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“You’re not Arthur Keller’s daughter, honey. You’re Carson Carmichael’s daughter, I’m sorry to say. Justine and Carson were having an affair. And his wife, Judy, had just given birth to their oldest son, Tanner.” There was a collective gasp in the room. I looked over at Tanner, as did Lisa to gauge his reaction.
Shock.
Disbelief.
Lisa was also realizing what this meant. She and Tanner were siblings. And almost the exact same age. They shared a glance. Confusion. I remembered that feeling and all the emotions that went with finding out I had a new sister from a long-buried secret.
“I’m assuming you’re there with his son, Tanner? Your attorney? If so, I’m very sorry to break this news to you all so unexpectedly. We were worried this might all come out at some point if you went to Cypress Bayou.”
Tanner got in front of the screen. “Are you sure of this?”
Hayes nodded. “We all knew what was happening within our little circle during that time. Well, everybody but poor Judy. I know it’s not what anyone wants to hear, but Carson and Justine, well, they simply didn’t care to hide it, except from Judy. When Justine found out she was pregnant, Carson insisted she have an abortion, but Justine refused on account of her being Catholic. She demanded that he pay her expenses and medical care, or she would tell his wife and anybody else who would listen.”
“How did Carson respond?” Tanner asked Hayes.
“Back in those days, something like this could get you thrown out of law school. Arthur Keller had a crush on Justine, and she’d blown him off, but he stepped up and offered to raise the baby as his own. But Carson couldn’t be happy with Arthur solving his problem—no, Carson was obsessed with Justine. And still, he wanted it all. His wife, his son, and his mistress, minus the bastard child.”
“So,what happenedto Justine?” Lisa’s tone was that of a woman who’d waited too long to find out.
Vivian took up the tale. “She got between two men who loved her. Literally. They came to blows on an upstairs landing in the old uptown home where Arthur lived. Justine knew Carson was there and she went over to force him to see you, Lisa. She had some hopeful notion that if he saw you that he would fall in love with you and leave Judy and Tanner. Instead, he became enraged, and Arthur stepped up to defend Justine. They came to blows and Justine tried to step between them. She was pushed aside and fell over the railing to the marble floor below. She died instantly.”
“How awful.” Lisa covered her mouth as the truth penetrated. Tanner put his hand on her shoulder in a protective gesture. I felt like I was watching the whole terrible movie unfold before my eyes.
Hayes continued, “They called me and Viv and asked us to take care of you while they figured out what to do. If they were to call the police, it would end their law careers before they began. Both swore it was an accident and so they proceeded to clean up the mess and bury Justine’s body, but I never knew where that was.”
“And me? How did you get the adoption to go through legally?” Lisa asked her parents.
Hayes answered. “We were law students and we figured it out. I was a couple years ahead of Carson and Arthur in school and they looked up to me for advice. We were mostly concerned about you, Lisa, and what might happen if everything got out. We didn’t want you going into the foster system. So, we filed the paperwork for a private adoption and forged the signatures. Things weren’t as hard to get away with back then.”
“How could you both have gone along with this? Poor Marie never knew what happened to her daughter or her granddaughter.” I finally spoke up, not in front of the camera, but from where I sat.
Viv answered, “We wrestled with it for years. We did a lot of praying for our souls, for Justine’s soul. But we knew Lisa was in the right place and that we could provide well for her in the coming years, and we already loved her. From the very first moment.”
“I don’t even know where to begin. We need to find out where they buried Justine’s body first, I guess.” Tanner ran a hand through his hair. “And I think the next step will be getting one of the other men on the record admitting to what they did.”
“I think we can make that happen. In their minds, we were all equally accountable for the cover-up, so if I bring it up, they won’t suspect that I would rat myself out by recording a conversation. I could tell them that Lisa’s been asking a lot of questions and that I need to come up with a good story about her birth mother and supply some facts now that Marie’s out and talking. And maybe get the truth about where she’s buried.”
“Maybe you should come up here and have the conversation in Carson’s office. Ask to meet with both he and Arthur there. They’re still very close. We’ve planted listening devices in the office. Tell them you want to meet in person so nobody can hear you.”
“I could do that. I guess it’s the best way to find out where Justine is buried.” Hayes sounded resigned. “If I could go back and change it all, I would. But I wouldn’t change having you as my daughter, Lisa.” He smiled into the camera at his daughter. “I’m very sorry, honey.”
Viv joined the conversation. “We both are, Lisa. Daddy and I still discuss this all the time. The what ifs of how we handled things. I know we sounded like we didn’t want you to find your birth parents, like we were unsupportive. We were trying to protect ourselves and you from all this.”
Tanner’s tone was stiff and businesslike. “I think we’ve got everything now. I’m certain the DA here in Cypress Bayou will be in touch. Please don’t share this information until you hear from him about moving forward with a conversation with Carson and Arthur. Thank you for your cooperation, Mr. and Mrs. Henry. We will be in touch.” Tanner turned off the recorder and then he and I left the room so that Lisa could have a few private minutes with her parents.
We went into Tanner’s office and Tanner shut the door. He sat down at his desk and whooshed out a breath. “Wow. Just wow.”
“Are you okay?” I didn’t know what else to say.
“I don’t know how to process all this. Lisa is my sister. I’ve got to tell Jake we have a sister.” He appeared dazed at the idea.
“If it helps, I actually do understand.” I didn’t know what else to say. But my heart was bleeding, and my mind was spinning. How could humans be so cruel to each other? So unconcerned with another’s feelings? It made me think of how callous my attitude had been about the whole Allison fiasco. I had some making up to do on that front.
He focused on me then. “You do, don’t you? How odd that we’ve both had this insane thing happen at this point in our lives. The secrets. The lies. My poor mother. I’m so glad she never knew.”
“It’s not the same scenario, I know, but the shock of everything you thought you knew about your family and your life suddenly changing in an instant, well, it stuns you.”
“Yes. I’m stunned. This was completely unexpected. I guess if it had been Arthur who was Lisa’s father, nobody would have been quite as surprised given that he’s also Allison’s father.”
