I heard murmured voices as Jack told Dad I was on the phone. When Dad came on the phone, he sounded better than he had the day before. In fact, every day was an improvement, and I knew it wouldn’t be long before I wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between the two men when they answered the phone. I wasn’t sure how I felt about it, so I pushed it aside for the moment.
“I have great news, Dad. We caught the chicken snatchers.”
Dad gave a great big whooping laugh then urged me to tell the story. “You and your partner did the right thing for those kids. I bet they’ll learn a valuable lesson.”
“I hope so,” I told him. “I gotta run and get ready for my softball game tonight. I just wanted to bring you up to date.”
“I’m glad you did. Tell Freckles I said hello.”
“Will do. I’ll call you tomorrow.”
Talking to my dad got easier every time, but I wasn’t sure what to do about my feelings toward my brother. My thoughts were consumed by happy memories of the two of us growing up on our farm. For the first time in ten years, I wasn’t willing to accept the current status of our relationship was the best we could hope for. I was eager to discuss it with Maegan, but I found her fast asleep on the couch with Lulu and Rascal.
I knelt beside the couch, brushed the riotous curls away from her face, and kissed her forehead. She made adorable little sighs that made me want to keep kissing her until she woke up, but I didn’t. Maegan wasn’t a nap taker, so she must’ve been really tired. Instead, I went into the kitchen and started dinner. My skills were limited, but Maegan seemed to love my spaghetti, and I had plenty of time to digest it before destroying my competitors on the diamond.
The only bad thing was the silence allowed me too much time to think about the complexities of families and the tangled relationships arising from them. I recalled my conversation with Maegan about Theodore Rutledge and checked my email to see if she sent the information while I was busy returning chickens, and I saw she had. I knew the background search could wait until the morning, but I had promised Maegan I’d get right on it, so I dialed Wen’s number.
“Wen, can you do me a favor and run a background check?” I explained the situation and forwarded the email to him after he agreed. “Thanks. I’ll owe you one.”
After I hung up, I smelled tobacco smoke and knew Anthony was near. I wondered how he would react to his heir stepping inside Bliss House after so many years. We’d find out soon if Rutledge’s background check came back clean.
THE BACKGROUND CHECK FORTHEODORERutledge came back crystal clear, and I learned the apple didn’t fall far from the tree, regardless of the generation gap between Theodore and Anthony. Perhaps the hereditary markers in their DNA included a special strand for entrepreneurship. Theodore Rutledge was the founder and CEO of a Fortune 500 software and technology development company located in Northern Kentucky, and due to his busy schedule, our meeting kept getting pushed back until I started to think maybe he’d changed his mind and didn’t want to upset me.
“I think he’s the next Steve Jobs,” Memphis said gleefully when we were crawling through the dust and debris in an attic after Sunday brunch one hot, humid day at the end of August looking for treasures we didn’t know we needed until we cast our eyes upon them. “He’s one of the largest employers in Northern Kentucky and has a great reputation. He offers benefits other corporations don’t. People fight for a chance to work there.”
“You know I’m standing right here, don’t you, Firecracker,” Lyric said from behind us. For whatever reason, he loved tagging along to help us look through other people’s stuff. I think he took great joy in seeing the way Memphis lit up when he found something that excited him. I glanced over my shoulder to see if Lyric was really jealous about the awe he heard in Memphis’s voice, and he winked playfully at me.
“Not to mention his charitable contributions,” Memphis continued. “I believe I read someplace he donates nearly half of his salary to worthy causes. Anthony would be very proud to know many of them are LGBTQ+ causes to promote education and raise suicide prevention.”
“Maybe Maegan can erect a statue of him and put it in the front lawn,” Lyric said. “Or better yet, you can create a cartoon hero in his honor.”
“No one is erecting anything, and I’m not putting him into a comic book, Ric,” Memphis said, finally acknowledging his boyfriend’s displeased grumbles.
“Are you sure? You sound kind oferectover there.”
Memphis turned to look at his boyfriend with an impish grin. “I can admire a man’s character without wishing he was in my bed or putting his likeness in an illustration. There’s only room for one man in my bed and in the pages of my comic book.”
“I hate to interrupt this tender moment—” I began.
“Then don’t,” Memphis interjected.
“We only have thirty minutes left to dig through the attic,” I continued.
“Later, Ric,” Memphis said, returning to dig through boxes. “Aha! A Michael JacksonThrilleralbum still wrapped in cellophane.”
I started to pout because I hadn’t found anything exciting until I came across a box with very little dirt and dust on it, indicating it had been there only a short time. The bare bulbs hanging in the attic weren’t bright enough to illuminate the corner, so I switched on my small flashlight and knelt to see what was inside the box. I pulled out the packing slip lying on top. It identified the object as a soldier’s foot locker from Vietnam and said it was shipped three weeks ago to Mr. Betson who was the winning eBay bidder. I set the packing slip aside and opened the metal box inside. What I found made me gasp.
“Did you find something good, Mae?” Lyric asked when he joined me.
“Possibly,” I said, pointing to the contents. “It appears to be the personal property of a soldier. There are letters, a bible, clothes, photos, and even a pack of cigarettes. There’s no telling what else is inside.”
Lyric picked up the packing slip and read it. “I wonder why Mr. Betson purchased the foot locker belonging to an unknown soldier?”
“I’ll talk to his daughter and see if she knows. The box was recently placed up here, possibly as soon as it arrived.” I looked over at Memphis who was the one who found this lead. “When did you say Mr. Betson died?”
Memphis came over and knelt beside me. “Why do you ask?”
“Mr. Betson won this item from an eBay bid three weeks ago, and it was shipped a few days later. There’s no telling how long it took to arrive. I was just curious if he saw it before he died.” It suddenly made me sad to think he died without knowing the contents of the foot locker.”
