Page 126 of Roses Are Dead
He approached my bike with a tired grin and a pending handshake.
“I got places to be, man,” I ignored his outstretched hand.
“This is important. It’s about Rose’s past.”
Fuck. I needed this information two weeks ago. My girl was cagey enough to keep her secrets quiet.
“What prompted the change of heart?” I shut my bike off and balanced it between my legs.
“Beth was moved to the ICU last night.”
The shadows under his eyes told me he hadn’t slept. “Your wife’s in intensive care, and you went to work?”
He frowned. “Had to. I’ve used up my leave. And they’re being assholes about it.”
With four mouths to feed and a terminally ill wife, that wasn’t the word I’d use. But I wasn’t here for his sob story. “I have a half an hour, max. Get cracking.”
John glanced around. “Some of this is pretty bad. Fair warning.”
My fingertips drumming on my new flush mount gas cap filled the pause.
He glanced down and noted my visible impatience. “Right. Back before I met Beth, I think it was even before Rose and Beth knew each other, the church needed farmland to build their planned mega church on.
“They put the call out to the membership for donations. One family, Rose’s, was pretty committed to making a name for themselves, and put up the family farm.”
That was news. I knew her parents were out of the picture, but I could finally see where the seeds for the split got planted.
“But it wasn’t theirs.”
“Lemme guess, it was Rose’s?”
John grimaced. “Not exactly. The land was her grandmother’s property. Her ‘amma’ wasn’t keen on selling. So, she went to a lawyer to move the land into a trust for Rose if she died.”
That was a smart move on her part.
“But it didn’t work.” He held up a hand to stop my interruption. “I don’t know the particulars, but Rose’s grandmother died about a week later, and no one mentioned that she’d filed the paperwork. So, the deed transfer went on. And the church jumped on ground-breaking almost immediately.
“Then it went to court.” John’s disgust was evident. “That’s when it got complicated. Rose was way too young to make decisions, and she was influenced by her parents and the people of the church. I think that’s how it all started. But it got worse.”
Of course it did. “I don’t have all day. What was this it that got started?”
“I’ll explain, but you need to know this part because what happened after is related. The church board covered up their knowledge of the trust even though her lawyer went to the church’s board. And since Rose’s parents weren’t fighting it, the lawyers for both parties swept it under the rug. And that became a habit.” He made a face that was part disgust and part concern. “To influence Rose, her parents put her in special classes with one of the deacons who helped with the cover-up. He used their crime of stealing Rose’s inheritance to keep them quiet about his…proclivities.”
My stomach twisted. “Proclivities?”
John was solemn. “He singled out Rose. Groomed her.”
The sourness churning in my gut intensified. I didn’t want to know this part. I really didn’t.
“Rose and Beth were friends by that point, and Beth suspected something was wrong. She went to her parents.”
“And?”
John shrugged. “I don’t know. Beth doesn’t know why either, but she says the abuse didn’t stop. I knew both of them by this point, and while Rose was odd, she was, for the most part, nice, kind. The type of girl who didn’t make trouble. But Beth wouldn’t let it go. She went to her brother.”
Carl?
He must have seen the disbelief on my face.
