Her Mother’s Grave

Chapter Seventy

Darkness was creeping in as Josie pulled up in front of Sophia Bowen’s house. A single downstairs light glowed through one of the living room windows. Josie waited to see if anyone was coming or going, and when she was relatively sure that Sophia was home alone, she went to the front door and knocked. Sophia answered wearing a pair of tan slacks and a pink button-down blouse that flared at the waist. Her smile froze when she saw that it was Josie. She started to close the door, but Josie jammed a sneakered foot between the door and its frame. Sophia kept on pushing, but Josie pushed back harder.

“I know about Andrew,” she said. “I know that he is Belinda Rose’s son. She had an affair with your husband, and Andrew was the result.”

Sophia’s hands went slack against the door. Her gaze dropped to her feet as Josie pushed her way into the foyer and closed the door behind her. “Why did you lie?” Josie asked.

Sophia took a moment to collect herself and then lifted her chin and glared at Josie. “You have no right to come here, barging in and making such outlandish claims. I’d like you to leave now.”

“Or what? You’ll call the police? Listen, I don’t care about your husband’s affair. I don’t even care that you lied to your son and told him he was adopted when he’s not. What I care about is finding Lila Jensen. I know that you remember her. Hell, I know you’ve been in touch with her.”

“I haven’t—I haven’t been—”

“Save it,” Josie said. “Lila has been wreaking havoc on my life for the last month. She’s done things it would be impossible to do without help. Sure, it was easy enough for her to find a couple of dumb teenage boys to carry out simplistic pranks or to rely on her old drug buddies for other things, but now she’s moved on to more elaborate schemes. Schemes she would need a lot more help for—money, a place to stay, a place to hold someone. You live all alone in this big house. You have money to spare. You’re the perfect target for someone like her. So tell me, what does she have on you that would make you help her?”

Sophia’s face was ashen. She twisted her fingers together, her eyes darting around the room. “I didn’t want to help her. I really didn’t. She’s not here, if that’s what you’re after. She wanted to stay here, but I told her absolutely not. I hadn’t seen her in over thirty years, then a month ago she showed up on my doorstep wanting money, a car. I told her I couldn’t do it, but she threatened me.”

“She knew about your husband’s affair with Belinda Rose,” Josie said. “She was going to tell Andrew that he wasn’t really adopted. That his father wasn’t the saint everybody thought he was.”

Sophia spread her palms in a helpless gesture. “What could I do? I didn’t want her to destroy Malcolm’s memory, his legacy. What does it matter if he slept with some girl thirty years ago? He did the right thing. He made sure that Andrew came to him and that he was a good father. Why destroy that now? And Andrew, he looked up to his father so much. He became a lawyer because Malcolm was a lawyer. It was just a little bit of money she wanted. That was all. What’s a little bit of money compared to my son’s memory of his father?”

“How much?” Josie asked.

Sophia folded her arms over her chest.

“How much?”

“Twenty thousand,” Sophia muttered.

“Jesus,” Josie said. “You gave her twenty thousand dollars?”

“It was a small price to pay.”

“Why did she come back? Why is she here? Why now?”

Sophia said, “She wouldn’t say, but I think she might be sick. She didn’t look well. I asked her the same thing you’re asking. All these years. I thought all of that was behind me. She said she had some scores to settle and she didn’t have much time left. I said, ‘Time for what?’ and she said that wasn’t my business.”

“Where is she?” Josie asked. “Where is Lila now?”

Again, Sophia looked all around the room, refusing to settle her gaze on Josie. She was like a small child. If she didn’t look directly at Josie, maybe Josie wouldn’t acknowledge her.

“Tell me!” Josie snapped.

Finally, Sophia sighed. She walked over to a table near the back of the foyer and picked up a purse. “I’ll take you to her.”

“Just tell me,” Josie said.

“It’s pretty remote,” Sophia said. “If she sees just you and not me, she’s likely to bolt—or come after you.”

Josie didn’t want Sophia coming along, but she couldn’t argue with that logic. If there was even the smallest chance of finding Lila and rescuing Trinity, Josie had to take it. “Fine,” she said, “but I’m driving.”