“Everyone says that you look much younger than you are.”

“That’s important. A woman like me has to look nice. Sometimes it’s all you have.”

“Nonsense. It’s important that you look good if it pleases you. But it doesn’t weigh in very heavily in the scheme of things. It’s what you are inside that matters.” She was wiping Sandra’s face with the damp cloth. “You were crying. The fall must have hurt you.”

“I was crying before I fell.” She smiled shakily. “This reminds me of the time when you cleaned me up after that terrible man beat me up in that hotel room. You were only sixteen. Do you remember?”

“Yes, I didn’t think you did. That was a long time ago.”

“It just came back to me … You were always there when I needed you. Sometimes you didn’t want to be, but if I called, you’d come.” A ripple of pain crossed her face. “It should have been the other way, shouldn’t it? But I was never good at being a mother. I only had you because I felt angry and cheated. I wanted to get back at them.”

Eve stiffened. “Cheated?”

“You’re getting angry with me. I knew you would. That’s why I have to talk to Joe.” She reached out and grabbed Eve’s hand. “It’s not my fault. None of it is my fault, Eve. Don’t be angry with me.”

“Calm down.” Sandra’s grip was nearly bruising, and her face was pale. “I’m not angry. I’m just trying to get to the bottom of this. You said you were crying before you fell. Why, Sandra?”

“I wanted to do something, but I didn’t know what to do. I knew you’d make me tell you. If Joe had been here, it would have—”

“Joe isn’t here,” Eve interrupted. “I want to help you. I will help you. But you can’t tell me any more lies. What the hell is happening? How much of that story you told me about that woman in the mental hospital is true?”

She didn’t speak for a moment. “Most of it. I didn’t lie much. Only about Beth Avery being Jackie’s cousin.”

“Then why did you make up that story? Why not just be honest with me? Who is this Beth Avery to you, Sandra?”

She didn’t answer.

“Sandra, you were right. I’m going to keep after you until I find out what’s wrong. Now answer me.”

“I knew you’d be like this.” The tears were running down Sandra’s cheeks. “But you’ve got to promise not to be angry with me.”

Eve drew a deep breath. Patience. “I told you, I’m not going to be angry. For heaven’s sake, stop crying. All I want to do is help you. Who is Beth Avery, and what is she to you?”

“I didn’t want anything bad to happen. I have to do something to make it right, Eve.”

“Tell me.”

“I’m getting there.” She moistened her lips, then said in a rush, “I’m her mother, Eve. I’m Beth Avery’s mother.”

Shock. Eve felt as if she’d been punched in the stomach. “What?”

Sandra lifted her chin defensively though the tears were still running down her cheeks. “I didn’t want to tell you. You made me.”

“Sandra.” Eve spoke very slowly. “Would you repeat what you just said?”

“You heard me. You’ve got to do something. Beth Avery is your sister.”

CHAPTER

3

“SISTER?” EVE ASKED HOARSELY. Her throat was so tight, she could barely speak. “Sandra, what are you saying? This is crazy.”

“No, it’s not. It just happened, okay? It wasn’t my fault. I was only fourteen, and I just wanted to have a good time. There’s nothing wrong with that.” She pushed Eve away and sat up straighter on the couch. “Stop looking at me like that. You should understand. Your Bonnie was illegitimate. These things happen.”

Eve was trying to feel her way through this maze. “And how did this … happen?” She sat back on her heels, trying to think. “You always told me that I was born when you were fifteen. I have a sister?”

“Oh, you weren’t a twin or anything like that, thank God. I was sick all through the pregnancy carrying just one baby.” She paused. “Beth was born when I was fourteen. I fibbed a little about when I had you. It was a couple years later.”

Her head was spinning. “Why would you lie?”

“It was … easier. No one could know about Beth.”

“Why not?”

“I was scared. I’d signed papers. They told me they’d put me in jail.”

“You were a minor. Nothing you signed would be legal.”

“I didn’t know. I wasn’t very smart about stuff like that. My mother told me that I had to do whatever they said.”

Eve drew a deep breath. “Who is ‘they’?”

“Rick’s family.” Her eyes filled with tears. “They were so ugly to me, Eve.”

“Rick? Who is Rick?” She stiffened as it hit home to her. “Richard Avery? He’s Beth’s father?”

“Yes, Rick.” She took the washcloth from Eve and dabbed at her eyes. “Though they tried to call me a liar. They said I was trying to trap him. Why would I lie about a thing like that?”

Eve could see why the Averys would want to deny any involvement between Sandra and their son, Richard. Good God, Nelda and George Avery’s son, their pride and joy.

Their hope for a shot at the White House.

But she had to get this straight. She was having trouble comprehending it. But the mere reluctance Sandra had displayed about telling her about Beth Avery was leading her to tentatively believe it. But she had to make sure this outrageous story was true. “How did it happen? How did you even meet him? You certainly didn’t travel in the same circles.”

“I was pretty,” she said simply. “Maybe even prettier than I am now. Guys like pretty girls around. It makes them look good to other guys to be able to provide girls at their parties.”

“You were only fourteen yourself, almost a baby.”

“That didn’t matter. I just didn’t tell anyone, and I always had a good time. I looked older.” She shrugged. “And some guys like young girls. Rick did. I wasn’t usually invited to many of the fraternity parties at Georgia Tech, but that night, Cal Drake called me and asked me to come to one and meet his friend, Rick. Rick was going to Harvard Law and had come down to Atlanta to visit Cal.” She paused. “Cal said I didn’t have to pretend to be older. Rick liked girls my age … or younger.”

“Shit. How old was he?”

“Twenty or so.” She frowned. “I think. I didn’t care. He was good-looking, and he liked me.”

“I bet he did,” Eve said grimly. “How soon did you go to bed with him?”

“That night. He was fun. He made me feel special. We went to bed lots of times that weekend.” She shook her head. “Why are you looking at me like that? It wasn’t as if I was a virgin. I told you, I was pretty. All the guys wanted to screw me from the time I was in middle school. I liked Rick, so why not?”

“You were fourteen.”

“He liked me,” she said defiantly. “He didn’t try to rape me. We smoked some pot, then we went to bed and had a damn good time.”

“And he didn’t protect you and got you pregnant.”

“Not that night. He came back a couple times in the next few months, and I think it was one of those nights.”

“Didn’t anyone tell you how to protect yourself?”

“Sure, but he didn’t like to use anything. He said it wasn’t fun for him.”

And a young girl’s life changed forever because of that self-indulgence. Smother the anger. “What did he say when you told him you were pregnant?”

“I didn’t tell him right away. I didn’t tell anyone.” She moistened her lips. “I didn’t want to believe it. I wanted it to go away.”

Eve remembered the day she had found out that she was pregnant with Bonnie. The disbelief, the panic. And Sandra had helped her through that nightmare period. She reached out and covered Sandra’s hand with her own. “Who did you tell?”

“My mother. But not for more than four months. I was beginning to show, and I couldn’t hide it any longer. She was angry. She said that she wasn’t going to take care of a kid, that I had to get rid of it.”

“Charming.” Eve had never known Sandra’s mother. Her grandmother had never been in her life, and Sandra had just said vaguely that her mother had gone away and lived in another state. “But you obviously didn’t do it.”