Sisters - By Patricia MacDonald Page 0,81

it.’

‘So, if you don’t mind my asking, how did she tell you? What prompted her to tell you that?’

Elaine sighed. ‘What business is this of yours? This is a private, family matter. How dare you come in here and ask me about the most personal things in my life?’

Alex almost had to admire Elaine’s forbidding manner. She doubted that anybody ever got to Father Finnegan without the approval of Elaine. ‘Look, I’m asking because of the reopened investigation into Lauren’s murder. Dory was cleared, but until they arrest someone for that murder . . .’

‘Oh, I don’t believe you,’ said Elaine. ‘You still take her side in this? After what she did to you? Right there was proof of what the police had said all along. Dory’s jealousy is murderous.’

‘I don’t think the police ever looked any farther than Dory,’ said Alex stubbornly. ‘And I’m beginning to have my doubts. Just humor me, if you would. When did you find about Lauren’s homosexuality?’

Elaine shuddered. ‘I hate that word.’ Then she sighed. ‘When? Well, I didn’t have any hint of it while she lived at home. I guess it didn’t really come up until that business with Walker Henley. They’d been dating for a while. I was getting impatient. They were both of age. I couldn’t see what they were waiting for. I wanted to start planning the wedding. And Lauren kept stalling. The more I pressed her on it, the more she made excuses. So finally, one day we had it out. That’s when she told me. She said she was only going out with Walker Henley to keep up appearances. She said that she was a lesbian. I wanted to die . . .’

‘Was it that bad?’

‘You wait until you have children,’ said Elaine tartly.

‘Obviously it was a big shock,’ said Alex.

‘For most people, tolerance is just a political term. It’s a whole different ballgame when it’s in your own family. Hey, why are you asking me this anyway? What has this got to do with anything?’

Alex mulled over what she wanted to say. ‘I had occasion to talk to Cilla Zander today.’

‘Cilla Zander,’ Elaine exclaimed. ‘Awful woman. Well, I shouldn’t say that. She was good for Lauren’s career. I didn’t like her personally. It was her attitude.’

‘She told me she was the one who kind of pushed Walker and Lauren together,’ said Alex. ‘They were both her clients. They both needed publicity.’

‘Maybe she did. I wouldn’t know,’ said Elaine dismissively.

‘Did Lauren ever have any . . . relationships with girls around here?’

‘No. I told you that. Lauren did not have time for relationships. She was home-schooled, and she had lots of music lessons and auditions going on. She was focused on the future. On her career.’

‘But she must have been close to someone as a teenager. Some friend or someone.’

‘She didn’t need friends. She had me. We were as close as a mother and daughter could be,’ said Elaine.

‘What about the Ennis family? Chris and Joy . . .’

‘They’re our neighbors. We share a house. Of course she was close to them. When she was in high school Joy already had Therese. Lauren used to go upstairs and help her sometimes. Just for a change of scene. But I wouldn’t say they were friends.’

‘And then Lauren moved to Branson.’

Elaine sighed again. ‘Her career was taking off. She was starting to get noticed. She hired that awful woman to manage her career, and she moved out west.’

Alex nodded. ‘That must have been tough.’

‘It wasn’t easy,’ said Elaine. ‘I adjusted.’

‘You still had Dory,’ said Alex.

‘There was no getting rid of Dory,’ said Elaine with a sigh.

‘Didn’t you tell me that Joy left her family for a while?’ Alex asked.

‘I didn’t tell you that,’ Elaine contradicted her angrily.

‘It must have been Dory who told me,’ said Alex. ‘Are you saying it’s not true?’

‘Oh, it was true all right. When Therese was about seven or eight years old, Joy decided that she had to find herself. She went to some Yoga ashram out in California. She was gone for six months. It was terribly hard on Therese. And on Chris. I stepped in and tried to help out with Therese as much as possible. She couldn’t understand how her mother could just leave her like that. Well, I couldn’t either, to be honest with you. Anyway, this has been like Therese’s second home ever since.’

‘She was lucky to have you,’ said Alex. But her mind was turning over these facts and re-examining

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