Peggy Holloway - Judith McCain 01 - Blood on White Wicker (24 page)

“Shouldn’t we wait for Joyce, I mean Tracy?” Julia asked.

“She called a few minutes ago and said they had to catch a later flight,” Mimi said. “She had some things to wrap up. She said they should be here around seven and she has some good news for us. She called it an early Christmas present. Also Ben called to say he would be here around six. Arnold is going to be busy today, but he doesn’t mind.”

Mimi looked at her watch, “Arnold’s going to take us to the Galleria and leave us there and pick us up on his way home with Tracy and Mark. It’s one thirty now so that gives us plenty of time.”

“That’s an awfully long time to shop,” I said.

She laughed, “You haven’t seen the Galleria. There are hotels in there. People check in there and shop for a week at a time. I’ve been known to do that myself. Ben said he didn’t mind that you weren’t going to be here when he arrives. He said he’ll have plenty of time with you while he’s here. John, you don’t mind greeting him do you?”

John said he’d be glad to and glad to have another man around while they waited for Mark and Tracy.

I was glad that Arnold dropped us off at the Galleria. I don’t think we could have found our car in the huge garage. When we got inside there was an ice skating rink in the middle. The stores were built around it in a big square. The buildings were three or four stories high. I could see that you could spend a week in here and never see it all.

We stood and watched the skaters for awhile, then Mimi said, “I’m going to Neiman Marcus. Why don’t we all meet at those tables across the other side of the skating rink where the food court is in about two hours?”

She reached into her purse and pulled out a big roll of $100 bills and started peeling them off, and handing them to us. Rosa looked shocked but Julia and I burst out laughing. I mean, think about it. Here’s a grandmother standing in the middle of a mall peeling hundred dollar bills off a huge roll like some kind of mafia guy.

“I know it’s crass but I grew up poor and even after all this time, I still like to carry cash. Here, take these.”

She had peeled off five for each of us, but we all gave them back to her and told her we all had our own money.

“Well, when you run out just let me know,” she said and walked away.

“She must be the most generous person I’ve ever met,” Rosa said as she looked after Mimi.

“I know. That’s what made the kidnapping so stupid. Mimi would have given the money to Hannah if she had only asked.”

“I don’t think it was about the money,” Julia said, “I think it was about revenge, the same as it was for my so called dad.”

“Well, let’s just concentrate on Christmas shopping right now. The trial is not until next month.”

We met up with Mimi several times and then went off on our own. We were getting pretty loaded down with packages but I noticed that Mimi had none. When I asked her, she said the stores were holding them for her and that Arnold would pick them up.

She took us to the back of Neiman Marcus and into an office. She introduced us to the manager in that office and he relieved us of our packages. I noticed that there were piles of packages in there from a lot of different stores.

We were running out of time and we still hadn’t figured out what to get for Mimi. Then we went past a photo studio and Julia grabbed my arm,

“I know what to get her, she said. Let’s have a big picture of us taken and have it put into a really nice frame.”

“What a good idea,” I said. “But we need to be dressed better than this. Let’s go to one of those nice boutiques and get some nice outfits.”

The photo wouldn’t be ready until the next day but we picked out a frame and did a lot of posing. We had bought nice jersey dresses with shoulder pads. They had long sleeves, wide belts, a straight skirt, and had fancy rhinestones and sequins on the shoulders. I thought they were very elegant. Mine was royal blue and Julia’s was burgundy.

We were really excited about the photo and were almost late meeting Mimi.

We met Arnold at the door to Neiman Marcus. He took a wheeled cart from the trunk and went in to get our packages.

When we got into the back seat, Tracy and Mark were there and we all hugged, laughed and talked at the same time.

When I started to introduce Mark to Julia, he grabbed her in a bear hug and said, “I’m your uncle Mark.” They both had tears in their eyes.

When Arnold came out with our packages balanced on the cart, Mark got out and helped him. Soon we were driving down Westheimer and into River Oaks. When Tracy saw the house, she had the same reaction everyone does. We pulled into the driveway. Ben and John were waiting outside for Rosa and me, and Ben pulled me around the side of the house and into the gardens and kissed me.

“I can only stay a couple of days. I don’t want to leave my grandmother alone for Christmas.”

I told him I understood. In the back of my mind, I was thinking about asking Mimi if we could invite Bill’s grandmother here for Christmas.

When we got back inside everyone had been given their rooms and had unpacked. They were all gathered in the living room having drinks.

Tracy took a swallow of her drink and cleared her throat, and we all got quiet, knowing she had something important to say.

“We caught Mackey. Actually we didn’t catch him, but found him sitting in prison where he’s been for the last couple of months. His full name is Mackey Brolene, but he has many aliases.

“This kidnapping wasn’t his first offence. He’s been in the legal system since he was twelve. He’s a sociopath, which means he has no conscience. I interviewed him this afternoon and he didn’t want to talk at first and denied the whole thing. It wasn’t until I told him that we would be going for the death penalty that he started to talk. Then we couldn’t shut him up.

“He’s hard core, but he doesn’t want to die. We struck a deal with him. He gets life in prison without the possibility of parole, but he has to testify against both Hannah Rogers and Charles Reynolds.”

I looked at Mark and Julia and they both had their heads down.

“There’s one other thing that’s part of the deal and it involves the twins, and only if it’s what you want. He has to meet with both of you and apologize.”

“Will he mean it?” Julia asked.

“No, he won’t. He shows no remorse. But he’s agreed to answer any questions either of you might have. I know you have questions, Judith. We got most of the answers for you from your mother, Julia.”

“Are we going to offer Reynolds a plea bargain too in order to save tax payers money for a long drawn out trial?” John asked.

“We are,” said Tracy. “So what do you girls think?”

“I want to meet him, how about you Julia?”

“Me too, especially if it will help you get some answers Judith.”

“I didn’t want to interrupt, but I believe our dinner is ready,” said Mimi.

CHAPTER 23

This was the very best Christmas season I had ever had, beginning with that first night, with the good news from Tracy and then with dinner. There was a white tablecloth on the dining room table which seated sixteen. Running down the middle of the table were a wide variety of cedars and ferns with big bright red roses and red and white candles.

There was a Christmas tree in the corner and a fire in the fireplace. Everyone was laughing and talking at once and servants were bringing in the different courses. We had baked country ham with just about any kind of vegetable anyone would want and a variety of pies and cakes. I was stuffed at the end of the meal and said no to dessert, but noticed that Julia had the chocolate mousse.

When the meal was over Mimi told Mark she wanted to see him in her office. He looked puzzled when he followed her out.

I jumped up and followed them. Mimi turned, looked at me and said, “This is private, Judith.”

I said, “I know. I just want to ask if I can invite Ben’s grandmother for Christmas. Otherwise, he will have to leave in a couple of days.”

“Judith, this is your home. You can invite anyone here you want, but I think it would be better if I called her myself, which I’ll do as soon as I finish here.”

Tracy and John said they had to strategize about the case, and they went into a small sitting room off the dining room. Rosa, Julia, Ben and I went up to our room where we showed Ben what we had bought at the Galleria that day. We decided to wrap some of the presents and were laughing at each other’s attempt at making a bow, when Mimi came in and said she needed to see Julia and me.

When we got to Mimi’s office, Mark was sitting there with a glass of brandy in his hand, and we joined him on the burgundy leather sofa.

“Mark and I have been talking about the estate. I already told him what I told you, Judith, about giving it to him, but he doesn’t think that would be fair to you two. There’s plenty to go around, but I want to get this settled before it’s too late.

“I’m very healthy for my age, but you just never know. Do either of you have any thoughts about what we should do with this huge place and grounds? I want to make my life simpler, and to tell you the truth, I get lonely here sometimes. This house has always been way too big, and even when you three get married and have children, I think it will still be too big. What are your thoughts?”

Not a one of us said anything, but my thoughts were to turn it into a runaway shelter. I was sure the others wouldn’t understand since they had never been a runaway. The more I thought about it, the more excited I became. I knew what a bad shelter was like, and I thought I could make a better one.

Mimi interrupted my thoughts by saying, “Looks like everyone wants to think about it some more. I’ll want to hear your thoughts after Christmas, though.”

The rest of the holidays were wonderful. Mimi did call Ben’s grandmother who turned out to be a sweet, soft-spoken, tiny Cajun lady. We all loved her instantly. It turned out that, like Mimi, Muz (as she wanted to be called) also liked to cook.

I would see them both in the kitchen sampling each other’s dishes, Mimi’s southwestern dishes and Muz’s Cajun ones. We had a southwestern meal one night and then a Cajun meal the next, then the next day was Christmas.

The two grandmothers left the kitchen to the cooks on Christmas day and we all gathered around the Christmas tree after breakfast to open presents. Mimi was overjoyed with the photo of Julia and me. She said she would hang it over the mantle.

Mimi gave us a lot of clothes and each a set of Louis Vuittron luggage. I loved this gift and thought about the brown paper bag I packed my clothes in when I left Bishop Georgia.

Ben gave me a ring with my birthstone, an amethyst, and I was embarrassed at first not knowing which finger to put it on until he took it from me and put it on my pinkie on my left hand.

The holidays were over too soon and Arnold was again busy with trips to the airport. I was sad to see them all leave, especially Ben. We had shared many hours in the garden talking and kissing. We liked a lot of the same things and I thought I would someday marry him.

Mark stayed on in the servant’s quarters where he lived. He showed it to Julia and me. It was larger than our bungalow at the hospital. He would be going back to work soon.

After everyone else left, Mimi met with Julia, Mark and me again. She was insistent about our input in what to do with the house. I was still afraid to bring up my idea. I was scared they would think it was stupid.

After seeing the servant’s quarters, I thought that would be plenty big enough for all of us. Mimi appeared to be disappointed when no one gave her any ideas and told us all to think about it some more.

CHAPTER 24

Julia wanted to stay with Mimi and me in the bungalow. After checking with Dr. Anna, it was decided that she didn’t really need to be in the hospital anymore. Dr. Anna did warn that, with the trial coming up, Julia might have a setback and need to be readmitted.