Page 63 of Night Hawk
“Is Lisa dead?” he asked matter-of-factly. His gaze flicked to Clay as if he was in charge.
“No…no,” Toni got out. “We’re not here to tell you she’s been found.”
Her grandmother let a breath out and sagged against Toni’s grandfather, clutching his crisply pressed blue-and-white gingham shirt.
“Then why are you here?” Toni’s grandfather asked.
“I’m Toni.” She didn’t explain, just let the words hang there to see if her parents had told them she existed.
“Oh my stars.” Her grandmother stared at Toni. “Yes, yes, I can see Edie in your face.”
They stared at each other, none of them knowing what to do. Toni felt like she was there under false pretenses and needed to introduce Clay. “I’m an FBI agent, and this is my associate Clay Byrd. We were working on an investigation, and I just learned about Lisa.”
Her grandfather tilted his head. “They didn’t tell you?”
“No.” Her voice broke on the single word. “I didn’t even know I had a sister until yesterday.”
“Would you mind answering some questions for us?” Clay asked.
Her grandmother stepped back. “Come in. Please come in.”
Toni crossed the threshold and caught the smell of arthritis cream mixed with something fried.
“May I give you a hug?” her grandmother asked.
Toni nodded, but she wasn’t sure she wanted to hug this woman she didn’t know. Sure, they were blood relatives, but she still felt like a complete stranger to Toni.A stranger with your mother’s eyes,she reminded herself.
Her grandmother gathered her into her strong arms, her body solid and lean. She wore a feminine green blouse and khaki pants that matched her grandfather’s pants. Toni held herself back a bit but inhaled her grandmother’s flowery scent. Maybe roses or gardenias. Way too sweet of a scent for Toni or her mother, who’d never worn perfume.
But if this was the only time Toni saw her grandmother, she would always have this smell to remember the meeting. She pushed back.
“Come with me.” Her grandmother took Toni’s hand, her skin papery soft, and led her down a short hall to a living room that was straight from the eighties. The walls were paneled, and the room had a dark, dank feel instead of the lightness in the Byrd’s house. A burgundy modular sofa with plush fabric took up a corner of the room and a large brown recliner that looked as if it was on its last legs was next to it. There was also a blue-and-mauve club chair, and an octagonal dark wood table nearby, plus an oversize matching coffee table with a glass top in front of the sofa.
“Please have a seat.” Her grandmother released her hand. “Can I get you anything to drink? I could brew some coffee or tea. Water?”
“No, but thank you for asking.” Toni perched on the end of the sofa.
“I’m good.” Clay came to rest on the arm next to her. He’d gone into his protective mode and was giving her grandparents a wary look as they sat on the easy chair and recliner.
“I can’t believe you’re here,” her grandmother said. “We’d heard you were born, but that was all.”
“Who did you hear it from?” Clay asked before Toni could.
Her grandfather kicked back his recliner. “Gert’s brother, Andrew. Right before he died. He was living out in the D.C. area with your parents.”
“How’d he die?” she asked as if she didn’t know.
“He was murdered. Drive-by targeting someone else was what the police told us.” He took a breath. “How’re your mom and dad doing?”
Toni didn’t miss the sudden change in topic. “I’m sorry to say, both my parents have passed away.”
Toni’s grandmother clamped her hand over her mouth.
Toni hated shocking them like this, but she had no choice. “Mom died when I was ten from a fall off her horse. He was spooked by a rattlesnake.”
“She always did love horses, so maybe that was a good way to go.” Her grandfather’s eyes were watery with tears, and he swiped a big hand at them. “And your dad?”
“Shot in an op just last year.”
