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Back Murder Past Due Save as PDF
Chapters (36)
  1. Title Page
  2. Copyright Page
  3. Acknowledgements
  4. ONE
  5. TWO
  6. THREE
  7. FOUR
  8. FIVE
  9. SIX
  10. SEVEN
  11. EIGHT
  12. NINE
  13. TEN
  14. ELEVEN
  15. TWELVE
  16. THIRTEEN
  17. FOURTEEN
  18. FIFTEEN
  19. SIXTEEN
  20. SEVENTEEN
  21. EIGHTEEN
  22. NINETEEN
  23. TWENTY
  24. TWENTY-ONE
  25. TWENTY-TWO
  26. TWENTY-THREE
  27. TWENTY-FOUR
  28. TWENTY-FIVE
  29. TWENTY-SIX
  30. TWENTY-SEVEN
  31. TWENTY-EIGHT
  32. TWENTY-NINE
  33. THIRTY
  34. THIRTY-ONE
  35. THIRTY-TWO
  36. THIRTY-THREE

“Both nice young men,” I said, puzzled by the conversation. Why was he asking about my current boarders?

“One of them is named Justin, right?” Godfrey examined his hands with care.

“Yes, there is a Justin boarding with me. The other one, Matt, is actually spending a semester in Madrid, doing research for his dissertation.” I was getting more and more uneasy. “Look, Godfrey, what’s going on here? Why these questions? Do you know Justin?”

“No, I don’t,” Godfrey replied. “But I’d like to.” He paused for a deep breath. Then he faced me. “He’s my son, Charlie, but he doesn’t know it.”

THREE

THREE

“You’re Justin’s father?” I stared at Godfrey, feeling as if this was a bizarre joke. Back in high school he had a reputation for outlandish pranks.

Godfrey nodded, and I was sure he was serious.

But why the heck was he telling me this? Simply because Justin boarded with me?

“This is incredible.” A fatuous reaction, but I had to say something.

“Yeah, it is,” Godfrey said. Looking down at his hands, he continued. “I had no idea until about six months ago that I had a son. I can’t believe Julia never told me.” His voice had an odd note in it.

“Julia Wardlaw?” I sounded like a not-very-bright parrot, I decided.

Godfrey glanced up at me. “Yes, surely you remember her from high school. Julia Peterson. God, she was beautiful.” He smiled.

Julia had been a knockout thirty years ago. I saw her on a weekly basis now, when she came on Fridays to pick up Justin and take him home for the weekend. Sadly, the years had not been kind. “Have you seen her lately?” I said.

“No, but I’ve talked to her,” Godfrey said. “She wrote to me through my website. Told me about Justin, and I about fell through the floor.”

“I can imagine.” Knowing this helped me put a few things together. When Julia brought Justin to my house, helping him move in his things, she told me more about her family. Obviously as reluctant to tell me as I was to hear it, she seemed to feel it her duty anyway. Justin and his father, Ezra, argued over Justin’s choice of schools. Ezra Wardlaw wanted Justin to attend a small Bible college and follow him into the ministry. Justin rebelled, supported by Julia. He was their only child, and the betrayal—that was the very word Julia had used, quoting her husband—had hit Ezra hard.

“This is really none of my business,” I said, “but are you sure Justin is your son?”

“Absolutely.” Godfrey looked at me like I was an idiot. “You don’t think I’d take someone’s word for it? But I knew it was a possibility. In my position, I have to be sure, so I insisted on a DNA test.”