Chapter 16 #3
“You take after your mother, there’s no doubting that, but you’ve got a lot of Charlie in you too.”
“How did you know my father?” Olivia asked.
“He was a friend of my Jimmy.”
“He knew James?”
“That’s right. Matter of fact, my Jimmy was best man at your parents’ wedding.” She smiled in remembrance. “Come up through high school together, thick as thieves they were, the three of them.”
“Three of them?”
“Charlie, Jimmy, and Tommy,” she nodded. “They met in middle school, and from that moment on, they were inseparable.”
“Tommy?” Olivia replied, a sudden uncomfortable knot tightening in her stomach.
Mrs. Talbot nodded her head in the direction of the fireplace where several dusty framed pictures sat on the mantle.
Olivia wandered over, moving a portrait of a young smiling James Talbot out of the way.
Her attention was fixed on a picture of three grinning young men, wearing bathing suits and standing by an old wood cabin in front of her lake, their arms wrapped around each other’s shoulders.
They looked so young and innocent, barely more than eighteen years old.
She picked the picture up and wiped a layer of dust off with her finger.
The young man to the left was unmistakably her father, and for a moment, her heart clenched at the sight of the man she had once loved.
Beside him stood James Talbot, and as her eyes fell on the third man, her mouth fell open in shock.
“Tommy.” She turned back to the old lady. “Thomas Walcott?”
“What?” Theo’s eyes widened as Olivia handed him the picture. “Chief Walcott?”
“That’s right.” Mrs. Talbot nodded. “Went into law enforcement, though he was only a deputy when my Jimmy passed.”
“So.” Olivia rubbed her temples, trying to organize her thoughts. “James originally came from Mercy.”
“That’s right, born and raised,” she replied.
“We moved to Salem when his father got transferred because of his job. Jimmy had lost his job and was living at home at the time, so he moved with us. He wasn’t too pleased about that, let me tell you.
Your dad had already married your mom and was busy with you.
They didn’t see each other as often as they’d like, but Tommy and Jimmy, they were really close, and they both took the separation hard. ”
Something in her voice when she spoke about the two men had Olivia looking back at the picture again. Although all three boys had their arms around each other’s shoulders, her dad was the only one looking directly at the camera. Jimmy and Tommy were looking at each other.
“Who took this picture?” Olivia murmured thoughtfully.
“I believe your mama did,” Mrs. Talbot said. “That was the summer they all turned eighteen. Your mom and dad had not long started seeing each other.”
Olivia continued to stare at the picture. “Mrs. Talbot, I don’t mean to pry, and I certainly don’t want to seem insensitive, but I get the feeling there was more to Tommy and Jimmy’s relationship than just friendship.”
Mrs. Talbot pursed her lips as she regarded Olivia and Theo.
“Please, Mrs. Talbot, I’m not trying to stir up trouble. I just need the truth. I need to know what happened all those years ago.”
“Why? What possible good can it do now?”
Olivia turned to Theo, and he nodded.
“Because they never caught the killer, and the murders have started again.”
“Are you in danger?” the old lady asked bluntly.
“I don’t know.” Olivia shook her head. “But I’m tied to it somehow. I need to figure out what happened all those years ago.”
Mrs. Talbot sighed. “I guess there’s no one left to protect anymore.”
“Tommy and Jimmy were lovers, weren’t they?” Olivia asked.
“Yes, they loved each other, and Charlie, he kept their secret,” the old woman admitted.
“My dad knew?”
“Of course, he did,’ she coughed again. “He covered for them so they could be together. Stolen moments... that’s all they had... stolen moments.”
“Why didn’t they just come out?” Olivia asked. “Homosexuality was no longer illegal by then.”
“It may have been legal, but in a small town like Mercy, even in Massachusetts,” Mrs. Talbot scoffed, “they wouldn’t have been accepted, though I think my Jimmy would’ve taken the chance, even if it meant losing his father.”
“His father?” Olivia repeated.
Mrs. Talbot shook her head. “Don’t misunderstand me, my husband was a good man, older than me, and although I learned a lot from him, he came from a different generation. He would never have accepted Jimmy being in love with another man. In fact, Jimmy didn’t even tell me.”
“But you knew?”
“A mother always knows, Olivia.” She sighed.
“He didn’t need to say a word for me to know his heart, and after he died, I found letters between him and Tommy hidden in his room.
He wanted to come clean and tell their families, even if it meant losing them, but Tommy wouldn’t.
His career was important to him and coming out wouldn’t have helped him none. ”
“Mrs. Talbot, what happened the night Jimmy died?”
“I can’t really help you with that.” She shook her head. “I don’t know what happened.”
“Can you just tell us whatever you remember?”
“He was going to Mercy to see Tommy. They were supposed to meet that night. He didn’t tell me, but I knew. Your father was the only other person who knew Jimmy was going to be in Mercy that night.”
Olivia sucked in a breath.
“He kissed me goodbye and told me…” Her voice cracked slightly. “Told me he’d see me soon.”
“Mrs. Talbot,” Olivia said her expression filled with sympathy.
“That was the last time I ever saw him. His father identified his body, and we had him laid to rest in Mercy cemetery.”
“I’m so sorry,” Olivia replied sincerely.
“Not long after the funeral, your mother was killed. Tommy came to see me. He told me what had happened, and he was ranting. I’d never seen him like that before. He was convinced your father had something to do with Jimmy’s death.”
Olivia stiffened. “What do you believe?”
“Your father loved my Jimmy like a brother. I knew Charlie, and I thought of him as another son. I would never have believed he would hurt Jimmy, but then again, I would never have believed he would hurt your mama. He was so in love with Isabel West. He looked at her like she was pure sunlight.” She shrugged.
“Guess you never really know someone, do you?”
“I guess not,” Olivia muttered. “Thank you, Mrs. Talbot. I know talking about Jimmy couldn’t have been easy for you.”
“Olivia, I’m an old woman. I have chronic emphysema, and now they’ve found a tumor. I’m dying. I’ve made my peace with what happened to my son. Lord knows, I’ll see him soon enough.”
The little old lady fixed her penetrating gaze on Olivia, and when she finally spoke, her voice was low but sincere. “But I truly hope, for your sake, that your father had nothing to do with Jimmy’s death.”