Chapter 6 #3
Sensing Lara had told her everything she knew about the mysterious dead husband, Jesse shrugged.
“That’s okay. I was hoping I might find some pictures on the internet I could display at the service.”
“Oh, that would be nice.” Lara pursed her lips. “I just can’t remember anything that might help. She didn’t like to talk about her marriage. It was still a painful subject.”
“Understandable. She was young to be a widow.”
“Yes, and with a small child. I admired her for starting over.”
Jesse didn’t bother to point out that Victoria hadn’t really started over. She’d just married the first man who asked her.
“I can’t remember. Did she have a job when she first moved to Canton?” she asked. “You know, before she married Dad?”
Lara paused. “She volunteered at the church,” she said at last. “That’s how I met her, but I don’t recall her working.”
It was what Jesse expected to hear, but it didn’t stop her stab of irritation. A local employer would have some background information on Victoria. Even if it was nothing more than a previous address.
“It was such a whirlwind engagement.” She smoothly changed to a new topic. She didn’t want to give Lara the opportunity to wonder why she had so many questions. “I barely knew they were dating before they were getting married.”
“I’ll admit I was surprised. I thought …” Lara cleared her throat, looking uncomfortable. “Well, it doesn’t matter now.”
Jesse leaned toward her. “You thought what?”
There was more throat clearing. “When she first came to town she dated Gary Mayfield, and I suspected she was hoping for a future with him.”
Jesse struggled to place the name. At last a vague memory of a short, bald-headed man who wore expensive suits to try to hide his thick neck and bulging stomach began to form.
“The owner of the bank?” She waited for Lara’s nod. “He had to be twenty years older than her.”
“A young widow with a child is looking for security, not wild romance.”
As Mac found out, to his sorrow. “What happened between them?”
“I suspect she eventually realized that Gary was a confirmed bachelor. He might have enjoyed her company, but he was never going to marry her.”
“Unlike my dad, who couldn’t wait to tie the knot.”
A sadness rippled over the older woman’s face. “He’d been alone a long time, Jesse.”
“I know.” Jesse shrugged. She didn’t want to discuss her father’s na?ve desire for companionship.
“Did Victoria ever show you any pictures from their actual wedding? Dad had a few of them together in Vegas. His favorite was the two of them standing in front of the fountains of the Bellagio. But I was looking through his things and I couldn’t find any of the actual wedding ceremony. ”
“I did see a few pictures from their trip, but I don’t recall seeing any from the ceremony. Of course I did see the dress she intended to wear before they left. She came by to model it for me. I’m sure she made a lovely bride.”
“Yes, which makes it so strange that I can’t find any photos.” Looking back, it was easy to notice how camera-shy Victoria was. And how weird it was for such a vain woman to avoid being the center of attention. At the time, however, Jesse simply hadn’t been interested enough to care.
“Maybe she took them when she left,” Lara suggested.
“That’s possible, I suppose. I wonder …”
“What?”
“Would the wedding chapel have copies? I’m sure they must have a photographer on staff who takes at least a few pictures during the ceremony.”
“You’re right.”
“You don’t happen to remember the name of the place, do you?”
Lara pursed her lips. “I’m not sure she mentioned … oh, wait. Now that I think about it, I don’t think it was a traditional chapel.”
“Really?”
“Victoria said she didn’t want it to be in one of the tawdry places with Elvis décor. Instead, she rented an outdoor spot with lovely gardens and a gazebo.”
“Then who performed the actual ceremony?”
“I’m not sure. Honestly, she didn’t give too many details. Only that your father forgot to pack the wedding rings.” Lara clicked her tongue. “She wasn’t very pleased about that.”
“She wasn’t pleased about a lot of things after they were married.”
“It’s never easy. Especially during the first few months together.”
“I wish he’d taken more time dating Victoria,” Jesse said. “They weren’t really compatible after they moved in together.”
“I remember that Pete and I had a few battles in our early days. It takes time to smooth out the edges between a couple. They might have worked things out.”
“Maybe.” Jesse wasn’t there to argue. “We’ll never know now.”
“No.” Lara smoothed her hands down her well-worn capris, trying to hide the tears that filled her eyes. “Can I help with the service? You’re welcome to hold it here if you want. I have a huge backyard.”
Jesse abruptly rose to her feet. She’d abused this woman’s kindness enough for one day.
“Thank you, Lara. Right now I’m concentrating on getting the bar ready to sell. Once things are settled I’ll give you a call.”
“Any time.” Lara straightened to give Jesse a tight hug. “Don’t be a stranger. I’ll expect you to come to visit before you leave town.”
“Of course.”
Pulling away, Jesse grabbed her purse and headed back to the bar. She kept her head bent to avoid any unwanted interruption to her churning thoughts. Not that it would matter. It wasn’t like she’d gotten any answers. Hell, now she had more questions.
Who was Victoria Hudson?
She’d arrived in town with a young daughter and sob story about being recently widowed. From there, she’d added to her woe-is-me vibe by claiming to be an orphan who’d been cut off from her dead husband’s family without a penny. And of course it’d all been too painful to discuss.
No one bothered to question her. Why would they? The locals took people at face value. Especially if you happened to be a beautiful woman caring for your young daughter.
But why lie about your identity?
Witness protection was a possibility, but that seemed unlikely. She would surely have a better cover story. And cops would regularly come to check on her. Plus, she wouldn’t take off with her daughter without proper safeguards in place.
She could be hiding from something or someone.
A woman on the run from her past. That would explain why she refused to discuss anything before she arrived in Canton.
But if she was trying to lay low, why would she marry Mac?
Why not wait alone in the shadows until the threat passed and she could return to her life?
The most logical answer was that she was a common con artist. Lara had confessed that Victoria tried to get one of the richest men in town to marry her before settling for Mac.
And while Jesse’s dad was never rich, he owned a thriving business.
One that Victoria urged him to sell from the day they got married.
She might have planned to drain him dry until she moved on to her next victim.
Plus, there was the cash that went missing from the safe the night she disappeared.
That would explain why she’d insisted on a quick Vegas wedding. Not only did it keep Mac from asking too many awkward questions, but she could create a hoax ceremony that would easily fool a man who was blindly devoted. It would also explain her dramatic exit from town.
Victoria Hudson had disappeared, only to be replaced with a new identity in a new town.
Yes. That made sense.
Jesse dismissed the inner voice that warned that she wanted to believe that Victoria was the bad guy who was out there conning some other sucker. Granted, it didn’t explain what had happened to Mac, but it lightened a burden she’d been carrying for far too long.
Using the front door, Jesse entered the Tap Room and headed upstairs.
First she needed something in her gut to ease the pangs of hunger; then she was going to pull out her laptop and do some research.
She had no idea how much effort her father had put into discovering the truth about Victoria.
Maybe he’d been content with knowing they’d never been officially wed.
But even if he had tried to discover who she was and where she’d gone, he wouldn’t have had Jesse’s skill with a computer, or her access to information.
Grabbing a sandwich and a bag of chips, Jesse settled on her bed and opened her computer.
She didn’t know how to pull up any legal documents that might reveal Victoria’s true identity, and worse was the fact that she had never bothered to spend time online and had flatly refused to allow Tegan to be on social media.
A red flag, now that she looked back. It made it almost impossible to follow her digital trail.
Now what?
Munching on her sandwich, she continued to search the internet, looking for stories on surgeons killed in car wrecks around the time that Victoria moved to Canton.
Dozens of links popped up. She scanned a few, searching for any mention of a wife or young daughter; then, with a muttered curse, she slammed the laptop shut.
It would take her hours to scroll through every news article, with no guarantee that Victoria hadn’t made up her dead surgeon husband.
There had to be another way.
Stretching across the mattress, Jesse closed her eyes and tried to dredge up everything she knew about her stepmother.
Her lack of interest in the older woman meant she hadn’t noticed nearly as much as she should have, but every detail, no matter how small, might help.
Like putting together a puzzle to create the real Victoria Hudson.
Who are you?