Forget to Remember

Japanese anemone, purple cone flowers, dahlias, asters, goldenrod. Mrs. Horton had treated her well. She had helped her get assistance from Paul, but she’d denied Carol was her granddaughter. Strange behavior.

Carol hesitated in front of the door with the large window. No one was in sight on the other side. For a few seconds, she tried to contemplate her future. Whatever happened here was going to change her life forever. She found she couldn’t think about it. She rang the doorbell.
    Audrey came to the door, as predicted. When she saw Carol, a big smile lit up her face. It was genuine. Carol suspected Audrey was guileless. Audrey opened the door and gave her a hug.
    “Carol. What a surprise. How are you? Come on in. Mrs. Horton will be so happy to see you?”
    “She will?”
    That had slipped out, but Audrey passed over it. “Of course she will. She’s in the family room.”
    It was only a few steps to the doorway that led to the family room and kitchen. Carol followed Audrey through the opening, wondering whether Mrs. Horton had seen her when she walked past the family room window. No. She was dozing in a chair.
    Audrey went down the two steps to the family room and touched Mrs. Horton on the shoulder. “Wake up. Carol’s here.”
    Mrs. Horton woke up groggy, looking old—older than she had during Carol’s last visit. Audrey had to repeat her message. Mrs. Horton finally saw Carol. A strange expression crossed her face. Then it cleared.
    “Carol. What are you doing here?”
    “I came to see you.” Carol couldn’t bring herself to hug her grandmother.
    Audrey spoke to Mrs. Horton. “This might be a good time for me to do my shopping. I’ll be back in about an hour and a half.”
    Audrey and Mrs. Horton discussed items to buy. Audrey wrote them on a pad. Then she went out the front door. Carol saw her walk past the family room windows on the way to her car. Mrs. Horton turned her attention to Carol.
    “Where are my manners? Sit down, child. Tell me what you’ve been up to.”
    Carol sat in a chair next to Mrs. Horton. She couldn’t speak. She couldn’t give her planned speech. She started crying. “Grandma, why did you reject me?”
    Mrs. Horton looked startled. Then her expression changed, and it appeared as if she might be going to issue a denial. It changed again to sadness. Tears started rolling down her face. “How did you find out?”
    “I found a woman I taught school with in England.”
    Mrs. Horton didn’t question this statement. She fought to bring herself under control. “It’s Michael. He told me if I acknowledged you, he’d kill us both.”
    “But Michael’s dead.”
    Mrs. Horton took Carol’s hand and gripped it hard. “He’s not dead.”
    “But how—”
    “Listen to me, child. He was supposed to be on the plane, but he gave an excuse and didn’t fly that morning. He as much as told me he sabotaged the plane.”
    “He caused the crash?” Carol couldn’t imagine such a thing. Yes, she could. If he’d attempted to murder her, he was capable of murdering his own parents. “Why? It couldn’t be for money. Wasn’t he written out of the wills?”
    “I’ve thought and thought about that. If you’re not found, the estate goes to a nonprofit organization. I haven’t been able to find out much about it, but I suspect Michael’s behind it.”
    Could that be true? Carol’s mind didn’t work in devious ways, but from what she’d learned she suspected Michael’s did. “I haven’t actually seen the wills of Richard and Helen.” She had a hard time thinking of these strangers as her parents. “Paul said they were rewritten a year ago. Do you think Michael convinced them to do it?”
    Thoughts were racing through Carol’s head. She didn’t give Mrs. Horton a chance to answer. “Michael must have been the one who put me in the Dumpster and left me for dead. He must have been the one who shot at me in the driveway.”
    “When did that happen?”
    “After I went back to California.” Thinking about the Dumpster reminded Carol of another question. “Did you see me after my parents died?”
    “No. Of course, I prayed that somehow you were alive and would hear about the crash, but you never showed up.” Mrs. Horton shook her head and then sighed. “I always knew there was something wrong with that boy. Helen and Richard wouldn’t listen.”
    “He stabbed me with a knife, but they wouldn’t believe it was him.”
    “I tried to talk some sense into them.