Chapter Twenty-Nine
Pippa shook her head. Not Laura. “No way.”
Nate gathered up the photos and put them back in the folder before looking up, face as serious as a winter storm. “I double-checked. Drove to Denver yesterday to make sure. Laura is stealing from Phi.”
“Pippa.” Matt squeezed her hand.
It didn’t make any sense. Her vision got iffy and she hauled her ass onto a chair. “Why?”
“That’s what I’d like to know,” Nate said. “I’m on my way over there right now. It’s not strictly procedure but maybe you could come along and keep an eye on the children while I talk to Laura.”
“Sure.” And smack the truth out of Laura while she was there.
What the hell! Laura had her hands on Phi’s treasures, selling them to some shady dealer in Denver. Quick mental apology to the dealer if he wasn’t shady.
“Pippa.” Matt got right in her face. “Can you do this?”
Doing this without Matt seemed harder somehow. “Will you come with me?”
“If you want me there, that’s where I’ll be.”
“I want you there.”
“Yeah.” Nate rubbed the back of his neck. “But you can’t go all medieval on her. You have to keep calm.”
It all crashed down on her head again. She was tempted to check, one more time, if Nate really had this right.
His handsome, grave face gave her all the confirmation she needed. He wouldn’t be here unless he was willing to stake his badge on it. He gathered up the pictures on the table. “Let’s get going. This isn’t going to get any easier.”
What the hell was Laura thinking? Nate damn well better ask her that because Pippa really wanted to know. Then she wanted to know how Laura got off thinking it was okay to steal from her own grandmother. Their grandmother.
Pippa called her mother from the car. Emily was at the hospital and didn’t want to leave Phi. Pippa told her she’d be by to see them later. She needed the full story before she broke Phi’s and her mother’s hearts.
Laura and Patrick’s home was a ranch-style showpiece set in a neighborhood that whispered its affluence in manicured lawns and imposing front facades.
Nate parked the cruiser at the curb and they approached the door together.
Patrick opened the door on a waft of savory cooking smells that reminded Pippa she hadn’t eaten yet. Trust Laura to be an excellent cook. Her sister did everything well. Including theft, apparently.
“Pippa.” Patrick gave her his shy, sweet smile and swept her into a hug. Of medium height, with an attractive combination of dark brown hair and blue eyes, Patrick looked like what he was—the original good guy. “Laura said you were home and I was waiting for you to show your face here.”
Oh God, Patrick wouldn’t be wearing that happy face for long.
Matt took her hand and threaded his fingers through hers. A silent gesture of support she appreciated more than she could say.
“Patrick, is Laura home?” Nate took over the conversation.
Patrick’s smile faltered as he looked at Nate’s set features. He stepped back to let them in. “Yes, she’s in the kitchen. Is everything all right? Is it her grandmother?”
“Phi’s fine.” Pippa tried to put a note of reassurance in her voice. “But we need to speak to Laura, alone. Do you think you could take the kids for a walk or something? Maybe an ice cream?”
“Laura doesn’t allow them to have ice cream before dinner.” Patrick slid his hands in his pockets. “What’s this all about?”
“It really would be better if we spoke to Laura alone first,” Nate said.
Patrick rocked on his heels, frowning slightly. “Daisy,” he called over his shoulder.
Daisy’s voice rose inside the house in answer.
“Take Sam upstairs to watch a movie.” Patrick turned back to them. “Your mother and I have something important to discuss.”
Pippa tensed. “Patrick, we—”
“I don’t know what the hell this is about, Pippa. But when the police show up at my door asking to speak to my wife, there is no way in hell I’m not going to be there beside her.”
Laura had found herself a good man, one who might just stick around through this.
Matt increased the pressure on her hand. “Let’s get this over with,” he said to Nate.
Nate nodded and motioned Patrick to show them the way.
“Hey, Pippa.” Daisy clattered past with Sam at her heels. “Matt. Sheriff Evans.” She went red to her hairline, grabbed Sam, and rushed up the stairs.
“Patrick?” Laura appeared at the kitchen doorway, a dishcloth in her hands. “Why are the children going to watch television before dinner?” She stopped halfway down the gleaming wooden hallway floor. The wood looked like she polished it every day. Knowing Laura, she probably did.
Laura had stolen from Phi. It seemed incredible to Pippa, looking at Laura, so perfect and composed in her tasteful, beautiful home with her wonderful husband. The same wonderful husband who bristled like a pit bull in front of them.
Laura glanced at Nate, then Matt, and finally, Pippa. She went pale and scrunched the dish towel in her hand. “Phi didn’t—”
“Your grandmother’s fine.” Patrick rushed to her side and put an arm around her waist.
Pippa stared at her sister, trying to jam the pieces into a coherent order. How could Laura look so concerned about Phi when she’d been stealing her treasures? When, in fact, Laura and her sticky fingers had caused Phi’s collapse? Pippa wanted to punch her sister so badly. Her free hand balled into a fist. Words came out of her mouth in a low growl. “Don’t you dare pretend to care about Phi.”
Matt gripped her hand tighter. “Easy,” he murmured. “If you can’t keep it under wraps, I’m going to have to take you outside.”
Take her outside? No fucking way.
Laura’s gaze locked on Nate. Her throat worked as she swallowed.
“Let’s take this into the kitchen.” Nate took the lead.
Laura nodded and turned to go back the way she’d come.
“What the hell is going on?” Patrick rounded on them as they entered the airy, spotless kitchen. Stainless steel appliances nestled between dark wood and gleaming granite.
Laura moved around to the far side of a large central island. Her fingers turned white against the dark granite as she gripped the edge. “Am I under arrest?”
“Under arrest?” Patrick swung his head from Laura to Nate. “What the hell could you be under arrest for?” He thrust his chin out, his arm protectively wrapped around Laura. “This is bullshit, coming into my house and threatening my wife.”
“Tell him,” Pippa said. Patrick was a good man, standing there ready to defend Laura without even knowing why. He didn’t deserve this shit. Phi for damn sure didn’t deserve this shit. Perfect Laura, not a hair out of place and a thief. Lying to them, all of them. Their mother, Phi, her, Patrick, and those two great kids upstairs. “Tell him.”
Pippa snatched her hand away from Matt.
Nate stepped into her path, throwing a quick glance over her head at Matt.
Matt moved behind her. Ready to grab the madwoman in case she lost it. Pippa was perilously close with Laura looking like she might try and lie her way out of this.
“I paid a visit to some antique dealers in Denver yesterday.” Nate put his folder on the island.
Laura thrust her hands behind her back. Her mouth worked but no sound came out.
“As a courtesy to your grandmother, I’m here to give you a chance to explain.” He sent the folder skittering across the gleaming granite surface to Laura. “But you should know that the dealer positively identified you.”
“So, you’re not here to arrest me?” Laura stepped back.
“What—”
“Give her a chance.” Nate cut Patrick off gently. “Then if you still have questions we can answer them later.”
“Why?” Pippa tried to yank her shoulders free of Matt’s restraining hold. His grip tightened. “Why would you do that to Phi?”
“You wouldn’t understand.” Laura’s eyes glittered at her, her face so angry it took Pippa’s breath away.
Laura was mad at her. Laura was mad at her. It took a moment for her lame brain to make sense of the information. Who the hell did Laura think she was? Pippa’s voice burst from her, getting louder with each syllable. “You stole from Phi.”
“Keep it down,” Matt muttered. “We don’t want the kids to hear.”
Pippa checked her volume but the anger soared through her, hotter now that she knew she couldn’t yell. “She trusted you, loved you. She’s your grandmother, for fuck’s sake, and you took her treasures. You put your grubby hands on her special collection and—”
“Pippa.” Nate cut a glance at her. “Get it under control or take it outside.”
No way she was letting them kick her out now. She wanted to hear what her sister had to say. Pippa clenched her teeth together so hard, her jaw ached.
“Laura would never steal anything.” Patrick gave a choked little laugh. “This entire thing is ridiculous. She loves her grandmother.”
“Love?” It got away from Pippa before she could stop it. She snorted and stepped back into Matt. His chest pressed against her back, solid and dependable and the only thing keeping her from losing it.
“I do love Phi.” Laura’s voice trembled. Her shoulders collapsed and she dropped her head forward. “I do love her. I mean, she’s weird and eccentric and drives me nuts, but I love her.”
“Then why?” Her sister’s words carved a path through her chest. “Why?”
“I needed the money, and I couldn’t think how else to get it.”
“Laura?” Patrick glanced at Nate, emotions chasing so fast across his guileless face it was difficult to keep up. Disbelief, confusion, anger, hurt—Patrick was an open book. “Why would you need money? We have money.” He made a truncated movement with his hand. “We have money.”
“Not the sort of money she needs.” Nate said it so quietly Pippa almost missed it.
Nate had been holding out on them.
Wet splotches appeared on the countertop in front of Laura. Her sister was crying. She wanted to shake Laura and yell at her, and she wanted to rush over there and comfort her.
“She owes money to some nasty people,” Nate said. “Once I found the stolen items, I made some inquiries. Most of the time, if you want to know why, you follow the money.”
“Laura?” Pippa winced at the raw pain in Patrick’s voice. He was pleading with her sister for answers. Begging her to put him out of his misery.
Laura shook her head, silent sobs ripping through her torso, shaking her shoulders and coming out her mouth in sawing gasps.
“She’s been gambling,” Nate said. “And she got in over her head. I’m guessing she didn’t want you to know, and she took the stuff from her grandmother to cover her debt.”
“No.” Patrick stepped away from Laura. He shook his head and took another step back.
Laura stood alone, so small and defeated and in so much pain. She wanted to be furious at Laura and she was, but a sister was a sister. Pippa ripped free of Matt and ran around the island. Her hip jarred against the corner as she reached for Laura. God, she wanted to kill her, but she wanted to love her more. She grabbed Laura and pulled her tight, as if she could suck some of that anguish into herself.
“I don’t understand,” she whispered into her sister’s hair. Roses and lilies drifted in a subtle fragrance from Laura. Her body felt tiny, insubstantial and not strong enough to bear the weight of the emotion ripping through Laura. Pippa clenched her arms around her sister, holding on to her for dear life.
Laura collapsed against her and Pippa braced and took her weight.
“I don’t know why.” The words were pressed into Pippa’s shoulder. “I couldn’t stop. I knew I had to but I couldn’t stop.”
“How much?” Patrick jammed his hands in his pockets, his jaw worked convulsively.
“A little over three hundred kay,” Nate said.
Oh, dear God. Pippa held Laura tighter. The desire to shake Laura again grabbed hold of her and she had to dig her nails into her palms to stop herself. That was a mountain of debt. Would Phi’s treasures even cover a fraction of that?
“Laura.” Patrick nudged Pippa’s shoulder, pressing her away from his wife. “You need to start from the beginning and tell me all of it.”
Pippa let him take his wife. Patrick helped Laura onto one of the wrought iron counter stools.
Laura scrubbed the tears away with the dish towel. Dark smears of mascara made macabre stripes down her cheeks. She glanced at Nate. “What will you do?”
“That depends on your grandmother. If she’s prepared to be lenient, I can get this pleaded down. You’re a first-time offender, a mother, a respectable community member. I can probably persuade the DA to let you off with a fine, maybe some community service. The items were extremely valuable, so that makes your case a lot weaker, but they are all here and you will have to pay back whatever you got from the antique dealer.”
“I don’t have it anymore.” Laura grabbed a pack of Kleenex from the counter.
Of course Laura would have Kleenex close at hand. She was the perfect mother. Perfect mother who stole from her grandmother to pay her gambling debts. The kitchen dipped and swayed around Pippa and she pulled up the stool three down from Laura. She didn’t trust herself to sit any closer right now.
“Will she have a criminal record?” Patrick glanced at Nate.
“It will go on her file for sure,” Nate said. “The items were reported stolen and I investigated the crime. There’s no way to make that go away, and even if there was, I’m not sure I’m inclined to. Laura stole and however close I am to your family, there are repercussions to that sort of thing.”
“I understand.” A muscle ticked in Patrick’s jaw. He shook his head as if trying to make sense of this.
It didn’t make any sense, none of it did. Why would Laura be gambling in the first place? Pippa voiced the question aloud and Laura’s head dropped again.
“I don’t know,” she said. “I can’t explain it, but when I was there, I didn’t have to be me.”
“What the fuck does that mean?” Patrick gripped the sides of his head. “What the fuck is so wrong with being you? You have a perfect life here. A beautiful home, great kids, I give you everything you need.”
“It’s not that.” Laura held her hands out in front of her, pleading with him.
“We should go.” Nate turned to her and Matt. “They need to talk and then we’ll see what needs to be done next. I need to talk to your grandmother.”
Oh God, Phi. This was going to kill her.
* * *
Phi was asleep when they reached the hospital.
Pippa felt like a bitch for having to break this to her now. She even tried to plead with Nate to see if they could wait, but Nate—followed by Matt—got stubborn. Phi needed to be told and by them before she heard it elsewhere. Also, Nate wanted to act before the DA got all excited by the idea of putting Laura in jail.
Emily sat by her mother’s bed, her chair pulled into a large pool of sunshine.
Pippa told her mother first. Emily paled but took the news quietly. Almost as if she didn’t quite grasp what she’d heard. She kept glancing at Nate as Pippa spoke.
“Are you certain?” she asked when Pippa stopped talking.
Nate nodded. “I drove to Denver with a second picture of Laura, just to make sure.”
“Poor Patrick.” Emily shook her head. “He will be devastated. And the children.” She glanced at Pippa. “Do they know?”
“We didn’t tell them. We left so Patrick could talk to Laura alone. Have you any idea why Laura would be gambling?” Pippa tried to see past the smooth facade her mother wore. It was her mother’s troubled face. When Emily got that smooth, impenetrable mask, it had been a signal as a girl that she was in deep, deep trouble. Had her mother developed that in reaction to Phi’s theatrics? Phi’s emotions were large, on a cosmic level that vibrated through everyone who came near her. Emily went dead still, the exact opposite.
They waited for Phi to wake before they told her.
Nate and Matt left them to it.
Pippa watched Matt walk away down the long, antiseptic corridor. The words to call him back, beg him to stay caught in her throat.
She left the telling to her mother. Emily in her calm, efficient voice gave Phi the truth. Pippa locked her gaze on Phi’s face. Ready to leap in with the inevitable explosion. Except it never came.
Emily fell silent and Phi nodded once, and then turned her head to stare out the window. “It’s the pressure, you know,” she said. “Of being Laura. The perfect one. The good girl. She’s always been that way, and I am surprised she didn’t break before this.”
“What do you mean?” Emily frowned.
“I mean Laura is trapped inside a person she created.” Phi turned back to them. Her green eyes glimmered with tears. “My poor darling girl. How she must have suffered to end up so desperate.”
Pippa perched on the end of Phi’s bed. The day kept bringing one surprise after another and she was all out of mental stretch. “She always seemed happy to me.”
“Because that is what she wanted you to believe.” Phi swung her gaze to Pippa. “All her life Laura has done what was expected of her.”
“Are you saying this is my fault?” Emily stood at the foot of Phi’s bed, her body vibrating with tension.
Phi tilted her head and gave Emily a sad smile. “No, dear, I am saying this is my fault.”
Okay, someone should start explaining because Pippa was lost as all hell here. How could any of this be Phi’s fault? Laura had stolen from Phi, and sold those things to pay off her gambling debts.
“I created an imbalance,” Phi said. “I did not intend to, but I did it all the same. It was so easy to relate to Pippa. She was so like me and I got to pretend I was not a terrible mother when she was around.”
Emily sank into the seat by the window. “I don’t understand.”
Thank God, Pippa wasn’t the only one lost as hell here.
“I left you to your father to raise.” Phi looked at her daughter. “You were a shy child and you didn’t fit into the world I so desperately wanted to be a part of. It was easier to do that than come home and make the sacrifices I needed to make as a mother.”
A tear slid down Phi’s cheek. “You married and had your children and I convinced myself you were happy. Laura was such a good baby and your joy in her was clear to see. I was a bit jealous of that. Then Pippa was born and she and I became a unit and I left you out in the cold again. Laura, bless her heart, tried to fill that gap. She wanted to be the one who would make everything all right for you,” Phi said to Emily. “Then that idiot left and you were even more alone than ever. Laura knew you were hurting and took it upon herself to ease that pain. Laura never discovered who Laura was, she tried to be what everyone wanted her to be.”
Pippa’s head ached for all four of them. What a tangled mess they’d managed to make of their relationships.
Emily felt rejected by her career-driven mother, rejected by her husband, and then again when Pippa chose Phi over her. And Laura. Not really belonging anywhere and trying so hard to make a place for herself. Hadn’t Pippa done much the same thing? Except her box was labeled “career woman,” and she’d never even allowed herself to consider there might be more. Been too frightened of ending up alone like her mother. Funny, she’d ended up alone anyway. Until she opened the door a crack and Matt charged through.
“I should have seen it,” Emily said. “How could I not have seen that my child was in so much trouble?”
“At least you tried,” Phi said. “I refused to see what was right in front of me when it came to my child.”
“Laura’s stealing is a symptom,” Emily said. “And the gambling was an expression of how unhappy Laura is.” She pleated her skirt with her fingers. “Mom is right. Laura never went through a wild phase. She was always good little Laura. Everybody has a breaking point and Laura reached hers.”
“But how is any of that Phi’s fault?”
“Because I created the whole screwed-up dynamic in the first place,” Phi said. “I made Emily feel rejected, which is why she clung to Laura. Then when you and I became close, Emily felt more rejected and Laura needed to make that up to her somehow. She did that by being the perfect daughter.”
“And the sperm donor didn’t help,” Pippa said.
“Pippa!” Mom looked at her with wide eyes.
“Well”—Pippa shrugged—“he didn’t do much more, even when he was around.”
Mom’s lips twitched, humor lighting in her eyes. “True, but what a terrible way to describe your father.”
“A father raises his children,” Phi said. “He does not merely beget them. The sperm donor.” Phi crinkled her nose. “I rather like it.”
“You would.” Mom chuckled. “Laura has been trying to fix the world around her since she was little.”
It made sense, in a strange way. When they were kids, she got muddy and Laura always kept her dress clean. Pippa got into the cookies and ate the entire batch. Laura had one with her milk. Pippa chased her dream. Laura stayed home and married the right sort of guy. “What about Patrick? She loves him, right?”
And where the hell would that leave Daisy and Sam if the answer was no?
“She loves her family,” Emily said, smoothing her skirt. “I’m sure of that. As unhappy as she is, Laura still chose well for herself. She loves being a wife and mother. It’s about the constant pressure she puts on herself to be perfect, all the time. I know a little something about that.”
Phi snorted. “I’ll bet you do.”
Emily looked at her mother and laughed.
This was not Pippa’s family. Her mother and grandmother did not sit quietly and joke about each other, tease each other and not react. “What did you two talk about the other day?”
“Never you mind.” Phi sent her an arch look. “That is between Emily and me. Now we need to turn our attention to Laura. You know the district attorney don’t you, Emily?”
Emily nodded. “Yes, she chairs the committee that oversees the community center. I will talk to her, assure her we can get Laura sorted out.”
“Can we?” She had to ask because it didn’t seem such an easy fix to Pippa. Basically, these two were saying Laura’s entire life was in the toilet.
“We have no choice,” Phi said. “The alternative is too horrible to be contemplated. But we will do it together.”
It felt good to hear Phi say that. Even better when her mother nodded and smiled. “I’ll be here to help, in whatever way I can,” Pippa said.
“No, you won’t.” Emily looked across Phi’s covered legs at her. “I already have one daughter making bad decisions to fix what is not hers to fix. You need to go and do what is right for you.”
“This is right for me.” Pippa looked to Phi for support.
Phi rolled her eyes and snorted. “Living in Ghost Falls for the rest of your life is right for you?”
“But you said family was more important than career.”
“Yes, dear.” Emily stood and fussed with Phi’s sheet. “But there is a balance. Family is vital, but it’s not all there is to life. Can’t you see that with what happened to your sister? There’s something missing in Laura’s life and the gambling is a sign of that. You were never meant to stay here. What would you do?”
It was a fair question, one Pippa had been avoiding. “I could take care of Phi.”
“You would drive me mad within the month,” said Phi. “All the energy you have. Fussing and fuming around me all the time. Making those lists like a little dictator. No.”
“I want to be here for you.” Pippa was beginning to feel the sting of rejection.
“Then be here for us by being the best you that you can,” Emily said. “Do the things that make you happy, and the rest will follow. Come home more often. Call more often, but don’t go flying off to the other extreme.”
“And what about Matt?” Phi raised her eyebrow. “You’re going to sit there and tell me you’re happy about walking away from him?”
Emily frowned over the bed at Pippa. “What happened with Matt?”
“It’s complicated.” Pippa had to stand and pace. “We were supposed to be a casual thing.”
Phi snorted. “You spend a lot of time together for two people who are casual.”
Emily rounded the bed. “Find the middle ground, Pippa. Don’t do what my mother and I have done our entire lives. Don’t blindly charge off in one direction to the detriment of everything else.”
“Have you ever asked Matt if he wants to make space for you in his life?” Phi folded her arms over her stomach. “Or have you been too frightened to admit your feelings. Even to yourself?”
“I haven’t told you everything.” Pippa swore she felt her back against the wall.
Phi snorted. “Do you want that man?”
“I do.” Saying it out loud brought it ringing home to Pippa. She did want Matt. With his lion eyes and his bad boy grin. The way he could make her laugh when everything was going to shit around her. The way he got her on a cellular level that made everything all right. “But his life is complicated and so is mine.”
“Then uncomplicate them,” her mother said. “Do what you do best, Pippa. Find the thing you want and go after it.”