“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.”
17
Olivia left Mrs. Talbot’s house in a quiet and introspective mood. She barely said a word on the drive back to Mercy or when they dropped Louisa’s car back at the hospital. Olivia pulled out her phone to call a cab, but Theo closed his hand over the phone, forcing her to look up into his eyes.
“Let’s take a walk.”
Sighing, she dropped her phone back into her pocket as they set off down the street. They walked side by side companionably with Theo waiting for her to speak. By the time they approached Main Street and she still showed no signs of doing so, he finally broke the silence.
“Do you want to talk about it?”
“What’s the point?” Olivia frowned. “It won’t change anything. I had hoped that going to see Mrs. Talbot would give me some answers. All it’s done is raise more questions. Although, I suppose we at least now know why Chief Walcott hates me.”
“Unfortunately, that also makes him much more dangerous.” Theo looked grim. “He is trying to work within the law at the moment, but sooner or later he is going to lose patience, and when he does…”
“I know.” Olivia slowly let out the breath she’d been holding. “There’s nothing I can do about it right now. You know, I can appreciate that he loved James. I can appreciate how much pain it caused him to lose the love of his life. I can even appreciate how much it hurt to think your best friend was responsible, but right now, I’m having trouble feeling bad for him. I was just a kid at the time. I had nothing to do with it, and there is no solid evidence to suggest I have anything to do with the killings now, but he still won’t leave me alone.”
“The sins of the father,” Theo murmured.
“You’re not kidding.” Olivia blew out a frustrated breath as they crossed the street.
He looked down and noticed her limp had become more pronounced. “Is your ankle hurting?” He frowned.
“I think I’ve just been on my feet too long.” Suddenly, someone called her name, and they both looked up. Realizing they were approaching the pub, Olivia’s face broke into a smile at the sight of a familiar face and she hobbled forward.
Jackson handed his new bartender the box he’d been unloading from his car and waved as Olivia and Theo approached. “Olivia.”
