up. "We haven't remodeled the upper story of the school yet. I thought Matty and I could move our things there. But we really need to keep Cleo's shop open. She has to have somewhere to go when..." She hesitated, apparently not wanting to say prison out loud. "If only the mayor understood the awfulness Cleo went through to get this far, maybe he'd listen?"
Axell had looked up the sister. She'd been busted for chronic possession and shoplifting a teddy bear, not the act of a hardened criminal. Still, selling drugs was usually the logical next step for an addict. He had to be cautious here, but he didn't think a schoolteacher would condone the behavior of junkies, even if one was her sister.
"Besides, the artisans who designed the stuff in there deserve an outlet for their creativity and some reward for their work," Maya continued. "Some of it would sell for a fortune in California. Cleo had a brilliant idea. She just didn't know how to make it work."
Axell sat back as the bartender set the teas in front of them. Crossing his arms on the wooden table, he studied his companion. He'd read her credentials. She had a Masters in childhood education, four years teaching experience, and an extremely high grade-point average at an excellent state university. He knew nothing of her prior life. He didn't even know where the damned father of her child was. Maybe that was a starting point.
"Do you have any income other than the school?" he asked pointedly. "Child support, alimony?"
She shook her wavy curls, and the purple streak fell forward across her brow with a will of its own. Since she couldn't reclaim her clothes, she wore the same outfit she'd worn the day before. Somehow, the outlandish gauzy pleats and silky shirt looked exotic and expensive, even though he knew damned well she'd bought them at some thrift store.
"Stephen and I aren't married. We were more or less separated when I heard about Cleo..." She skipped over that part with a wave of her hand. "I didn't even know for certain I was pregnant when I flew out here. He travels a lot. I've left messages, but he hasn't any money. I can't expect any help from that quarter. I can make it on my own," she said defiantly, "I just need to get my stuff out of that building."
"I've been through the Pfeiffer place." He hadn't blindly sent Constance to a school he knew nothing about. When it had opened, he'd had every aspect of it checked, except the finances, which weren't a matter of public record. He wondered if he ought to probe that angle but decided against it. Selene Blackburn's family had money. They would probably invest in anything to keep their rattle-brained daughter off the streets. "The upper story hasn't been refurbished in decades. You don't even have working plumbing up there. No heat, no air; it's not fit for habitation."
She stirred the sweet tea with her straw and watched the ice cubes swirl. "I've lived in worse. The plumbing downstairs is just fine. We can open the windows upstairs in the summer. By winter, maybe something better will come along."
She'd lived in worse? Axell didn't want to imagine it. Old man Pfieffer had pulled the upper story apart in the process of renovation, then lost interest after his wife died. Wallpaper hung in ragged strips. Plaster had been ripped from the lathes. Molding for the unfinished floors above the school lay in jagged lengths full of nails that invited tetanus. The mayor was probably right. The building should be demolished. He shook his head.
"You're not thinking, Miss Alyssum," he admonished. "You not only have a son, but an infant on the way. They can't live like that."
She shot him an angry look. "The name is Maya, Matty is my nephew, and my sister and I lived like that more times than I can count. Not everyone in this world was born with a silver spoon in their mouth."
Back off, Axell. He retreated against the booth seat and signaled for more tea. Matty was her nephew. Cleo's kid. Things were getting clearer now. He'd thought her a bit young to have two kids, but what did he know about how the other half lived? After all, he'd been born with a silver spoon in his mouth.
"Having lived like that, I'm sure you'd prefer Matty and your child to live otherwise." Dumb, he realized as soon as he