicious lies.”

  “Is that what you think, my innocent love?” He reached over and caressed my face. “How little do you know of me? It was you who saved me. Since my return, I have been tortured by doubt and indecision and then, you came into my life. You put me on edge with this attraction to you. It was unexpected. The timing was wrong. Yet every time I saw you my heart raced. When we went to the cabin and talked, it was an escape from the hell that had become my life.”

  Although he’d called me innocent, his words touched on the same thing I’d felt at the cabin—an escape from life…from the stares…from the bells.

  “I want to be a good man. I want to be the man you deserve. I want to look into your eyes and see me.” He swallowed hard, staring at me with an intensity that touched my soul. “When Goldie told me those awful things that your father did to you, I wanted to kill him, even though he was already dead, but it did little to deter me from my desire to marry you. I know you as the woman you are, not the façade you show the world. You’re smart. Strong. Spirited. You made me believe that I could have the future I dreamed of—with the woman I love.” He gave me a searching gaze. “I need to ask you something…”

  I knew what he wanted to know. “Yes, I believe you’re innocent,” I said. “But don’t push me away. Don’t keep things from me. I realize that you took us to Charleston because of the brooch. You should have told me.”

  “I didn’t want to worry you.” He nodded. “Honestly, I couldn’t bring myself to ask when we went there. It wasn’t until you wore it and said that they recognized it that I thought it might be Moria’s. Then you said it belonged to a Mable Ann Adams. I was relieved. That was until Coy appeared at the Pride the other day announcing to anyone that could hear that I was hiding something. He told me of the brooch as if it meant I killed her…”

  His words faded into the night.

  I pushed my shoes off my feet. I was through talking. Very delicately, I began to unbutton his shirt.

  Matt had not touched me since Goldie shared the story of my youth. Now, though, I made my intentions clear.

  He leaned down and brushed his lips over mine and whispered, “I thought I knew what love was once, but discovered it was an illusion. Nothing compares to what I feel for you. This is real.” He picked up my hand in his and placed it on his bare chest. “This is us.”

  I reached down and began unbuttoning my dress. I stepped out of it and my slip. I watched the material fall next to his shirt. Looking up, I saw him staring at me without one intention of helping me undress.

  Unhooking my bra, I dropped it as I slipped out of my panties. He pulled me back to the bed and down on top of him. He took a breast in one hand, caressing my nipple into a tight peak. I gasped, unable to contain my desire.

  He rolled me over and stripped off his pants. I pushed him onto his back and straddled him. The room quickly heated.

  The world around me evaporated. The only thing that mattered was him. There were no words, but we understood each other with each touch and kiss.

  Sunlight woke me the next morning in the arms of the man I loved. I felt sated and completely content. We were stronger. Nothing would come between us now.

  Chapter 17

  “It’s more important than ever to go on like normal,” Matt said. “You both need to get out today and let everyone see us. Smile. Show them we have nothing to hide.”

  Watching Mrs. Pritchard, I took a sip of coffee. She sat at the table with her head high. She was a proud woman who loved her son.

  I realized that she considered me an enemy when I married Matt. I doubted that we would ever be close, but there was a semblance of hope that after the events of last night, there would come an acceptance.

  “Pick up as much as you can, but don’t worry about the house. It can wait,” Matt continued. “I’m fixing to go to work. Why don’t you both go to lunch down at Nate’s.”

  With a nod, I agreed, ready to face suspicious eyes. I had no doubt Mrs. Pritchard would do the same.

  Matt pushed back his chair and stood. “I believe that while we put the house back together we should move into the pink room. I have discovered there are no ghosts.”

  Feeling my face blush, remembering the passion we’d shared, I rose and walked him to the door. “I would like that.”

  He smiled and kissed me good-bye. I stood and watched him drive off. Pivoting on my heels, I sighed, looking at the mess, but I refused to give into despair. Matt depended on me.

  Three hours later, the downstairs had been restored to order with help from Mrs. Holbrook. Most of it had only been overturned. I took a hot bath and changed for lunch.

  Coming back downstairs, I heard a familiar voice I hadn’t heard in a long time. I followed the sounds into the kitchen.

  Immediately, I spotted a dark-haired boy eating a piece of apple pie.

  Mrs. Holbrook smiled at my appearance. “Mrs. Pritchard, you have a visitor.” She placed a glass of milk in front of my brother. “Believe it or not, he has already had a sandwich.”

  Dickie took a big sip like he had never had a glass of milk, leaving a white mustache. I swear he looked like he had grown a foo
t.

  I hadn’t realized how much I missed his face. A tinge of guilt surged. I hadn’t seen him since I returned from my honeymoon. So much had happened.

  Badly in need of a haircut, he wiped his bangs out of his eyes. He gave me one of his looks with one eyebrow raised. “Came to see Matt.”

  “You have?” I thought it funny to hear him say my husband’s name so casually, but I knew that Matt had insisted that Dickie do so. We are brothers now, Matt had told Dickie.

  Dickie shook his head like I was plumb crazy. “Matt promised me he would show me the new eviscerator at the Pride. He even said I could help out before I went back to school. It’s been weeks. Didn’t want him to forget. Pa won’t take me. Said not to bother Matt, but we’re family. Can’t bother family.”

  His words struck a chord. Obviously, the promise was important to him.

  “I’ll take you,” I said. “How did you get here?”

  “Rode your bike.” Dickie nodded as he took another bite of pie. “Took me longer than I thought. Left right after Pa.”

  Behind me, Mrs. Pritchard had entered. “Well, then, we need to be going if we’re to have lunch. I invited Ginny Rose to join us.”

  The Pride was a couple of miles up the road from the house. It sat on ten acres of the ten thousand acres that the Pritchard’s owned. On the corner of the intersection was the Pride’s feed store and mill; behind there was the processing plant.

  I had never been inside the plant but there had been numerous times when Otis needed a ride when his truck had broken down. Between the feed mill and the plant was a small building. That was Matt’s office where he ran the operations.

  Otis had told us the plant itself was broken down into eight long barns of chickens. Two were for hatchlings, seven for the growing chickens, which all had enclosed chicken yards, and one for the processing before they were sent out to market.