Wynn in the Willows Page 15

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  “Wynn, perhaps you and Doug shouldn’t attend the funeral.” Roxie stood beneath the shade of an oak.

  “Aunt Roxie—please, not again. I thought we resolved this last night. Isn’t it important for us to be with her, especially at this time?”

  “I don’t mean to hurt anyone’s feelings. Jackie is my priority right now. She’s still in a bit of shock. Bible study last night was, well, rather intense. Since she’s doubtful of Doug’s innocence and your support of that, it might be wise not to be present.”

  Wynn looped her arm through Doug’s, displaying a united front. “I’ve done nothing wrong—and neither has Doug. These should be the times that draw us together; not tear us apart.”

  “I think Roxie is right, Wynn. We’ll leave.” Doug nudged her. “We can do something special for her once this is cleared up. Nice seeing you again, Roxie.”

  “Doug. You, too.”

  “Doug you have to decide what is right for you. If you feel Jackie would be more comfortable with you not in attendance, then you shouldn’t come in with me. But, I am going inside the church. I want her to know I’m standing with her at this hard time, just as I stand with you.”

  “Thanks for that. But I’ll catch ya later.” He wore a grim expression as he kissed her forehead and walked back to his truck.

  Tears glistened and Wynn prayed the sting of hurt would wash away. The prayer came so naturally and quickly, that it took only moments to realize she had actually spoken to God. The thought sent goose bumps over her skin. She shivered.

  Roxie had already entered the church without her. It hurt her heart to think perhaps her aunt might be ashamed to be seen with her. Head down, Wynn slowly walked up the old stone steps.

  Roxie stood in the foyer, waiting for her. “We’re separated on some issues, but when it really matters, we are here for one another. We need one another.”

  “We do.”

  “Wait a minute, what do you have all over you? Is that cat hair?” Roxie began to pick at her clothes.

  “I’ll explain later.”

  The amount of flowers seemed to be heavier and more splendid than Boone’s first funeral. Jackie stood at the front by the open casket. Jackie’s face opened into a warm smile and she held out her hands. “Roxie. Wynn.”

  “I think she’s forgiven me,” Wynn murmured.

  Roxie gave her niece a small nudge. “It appears so. You go first. You and Jackie have a bit of making up to do. This might be the right time.”

  Jackie looked exhausted.

  Jackie and Wynn embraced; holding one another for a long minute. Then Jackie gradually pulled back. “Thank you for coming. I needed you today.”

  “I want to be here for you, particularly today. I’m sorry for our words at Bible study. Please forgive my insensitivity.”

  “Of course I forgive you. We forgive each other. And now you’re here. True sisters in Christ.” Jackie squeezed her hand. “We don’t always have to agree, but we do have to forgive. I don’t know what I would do without you and Roxie and the women of the Bible study. Still, I feel I’m falling apart.”

  “I’ll help keep you from doing that.”

  “You will. I just don’t want to lose my mind.” She rubbed her forehead.

  “Have you arranged for grief counseling?” Wynn asked gently.

  “Marilyn couldn’t get to her therapist fast enough.”

  “I’m not talking about Marilyn. I meant for you, and maybe Agatha.” She looked at the young woman seated in the front row, fingering the place along the neckline where the brooch used to be. Wynn’s eyes glinted with moisture. She brushed it away with the tips of her fingers. “Dang eyeliner. Did I smear it?”

  “No, you are as lovely as ever.”

  Jackie looked towards the casket. “Boone really loved me. You don’t know that because you never saw us together, but we were crazy about one another from the very first moment. Except for his business trips, we were inseparable. We laughed together over his silly jokes. He was so patient with me, so caring. Our life together was like one big holiday. I had so much hope after the first funeral that Boone would turn up safe and alive. I prayed it would happen that way.”

  “You sound as though God let you down.”

  Jackie held a handkerchief to her mouth and whispered into it, “Yes, I do. There is no good reason for this senseless death. He was young and strong. Our years together were snatched from us.”

  “I understand how you feel. And it made me hard on the inside. I’m cynical that prayers are actually answered. I look at you and Roxie and the other women and admire your faith. You all have this confidence and trust that everything will be OK, no matter what happens. It keeps you alive and filled with hope. It fills you with courage. You can get through today. And the next day, and the one after that. Boone left his love with you. I keep thinking back to the day I went with you to your accountant’s and what you said to me.”

  “What was that?”

  “You said, ‘Even if God doesn’t help me, or never answers another prayer of mine, He has already done everything for me.’ That is a powerful statement of faith. Think about the time you’ve had with Boone and how enriched you are for having had him. Most people never experience that.”

  Jackie looked deep into Wynn’s eyes. “To have had Boone for even a little while is better than never having had him. Thank you for reminding me of my blessings. And you brought my words back to help heal. How blessed I am to have you standing here with me when I needed you the very most.”

  “Boone is a part of everyone who knew him and that way, he will be kept with us. Sometime, I want to hear about how you met and how he proposed. I want to hear about your first argument.”

  “I’d love to tell you.”

  Roxie walked up to them.

  “You have a very special niece.”

  “I know I do.”

  “And Wynn, now I have you, too.” She pressed Wynn against her.

  Roxie wrapped her arms around them both. Wynn looked at Agatha and held out her hand. “Come Agatha.” Agatha crossed the floor to join them.

  “There’s a confession I made to God and its time you both hear it, too. My pain has been so unbearable, so stinging over Boone’s death that I wanted someone to pay. I haven’t sought justice, but vengeance. Doug was the one the police zeroed in on. So I did, too. I wanted him dead. Then last night, as I prayed, I thought about mercy and forgiveness. And I wondered if he really is innocent. I want to know the truth.”

  Wynn smiled at her aunt. She understood at that moment God was at work sparked by prayer.

  “I believe it was God. Now I am not saying Doug is innocent, but I am open to finding the truth. The pain will always be here.” She put her hand over her heart and swallowed hard. “It never will go away. Right now, I just want to find out what happened to Boone. I want that person brought to justice if Boone was murdered. I owe my husband that.”

  They fell silent. The seconds ticked off.

  Wynn looked to Roxie for approval. “Should I tell Jackie and Agatha?”

  “Not here, not now.” Roxie looked stern.

  “Well, you’ll have to tell us now.” Agatha insisted.

  Wynn narrowed her eyes. “By the way, Agatha, I’ve been meaning to ask you something. What happened to your brooch?”

  “What?” Her voice quaked.

  “The brooch is always right there.” Wynn pointed at the spot.

  “I must have dropped it on the way into church.”

  “Really?” Wynn now focused on Agatha.

  “I better go look for it.”

  “Oh look, Marilyn is here. I better show her to her seat since the ushers aren’t here yet. Excuse me ladies.” Jackie hurried to the back.

  Agatha quickly followed.

  “That was close!” Roxie snapped. “Your timing is off, dear. Now isn’t the time to talk about our Bible Task Force. Save it for later.”

  The women took a seat together.

  Wynn was rel
ieved Jackie didn’t think of introducing her to this corpse.

  The church filled with mourners. She thought of Jackie and how to help with her loss. At the front of the church was large statue of a robed Jesus with his hands held out. Behind Him a lighted cross added to the serenity. The organ music was soft and not sad, but hopeful.

  Wynn silently prayed. “I need hope, Lord. Fill me with words of joy and hope that I may pass them along to others who are hurting.” A warm glow spread out until she felt tingly. It made her weep.

  Then the tune from the box began to play. The tune she remembered well, but whose words she couldn’t completely remember. “True till death,” Wynn mouthed. Roxie opened her black beaded clutch and pulled out tissues for Wynn.

  Wynn dabbed her face. “What is the name of the song that just played?”

  “Faith of Our Fathers.” Roxie opened the hymnal to the page and handed her the book.

  Faith of our fathers, living still,

  In spite of dungeon, fire and sword;

  O how our hearts beat high with joy

  Whenever we hear that glorious Word!

  Faith of our fathers, holy faith!

  We will be true to thee till death.

  Faith of our fathers, we will strive

  To win all nations unto Thee;

  And through the truth that comes from God,

  We all shall then be truly free.

  Faith of our fathers, holy faith!

  We will be true to thee till death.

  Faith of our fathers, we will love

  Both friend and foe in all our strife;

  And preach Thee, too, as love knows how

  By kindly words and virtuous life.

  Faith of our fathers, holy faith!

  We will be true to thee till death...

  Wynn had been given these words just when she needed them most. No matter how imperfect her family had been, how imperfect she had become, they all had one element in common; faith.

  The words that once fully comforted her as a child now comforted her as an adult. A peace swelled over her and she knew no matter how things turned out, everything would be all right. Once Grammy and Gramps passed, she stopped thinking about God. Neither uncle ever brought the subject up, not even on special Christian holidays like Christmas and Easter.

  After the funeral, the Bible study women met together for lunch at Jackie’s.

  Wynn was full of happiness which made her want to weep more—a feeling she was totally confused over. “I’m sorry.” She kept dabbing at her face with a linen napkin. “I can’t seem to stop crying.”

  “Are you thinking about your parents, dear?” Roxie asked. “Sometimes funerals remind us of losing our loved ones.”

  “No, it’s not that. It’s just that…” Wynn looked to the horizon. “One of the songs we sang this morning at the funeral stirred me. Even though I’m crying, I feel so happy. Ridiculous, I know.”

  “Not ridiculous at all,” Owl said. “I’ve been praying for you on my nightly walks, ever since you came to the island.”

  “You have? You prayed for me?” Wynn asked. “What did you pray about?”

  “Yes, I prayed for you, sweet girl. I prayed that you would find peace and know that you are very loved.”

  The women looked at one another.

  “Sounds like you’ve had a spiritual awakening.” Jackie batted back her own tears.

  “Me? A spiritual awakening? Really?” Wynn wanted faith. She wanted hope. But did she want God? How would He change her? Would He ask things of her she wasn’t able to give? It would be a commitment, not something that was rubbed on her like perfume only to disappear at the end of a day. She wanted it to be real. She was stuck on the fence between faith and fiction.

  “Give it time,” Roxie said. “Enjoy the touch you felt this morning. Don’t try to frame it in scientific terms.”

  The remark caught Wynn off guard. She fell silent, her lips thinning, her eyes shining. “Thank you.”

  “Where’s Marilyn?” Sheri asked. “Didn’t she want to join us for lunch?”

  “No, Mother wanted to get back to the mainland. She said the island creeps her out now,” Agatha informed.

  “Interesting. I’d like to speak with Marilyn next time she comes to visit,” Wynn said.

  “What about?” Jackie pressed.

  “Well…I’ll tell you about it another time. Not important, I assure you.” Wynn promised.

  “I want to apologize to everyone for my behavior last night,” Jackie said.

  “Jackie, there’s no need. We understand.” Faith patted her hand. “Don’t we, ladies?”

  “Anything interesting happen after I left?” Jackie dropped the napkin onto her lap.

  All the women fell silent.

  “What? Something did happen, tell me.” Jackie looked from face to face, stopping at Wynn.

  “We’ve formed a task force.” Wynn confessed.

  “A task force?”

  “Yes,” Roxie plunged right in. “Each lady is taking an interesting aspect of Boone’s case to acquire additional facts and information.”

  “Except for me,” Sheri butted in. “I’m gathering island gossip and unsubstantiated rumors.”

  “We’ll meet in a few days at Roxie’s and discuss our findings,” Faith said.

  “May I be part of this little group of yours?” Jackie asked.

  Roxie immediately nodded her head. “Please don’t feel hurt we didn’t initially include you. We all know you’ve been busy mourning Boone.”

  “I want to be a part of this group.” Jackie looked around at all of them.

  “Of course you are. The most important part, in fact, but I don’t think you should be gathering information. You can help us fit it together.”

  “You are considering other leads than just Doug?”

  “I think it’d be wise to do so. You never want to narrow research.” Wynn was troubled. “Thank goodness Boone wasn’t cremated. Blood work may give us some answers.”

  “If you want that, you will have to rely on me to procure since I’m the closest relative,” Jackie said. “I can get a copy of the coroner’s report, too.”

  “I never thought of that,” Faith said.

  “Me, either.” Wynn confessed.

  “See? You do need my help with this little investigation of yours.”

  “Will this bother you, Jackie?” Roxie asked.

  “This will help me. I need to help.”

  “Jackie, I want you to know, that if Doug did murder Boone, I want him to be held accountable for it,” Wynn stated. “One of the questions I have yet to answer is, was Boone a preselected victim, or was it some sort of an accident, and then covered up?”

  “I think we need to get all the facts in order to determine that.”

  Since she had arrived to the funeral earlier in the day with Doug, Roxie gave Wynn a ride home.

  “I’m going to change my clothes and feed my yard birds. Want to come in for a bit? I have some nice snacks in my fridge if you are still hungry.”

  “No, but thank you for the offer.” Wynn decided to take a drive and clear her thoughts.

  With Roxie’s cottage in the car’s rearview mirror, she had an unexpected memory. Her parents left her with Aunt Roxie for a few days. Wynn couldn’t remember what the occasion was for her parents to be gone, but she didn’t feel saddened by their departure. She knew it was temporary and her aunt would take wonderful care of her.

  Roxie lived far enough from town that there were no children around to play with.

  “Play with Jesus. Talk to Jesus,” Roxie told her after they baked cookies together. “He’s always around and would love to hear from you.”

  At Christmas, they left cookies with milk out for Santa, but this was the only time she saw Roxie doing it for Jesus, making two places at the porch table. It occurred to Wynn that it was a wonderful way to show a child He was reachable, to speak in terms of her understanding at that time in her life. Jesus would lis
ten to what she had to say at anytime, at any place. That day it was cookies. Tomorrow it would be scraped knees. Later on, it might be a scraped heart.

  How odd she recalled things just like that, when for so long she could hardly remember living on the island. These memories were like a gift. If it hadn’t been for Roxie’s generosity, she wouldn’t even be here right now. She had to make everything right. She headed back to the Tree House.

  Wynn walked straight down to her aunt’s cottage. The back door was already open. Quietly she padded through the cottage.

  Roxie was on her knees in front of the couch her hands folded together. “Oh God, can’t you make this all go away?” Roxie wept.

  Wynn had always thought of this woman as strong, not in need of anything. “Aunt Roxie?” Wynn touched her shoulder.

  Roxie’s hair was in disarray, her face covered in sorrow. Her cheeks were pale and her eyes bruised from crying.

  “I know, I should have knocked, or called. I am sorry I disturbed you.” Wynn felt something catch in her throat. “Are you OK?”

  “Yes, yes, yes. I’m really fine.” Roxie gripped Wynn’s hand as she pulled up.

  “Did you say something about a snack a little while ago?”

  “I surely did!” Roxie’s countenance changed as she bustled about. She cut brownies and poured milk, placing the snack in front of Wynn on a linen napkin. “I was thinking; why don’t we go into Egg Harbor tomorrow and do our part of the investigation together?”

  “Sounds good. I’ll drive.”

  “OK. Pick me up by seven so we can make the eight a.m. ferry.”

  Wynn took a bite of brownie, filling her mouth with the chocolaty, creamy delight. “Oh, these are worth every pound I will gain.”

  “These are even better than Chef Frank’s, if you can believe it.”

  “I most certainly believe it. Nothing is better than these.” Wynn took another square. “Are you really selling a piece of your property to him to build a house?”

  “I’m considering it. My closest neighbors are still quite far from me and it’d be nice to have someone near, since you aren’t sticking around much longer.”

  Wynn felt shamed and began to shred the second brownie. “I’m sorry things didn’t turn out the way you hoped.”