Chapter 4 - A Name From Arkansas
“That's my mother,” Nora said.
Richard's fingers tightened around the picture.
“June Hayes?”
“You knew her?”
“Not personally.”
“That's a very careful answer.”
Richard stood, blocking the photo. “Emberwood was a facility we serviced years ago.”
“The place where they accused my mother of stealing equipment.”
“The allegations were handled by outside counsel.”
“She lost her job. Nobody would hire her after that. We moved three times before I turned sixteen.”
“I am sorry.”
“Sorry for what, exactly?”
He had no answer. Nora could see that he recognized more than the name.
June had died six years earlier. The official story was that she had taken company property while working a maintenance contract at Emberwood Care Center. Her final paycheck disappeared into legal fees trying to clear her name. Nora had never believed it.
“Why do you have her photograph?”
Richard finally set it down. “Elaine kept copies from the charity opening. I'll look into it.”
“Please don't promise something just to end the conversation.”
“I'm not accustomed to being spoken to that way.”
“I'm not accustomed to seeing my dead mother's picture in my boss's private files.”
Richard looked old for the first time.
The next morning Madison intercepted Nora near the kitchen. “My father says you can stay. I suppose saving Mom bought you another week.”
“Your mother didn't need a bargain. She needed an ambulance.”
“Everybody in this house has an angle.”
“Maybe. I came here to mop floors and pay tuition.”
Madison studied her. “Your last name's Hayes?”
“Yes.”
“My mother mentioned a June Hayes once.”
Nora went still. “When?”
“During one of her arguments with Graham. She said June wasn't the one who lied.”
At that moment Margaret appeared carrying fresh linens. She heard the name and stopped so abruptly the stack slid against her chest.
May you like
Madison noticed. “Margaret? What did you just remember?”
The older woman's face crumpled. “A locked storage room. And a warning nobody let June deliver.”
