Josie said, “You also told me that Dad was seeing someone else after Lila left. It was her, wasn’t it?”
Lisette nodded. “Sawyer’s mother. Her name was Deirdre Hayes. They’d only gone on a few dates, but they really liked one another. When Lila came back to Denton with you and told Eli that you were his daughter, he broke things off with her. He wanted you. He was so happy to be your father. He wanted to try to make it work with Lila. Give you a real family. He didn’t know then that that would be impossible.”
“Sawyer’s mother—why didn’t she ever tell anyone? Did she even tell Dad?”
“His mother passed on last year. Cancer. Before she died, she told him the truth about his father. All his life he believed his dad was dead—which was true, I suppose. You two are about the same age, so Eli died when he was about six as well. She wanted him to know the truth before she died. She went to tell Eli that she was pregnant and instead, she met Lila.”
“Lila threatened her,” Josie said. “Because Lila didn’t let anyone get in the way of what she wanted, and back then, she wanted Eli.”
“Yes,” Lisette breathed. “Evidently it was enough for her to never contact Eli again. Then he was gone.”
“And she wasn’t about to mess with Lila,” Josie said.
“Yes.”
Josie put her face in her hands. “My God.”
After a few moments, Lisette slid her arm around Josie’s shoulder and pulled her close. “Josie, this changes nothing between us, do you understand? You’re still my granddaughter. You always will be. It’s just that Sawyer—well, his whole life he’s never known the truth, and I am the last of the family he has on his father’s side.”
Josie stood up, still feeling shaky. “Gram,” she said. “You know that I would never stand in the way of you and Sawyer. If this is real, and he’s really your grandson, then of course, I—it’s okay. I—”
She couldn’t finish the sentence.
“Josie,” Lisette said, reaching for her.
Josie backed away. Tears threatened again, and she wondered once more what was happening to her. Her hands went up in front of her, in a defensive posture. “I just—I just need time,” she told Lisette. “Time to—”
To what? she wondered. What did this mean? She was no blood relation to Lisette. They’d been through so much, and it had always been them against the world. For a long time, Ray had been part of their small group. But most of the time it was just Josie and Lisette. Now there was someone else. A stranger with more right to Lisette’s affection than Josie.
She couldn’t breathe. It took momentous effort to force her body into motion. She went over and kissed Lisette’s cheek. “We’ll talk soon,” she choked out. “I have to work.”
Before her grandmother could protest, Josie left the room, the scent of flowers following her.
Thirty-Nine
In the car, Gretchen waited, scrolling on her phone. Josie made it halfway there before she doubled over, her lungs on fire, a lump in her throat so thick she thought she would choke. A few seconds later, she heard a car door slam and then Gretchen hovered nearby. “Boss?”
Josie put a hand up to signal for Gretchen to give her a moment. But her breath wouldn’t come. She felt Gretchen’s hand on the nape of her neck. Slowly, she straightened. Gretchen kept her palm between Josie’s shoulder blades and steered her toward the car. Gretchen took Josie’s keys from her jacket pocket and then deposited her into the passenger’s seat. She went around and got into the driver’s seat. Firing the car up, she said, “I’m not going to ask. I don’t need to know unless you want me to know.”
“Thank you,” Josie managed.
“I’m going to talk now,” Gretchen told her.
Josie nodded.
Gretchen pulled away, navigating the streets of Denton that were free from flooding while she spoke. “The police department from the town in Georgia where Floyd Urban lives called the station while we were out and left a message. I just got off the phone with them. As far as they can tell, Floyd Urban’s story checks out. They questioned several people in his life. No one even knew he had a sister. No neighbors remember ever seeing her there and one of his neighbors lived next door to him from the day he bought his house.”
“Floyd was telling the truth, then,” Josie said. “Vera lied about going to stay with him on bedrest while she was pregnant with Beverly.”
“It appears that way. Listen, it’s very late. I’m going to drive to the stationhouse so you can drop me and Poppy off at my car. I think you should go home. Eat, sleep. Tomorrow, we’ll meet back at work and check and see which auto mechanic shops were open thirty or more years ago. It’s a pretty slim lead, but we can try to track down Vera’s friend and see if he knows anything that will help us find the killer—or killers.”
Josie nodded.
“Will you be okay to drive home or should I call Noah?”
Josie shook her head. “No. Please don’t. I’ll be fine.”
Josie had no memory of driving home but when she stepped through her front door, she was immediately rushed by two jumping dogs and one very excited toddler. “JoJo!” Harris said, throwing his little arms around her legs. She scooped him up and smelled his blond hair while he chatted away about everything he had seen and done that day: the dogs fighting over a tennis ball; the latest episode of Paw Patrol; the trip he and Misty had taken to the command post to drop off baked goods; the cookies Misty wouldn’t let him have for breakfast. The list went on, seemingly endless, and Josie couldn’t help but smile as she always did at his innocence and unbridled excitement about everything. Josie carried him into the kitchen where Misty was preparing dinner. She was using pots and pans that Josie hadn’t even known they owned.
From her place at the stove, she smiled at Josie. “Harris,” she said. “Give JoJo a few minutes to get settled in.”
“Settled in to what?” Harris asked.
Josie laughed. “It’s fine,” she said, taking a seat at the kitchen table and holding Harris in her lap as he prattled on.
When he tired of telling her every minute detail of his day, he hopped down and chased after Trout and Pepper. Misty said, “Noah called me.”
Josie took out her cell phone and logged in to find five missed calls from Noah.
Misty said, “Lisette called him. He’s stuck at work, and he couldn’t reach you.”
Josie massaged her temples. “What is this? Some kind of network you guys have? Has anyone else been notified that my grandmother has a long-lost grandson, and she’s worried that I might lose my shit?”
Misty shrugged. “You’ve lost your shit before. This is a whole lot to take in.”
She turned off the burners on the stove and sat down across from Josie, focusing all of her attention on Josie’s face. Her blue eyes bore into Josie, making her feel like she was the only person on the planet. Squirming in her chair, she waited for the barrage of pitying questions, but they didn’t come. Misty said, “Did you check this guy out?”
Josie resisted the urge to come around the table and hug Misty. “Not yet.”