Chapter 36
Moisture from last night’s rain soaked Paradise’s boots on her jog across the grass to the ticket booth to meet Elowen and
Tessa. She sidestepped a skink that darted away from her feet. She smiled when she spotted Elowen’s radiant smile. She held
Tessa on her hip and pushed a stroller with her other hand.
“You made it.” Paradise had paused long enough to grab a stuffed otter, and she held it out to the toddler.
Tessa let out a squeal that made the monkeys down the path screech back. “Otter!” She clutched the stuffie to her chest.
“What do you say?” her mother prodded.
“T’anks.”
“You’re welcome. The baby otters asked me if you were coming today, and I said I hoped so. Let’s take a cart.” She led Elowen
and Tessa to an employee golf cart and got them seated, then folded the stroller and stuck it in the back. “Hang on.”
Tessa’s smile widened with the wind in her hair. She peered at the birds as they passed the aviary, and when the parrots squawked, she covered her ears. Paradise exchanged an amused glance with Elowen. They reached the otter enclosure, and Paradise stopped the cart.
“For the past few weeks we only watched via a camera so the little family could bond in seclusion, but the pups are eager
to explore their new world, so they’re being released for the public to see tomorrow. But I’m going to take you into their
domain today before anyone else gets to encounter them.”
“That’s amazing. Thank you so much.” Elowen scooped up Tessa and followed Paradise past the fences screened with murals announcing
the upcoming arrival of the new family.
Paradise grabbed a cooler of crayfish. Inside the first perimeter, there were no posters screening the habitat from view.
The otters frolicked in a pond surrounded by green grass and weeds. The babies spotted Paradise and came her way, emitting
their characteristic chirps and squeaks.
“They associate me with food. They tend to get excited about their meals, so I can’t let you give it to them. I don’t want
them to mistake your cute fingers for crayfish.” Paradise opened the cooler and began to feed the otters. “We have five in
this raft, which is what a group of otters is called, including the mama.” The otter smell was strong from them marking their
territory, but Tessa didn’t seem to notice.
They spent half an hour watching the otters play and swim. Paradise couldn’t decide if she should bring up her questions or
wait and see if Elowen offered whatever secrets she might be holding. When the toddler made noises about going to see the
other animals, Paradise decided she had to make a move. It was already nearly noon, and she had other animals to check on.
She led the way out of the enclosure and locked the gate behind her. “The petting zoo is right here. I’ll bet Tessa would love to see the rabbits.” She took them the short distance to the barnyard entrance.
Elowen let Tessa go in by herself to sit with the rabbits. “I wanted a moment with you,” she said, glancing around. “You asked
me and Wade if we’d ever heard anything about a will, and I—I lied. Wade is the best thing that’s ever happened to me, and
I didn’t want him to be disappointed in me. There is a will out there, Paradise, but it’s forged. Dean forged it.”
Paradise put her hand to her mouth. “When was this?” They had proof, but if Elowen wouldn’t testify, it wouldn’t get them
very far.
“When Dean came back a few weeks ago, I ran into him at the barbecue place where he works. I was carrying my take-out order
to the car, and he waylaid me. I wasn’t trying to see him or anything, but Wade might think I knew he was working there. I
hadn’t heard he was even back in town.”
“You should tell Wade. It’s not a good thing to keep secrets from the man you love. It makes complete sense that you’d go
get food without knowing he was there.”
Elowen tucked a lock of blonde hair behind her ear, and her blue eyes filled with tears. “I know, but he’d be so angry if
he found out what Dean wanted.”
“And what was that?” Paradise asked in a gentle voice.
“He wanted me to forge Allen’s signature on a will Dean drew up.”
Paradise took a quick peek at Tessa, who had a bunny on her lap, before turning back to Elowen. “That seems a strange request.”
“I—I did some forgeries for him when we were together. I’m so ashamed of it, but I was afraid of him. He needed money for drugs, and he had me forge some checks of Allen and Mary’s. They passed right through the bank, so he thought this would be easy for me.”
“Did he have access to meth?”
“He cooked it and sold it, so he had plenty of opportunity to use it. He was always so angry when he was high.”
Paradise had to tread carefully here. “Did he ever talk about Allen’s death? You were together after that, right?”
Elowen sank onto a nearby bench and stared down at the ground. “He killed him. He told me he slid a needle in his elbow, and
the expression on Allen’s face went from anger to surprise and then to contentment. He thought he did a good thing because
Allen had cancer. Mary didn’t know, so Dean never told her. It was pancreatic cancer, and he didn’t have long. Dean claimed
he was only helping him out, but I think he believed Mary would let him move back in and he’d have access to her money again.
She didn’t.”
“Would you testify to this?”
Elowen put her head in her hands. “I don’t want Wade to know. I wish I’d never told you.”
Paradise gripped the younger woman’s forearm. “He’ll still love you, Elowen. I could see that he’s a good man.”
Tears pooled in Elowen’s blue eyes. “But even a good man would recoil at what I’ve done.”
Tessa ran back toward them with pink cheeks. “Lemurs!”
Elowen nodded and scooped her up. “I don’t know what I’m going to do.”
Paradise showered and washed her hair, then wrapped it in a towel. Snug in a tan terry robe, she stretched out on her bed with the kittens beside her and grabbed her laptop. Her hands trembled as she lifted the lid and went to the genealogy site.
Tonight was the night. She might not hear back from Drew tonight, but she could start the dialogue and see what happened.
Not everyone who looked for their heritage wanted to hear from relatives, so it was possible he wouldn’t respond at all. She
had to keep that possibility in mind.
She inhaled. “This is it, Luna.” The kitten pricked her ears at the sound of her name, then went back to playing with her
toy mouse.
The cursor blinked on her screen, and she opened her message app. A bolded message caught her attention. She had something
from a match. Was it Drew? The app allowed matches to correspond without giving out names and addresses until both parties
felt safe. Maybe it was someone else, but she allowed the hope to settle a moment before she opened the message.
The title read Match and her mouth went dry.
Hi, my name is Andrew James Bartley, but my friends call me Drew. I think we might share the same mother. I hope this isn’t
too much of a shock to you. I always knew I was adopted, and I sometimes got letters from our mother with your picture, so
I always knew about you too. But my existence might be a shock to you, and if that’s so, I apologize for the intrusion. I’d
like to come see you on a matter that’s very urgent. Would that be possible?
An urgent matter? Alarm bells began to go off at the phrase, and she snatched back her hands.
She’d always heard these things progressed slowly, but this man was ready to hop a plane and get here right away.
Was it a scam of some kind? There had been enough trouble getting her results that caution was in order.
This could be whoever kept deleting the results of her test.
The blinking cursor seemed to mock her as her indecision rose. Cowardice wouldn’t get her any closer to the truth, and she’d
moved a lot of rocks in her quest so far. She inhaled and put her hands back on the keyboard.
My name is Paradise Alden. I only found out I had a brother a couple of months ago when I discovered a box in the attic where
I used to live. It belonged to our mother, and the information about you was in the box. That is why I had my DNA done. I
was hoping to find you. I live in Alabama. Where are you?
She clicked Send and swallowed down a bitter taste in her mouth. Had this been a colossal mistake? She stared at the inbox.
Would she be able to tell when it had been read? Maybe the app didn’t have that capability. To kill time, she took the towel
off her head and combed out the tangles before braiding it. There was still no answer, so she put on sweats and a tee and
went in search of something to drink. She was already too wired for more caffeine, so she opted for orange juice and headed
back to her bedroom.
Both cats were on the bed staring at the computer screen. Had it made a sound? Heart in her throat, she plopped onto the bed
and saw another bolded message. She nearly spilled her juice in her eagerness to open and read what Drew had to say. If it
even was Drew. She had to stay cautious.
I’m glad I haven’t shocked you. I’m sure you’re worried about some complete stranger wanting to come see you, but I really am your brother. Our mom’s name was Becky, and she had a tiny tattoo of a hummingbird on her left shoulder. I’d heard she loved Hawaii. Is that why she named you Paradise?
To answer your question, I live in Atlanta, but I could be there tomorrow. Can you give me your location? We could meet at
whatever safe place you want. I don’t have to know your home address if you’re cautious. And you should be, by the way. I
make no judgment on caution. I’m a police detective, and I’ve seen what happens when women don’t listen to their inner warning
signals. So you pick the place.
She stared at the flow of information he’d given. Blake would tell her not to do it yet. He’d advise her to talk on the phone
first and get a sense of who Drew was. But she couldn’t let this chance slide by without embracing it. She had a brother. It seemed impossibly surreal. He knew about her mother’s tattoo and her love of Hawaii. He’d even guessed why her parents
had given her such a ridiculous name. And he was a police detective! That was a welcome piece of news. Maybe he would help
her figure out what happened to their mother and her father. And she longed to know who his father was as well. It was all
a piece of her mother’s history Paradise knew nothing about.
I’m in the Gulf Shores area. Let’s meet at the animal park where I work as a vet. It’s called The Sanctuary Wildlife Preserve
on Vernant Park Road.
She gave him the link to the park and waited. The orange juice was bitter on her tongue, but she drank it anyway.
I’ll be there by nine in the morning if that’s okay. And please bring a friend if it makes you more comfortable.
Blake was going to be shocked at all she’d found out tonight. She couldn’t believe it either. It was nearly ten but he’d still
be awake. Maybe she should drive out there and tell him in person. The news seemed too important to spill over the phone.
She closed her laptop to take it with her and bolted for the door.