Chapter Fourteen #2
Thea and June.
During her early months in Bent Oak as a child, Bailey Rae had assumed Libby, June, and Thea were somehow related to Winnie.
They went just about everywhere together, ate meals at each other’s homes at least a couple of times a week.
They’d felt like family. Not the family Bailey Rae had known for her first six years, but the type she thought only existed in books or on television.
And family could drop in unannounced. By morning, frazzled and frustrated, she’d decided to start with Thea.
With the rising sun dappling shadows through the tunnel of oak branches, she steered her truck along the lengthy driveway. A level road with no potholes, the drive curved until the sprawling home came into view—with Libby’s minivan parked in front, which meant June or Keith must be there as well.
At least three times the size of the cabin, Thea’s two-story brick house sported wraparound porches and balconies.
A stately home befitting the heir to the paper mill, Bent Oak’s main source of employment.
Thea also lived on the river, but with a cleared lot and a dock with a pontoon boat on a lift.
The spread offered quite the contrast to June’s condominium on the refurbished second floor above a law office.
And it seemed a world away from Libby’s modular home on an acre of land deeded over to her by Russell.
These ladies took care of each other, that much Bailey Rae knew from the earliest of her days in Bent Oak.
She just hoped they would see her as a proxy for Winnie and pry open the vault to their secrets.
Literally and figuratively. Bailey Rae rested a clenched hand on the small safe perched on the passenger side of the bench seat. The knot in her stomach grew tighter as she drew closer to answers.
Stopping beside Libby’s minivan, Bailey Rae threw the truck into park and stepped out in the summer morning, eighty degrees and climbing.
From the porch, Thea waved her over, a wide-brimmed hat shading her face. “Hey there. What perfect timing for you to stop by. Come join us for sweet tea and hummingbird cake.”
Bailey Rae hefted the small safe from the passenger seat and kicked the door closed behind her.
She followed the paver stones, the walkway lined with hostas and hydrangeas.
Thea had the prettiest yard in all of Bent Oak yet refused to join the garden club, in spite of her mother-in-law’s repeated invitations over the years.
The women had gathered in a far corner of the porch at a wrought iron table and chairs, ceiling fans swooping overhead. The friends had congregated there so often that once Libby’s mobility waned, Thea’s husband had installed a ramp along the side of the porch.
Bailey Rae plunked the mini-safe onto the wrought iron table beside a four-layer hummingbird cake. “Look what I found in the floor of Winnie’s cabin. Any idea of the combination or what she’s hiding inside?”
Thea glanced up from pouring tea into cut-crystal glasses full of ice. “In the floor of Winnie’s cabin? Maybe that’s from Annette or Russell’s day.”
Bailey Rae dropped into a chair. “It’s not dusty—and it wasn’t when I found it either.”
June sliced through the cake with undue concentration, sliding a piece onto each of the gold-rimmed plates. “That’s quite a mystery.”
For once, Libby had nothing to say. She simply plucked at her overlong lemon T-shirt.
Clothes with buttons were becoming a thing of the past since she’d started to undress in the middle of the grocery store shortly after Winnie had died.
The doctor had indicated disrobing at inappropriate times sometimes happened to a person with dementia, especially during times of stress.
June passed a ball of cornflower-blue yarn and a crochet needle to Libby. “Honey, here’s the baby blanket you’ve been working on for Thea’s new grandson.”
Bailey Rae waited through the distribution of plates and filling of drinks, all in silence. Was it her imagination or were they avoiding her eyes? “So that’s it? Nobody’s going to say anything else about the safe?”
Thea met her gaze for the first time. “What do you think the safe contains?”
“Secrets.” The word fell out of her mouth as she sat forward, determined to find answers.
“I also found thousands of dollars in cash stashed all over the cabin in the strangest places. I get the feeling there’s some kind of mystery in Winnie’s past. Maybe it’s none of my business, but Winnie was all I had in the world, and I thought—I know—I was important to her. ”
Thea reached to clasp her hand, the warmth of her filtering through her lightweight glove. “You were the child Winnie never had. She loved you. Anything she kept from you came out of a need to protect you.”
Except Bailey Rae wasn’t a child any longer. “What might I find in the safe if I opened it?” Frustration bubbled up and out. “You can tell me now or wait around for Libby to spill the beans later down the road. I’d really rather hear it from you.”
June gestured toward Libby engrossed in her crocheting. “Bailey Rae’s right about that. Since we’re all alone here, maybe this is the right time to give her the basics.”
That last word—basics—hinted at a pared-down accounting when Bailey Rae wanted the full scoop. But she would wrangle for more along the way. At least this was a start.
Thea pushed her dessert plate to the side. “If we tell you, you need to promise you won’t say a word to another soul.”
“Of course,” Bailey Rae said, pressing a hand to her chest, her heart already speeding in anticipation. This was almost too easy. “You know that you can trust me.”
Nodding, Thea glanced over her shoulder before she said, “You’re sure you want to know, even if the truth makes you uncomfortable?”
“You’re my family,” Bailey Rae answered without hesitation. “We may not be blood relatives, but you are the relatives I choose. That comes with messy parts as well as the good.”
“Family first.” Thea’s throat moved in a long swallow and a deep breath. “Winnie didn’t just help you and your mom. There were others. Lots of them.”
“Yes. And?” Bailey Rae tried not to snap in frustration at being put off with an obvious response. “I lived here. I noticed all those ‘friends’ coming through, people we didn’t see again. There’s more. I know there is.” She looked from one to the other. “June?”
The youngest of the friends, June folded her hands on top of the safe. “You’ve made Winnie proud with the way you helped Gia and Cricket. That was your aunt’s legacy, helping women and children at risk.”
Again, a nonanswer. “I’m a testament to that. Now, I need some answers, because I’m about at the end of my ‘respect your elders’ rope.”
With a final look at Thea, June continued. “I don’t think you understand what I’m saying. She didn’t just help people struggling in life. She built them a whole new life.”
Bailey Rae wanted to shout a great big I know to the heavens but settled for a calmer response.
“Yes, she was so committed to that goal she packed the barn full of thrift shop finds for people to set up a new home. June, didn’t you even tell me once how she gave you an encyclopedia set when you came to town? ”
“You still aren’t hearing me,” June said softly, firmly. “She created whole new identities .”
Identities? “Like assisting the Witness Protection Program?”
Thea shook her head, leaning forward to whisper, “She worked through unofficial channels, helping those that the system failed.”
Collapsing back in her chair, Bailey Rae struggled to believe her ears. The prospect sounded right and crazy all at once. But there was a calm logic to Thea’s and June’s words. “I’m listening.”
Thea took the lead. “It wasn’t just simple word of mouth. She was a part of an organized effort. If you tell anyone about it, that could be problematic for others.”
“Why?” Bailey Rae asked. “Now that Winnie’s gone, there’s not a secret to reveal ...” Realization seeped in. “She’s not the only one here in town creating those identities. The four of you did everything together.”
Libby smiled, without looking up from her crocheting, the pale-blue blanket pooling in her lap as her fingers flew. All those confusing things Libby had been saying lately made sense. Her decline was getting worse, though, and secrets wouldn’t stay such for much longer.
June followed her gaze to Libby and nodded in silent understanding of Bailey Rae’s thoughts. “She needs one of us with her at all times. We’re handling it.”
Bailey Rae grabbed her sweet tea and gulped down half before setting her glass back on the table. “And that’s all there is to it?”
June shrugged. “What else could there be? Since Winnie’s gone, we’ve stopped our involvement and just work at keeping a low profile.”
A wry smile tugged at Bailey Rae as she gestured toward the fresh streak of sapphire added alongside the purple one in June’s hair. “For someone trying to fly under the radar, you sure do a lot of things to bring attention to yourself, changing that every month—sometimes even less.”
Laughing, June twirled the blue lock. “But I bet you can’t remember my real hair color.”
Thea clapped her gloved hands together. “Mission accomplished.”
How could they be so glib about this? “What about Gia and that cookbook? She insisted it was the key to getting help.”
Libby looped the yarn around the hook for her next stitch, chiming in without looking up. “Thea has a talent for creating codes.”
Bailey Rae gripped the seat of her chair, the world increasingly unsteady. “Like for computers?”
“No,” Thea said, winking. “Like cyphers, used to send secret messages. It began with my grandmother. She was a codebreaker during World War II. She used to play games with us as kids, teaching the grandchildren.”
Bailey Rae shuffled all the puzzle pieces in her mind. “Uncle Russell told me about a relative of his who did that for the government too ...”
“Russell and I were distant cousins,” Thea confirmed. “Annette helped me start over in Bent Oak. Creating a code for secret communications was part of my contribution.”
More confused than before, Bailey Rae asked, “So Russell’s grandmother asked you?”
“Actually, Winnie was the one who helped me find a creative outlet for my, uh, talents.” A grin played with Thea’s mouth as she smoothed a napkin over condensation from her glass.
“Let me tell you, developing a way to disperse our message saved my sanity in those early days, when the boredom just about leveled me.”
June blurted, “And we used it in the cookbook. We found ways to send complimentary copies to women we’d heard might need to find a way out.”
“Along with a carefully worded letter,” Thea added, smiling to herself.
That seemed complicated for simply helping a few people. Those puzzle pieces were shifting while leaving big holes in the picture. “The cookbook that Gia insisted had brought her to Bent Oak? You knew all along why she’d come here? Then why didn’t you help her when she asked?”
“We wanted to.” June blinked back tears. “Winnie is gone. She was the glue.”
That was it? No help without Winnie? Her incredulity must have shown, because Thea tipped her head toward Libby.
“As you already mentioned,” Thea said dryly, “someone isn’t exactly a vault when it comes to keeping secrets any longer.”
Fair point. Bailey Rae opened her mouth to ask how long this had been going on if Annette had been gone for more than thirty years—
Except Thea shot to her feet and set the safe on the floor just as a fishing boat floated into view out on the river. “I’m going to get more lemon slices for the tea.”
And just that fast, the window to asking questions closed. Walls she hadn’t even noticed before were erected again. June began talking about her class “Beauty and Power” being offered in the fall session. Even Libby crocheted faster, her forehead furrowed in concentration that defied interruption.
Yet maybe it was just as well she had some time to process what she’d just learned. To reconfigure her own memories now that she knew about Winnie’s past. Uncovering the fact that her aunt had been involved in a highly sophisticated—highly illegal—activity blew her away.
Bailey Rae picked up her fork and tucked into the hummingbird cake, sugar and pineapple soothing her taste buds.
Even easing her frustration. Not so much, though, that she would lose sight of her goal to find out when Winnie started her secret dealings.
Or why her aunt had hidden thousands of dollars in her cabin.
And what was tucked away inside that little safe.