Chapter 23 Daisy Ann

Daisy Ann wasn't sure what to expect when she pulled up to the front of Amber/Lana's childhood home. She'd phoned after leaving the Lockwood residence and recited to Lana's mother the story she'd concocted—that her name was Annie and she and Lana had shared an apartment in Atlanta, and she was trying to get in touch with Lana to return her portion of the security deposit. Daisy Ann knew that Florence hadn't spoken to her daughter since she'd left some years ago, but there was always the possibility that Amber might get in touch with her mother again. That's why she'd given Florence a false name—she didn't want to risk Amber finding out that she'd been here. The woman had been so eager for information about her daughter that she invited Daisy Ann to come right over. Turning off the engine, Daisy Ann sat for a minute, rehearsing what she wanted to say. She was intent on finding out as much as she could about Amber, or Lana. Sometimes the most seemingly insignificant information could be the key to unraveling a puzzle. And Amber was certainly a puzzle, a most vexing one at that.

As she got out of the car, she noticed the small but neatly manicured front lawn and the weedless garden bed filled with beautiful yellow coneflowers. She rang the bell, and moments later the door was opened by a woman who looked to be in her fifties. She smiled at Daisy Ann and extended her hand. Daisy Ann searched her face for any resemblance to Amber, but aside from the high cheekbones there was little else. The woman wearing a halter apron over her flowery dress was slight, with short graying hair and a face that looked weary, as if she carried the weight of the world on her shoulders. Daisy Ann felt a shiver of anticipation go through her. After all this time, she was closing in on Amber.

"You must be Annie. I'm Florence Crump. Please come in."

"Thank you. It's nice to meet you, Mrs. Crump," she said carefully, not completely confident that she could disguise her Texas accent, but she figured Florence wouldn't know the difference between a Texas and Georgia accent.

"Oh, please call me Florence," she said.

She followed Florence down a narrow hallway to the kitchen, where a plate of chocolate chip cookies sat on a round table covered in a bright yellow and blue cloth. It was obvious the cookies had just come from the oven, judging by the mouthwatering aroma in the air.

"Please sit down. Would you care for coffee or tea?"

"Oh, if you've already made it, coffee would be great. Just black. Thank you, ma'am." Daisy Ann looked around while Florence got the coffee. The room was immaculate, the linoleum floor waxed to a high gloss, and the laminated countertop almost entirely clutter-free, with the exception of a silver toaster and an olive-green set of canisters. Starched white curtains hung at the window above the sink, and small pots of primroses lined the sill. This was a woman who took great pride in her home.

Florence set the mug on the table and sat. "I hope some of your good manners rubbed off on Lana while she roomed with you."

Daisy Ann smiled. "That's nice of you to say. I always found Lana to be polite, though."

"You said you were roommates in Atlanta? So, she's been in Georgia all this time? How long did you live together? When was the last time you saw her?"

Daisy Ann knew this part could be a bit tricky. "We shared the apartment for a year. She left when the year was up, but I stayed on another year. Now I have the security deposit back and I want to give Lana her half, but unfortunately, the phone number she left for me is no longer in service, and I have no way to get in touch with her. Do you have any idea where she might have gone?"

Color rose in Florence's cheeks. "It's a sad state of affairs when a mother has no idea where her child is, but Lana always was…different. She disappeared one morning almost four years ago and at first, we worried that something had happened to her. She's made some enemies." She shook her head. "Then I found that all my emergency cash was gone, and I realized she'd left on her own."

Daisy Ann assumed the enemies she was talking about were the Lockwoods, but she pretended to know nothing about Lana's criminal activities. "Enemies?"

Florence nodded. "I feel bad talking about her, but the truth is the truth. She got involved with a young boy, got pregnant, and then accused him of rape. We believed her. Supported her and then to find out…well, she'd made it up when he wouldn't marry her. Her son was two and a half when she told me the truth. Poor Matthew, the young man she lied about, went to prison and was there all that time for a crime he didn't commit. I had to do something."

Daisy Ann feigned surprise. "That's terrible. Are you sure she made it up?"

"I'm sure. She bragged about it to her sister Penny, and Penny told me. When I confronted Lana, she said he deserved it for treating her like she was nothing. Well, as you can imagine, I wasn't very popular with her when I told the authorities. I didn't realize they'd arrest her for perjury. We posted her bail, but then she left. Left her only son, little Matty, and never looked back."

Not her only son anymore,Daisy Ann thought. "Gosh. I can't believe she'd leave her child. That must have been so hard for her."

Florence lowered her eyes. "I don't think it was. Her sisters and I paid more attention to Matty than she did. She couldn't be bothered with him half the time."

"Does he live with you?"

"No. With his dad and stepmom. Eugenia Lockwood never had much use for us, but after what Lana did, she hated us and did everything in her power to make sure we couldn't have anything to do with Matty. She's not a nice woman. She tried getting Lana's parental rights terminated, which would have ended ours as well. Luckily the judge wouldn't go for it. We get to see Matty once a month on the last Sunday." She sighed. "It's not enough, but what can we do?"

"My gosh, I'm so sorry."

"I'll show you a picture," Florence said. She quickly left the kitchen and came back with a framed photograph. "Here he is. Such a doll."

An adorable dark-haired little boy in a school uniform stared back at her. Daisy Ann couldn't imagine how a mother could abandon her child. But then again, this was Amber they were talking about. "I'm so sorry," she repeated. "That must be hard for you."

"It is, but one day he'll be old enough to decide for himself and we'll be here waiting for him. I'm blessed that my other daughters have given me grandchildren and we're all close. It makes me sad, though, that Matty hardly knows his cousins."

"What a shame," Daisy Ann said.

"Lana never was much for family, you know? She used to say she didn't understand how she ended up in this family, that there must have been some mistake. Like she didn't belong with us. Always wanted more. Nothing we did was ever good enough. I think she was kind of ashamed of us. But we're honest, hardworking folk, and I pray that one day Lana will see that. I mean, if I could find her, maybe if she came back, she could get partial custody. I'd be happy to help her with him."

"Wouldn't she go to jail for running from a warrant?"

Florence sighed. "Yes, probably for a few years, but she's young. I'd watch him in the meantime. If I could afford it, I'd hire somebody to try and find her, but we're hardly making ends meet as it is. And her sisters want nothing to do with her. She was always awful to them. Anyway, it's obvious she doesn't want to be found by us." She wiped a tear from her eye. "I know she's done bad things, but she's still my child. I can't help but wonder what I did wrong."

Daisy Ann felt a deep sympathy for this kindhearted woman, who was so warm and lovely, and wanted to do something for her. She reached into her purse and pulled out an envelope, handing it to Florence. "It's the security deposit money I told you about. Two thousand dollars. I went to the bank and got cash. I remember Lana telling me that when we moved out and she got the security deposit back, she was going to send it to you to repay you for the money she took when she left."

"Thank you. So kind of you to bring it to me."

"And as far as wondering what you did wrong, you can't blame yourself. I really believe we're all born with our personalities intact."

"That's what my husband says. We both scratch our heads wondering how in the world she can do the things she does. She was such a darling little girl. Everyone would stop and say how pretty she was. Smart as a whip too and daring. Nothing scared her. Except tunnels. She's got a touch of claustrophobia."

Daisy Ann wondered how Amber would fare in a small prison cell.