When Night Falls by Cait London Read Free Book Online

vanity. Uma often wondered whether, if they had met afresh, they’d have been friends. But childhood bonds had only strengthened through the years; their lives were tangled, and in her way, Pearl needed them. Always quiet and composed and capable to the public, Shelly could speak freely to Uma, Lauren, and Shelly.
    “I just drove down Main Street and saw my yard man, Dozer, sitting right on the same bench with Mitchell. There they were, having coffee, seeing who could shave the longest wood curls, pretty as you please. Mitchell looks like he’s beenthrough hard times—probably prison. I want you to keep your distance from him, Uma. You’ve got a soft heart and just don’t see the evil in anyone.”
    Uma ached for the trust that her parents had torn away from her as a child. “Pearl, don’t get all worked up.”
    Pearl threw up her hands. “Worked up? Worked up? He’s living in Lauren’s house. He bought it and the old garage back on Maloney Street, and he bought back the old ranch, what there is left of it. Now, don’t you just wonder where a Warren would get money like that? He’s back here to stir up trouble. I told my girls to stay clear away from him. It’s a good thing they’re at Walter’s sister in Connecticut and then leaving for their private school in September. I don’t want them exposed to his kind.”
    Tired of Pearl’s ranting, Uma changed the subject. “Your hair is the best I’ve seen it. I really do think it looks like Rita Hayworth’s.”
    Pearl’s blue eyes widened with pleasure. “You think so? You think Walter will like it?”
    “Yes, I do.” Walter . Nothing Pearl did was good enough for Walter. Uma studied the cardinals in the garden’s bird bath and wondered if Pearl would ever recognize his sly, insidious abuse, the way he demeaned her. Maybe that was why it was so easy to serve her compliments, to try to build her self-esteem.
    Immediately brightened, Pearl stood and smoothed her skirt. “I have to go. I’m hosting the bridge club this afternoon. Walter is thinking of running for mayor in the next election, and I’m going to do everything in my power to help him. Now, Uma, I want your promise that you won’t speak to Mitchell. Leave it to me to find out what he’s doing here. And Everett won’t like it one bit that you went to Mitchell’s house. Don’t tell him.”
    “Everett and I are friends, Pearl. He’ll understand…and I love that shade of nail polish. What is it?” Uma asked, to distract her.
    Pearl blinked and stared at her hands. She smiled brilliantly as she did when complimented. “Delicate Bondage. Oh, not that Walter and I are into that sort of thing, that’s just the name of the polish. I’d better go. I have so much to do today. I’m planning to take the girls on a shopping trip to New York soon, before boarding school starts. There’s nothing around here that’s suitable for their private school. And I have to have that chat with Dozer. You really should get a suitable office, one with modern furniture and not just some old bedroom.”
    “I’ll think about it.” But she wouldn’t. Right here was where she learned the past from her grandmother, where she had become “the keeper.” Some people are uppity, but if they knew their family’s history, they might be taken down a notch or two , Grandma had said. No sense in hurting people, but it’s only right that someone know the truth they’d rather hide .
    “You do that. You know I only want the best for my best friend, and Shelly, of course. You’re all I have of Lauren.”
    Tears shimmered in Pearl’s eyes. “I miss her awfully. Walter says the murderer will never be found—probably just some city hoodlum out to make points with his gang.”
    Pearl’s vanity and lack of sensitivity sometimes gave way unexpectedly to the childhood friend Uma cherished. In her way, Pearl was helpless and sweet, and their lives were finely, intricately woven together.
    After Pearl had gone, Uma tried