Chapter 7
“This is not happening,” Nina whispered, looking around her but taking nothing in. The familiar setting did nothing to calm her.
Nina reread the letter slower this time, trying to process everything.
“Are you all right, Nina?” Nancy asked, reappearing with a mug of coffee in her hand. She placed it on the table in front of Nina.
There was no amount of coffee in the world that could help her through this shock. She understood why her mother kept this information from her as a child, but why had she not told her everything when she was older?
“You’ve lost all the color in your face. What was in the letter?”
Nancy deserved to know. She was the one person who was close to her mother and knew her better than most—but as it turned out, neither of them really had.
She pushed the letter across the table. “Read it.”
“Are you sure?”
“You and Hank should have known. She should have told us,” Nina said, stomping down the burning resentment over her mother’s betrayal.
Nancy sat slowly, as if the seat was covered with broken glass. She then read the letter from beginning to end, the only sign she was agitated was her other hand clenching on the table before her.
“Dear Lord.” She lowered the letter and set it down on the table.
“I can’t take it all in,” Nina said, wrapping both hands around the mug.
“It’s going to take time to work all this through in your head,” Nancy said. “I’m sorry that you lost your mom and now have to deal with this too. It was wrong of her. She should have told you herself.”
“It’s just so much,” Nina whispered.
“It is.”
The two women sat in stunned silence for long minutes.
“I’m going to see Sheriff Dans now. I want to deal with all of this today,” Nina said regaining her feet.
“Remember,” Nancy said, joining her, “we’re here for you if you need us, Nina. I mean that. For anything at all.”
“Thank you.” She picked up the letter and let Nancy hug her again before she left.
Walking out of the Circle Left, Nina found Amber outside, sweeping the steps and humming softly. In the short time Nina had known the woman, she was always happy.
“Hi, Nina.”
“Hi, Amber.”
She put down her broom and studied Nina. “You doing okay?”
“My mom passed away this morning.”
“Oh no, I’m so sorry, Nina.”
“Thanks. I have to go. See you later.” She headed for her car and climbed in, and then just sat there, staring out the windshield.
Mom, she thought, feeling the sting of tears again. You should have told me.
Drawing in a deep breath, Nina released it slowly and then started the car. She drove slowly up the familiar main street. It was hard to believe that nothing around her was different, and yet everything in her life had changed.
She parked outside the police station and got out.
“Nina!”
“Hi, LouJean. Hi, June,” she said to the two women power walking toward her in exercise leggings, thick jackets, and Christmas beanies. “I can’t stop.”
“You wait right there!” LouJean ordered.
When they reached her, Nina was grabbed and wedged between the women in a fierce hug.
“We’re so sorry to hear about Shirley, dear. Anything you need, you let us know,” June added.
“Thank you, that’s very kind.”
“Are you going into the police station, Nina? Is everything all right?” LouJean asked.
“Yes, everything is all right. Just some formalities I need to deal with,” Nina lied.
Leaving the women, she went inside. Word about her mother’s death had clearly already spread around Lyntacky.
“Nina! I just heard.” Sybil, the administrator, rushed out from behind her desk and hugged Nina hard.
This was the beginning of being hugged, and it would last for at least a week, if not longer. Nina remembered when Old Man Harper died, his son Eric said he got a cracked rib from all the love.
“Is Sheriff Dans in, Sybil? I need to talk to him about something.”
“He sure is, honey. You sit there, and I’ll see if he’s busy.”
She sat and looked around the cool white interior that had recently been repainted.
The locals had wanted apricot—well, the older locals had—but the sheriff had put his foot down and gone for plain white.
They’d won out with the artwork, though.
A collage of colorful drawings from the local school competition adorned the walls.
A small Christmas tree neatly decorated with tinsel and a few baubles was in one corner.
Nina’s guess was that Sybil had put that up.
“Hey, Nina. Sorry to hear about your mom.”
The man coming toward her was someone she’d grown up with. Tall and handsome with a smile that had raised a lot of skirts in his time, Dan Duke looked good in uniform.
“Thanks.”
“Do you need anything?”
“No, I’m good, but thanks, Dan.”
“Well, if you do, let someone know. There are plenty of us, so chances are, one of us can help.”
“I’ll do that.”
“Come on through now. Uncle Asher is just finishing up with something.”
She followed him to an office. The Sheriff of Lyntacky rose when she walked in.
He was big like his four nephews but not as tall. The man never raised his voice, but he didn’t have to. He had an air of authority that told you not to mess with him.
“I’m sorry to hear the news about Shirley, Nina.”
By her count, hug number seven for the day followed, but it could have been more.
“I’m guessing Nancy gave you the letter she left for you?”
Her eyes went to Dan.
“He doesn’t know,” Sheriff Dans said. “But he’s good for it and won’t tell anyone.”
“I-I don’t know what to think or feel right now,” Nina said, sounding a little desperate. She felt Dan’s large hand rest briefly on her shoulder. She knew that whatever he heard in here today wouldn’t go any further.
“Then let’s sit. You tell me what was in the letter, and I’ll fill in any gaps. But give me a second. I need to get something.”
She watched him walk to the safe in one corner. He punched in some numbers on the keypad, and it swung open. He pulled out a shoebox before closing it again.
“Shut the door, nephew.”
Dan followed the instruction and then took the seat next to Nina, across the desk from his uncle, who had sat down again with the box now in front of him.
“Maybe you should read this,” she said, pulling the letter out of her pocket and handing it to Dan. “Then you will be caught up to where I am about my father.”
“So you know your name is Christina Falcon and that your dad is alive?” Sheriff Dans asked.
Nina nodded. “My guess is, Mom took me and ran when he went to prison. She did some traveling and then settled here. The letter said she had two choices. Stay where he thought she’d be when he got out, or run. She chose option two.”
“Yes, that’s what she told me,” the sheriff said.
“In Mom’s letter, it says I should speak to you.”
“This had to rock your world,” Dan said, handing the letter to his uncle when he was done. “I’m sorry you learned about this the day she died, Nina.”
She nodded but kept her eyes on the sheriff. Watched as he read the letter, and then when he was done, looked up at her.
“When your mom came to me just after her diagnosis, I told her to tell you the truth, but she was worried you’d try to find him and said it was best to let sleeping dogs lie,” Sheriff Dans explained.
“I wish I’d known,” Nina said. “I could have talked to her about him.”
“Okay, so let me fill in some gaps because I was the only one besides your mom who knew about this.”
Her muscles were clenched so tight now, she was sure they’d be aching tomorrow.
“Your mom fell in love with Dale Falcon not knowing what he was,” the sheriff said. “But she discovered he was part of a large drug-trafficking network and brought vast quantities of heroin and cocaine into America.”
Dan’s hand rested briefly on her clenched fist. I’m here, he was saying, but it didn’t help. The shocks just kept coming.
“Falcon was put away for twenty years, but served longer for some trouble he got into while inside. They released him from prison a few weeks ago.
Her father was no longer locked away. Nina wasn’t sure how she felt about that. “Wh-where is he?”
“We think Arizona, where his family is,” Sheriff Dans said in that calm way he had that did absolutely nothing to calm Nina today.
“When your mom approached me, she said you were too young to know all this, and because your father wasn’t a threat while he was in prison, I agreed to say nothing, and just keep an eye on him. ”
“But why didn’t you tell me when he was released?” Nina asked.
“I had planned on doing just that, but then the burglaries happened, so I was leaving the conversation until things settled down. I’m really sorry, Nina, I should have told you sooner.”
“At least I know now,” she said wondering how her world could have imploded so catastrophically in such a short time.
“Do you think there is a threat to her now, Uncle Asher?” Dan asked.
“I don’t know, and now he’s out of prison, he’s harder to keep track of, but if Dale Falcon wants to find out what happened to his wife and daughter, he may come looking for you, Nina.”
“But my name is different now.”
“It is, but he was part of a big drug ring, and from what I gather, the mastermind behind it. Additionally, the Falcon family possesses immense wealth and influence, so they undoubtedly have people who could track you down.”
“Are they all bad like him—my father?” Nina felt the need to ask.
“He was the only member of his family implicated, but that’s not saying they aren’t involved,” Sheriff Dans replied.
“Shirley informed me that the name change to Winter was legal, so I need you to search through your mother’s belongings and find the paperwork because back then, it wouldn’t have been done electronically, so there will be physical documents.
If someone wanted to look hard enough, they’d eventually find it.
I want to know where they are to see if we can stop that from happening. ”
“I just need to get through the next few days and organize everything for Mom, then I’ll look.”
“Of course, and if you need help, you just call,” Sheriff Dans said, his face solemn.