What?
Im not sure. He couldnt rid himself of the feeling that if there was any substance to Amandas story, it would lead to a messy situation that wouldnt do the firm or himself any good.
Jason was waiting patiently for an answer, something that showed how much hed changed since hed arrived in Echo Falls last spring. Then, patience hadnt been part of his vocabulary. Credit his recent engagement for that, Trey supposed.
Its too soon to say whether theres anything to it or not. Ill let you know once... The sentence trailed off as he glanced out the window. There, on the opposite side of the street, was Amanda Curtiss, apparently having a heart-to-heart with Esther Beiler in front of the coffee shop.
If Amanda was looking for town gossip, shed somehow landed right in the spot where the latest news was shared, embellished and passed on. Even as he watched, Esther pointed at the ridge, clearly showing Amanda the location of the falls.
Ill catch you up on it later, he said, and hurried for the door.
Trey dodged an older model pickup coming down the street at a snails pace and reached the sidewalk to find Esther Beiler beaming at him.
Ach, Trey, youre chust in time. I was telling your friend that shed best have you go with her up to the falls, aint so?
His friend? Hed have to let that go with Esthers curious gaze fixed on him. Sure thing. Id be glad to take her.
He turned to Amanda, trying to keep a smile on his face. If youre ready, Ill walk back to the car with you. Well set up a time to go.
Amanda evaded his glance. Thanking Esther, she stepped off the curb. But any plans she might have to avoid talking to him were foiled as she had to pause for an Amish buggy to roll slowly past.
Trey raised his hand to Eli Miller and his oldest boy, probably headed to the hardware store, and then touched Amandas elbow to guide her across the street as if she were his elderly grandmother.
She glared at him, shaking her arm free. I can walk across the street on my own, thank you. And theres no need to take me to the falls. Esther gave me very good directions.
Ill bet. His lips quirked. Ive heard Esthers idea of directions. Go down the Pauley Road until you come to where Stoltzfuss barn used to be before they built the new one...
Amanda preserved the glare for another second before her lips curved in a smile that showed a dimple at the upper corner. They were something like that, I have to say. But really, theres no need for me to take you away from your work. Just tell me something I can put into the GPS.
I doubt if there is an address it would recognize. Besides, keeping an eye on Amanda Curtiss seemed like a good idea, if not a full-time job. Tell you what. Ill meet you tomorrow and take you up there. Okay?
Why not now? Her eyebrows lifted.
First, because youre not dressed for a hike. He nodded toward her suede boots and light wool slacks. And neither am I. Second, because that will give me a chance to look for some of the answers you want.
She studied him, as if wondering whether he was stalling. You think youll be able to find something that quickly?
If there was a death that was somehow connected to the falls in 1989, Im sure my dad would know about it. And he can be trusted not to spread your story all over town.
Thats really worrying you, isnt it? I dont see why.
Theyd reached the car by then, and he put a hand on the door when she would have opened it. In an instant the dog had sprung to the window, baring a formidable set of teeth.
Nice to know youre so well-protected, he commented, moving his hand away from the glass. This is a small town.
You said that before, she pointed out. I still dont see why anyone would be interested in why Im here.
You dont know a town like this. Esther will be talking about you to the next person who comes into the café. Not maliciously, you understand. Just sharing. And that person will mention you to someone else.
Amandas firm jaw set stubbornly. Im not hiding anything.
Then youre not thinking it through. He resisted the urge to raise his voice and glanced around, but no one was within earshot. From what you told me, you obviously think theres a good chance your birth mother was connected with Echo Falls. People here are old-fashioned. Do you think theyll welcome someone stirring up what might have been an old scandal? Or sharing their private family secrets with the world?
Her clear blue eyes seemed to darken. You think Im an illegitimate child no one will want to claim.
Thats not what I think. I think youre building too much on something that probably has no relationship to your parentage. I get it, really. It must have been an enormous shock to be faced with that news so soon after your mothers death.
For a moment he thought shed argue with him. Then she seemed to swallow whatever it was shed almost said. Youre sure youll be able to find out something by tomorrow?
If theres anything to find, I will. If my father doesnt know, someone else will, but Im betting hed remember anything that dramatic. He tried to read her expression and found it impossible. So, what do you say? Ill meet you at the office tomorrow at ten, and Ill bring the insect repellent. You wear something you can walk in the woods in. Okay?
She hesitated for so long he thought she was going to turn him down. Finally, she nodded. Okay. Her expression softened. Look, I know Im not going to find anything there. I just... I need to see the place.
I get it. To his surprise, he actually did. It was a connection to the woman shed always thought was her mother. In the meantime, could you refrain from going around town asking questions?
Ill consider it. A smile took the sting from the words. Until tomorrow, then. And thanks... She hesitated. Trey.
You see? He kept his voice light. Esther knows all and tells all.
He opened the door for her, and at a word, the dog lay down in the back seat.
Ill see you at ten, then.
She closed the door, and Trey stood where he was to watch her drive down the street. Not toward the highway and her motel, he noticed. That was too much to hope for.
Hed warned her. That was all he could do. Whatever waves she made now were unavoidable.
* * *
BY THE TIME he left the office for the day, Trey had stopped trying to dismiss Amanda Curtiss and her troubles from his mind. He couldnt do it. His mother would say he was conscientious, like his father, but he knew better. It was apprehension, caused by the sense that Amanda was going to cause problems for anyone who became involved in her hunt for answers.
Stubborn, that was the word for herjust like a lot of the hardheaded Pennsylvania Dutch hed grown up with. Once theyd made up their minds, a person might as well save his breath and prepare either to get out of the way or to pick up the pieces.
Hed headed automatically for his own place, but a sudden impulse made him turn at the corner of Oak Street and make for his parents house instead. He had to pick his fathers brain on the subject of Amandas search, so he might as well do it now.
A few minutes later he pulled into the driveway at the comfortable old Queen Anne house where hed grown up. In his minds eye, he could still see a bicycle leaning against the mammoth oak tree that Dad threatened periodically to have cut down before it fell on the house. And a skateboard abandoned on the porch steps, providing the material for a fatherly lecture on the proper care of ones belongings.
When he got out, the October sun slanted through the branches of the oak tree, picking out bronze and gold in the leaves. The lawn could use a raking, but Dad was forbidden to do that sort of thing since his heart attack in the spring. Trey would have to take the initiative and either do the fall cleanup himself or hire someone.
Scuffing through the leaves that had already fallen, he headed for the side door that led into the kitchen. Mom? Dad? You home? Since the car was in the garage and the door unlocked, that was a safe assumption.
Trey! His mother looked as delighted as if she hadnt seen him in three months instead of three days. How nice. Youll stay for supper.
He grinned, giving her a quick hug. Now, how did you know that was on my mind? Nothing pleased his mother more than having her cooking appreciated.
You dont eat enough, cooking for yourself, she chided.
Wheres Dad? he interrupted, before she could tell him he ought to get married so hed have someone to take care of him. There was never any use telling her that none of the women he dated cared any more for cooking than he did.
In the study. You go and chat with him while I add a few more potatoes to the pot. Go on. Pork chops tonight, and luckily I got extra.
She always had extra, of course. Dad claimed shed never gotten past the years when as often as not Trey would bring a friend or two home for supper at the last minute.
Dad put his newspaper aside when Trey entered the round room that took up the first floor of the typically Victorian turret. Upstairs, this area was a sunroom off the master bedroom, and here it was his fathers domain. The golden oak desk still sat in front of a bank of windows, although it wasnt littered with a slew of papers as it had been during his fathers working years.
About time you were coming by, he said. Your mother convince you to stay for supper?
Trey grinned. You should know I never take much convincing. Concern lurked behind the smile as he pulled up a rocking chair next to his fathers recliner. Dad was still looking too pale, too drawn, since the scare hed put them through a few months ago.
His father seemed to see past Treys casual manner. Something on your mind?
As a matter of fact, something has come up Id like your advice on. Maybe it would do his father good to be involved in the business of the firm hed spent his life building. I had a new client come in todaya woman who was referred by a Boston attorney I met a couple of years ago. She had a rather odd story to tell.
Im retired, remember? But he was leaning forward, obviously interested.
Trey reached in his pocket, pulled out a couple of ones and put them on the lamp table. There. Consider yourself a consultant.
Right. So what am I consulting on? You can surely handle whatever it is.
My memories dont go back far enough to be helpful, and I figure yours do. And you wont go blabbing it around town.
Thanks for the compliment. So tell me. In spite of the sarcastic words, he looked pleased.
But as the story unfolded, Trey saw his fathers expression change. He seemed to freeze up as he looked into the past, as if hed seen something hed rather not look at.
Trey faltered to a stop. His mother had been on a campaign to keep anything worrisome away from Dad, and he seemed to have tripped right into it.
His father leaned back in the chair, his mouth tight. It took a few minutes for him to speak. If I were you, Id tell the woman you cant help her.
That was my first instinct, Trey admitted. But she struck me as the kind of person who doesnt give up easily. If I dont help her, shell go around town asking questions on her own. It seemed to me...
Dad waved a hand tiredly. No, youre right. That would be worse. He mused for another moment. If youre looking for a death in 1989 that is related to the falls, theres only one I can think of that fits. Elizabeth Winthrops granddaughter was found dead at the base of the falls sometime in the spring.
Winthrop, Trey repeated. It was like saying Rockefeller by Echo Falls standards. The Winthrop family had established the town, lumbered the surrounding hillsides, built up a thriving business that still provided employment to half the town.
Exactly. Dads eyes met his. The story was hushed up, of course. If people knew, they were generally sensible enough not to talk about it, but word got around, of course.
So what was it? Suicide? That was the first thought that came to mind. Elizabeth Winthrop was an elderly autocrat who would find it unthinkable that such a thing could touch her family.
It was ruled accidental, of course. Still, not even the Winthrops could eliminate all the speculation, especially since Melanie Winthrop had left town suddenly some months earlier. Shed have been about seventeen at the time, I suppose.
Pregnant or an addict? Those were the obvious answers.
Pregnant, his father said reluctantly. She was sent off to have the baby and put it up for adoption.
So that may be Amanda Curtisss answer. There must be records...
Its not as simple as that. Melanie didnt go through with the plans. She disappeared, and as far as I know, she wasnt seen or heard from until the day she was found lying on the rocks at Echo Falls.
He leaned back in the chair, breathing as if hed been running, his face gray. Alarmed, Trey clasped his wrist. Dad...
Now thats enough talk. Trey hadnt realized his mother was standing at the doorway until she hurried to his father. Ted, you know you shouldnt tire yourself that way. She picked up a glass of water and held it to his lips.
Im sorry. Guilt had a stranglehold on Treys throat. I shouldnt have kept him talking so long.
Nonsense. His father pushed the glass away fretfully. Dont fuss, Claire. Im fine.
Supper will be ready in five minutes. Trey, you can set the table. She shooed Trey out of the room ahead of her.
I didnt mean... he began, but his mother shook her head.
You couldnt have known it would affect him that much. She didnt bother to deny shed been listening. But he wouldnt want you to keep it from him.
I dont get it. Why should it upset him that much? Its not as if you were close friends with the Winthrops.
Your father was the familys attorney in those days. His mother stirred gravy vigorously with an air of not knowing what she was doing. They fell out over this business of Melanies pregnancy. He thought they were making a mistake to handle it that way, disregarding the girls wishes. That was the last thing he did for them, and I remember that his partner was furious that he gave up such a lucrative client. But when it comes to principles, your father is a stubborn man.
Trey wasnt sure what to say. I didnt know hed ever represented them.
His mother handed him a pot of mashed potatoes. Put that in a bowl. She gave him a half smile. Im sure your father never regretted losing them. She hesitated. Id like to tell you to drop the whole thing, but I know better. Youre just as stubborn and principled as your father. Youre going to help this woman, arent you?
He paused, but there really was only one answer. Yes. I guess I am.