Juliet had never been in favor of her going into practice with Rick. Better not to mix work and relationships, shed said, carefully avoiding any hint of censure of Rick ONeills character.
Juliet had been right, but shed never so much as breathed an I told you so when Amanda came home, her relationship broken and her practice at an end. Shed dried Amandas tears, insisted Rick wasnt good enough for her daughter and helped her find a new job.
It had been over a year. Rick should be a forgotten footnote in her life by now. Still, did anyone ever really get over the realization that their loved one was busily cheating all those times hed been supposedly called out on a job?
Her cell phone rang before she could get too far along the road of beating herself up for being so wrong about him. The sight of Robert McKinleys number yanked her attention back to her current problems, and she answered quickly.
Robert? How are you? Is there any news? At least shed managed to ask how he was before barreling into her own concerns.
Im just a little worried about you, he replied. Are you all right?
Fine. She felt instantly guilty. Im sorry, I should have called you. I saw the attorney you recommended, and hes being helpful.
You mean theres actually something in this...suspicion of yours?
She suspected that hed deleted the word harebrained from his question. It seems like a good possibility that my mother was a young woman who lived here. Nothing is certain yet, she added quickly. Please dont worry. Im being cautious about it.
I have to admit that I didnt think this trip would be useful, but this will be good news if it pans out. Just dont forget that the crucial question is whether or not Juliet legally adopted you.
Crucial from his perspective. Robert would always see things from the legal point of view. He wanted to take care of her as her mother would have, she supposed.
I havent forgotten, but its worth exploring this lead if it turns out the woman was my mother. It will give you a place to look. Has your records search turned up anything?
Not yet, but it still may. When are you coming home? There was an urgency in his voice that hadnt been there before.
I dont know. Not until Im satisfied one way or the other with what Ive learned here. Why?
Robert hesitated for so long that she thought he wasnt going to answer. Finally he spoke.
I hate to bring this up, but unfortunately your unclewell, Juliets brotherhas been nosing around. Maybe Im wrong that he didnt suspect anything about your parentage. This must mean that he has some idea Juliets will isnt entirely straightforward.
* * *
GOOD OLD GEORGE. Juliet had had no illusions about her brothers character, and shed apparently been right.
I wish youd come back here. Robert sounded fretful. Id be happier if you were actually in residence at the house. Possession does count, you know.
I understand. But Id rather be searching for the truth of my parentage than sitting there in Boston waiting for the roof to cave in. Isnt knowing the truth more important?
I suppose, he admitted. I just hope youre not opening up something that will hurt and disappoint you.
Poor Robert. She couldnt let him take care of her any more than Juliet had ever been willing to. Thanks, Robert. It makes me feel better to know I have you in my corner. Youre a sweetheart.
Yes, well... He became flustered, as he always did when touched by emotion. Just take care of yourself. And give me your address, so I know where to find you.
After shed given him the information he wanted and been soothed to the best of her ability, Amanda stood for a moment at the window, phone in hand. She glimpsed movement and spotted Sarah approaching up the path, carrying a basket on her arm.
Amanda opened the door even before Sarah reached it. Here was her chance to speak to Sarah privately, and she hadnt had to go looking for it. That seemed to bode well for her goal.
Sarah, hi. Come in.
I dont want to disturb you. Are you getting settled in all right? Sarahs cheeks were like two red apples when she smiled.
Im all set. Thanks again, so much. The cottage is perfect. As you can see, Barney is making himself right at home.
Stepping inside, Sarah glanced at Barney, who was sitting up, looking, Amanda hoped, like a perfect gentleman. Its gut you have him. Id hate to think of you alone here.
Amanda shook her head. I wouldnt be lonely, but he is good company. Sarah probably couldnt understand that, living in a house with so many family members crammed in.
Well, here is some streusel coffee cake, just in case you get hungry before you have a chance to get groceries in. And milk. Just to tide you over.
Thats so nice of you. Amanda took the basket and set it on the kitchen table. The coffee cake looked so delicious she was tempted to have a piece immediately.
Ach, its nothing. Sarah waved a hand to dismiss her kind gesture. Im sure you have things to do. Trey said you have business in town.
Something about that sentence made it into a question. It seemed Sarah was as curious about her as she was about what Sarah might know.
Im here looking into some questions that came up after my mothers recent death. There seemed to be a...a connection to Echo Falls. How could she find out anything and still be as careful as Trey and Robert seemed to want?
Ach, Im so sorry for your loss. Sarahs face clouded, and she reached out and touched Amandas hand lightly in sympathy. Its hard to lose your mother.
Amanda nodded, her throat tightening. Yes.
So you said something about Echo Falls? Was your mother from here? Sarah leaned against the table as if prepared to stay and talk for a while.
Not exactly. She hesitated, trying to think how to ask the questions she wanted without getting into an explanation she didnt want to give. But I think she may have been friends with someone who grew up here.
Yah? Sarah looked puzzled but interested.
You might have known her. She died in an accident at the falls. Her name was Melanie Winthrop.
For an instant Sarahs face seemed to freeze. Then, before Amanda could say anything, shed turned away and headed for the door.
I... Id forgotten something I must do. Im sorry. I cant help you. She left without waiting for a goodbye.
Amanda stood at the door and watched her gofleeing, almost, as if from something she didnt want to face. Slowly she closed the door.
Well. Amanda blew out a long breath. If that was the sort of reception shed get whenever she mentioned the name Melanie Winthrop in this town, she wasnt likely to find out anything.
* * *
LEAVING THE LIBRARY behind the next day, Amanda walked toward the café. Shed agreed to meet Trey there for lunch to share the fruits of their efforts. When shed suggested that they didnt need to have lunch together to do that, hed countered with the fact that theyd have lunch in any event, so they may as well eat while they talked.
She hadnt found an argument to that, at least not without coming out and admitting that she was trying to prevent a repeat of the feelings shed experienced the previous day at the falls.
She hadnt found an argument to that, at least not without coming out and admitting that she was trying to prevent a repeat of the feelings shed experienced the previous day at the falls.
Trey, however, seemed friendly in a businesslike way, and his manner reassured her. Once Esther waved them to a table in the corner, he looked around as if something were missing.
No guard dog today?
Amanda shook her head. I thought hed better stay at the cottage. Somehow I didnt think hed be welcome at the library.
No, I dont think so. Mrs. Gifford runs a tight ship. She used to make us kids empty our pockets before we went back to the stacks, just to be sure no sticky candy was going to get on her books.
She had to smile. I did think her rather intimidating. To say nothing of curious. She seemed to find a lot of reasons to walk behind me while I was scanning the microfiche.
Thats unfortunate, but its about what I expected. It wont be possible to keep your mission a secret very long.
Trey seemed to take that more seriously than she did. Maybe it was a sign of his mixed loyalties. Or possibly being overly cautious was part of the attorneys job description.
I never thought keeping it quiet was a viable option. If Im going to find answers, people will have to know what the questions are. A spurt of annoyance went through her. Whats wrong with that?
Isnt it obvious? His eyebrows lifted, giving his face a momentary look of caricature. The Winthrop family might well take offense at a stranger bringing up the painful past. He held up a hand when she would have spoken. Okay, lets not go over the same ground again, especially when Esther is heading this way.
Maybe he was right. She tried to focus on the menu, but ended up ordering the chicken potpie because Esther seemed to expect it. Meanwhile she wrestled with the unpalatable fact that if she made enemies of these people to start with, they were hardly likely to be cooperative.
Once Esther had gone, Trey glanced around the café, and he was apparently satisfied that the other customers were focused on their own meals and conversations. How did you make out with the newspaper accounts?
Amanda shrugged off her irritation. Slim, very slim. Pictures of the falls, an account of the difficulty the volunteers had in bringing her out, a sketchy account of her being spotted by a hiker. And a carefully worded obituary a day later. She toyed with her spoon. It allowed me to visualize Melanie a little better, but it was short on helpful facts. I ran across a photo of her, she said, setting it on the table. She looked very young, very naive. She was barely eighteen when she died. That was inexpressibly sad. Amanda glanced at Trey, to find him studying her face. What? Do you see a resemblance?
Not in coloring, so much, but maybe in your features. What do you think?
I dont know. Shed wanted some confirmation one way or the other in the photo, but she didnt see it. Certainly no one had ever said she looked like Juliet, and now she knew why. For an instant I thought she looked familiar, but then it passed. Anyway, a black-and-white newspaper photo hardly gives an idea of how someone looks.
True enough. Did the newspaper say anything about where Melanie had been? Or mention her leaving town at all?
Amanda shook her head. It said shed recently returned from a visit to friends in New York. I suppose that was what the family told the reporter.
And hed be unlikely to print anything else, even though the town had been whispering about Melanies departure for months.
But what was the point, if people already guessed the truth? She let her exasperation spill over. Whats the use of trying to manipulate the news, then?
Darned if I know, but obviously it was important to the Winthrop family. Pride, I suppose. Things were a little different then in terms of what was acceptable.
I guess. Its difficult to envision how much society has changed in the last thirty years or so. But this wasnt getting them anywhere. What about you?
I didnt have much more luck with the records...
He cut the words short when Esther arrived with their meals. Beaming, she slid steaming bowls in front of each of them and added a basket of rolls. There now. You get that inside you, and youll have plenty of energy for whatever you have to do today.
It smells delicious, Amanda said. And it looked that way, too.
Esther picked up her tray, gratified. I hear youre staying with the Burkhalter family.
She blinked. How did you hear about that already? I just moved in yesterday afternoon.
Ach, you havent run into the Amish grapevine yet, aint so? We dont need telephones for word to spread fast. Youll be happy there, I know. Sarah will take gut care of you.
Shes already brought me a streusel coffee cake, just to be sure I wouldnt go hungry, Amanda said. Somehow she doubted that any more gifts would be forthcoming, not if Sarahs abrupt departure at the mention of Melanie Winthrop meant anything about her future behavior.
Ach, thats Sarah all right. Someone hailed Esther, and she moved off, unhurried.
Trey buttered a roll, watching her. You looked a little funny when she mentioned Sarah. Theres nothing wrong, is there?
She wasnt sure she liked the fact that he could read her expressions so easily. Something happened that was rather odd. Sarah and I were having a nice conversation, and she asked about what brought me to Echo Falls. I didnt tell her the whole story, but when I mentioned Melanie Winthrop she just...froze. I dont know how else to put it. Her whole manner changed. She said she had to do something and rushed away. I didnt know what to make of it.
Treys forehead furrowed. That is strange. Im surprised she even knew about Melanies disappearance. She wouldnt have been much more than in her early teens, Id guess.
Shrugging, Amanda scooped up a fragrant spoonful of the chicken broth and noodles. Teenagers seem to know everything. I dont suppose it was any different then.
Could be. But he still looked troubled. Its odd, all the same. I cant even guess what would make Sarah act that way. What did you say to her?
Was he imagining that shed given Sarah the third degree?
I told you. Id barely gotten Melanie Winthrops name out before she reacted. I didnt have time to ask her anything.
He shook his head, frowning a little. There has to be a reason, but Id guess she wouldnt tell me, even if I asked.
Ill cross her off my list of possible sources of information, she said. How did you make out?
The court records showed little or nothing. There was an inquest, of course, but it was more a form than anything serious. It brought back the verdict of accidental death and expressed sympathy for the family.
So theyd been quick to sweep Melanies death under the rug, in other words. What about the postmortem?
There wasnt one. Treys voice flattened, as if in disapproval. The family was opposed to having it carried out, and according to the coroner, the cause of death was fairly obvious. Head injuries, as you might expect. Reading between the lines, Id say the decision makers saw no point in going farther. An unfortunate accident or maybe a despairing suicide. They picked accident, issued a few warnings about the dangers of the falls trail and dropped it.