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“Why don’t we swing by the convenience store? If she’s there, we can talk to her.”
This is good. Garrett will be with me when I meet my mom.
Chapter Five
She’s here. Peering through the dirty window of the Mighty Mart, I see her working behind the register like always. Garrett holds the door as I walk through, not taking my eyes off the woman for one second.
Now that I’m here and I know who she is, the resemblance to my grandfather is strong. And since I look like my grandfather, she and I have many features in common. Like her nose and mouth. Mine are the same. I remember my grandma telling me I looked like her, but those weren’t things I wanted to hear. As I step up to the counter, she spots me, asking, “What can I get ya?”
“Are-are you Lily?”
“Yeah.” She scowls. “Who wants to know?”
“Lucy. My name is Lucy Locket.”
It’s weird how the color of her face changes. One minute it’s sort of pinkish red, the next it’s as white as my bedsheets. Moments later, it’s red again.
“What the fuck do you want?”
Wow. I didn’t expect that. Sure, I played around with several scenarios in the car on the way here, but that response wasn’t one of them. There was this one: “Oh, my goodness, my long-lost daughter.” After which there were hugs and tears. A second one was sort of like the first one except after the tears, she got on her knees and begged for forgiveness. And the third, the most ridiculous, was something like: “I know who you are. I’ve lived close to you for years so I could keep an eye on you. Heck, I’m a doctor but I choose to work at this crappy convenience store because I knew you shopped here.”
Nope. Her reaction was none of those things.
“Did you hear me? What the fuck do you want?”
I’m opening and closing my mouth like a stupid fish. Thankfully, Garrett steps up to the counter. He’s got his badge out and at Lily’s eye level. “I’m Detective Garrett. We’ve got a few questions for you. Got a minute?”
“No.” She scoffs. “I’m the only one here.” She lifts her chin defiantly. “What’s this about?” Then she glares at me for no reason.
“It’s about a necklace.”
My mother’s—I mean, Lily’s glare intensifies. “What necklace?”
“The locket. Grandpa’s locket.”
Lily snorts. “What about it?”
“You’ve been accused of stealing it.”
My mother rolls her eyes. It’s then I notice the color. They’re a golden-brown hue, just like mine. “I didn’t steal it; my dad gave me that necklace.”
“No.” I shake my head and look at Garrett. “That’s not true. He said you took it.”
“You think he’d tell Maeve that he gave it to me?” Lily snorts. “He was terrified of her.”
Garrett does the right thing and asks her, “What did you do with it?”
“Sold it.”
“Where? Where did you sell it?” I’m getting frantic here.
“How the hell am I supposed to know? That was years ago.”
“This is important, Mo—Lily.” I almost referred to her as “Mom.” “Who bought the necklace?”
“Pawn shop. Some old dude bought it. He was standing there when I set the thing on the counter. After the pawn asshole offered me $25, he whispered in my ear, ‘I’ll give you $250.’ I took the better offer.”
I’d like to shake this woman. She sold it for a measly $250? Didn’t she know it was worth so much more than that? I’m not just talking about the intrinsic value either.
