Epilogue
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RAE LEE
“Can I ask you something?” Susan rolls her lips.
I have a duty to see this through, but couldn’t agree to meet Pearl’s mother before the prosecutor presented his case against Alan Adair. I knew whatever came out during the trial would create new uncertainties for Susan. Except, I also have to protect myself and the life Anson and I are building together. Because of that, I can only speak to Pearl again this once to help her mom heal.
We have a blanket spread at Pearl’s gravesite. Susan brought a basket filled with petit fours and teacups she allowed Pearl to play tea party with before Pearl’s father died. It’s an unusual place for a picnic … nowadays. A long time ago, people used to spend time with their dead relatives this way. Some cultures still do.
“Of course.” I’m here to finally answer any lingering questions Susan has.
“Did Pearl ever say, show you, tell you why she had a problem with Harvey?”
Unspeaking, I place my hand over hers. Our eyes lock. My nod is weak. I don’t want to hurt Susan any more than she has been.
Anson shielded me from most of the press coverage, but, to make up for his initial reaction to me, my boyfriend needs to prove to me that he believes there are truths to what the dead tell me. So when Adair tried to plead by throwing Harvey Turner under the bus, we’d had a very long, in-depth discussion about my original concerns that Pearl was molested.
“I—I thought so.” Susan frowns. The Turner’s marriage hadn’t survived Adair’s accusations. “Pearl’s best friend came to me after the funeral. I didn’t want to believe Ellen at first. I didn’t want to be the love fool who dismissed her daughter’s worries. But I’d already wondered for years about the face cloth found in the bathroom hamper. To the point that I can’t quite recall the details of the day clearly.” She huffs a sad sigh. “It was a horribly long day.”
“I’m sure it was,” I agree.
My interactions with Pearl are different outside of their home. She danced around the blanket and sat next to her mother, leaning in and squeezing her arm. She’s angelic. Younger today. About the age that she might’ve enjoyed an afternoon tea party.
During this visit, Pearl showed me how everything had gotten so complicated for Susan when her first husband fell ill. She’d been managing her home, caring for a sick spouse and trying to keep their business afloat in a bad economy.
I’ve felt the emptiness in Pearl’s chest the moment she feels like she’s awoken from the blow to her head. It mirrors the loneliness and heartache emanating from Susan both then and now. Pearl has always struggled with her mother not having any more children. They couldn’t be Harvey’s. But now Pearl is aware her mother has no one to rely on outside of the grief recovery and support group she’s attending. I encourage Susan to spend an afternoon with Ellen. It’s never too late to mend bridges. Ellen is healing, too.
Our picnic is over a little while later when Anson’s car pulls into the cemetery to bring me home.
We tidy from the picnic and stride across the grass arm in arm. Along the way, I nod and mouth my appreciation to the unseen others who wanted my attention, but respected it was Pearl and Susan’s turn for closure.
“Thank you, Rae Lee, for finding my daughter.” Susan hugs me when we get to where the cars are parked.
“You’re welcome,” I say, returning her embrace. “I have something for you.” I pop a box out of my bag and press it into her palms. “Open it when you get home.”
Inside is a pearl I hand wrapped with silver and fashioned into a pendant. My jewelry business is doing well. Anson and I use the L word. He, Fred, and I are so happy we’re moving in together soon.
I have a life to lead, but I want Pearl’s mother to know neither of them will ever be far from my thoughts.
Thank you for reading Fragments of the Past! I hope you enjoyed puzzling the pieces together with Rae Lee and Anson as much as I loved it when they showed me who was guilty of the crime!
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