The Undertaker's Daughter by Sara Blaedel

Author:Sara Blaedel
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Published: 2018-02-06T00:00:00+00:00

18

Ilka had just parked the hearse in the garage when Sister Eileen came out to tell her that Shelby Gilbert was there with photos of her son.

“Can you give them to Artie?” Ilka asked, as she was about to unload the coffin.

“I think she needs to talk. Your father probably spent more time talking to people than anything. It’s important for relatives to be able to talk about those they’ve lost. And you are like your father; you’re good at that.” Ilka wasn’t one hundred percent sure the nun meant that last remark.

“Of course,” she said. On the way into the house she glanced down at herself; her blouse and dark blue jeans would have to do. After all, they hadn’t scheduled a meeting.

In the arrangement room, Mike’s mother sat at the table with an open photo album beside her coffee cup. Ilka noticed the picture of her son, smiling broadly at the camera. “I just came from the police station. They say they’ll find out who did it. But who does these kinds of things?”

She was hurting badly. Ilka walked over and gave her a hug before sitting down across from her and pouring herself a cup of coffee.

“How could anyone hate him so much? And after so many years?” Shelby looked imploringly at Ilka, then shook her head. They sat for a moment in silence; then she twined her fingers together in her lap and fidgeted; it looked like she was working up the nerve to say something.

“I didn’t tell the police everything. I didn’t know if it could harm my son. But after what happened last night, I think I might have to.”

Ilka scooted forward and laid her hands on the table. “What do you mean?”

Shelby squirmed in her chair. When she finally spoke, she stared at Ilka, her eyes radiating pain and something else Ilka couldn’t put her finger on.

“My son was paid to leave town. I didn’t know about it back then. I thought he left because he was ashamed. Everyone thought that. But someone gave him money. A lot of money. So he could start a new life. He told me that the last time I talked to him. He’d changed his name to Mike Miller.”

She hid her face in her hands and breathed deeply to calm herself down. Ilka reached over the table, but Shelby didn’t take her hand.

“I hate this town,” she whispered, spitting each word out. “I regret every single day that I went out on the evening I met my kids’ father. We were both going to Wisconsin Parkside. I hadn’t noticed him before, but all of a sudden, he was standing there, and, well…”

A few moments later she explained she came from Chicago, where her parents and sister still lived. “But Tommy was from Racine, and when I got pregnant we bought the house here and had two kids. Emma was a year and a half when he took off. He ended up somewhere in Ohio.”

She breathed deeply again. “When Mike left, I thought for a while he’d moved in with his dad.

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