Baltimore 03 - Did You Miss Me?

Betrayed, even. And he didn’t even know about Kimberly yet.
    You knew and you never told? No one had voiced the question aloud, but she heard it just the same. It was written all over their faces.
    Daphne pressed her fingertips to her temple. Her head hurt. Her heart hurt because Joseph still wouldn’t meet her eyes.
    And Beckett had another girl. Another girl . The words were like knives.
    It’s been twenty-seven years since he took Kelly and me . How many had he taken in between? There was so much blood on her hands. Dear God . There could be no coming back from this. No forgiveness. What have I done?
    She drew a breath that hurt, her chest was so tight. Get it over with . And then you’ll have to accept the consequences .
    ‘I thought he was dead,’ she said flatly. ‘I searched for him and received a death certificate from the county courthouse. I just want you to know that before I begin.’ She looked at each of the men in turn. ‘So you don’t think that I’m a total monster.’
    Joseph looked at her then, the rage in his eyes now mixed with surprise. And regret. But regret for what? Being angry? Being with me? She wished she could ask him, but there were too many people here. And this wasn’t about her anyway.
    It was about Beckett’s victims, however many there had been.
    ‘I never thought that,’ Joseph murmured and she so wanted to believe him. ‘Not once.’
    ‘Neither did I,’ Hector said.
    With an effort, Ford sat up enough to take her hand. ‘I’ve known you a long time, Mom. You’re not a monster.’
    The others remained silent, watching. Withholding judgment. It’ll have to do .
    ‘Thank you, Ford.’ Her voice wobbled and she had to clear her throat. ‘Okay.’ She let out a harsh breath. ‘I have to tell you about my family. So you’ll understand. My father was a musician but he worked in the coal mine to put food on the table, just like everyone did around here. We got by and we were pretty happy. Mama was one of five, and her family lived all around us. All except Vivien, Mama’s oldest sister, who had a sales job that kept her on the road all the time. Vivien was Kelly’s mother. I don’t know if anyone knew who Kelly’s father was.
    ‘I remember Vivien having a lot of boyfriends. My parents would whisper about it, how it wasn’t healthy for Kelly, having all those men around. When Vivien was on the road, Kelly stayed with us. It got to where Vivien was only home on weekends so Kelly had practically moved in. Then Vivien surprised everyone by getting married to a guy she’d met on the road. A preacher of all things. The family was so happy that she’d finally settled down and got her heart right.
    ‘She had a church wedding, but I got a cold and couldn’t go. I heard all about it later, because it did not turn out the way Vivien planned. Kelly showed up in a short skirt, got tipsy and flirted outrageously with all the men there. At seventeen years old that would have been bad enough, but then she actually disappeared for a while with the groom’s brother and they were caught having sex in the baptismal pool. Vivien was so angry that Kelly had spoiled the wedding. Kelly was out of control, her behavior “not appropriate for a minister’s daughter”.’
    ‘Sounds like she just wanted her mother’s attention,’ Joseph said.
    ‘I’m sure she did, but it didn’t work. After the wedding, Kelly lived with us even on weekends. Vivien wanted no part of her “drinkin’, whorin’ ways”. I mean, hello, pot meet kettle, but Vivien didn’t see it that way. And neither did I. But I was only eight years old.
    ‘It was Kelly’s job to walk me home from school and that day I couldn’t wait to get home. My cat had just had kittens and I wanted to play with them. But Kelly dawdled and I kept telling her to hurry. A car passed us, turned around and came back. The man asked if we wanted a ride. I said no, I didn’t ride with strangers. But Kelly told me it was okay, that she knew him, that she’d met him at her mother’s wedding. The two of them laughed, like it was a joke. It was Beckett, of course, but I didn’t know him.’
    ‘She’d arranged to meet him that afternoon?’ Hector asked, very softly, as if Daphne was breakable. Daphne figured she probably looked that way.
    ‘She might have arranged it. I never knew for sure. I knew about the groomsman that she’d disappeared with at the wedding. I thought this was him. I didn’t know that much about