Custard Cream Conspiracy by P.D. Workman

Author:P.D. Workman [Workman, P.D.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: pd workman

CHAPTER 31

Erin was more exhausted when she got up in the morning than she had been when she had woken in the night.

It had been a night of revelations, and she felt like she had been living two lives, both of which had drained the energy out of her.

Vic came into the kitchen when she saw Erin’s light on, and raised an eyebrow at Erin’s mug of coffee.

“First cup or second?”

Erin cleared her throat. “Second.”

Vic would know that this was serious. Erin rarely had a second cup, and never before Vic got there. Erin usually dripped her coffee directly into her travel mug, which she nursed all throughout the morning at Auntie Clem’s.

“You should stay home if you didn’t get any sleep. You know we’ve got it covered today. Yesterday took a lot out of you.”

“Actually… it’s Hannah’s fault.”

“Hannah’s?” It took a moment for Vic to figure out that Erin wasn’t talking about someone in Bald Eagle Falls harassing her. “Hannah Dyson?”

Erin nodded. “Do you know what I figured out?”

“What?” Vic helped herself to a mug of coffee.

“Her lover was a Jackson.”

Vic froze with the mug halfway to her mouth. Her eyes were wide. “A Jackson? Are you sure?”

“Otis Jackson.”

Vic let out a low whistle. “That’s crazy. I can’t even imagine what would have happened to them if someone found out. Even today, with how ‘civilized’ the clans have become… one or both would probably be killed.”

“Do you know when the feud started? How long ago? And do you know anything about Otis Jackson?”

Vic shook her head slowly. “Not a name I know. I can ask Jeremy, see if it rings any bells for him. Other than that… there’s not much I can do to find out about him. I am persona non grata with the clan.”

“And—they had a baby. Or Hannah did.”

“That must have been six kinds of scandal! Hannah and her family would have been ostracized. Did they marry?”

“Otis apparently disappeared before the baby was born. And there’s no death date for him on Clementine’s family tree. So he must never have returned, even when he was old.”

“I would disappear too,” Vic agreed. “Get on a fast train out of here. What happened to Hannah?”

“I don’t know yet. I have to look into it a little more. According to the family trees, she died quite young. Never had any other children. At least, not as far as I know. It isn’t like the baby is listed in Clementine’s family tree.”

“It would have been a terrible disgrace back then. They probably sent her away to an auntie’s or a home for wayward girls to have the baby. And then she would have returned home with no one the wiser.”

“There wouldn’t have been rumors?”

“Oh, I’m sure there were rumors. But if there was no evidence, she was probably safe.” Vic shook her head. “As safe as any Dyson dating a Jackson could be.”

“Well, she wasn’t seeing him anymore at that point.”

“Clans have long memories.”

Erin didn’t tell Vic about her dream

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.