Secrets

As the weeks went by, Jane's propensity to stick her nose where it didn't belong only grew stronger. True to her word, she was no longer writing about the murder- but she hadn't promised anything about asking questions. She spent her afternoons interviewing various friends and family members of Amy Jenkins, confident that something, somewhere, would be useful.

But as more time passed, her determination began to falter. Izzy's important milestones began to take up more and more of Jane's time, and as her daughter rapidly changed, she spent less time digging into Amy Jenkins' mysterious demise. Life was fleeting, and every day, it seemed like her kids were growing older and older still. With her long hours during the day, she didn't have enough time to spend with both her kids and her makeshift investigation.  

Everything was so dynamic these days that Jane had begun to feel like the only one who was still the same. Everyone in the family was changing; Moe had recently visited a stylist and come back with a new wardrobe, which Jane chalked up to his midlife crisis, and Izzy had started walking and talking. Ethan had recently started wearing glasses after a visit to the eye doctor, and Sophie had decided to change her hair one day, out of the blue. 

Lucy Jenkins had become a regular fixture in the Pesce house, and Jane was beginning to actually like her. At first, she had been simply a painful reminder of her last encounter with Chase and the awkward feelings that had surfaced, but eventually she just became another kid in a house that was filled to the brim with them. She had originally been surprised at the close rapport that had developed between Lucy and the twins, but it was simply a given now.

Still, she had to wonder if they were perhaps becoming too close. This afternoon, she'd walked in on them when they were in the middle of whispering with their heads together. If it had just been Lucy and Ethan, she would have dismissed it as a childhood crush on Ethan's part; but with Sophie's involvement, she was definitely worried. Whatever they were planning, it couldn't be good.

"What are you all up to?" she asked casually, bending down to strap Izzy into her stroller.

"Nothing!" the twins replied in chorus, bending down to work on their homework- a response that aroused Jane's direst suspicions.

"Uh... huh."

"Bye mom!" She eyed the twins skeptically, but they bounded up the stairs with Lucy in tow. Her instincts as a journalist and a mother were screaming for her to follow them upstairs, but she knew enough to respect their boundaries. Besides, it would be easier to eavesdrop when she went in to get laundry later.

Still, whatever they were planning, she already knew she didn't like it.

---

Moe was particularly busy these days. His recent promotion to had resulted in a rather large pay raise, but it also involved much more work in the community. He'd held several neighborhood clinics in the past few weeks, and while his neighbors appreciated the free advice, it was beginning to take a toll on the amount of time he was able to spend at home. 

It wasn't his idea of a fun job, but it was necessary. Despite the fact that they were coming to him for the shots and pills and poking and prodding, every patient gave him the same dirty look. For someone who was volunteering to do this for free, the residents of Twinbrook sure viewed him in a negative light. 

After giving his first patient a flu shot, he was surprised when she addressed him by name. 

"Thanks, Dr. Pesce. And please tell your wife that I'll respond to her email shortly, if that's all right with her! I just have to get some things out of my mom's attic before I can answer her questions." Angie smiled warmly and disappeared into the crowd before Moe could ask her what she had meant. How did she know Jane? And what had she meant by her questions? If Jane is meddling again... 

But the steady flow of patients left Moe little time to dwell on his nagging suspicions. The entire neighborhood had turned out in full force today, and it was difficult to attend to all of them in the amount of time the hospital had allotted him. "Two hours is not enough," he muttered to himself as another patient manifested in front of him. 

This one was an unfamiliar redhead, which surprised him momentarily. Twinbrook was a small place; he'd met virtually everybody during his first few months here. So who was this stranger?

"You must be new here," Moe commented as he took her blood pressure and began writing his notes. "Welcome to town!"

"Thanks," the redhead said, somewhat bewildered at the variety of devices Moe kept pointing at her. "We just moved in last week. Puddlewick Drive, as a matter of fact."

"No kidding?" Moe stuck his stethoscope in his ears and gave her breathing a listen. "We live on that street too. Whereabouts?"

"Er, 13 Puddlewick Drive," the redhead replied, visibly uncomfortable by the odd x-ray screen Moe had pulled out.

"Really? That's right across the street from us," Moe noted. "I thought I saw a moving truck the other day! Well, at any rate, welcome to Twinbrook! I'm Dr. Pesce, but you can call me Moe."

"Meredith Kane," the stranger responded. "I think I met your wife. She brought over a casserole."

"I'm glad one of us was friendly!" Moe joked. "I was probably at work, or I'd have joined her."

"Okay," he continued, rummaging in his pocket for a pill. "There doesn't seem to be much wrong with you other than a sore throat, so I'd take this once a day for three days, and it should clear right up. Just your run-of-the-mill antibiotic."

"Thanks!" Meredith smiled at him and took the pill, leaving him to treat the next in the long line of patients. 

---

Saturday dawned clear and sunny, and the Pesces took advantage of the good weather to throw a "welcome to town" barbecue for Jane's parents. They had recently purchased a house on the river, and their backyard was an excellent spot for grilling and swimming.

While Moe may have been less than enthusiastic about his in-law's new proximity, Jane was overjoyed. It was a relief to have the extra hands available to help take care of the kids, especially now that Izzy was a toddler and had decided that all food tasted better if thrown on the floor. Isabel was always willing to babysit for her namesake, and Jane had been more than happy to accept her offer.

For one thing, her parents' babysitting afforded her a new opportunity to resume her investigations, a fact that she was still careful to hide from Moe. Part of her knew it was a bad idea, and that it wouldn't end well; but the rest of her was too curious, too invested in this mysterious woman's death to let it go. She felt as if she owed it to Amy to find out what had happened to her, whether or not Moe understood.

"Mmmmph... these burgers are great," Jane complimented with her mouth full. She'd never shaken the craving for really well-done red meat she'd developed during the twins' pregnancy. Even now, a hunk of practically burnt meat could make her mouth water deliciously.

"Thanks, dear," Moe smiled in return. "Oh, by the way- I have a message I'm supposed to relay. Someone named Angie says she'll return your email as soon as she gets some things from her parents' attic?" He eyed his wife suspiciously, but her face betrayed nothing. 

"Oh, thank you! When did you two even meet?"

"At my clinic today," Moe replied, helping himself to another burger.

"Oh, that's nice!" Jane's face was bland and neutral, and he couldn't tell whether or not she was hiding anything. Moe gave up trying to analyze her and began to stuff his face again.

After the meal, the twins coaxed Phillip into a friendly game of Gnubb, and Jane and Isabel watched from the sidelines. "It's so nice to have the family all together like this," Isabel sighed happily. "Phillip enjoys spending time with the twins so much."

"We really appreciate you guys spending more time with them," Jane said. "You guys didn't have to move to town, though. Weren't you happy in Riverview?"

"Of course we were, dear." Isabel wrapped her arm around Jane's shoulder. "But when you're our age... it's hard being so far away from our family. We wanted to see our grandkids more than a few times a year." 

Jane smiled at her mother. "And I'm sure they'll be happy to have you around more, too. But are you sure you can, you know... afford it?"

Isabel waved her hand dismissively. "Your father has a wonderful pension, and I'm still working part-time at teaching music lessons. We're perfectly fine. You just worry about that young family of yours." 

If only her mother knew just how much cause she had to worry about them. 

---

When she got home, the first thing Jane did was boot up her computer to check her email. Moe's comment about Angie had piqued her interest, though she'd tried to mask it. She'd been waiting on a response for days, and she was hoping Angie had managed to get the information she'd needed.

And after I get that email, she told herself, I'll quit digging. For good. Of course, her rationalization was just that- an excuse. One more email would turn into another, and another, until she was going down the same road all over again. Rationally, she knew this. But this investigation had turned into an obsession, and rational was hardly a factor anymore.

Maybe she should just quit now, before things got out of control. There was no use waiting around for an email from Angie if she wasn't going to see it through... She took a deep breath and moved the mouse to exit out of the browser, but one email caught her eye.

The sender was unknown, a generic Simmail address that could have been anyone. But it wasn't from "just anyone."

It was from a very particular someone.

"I've already warned you once. If you know what's good for you, you'll stop sticking that perky little nose where it doesn't belong. Unless you want that pretty daughter of yours to meet the same fate as dear Amy, that is."
A rush of fear ran through Jane as she reread the words. She couldn't believe that someone was threatening her family, but here it was, in black and white. She was paralyzed in shock, and for a few minutes all she could do was sit there and stare at the screen. I should have listened to Moe... what the hell am I going to do? 

There was only one thing to do, and deep down, she knew it. Taking a deep breath, Jane shut off her computer and reached for her phone.

---

"Mr. Kane? We spoke on the phone... I'd like to hire you."  

Posted in: chapter 1, story