“Here,” Joel said from a door at the end of a long hallway. “After you change, come back downstairs and I’ll bring you to Olivia.” He handed me the warm garments I’d requested and walked off.

I entered the bedroom. The air was cold, as if the room had been shut off from the rest of the house. A pink comforter with lace edging covered a white wrought-iron bedstead. Candles in colorful holders lined the window ledge. A wreath of dried wildflowers hung above the round mirror of the ’50s-style dresser. I wondered how the room had been allowed to exist in the mostly male household.

A photo on the wall showed a smiling Leave It to Beaver family of three. I took a closer look. I recognized a young-twenties Puppa sans moustache and dressed in a coat and tie. The woman next to him would be my deceased grandmother. She was beautiful, with dark hair and happy, gleaming eyes. That made the toddler in the picture my father. He looked about three years old when the photo was taken. An abundance of curls topped his head. Baby teeth peeked out from his wide-mouthed smile.

I ran a finger across the glass. Surely the little family had held such promise. Who could have known the tragedy in store for their lives?

I turned my back on the past and put on the thick sweatshirt. I stepped into the slippers, closed the bedroom door behind me, and made my way downstairs.

“Joel?” I called when I got to the entry hall.

“This way.”

His voice came from a door that hung open underneath the steps. I hadn’t even seen it my first time through.

I entered what must have been at one time the nursery. Small and square, the room was painted a pale blue that had darkened unevenly over the years. From the light fixture in the center hung a child’s mobile, with a circle of giraffes that remained forever just out of reach of the jaws of a smiling lion. A door in the far corner of the room probably connected to the master bedroom.

A hospital bed sat against one wall. Joel’s shoulders blocked the view of the woman under the covers. Her feet moved beneath the white spread.

“Joel. Move so I can see Patricia.” The voice was sharp and strong. An underlying waver revealed the speaker’s advanced age.

My cousin stepped aside with a flourish of his arm, as if to say, “She’s all yours.”

I smiled and moved to the edge of the bed. The lovely Olivia wore carefully coifed and silvered hair. Her lined face was still pert and attractive for a woman her age. A touch of rouge brightened her cheeks.

“Hi. It’s nice to meet you.” I held out a hand in greeting. Though her bones looked as delicate as a bird’s, she nearly crushed my fingers with her feisty grip.

“You look just like your mother.” Olivia shook her head as if disappointed.

“Thank you,” I said anyway. “I’ve seen pictures of my mother and she was very beautiful.”

“Just be careful you don’t end up like her,” Grandma Olivia said.

I broadened my smile. “I have no plans to kill myself, if that’s what you mean.”

“Good. I’m glad she’s dead after killing my boy.”

I pulled my hand out of her grasp. “I don’t know the whole story. I’m sure if she killed Uncle Sid, it was an accident.”

“She had no business going to the cops. He was just doing what he had to do to get by. He wasn’t hurting anybody.”

I scrunched my forehead. “I don’t understand. She killed him by calling the cops?”

“It was none of her business. People got scared that Sid might talk. And they started that fire.” Olivia struggled to sit up. “Some things are better left alone.”

Joel pushed me aside to get to our great-grandmother. He laid his hands on her shoulders and eased her back down on the bed. “Calm down, Olivia. No sense getting worked up over old news.”

Olivia pulled in a few deep breaths and closed her eyes. “Sit with me awhile, Patricia.”

I looked at Joel. He shrugged and left the room. I sat in a wooden upright chair and scooted it close to the edge of the bed. The old gal held my fingers. Within ten minutes she had fallen asleep.

I looked at her face, now lying in peaceful slumber. The lines in her forehead came together in the center like an arrow, evidence of a lifetime of worry. The skin around her mouth lay in a deep frown, betraying disappointment and bitterness. How sad that she’d held on to all her griefs. I realized how fortunate I was to have been able to let go of so many of my own.

The door squeaked open behind me. My grandfather came into the room.

“Hello, Patricia,” he whispered.

“Hi, Puppa.” I kept my voice low.

He lifted a matching chair and set it next to mine. “I see Olivia broke down and asked you over.”

I looked at him funny. “Joel drove to my house and picked me up. She told him she was dying and had to see me right away.”

My grandfather smiled and looked at his mother’s quiet form. “Maybe. She probably just feels foolish for shunning you earlier. What better way to save face?”

“I guess so.” I stared at Olivia’s fingers intertwined with mine. Even in sleep she hadn’t relaxed her grip.

I looked at my grandfather, realizing we were alone for the first time. I remembered my promise to Missy Belmont. “Uh, I have a favor to ask of you.”

“Sure. What is it?”

I struggled for the right words. “A friend of mine is hoping you’ll help her out.”

He furrowed his forehead. “What do you mean?”

I bit my lip. “Back in March, Melissa Belmont asked me to tell you that her husband was dealing drugs and beating her. She said you’d know what to do to help her out.”

He held a finger to his mouth to quiet me. He stood and pointed to the far door. I wriggled my hand from Olivia’s hold and tiptoed after my grandfather.

We entered a large master bedroom that apparently served as a study as well. A huge desk sat against the windows overlooking the front yard. Papers littered the surface. Rows of filing cabinets filled a whole corner. A double bed was scrunched against a wall, as if an afterthought.

“Wow. You’re a little behind with your filing.” I smiled as I made the comment.

Puppa ignored me and sat down at the desk, with pen perched over a scratchpad. “So when exactly did Missy ask you to talk to me?”

14

I put a hand to my forehead, trying to remember the events surrounding Missy Belmont’s plea for help. “I met her the Sunday after I moved up here. The next Tuesday we met at the library in Manistique, and she told me everything.”

Puppa glanced up at a twelve-month wall calendar. He wrote on his paper.

“And what exactly did she say to you?” he asked.

I relayed the details the best I could. “Then I told her she should take the kids and go to a shelter.”

My grandfather nodded. “That works for most people, but Missy knows she’s in a little deeper than that.”

“What do you mean?”

“There’s a drug network involved. It’s not just Drake she’s got to break away from. As with a lot of the wives and girlfriends, Missy has seen and heard too much. If she runs, she could be dead.”

I sucked in a breath. “So what can you do?”

Puppa shrugged. “Make a few phone calls. Call in a few favors. We’ll see.”

“But why would Missy think you could help her?”

“I used to be in law enforcement. Maybe she thinks I still have an inside track.”

“Do you?”

“We’ll see.” He scribbled a few more notes on his pad. “Or, maybe there’s something else going on altogether.” He paused, pencil in midair as he concentrated. He looked over his shoulder at me. “Go back in there and check on Olivia.”

I hesitated at the door. Puppa strode to a file cabinet and started flipping through folders.

“So, you’re like a retired cop?” I asked him.

“No, I’m like a fired cop.” He turned his back to me.

I gulped and nodded and walked back into Olivia’s room.

She was awake.

“How are you feeling?” I went to the bed and touched her hand.

“I’m fine,” she snapped. “Tell Joelly I’m hungry.”

“Sure.”

I found him in the kitchen, putting supper together.

“Mmm. Smells good,” I said.

He glanced up from his place at the stove where he was mixing something in a fry pan. “Hey, little cousin.”

“Hey, yourself.” I snuck a peek in the skillet. “Stir-fry. Looks yummy.”

“I take it Olivia’s not dead?” he asked.

“Nope. She’ll be kicking for a long time yet. In fact, she’s hungry.”

His spatula slowed. “Uh-oh. What’d you tell her? She only gets hungry when she’s gearing up for the gossip circuit.”

“You heard everything. She insulted my mother and I thanked her for it. She fell asleep right after you left.” Fat scraps and veggie ends were scattered across the top of the island. I scooped up a handful and put it in the trash. “So. Papa B was a police officer?”

Joel looked up from the stove. “State cop. How’d you know?”

I shrugged. “He told me. Said he was fired. What happened with that?”

His spoon halted mid-stir. “I’m surprised he said something to you. He never talks about it.”

I grabbed a dishcloth and wiped down the island. “So? What’s the scoop?”

Joel shook his head and went back to stirring. “I was pretty young at the time. Four or five years old, I guess.” He tapped the spoon on the edge of the pan. “In fact, it was right around the time Lizard died.”

“Lizard?”

Joel’s cheeks blushed red. “Elizabeth. Beth. Your mom. That’s what me and Gerard called her. She was a lot of fun.”

My forehead bunched. I could see two freckle-faced boys jumping out in ambush along some forest path.

“Nice try, boys,” I heard my mother say. “But I saw Joelly’s white socks from a mile away.”

“No fair,” the boys whined as they ran ahead to find a better hiding place.

I looked at my cousin, all grown up. “You called my mom Lizard and me Toilet Tissue.”

Joel looked sheepish. “You see why Uncle Bernard will only let us call you Patricia these days?”

I crossed my arms. “Yes. Remind me to thank him.”

Gerard showed up in time for supper and the four of us shared a pleasant meal. Grandma Olivia had her tray in the bedroom again. She had to make it look like she was still dying, Puppa said when she wouldn’t come to the table.

Joel drove me home around seven.

“You want to come in and see what I’ve done?” I asked.

He looked straight ahead, as if debating. “Why not? I haven’t been in there since I was a kid.” He turned off the ignition and came after me.

“Nice kitchen,” he said, kicking his shoes off on the rug.

“Think so? I thought about changing some things because it feels so small.”

He looked around the room. “It has everything a good chef needs. Nice work triangle, a prep island, and stools for company. No need to change a thing.”

“Thanks. I’ll go easy on it.”

We walked from room to room. I gave Joel the rundown on the improvements. He made all the right comments.

Upstairs, I leaned against the banister overlooking the great room.

“So what’s the history behind this place, anyway?” I asked him.

His hands rested on the log railing. “I’m not sure. Some big family hunting lodge from back when there was still family to fill it, I guess. Unfortunately, the years haven’t been kind to the Russos. They just petered out ’til there’s just me and Gerard—and now you—left to carry on.”

I looked out over an orange sky. “Seems sad, doesn’t it? I mean, what is it about our family that causes us to self-destruct?”

Joel was quiet for a minute. “Is it just us? Or is it everybody? We’re not the only ones living lonely and afraid. It’s everywhere you look.”

I thought about his words. Lonely and afraid. Yep. That about summed it up. Yet I really didn’t have an excuse for feeling that way. I’d heard enough Sunday sermons about abundant life in Christ that I should feel happy and joyous by now. I guess I just needed to try harder.

I put on a smile. “Listen to us whining. We’re some of the luckiest people I know. Young, healthy, and miles of future ahead.”

Joel grinned. “You’re right.” He rubbed his hands together. “Nice job here, Tish. All the best with the rest of your improvements.” He went down the steps two at a time. At the bottom, he stopped and looked back up at me. “By the way, I owe you an apology.” He cast his eyes onto the stair treads. “I didn’t know you were going to be such a decent person. I thought you might be . . . well, I figured you’d just want to barge in here like you had some right . . . Anyway, I’m sorry I was rude at Papa B’s house last time. You didn’t deserve it.” He gave a final glance up at me, then disappeared under the arch. A moment later I heard the back door close.