Southern Greed Read online

  Adam encouraged me to talk about myself and I told him about my limited experience in life. When I told him about the reverend Jacobs raping me and no one believing me, he stopped me.

  “You mean to tell me that this son-of-a-bitch raped you and they believed him over you? Doesn’t that make you angry?”

  “You’re not supposed to get angry. It’s sinful,” I said and he actually snorted.

  “What a bunch of crap. Let me see if I got this right. You can’t have your feelings, someone can abuse you and it’s supposed to be just hunky dory. No wonder you’re so uptight. You must have so many pent up emotions, it’s a wonder you don’t have ulcers.

  “Do you realize you can sit here and tell me all these horrors about your life and you’re totally detached? Do you realize you have been brainwashed?”

  He had been holding my hand and I pulled it back. I didn’t know why but I felt threatened. He was questioning the very core of what I knew to be true, or thought I knew to be true. But did I? Was he right? Was I brainwashed? I only knew one thing for sure and that was that I was totally confused.

  What I’ve since learned is that when you start questioning things that you just took for granted in the past, that’s when you start to grow. But back then I knew nothing about growing as a person.

  If Adam hadn’t come into my life I would have probably spent the rest of my life stuck in a small Georgia town, working, worshiping, eating and sleeping. I might have eventually married someone from the church who was equally unenlightened as me and never know any difference.

  We talked as we continued on our trip and I learned more and more from Adam. He became like a mentor to me and I loved him for it.

  He took his time getting us to Savannah. We stopped and stood looking at breathtaking views, visited shops, stopped for coffee and then lunch and then later, coffee again and the whole time, we talked.

  Before the day was over I trusted Adam and loved him with all my heart and hoped he was falling in love with me too.

  Every time we sat and talked, in a restaurant, on a picnic table at a roadside park or sitting in his car, he touched me in some way. It started out with holding hands. Then he hugged me like a long lost relative as we were leaving a roadside park and thanked me for being so open with him. He was so charming.

  When we got into Savannah, he took me to a condo that he told me he had rented. I must have looked as confused as I felt because he hugged me and said, “I want you to stay here for a few days and prepare. We haven’t really talked about how we’re going to present you to Gracie.

  “We need to get you some green contact lenses and I want to talk to Gracie about you before I bring you over to the mansion.”

  He then took me into his arms and kissed me like I had never been kissed before. I had received pecks on the cheek and on the mouth by men from the church who I had been out to dinner with but, nothing like this.

  I had never been French kissed before. I know it sound crazy with me being 23 but I hadn’t. I knew what it was but always thought it sounded gross. But when Adam kissed me like this I was like a wet dish rag and I would have done anything he asked without question, and I did.

  CHAPTER SIX

  I stayed in the condo for four days. It was beautiful and it was on the river. The view was breathtaking. Everything in the condo was peach and white. The carpet was thick with deep pile and the furniture was white lacquer. The sofa and loveseat was a peach and green print with peach roses and green leaves and vines.

  Adam would come by in the evenings and take me to supper and then take me home and kiss me goodnight. I lived for those kisses and longed for more. He schooled me about who Kathy was and brought more pictures for me to look at.

  One day I was studying the photos of Kathy and I noticed something I hadn’t noticed before. Her eyes were blue in all of the pictures but the one he had showed me at first. “It must have been the lighting in that first one,” I said to myself and made a note to ask Adam to make sure what color Kathy’s eyes were.

  On the fourth day I waited for Adam and he was a little late. I had begun to worry that he wasn’t coming when he showed up apologizing for being late, “The traffic was awful today,” he said as he swung me around and kissed me.

  That night he took me to a very romantic restaurant and, over after supper coffee, became serious. “I have something I want to ask you, Kathy but I’m afraid you’ll get the wrong idea,” he said taking my hand and squeezing it.

  “I won’t get the wrong idea, I promise. I know you and I know you would never do anything to hurt me.”

  He looked like a shy little boy when he said, “I have fallen in love with you. I know it sound ridiculous since I’ve only known you such a short period of time but, I love you with all my heart and I want you to be my wife. Please say yes.”

  I had never been so happy. I didn’t think it was possible to be that happy. I loved him so much. “Yes,” I whispered, “Oh yes, Adam. I love you too and think I have loved you since you first came into my store.”

  “Let’s don’t wait, Kathy, let’s do it tonight.”

  “Can we do that? Marry tonight? Don’t we need a license or something? And why are you calling me Kathy?”

  “You need to get used to being called Kathy, so I’m practicing. We can get a Justice of the Peace to marry us tonight. Kids come up from Florida to Georgia to get married all the time because you can do it in one day.

  “Oh, Kathy, you have made me so happy. I was so afraid you would think I just wanted to marry you for your money. You do trust me, don’t you Kathy?”

  “Of course I do. Let’s just go get married and then go to the condo and spend the night.”

  “No, let’s get married and then let me take you to the mansion and introduce you as my wife to Miss Gracie.”

  So caught up in the excitement of this whirlwind courtship, and having led such a sheltered life, I had no idea what I was in for.

  We went back to the condo and while I was packing, Adam went to the car and came back with a wedding band. I put on my best dress, one I had recently bought at Tootsies. It was a light blue to match my eyes and was mid-calf. It was sleeveless and made of dotted Swiss.

  Adam showed me the ring and promised a diamond later on. He had bought a makeup kit and when he handed it to me I was embarrassed. I had never worn makeup. He had to help me and said it was endearing that I had never worn any.

  Adam looked at me after I was completely put together and said, “You’d better put in the green contacts. Have you been practicing wearing them?”

  “Adam, are you sure that Kathy’s eyes are green? Let me show you something.”

  I went and got the photos and showed him. “Hmm, it must be the lighting in that one,” he said. “Well, good, you won’t have to wear any contacts.”

  We were ready to go. I was nervous, excited, and scared. I was also a little sad as I was thinking that a girl’s mama should be at her wedding. I felt guilty for worrying my mama. So I had a lot of emotions going on that day.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  We walked from the condo a couple of blocks down Monroe Street until we came to a small white frame house with a small front porch. A sign in the front said Justice of the Peace.

  Adam introduced me to Mr. and Mrs. Kattup. They were both small and white haired. Adam must have called ahead because he had all the papers ready to be signed. After he performed the ceremony, they asked if we wanted some wine but we declined. Adam looked like he was as anxious to get to the mansion as I was.

  We drove out a about a half mile and then over a bridge, leaving Savannah proper behind. After about 10 miles we turned off onto a narrow blacktop road. Huge Live oaks lined both sides and grew over the top so that it looked like we were inside a tunnel. It didn’t let in much sunlight and we were well into October and the days were getting shorter and shorter.

  When I saw the mansion I almost lost my breath. All this time when he had referred to it as a mansion, I pictured a huge
house. This was so far beyond that!

  “How many bedroom, Adam?”

  He laughed, “You know, I’m not really sure. It’s made up of many apartments and wings. From the way I understand it, it grew with each generation. It’s not very pretty, is it? And I think it would be a bitch to unload. I think the best thing you could do would be to turn it into a resort or maybe apartments.”

  I turned in my seat and looked at him. I was shocked. The poor woman wasn’t even dead yet and he was already planning what should be done from a real estate point of view. I felt ashamed that I was part of this scam and I felt badly for Miss Gracie and I hadn’t even met her yet.

  He glanced over at me and said, “I’m sorry. That was heartless of me and you know I’m not like that. I’m a real estate broker and that’s what I think about when I see a place, just like you probably notice what people are wearing.”

  He did have a point but it just didn’t seem like the same thing to me. I didn’t say anything. He was now my husband and I had been taught to obey my husband. It is in the Bible after all.

  We pulled into a circular driveway and a tall stately woman came out and met Adam by the car. She wore a long black skirt and white blouse with a cameo at the throat. It looked very old and I wanted to see it up close.

  When we got out of the car I could smell the ocean breeze and could hear waves crashing on the beach, and realized we were on the ocean.

  Adam introduced the woman as Mrs. Dover, the housekeeper. She glanced at me and then told Adam, “She’s having a difficult night. You need to go right in. I’ll have the bags sent to the gold suite.”

  We went into a foyer that was larger than most houses and crossed over into an apartment on the ground floor.

  “She can’t climb stairs anymore. Another apartment has been created down here in what used to be a ballroom.” He paused and pushed a strand of hair out of my eyes and kissed me.

  He opened the door and we were in a sitting room. A pretty young woman in a nurse’s uniform was sitting in an easy chair reading a novel. She jumped up when we entered.

  “It’s okay, Rachael, you deserve to have a break. This is my wife, Kathy Kramer. Kathy, this is Rachael, your grandmother’s nurse.”

  She had the fine features and light blond hair and blue eyes of someone of the Scandinavian decent. She was beautiful and I wondered why Adam would fall for me with her around.

  “We’ll just go on in if that’s all right with you Rachael.” He winked at her and I felt jealous.

  It was dark inside the bedroom and I couldn’t make out where anything was until my eyes adjust to the darkness. Adam walked over to the bedside lamp and turned it on.

  I couldn’t see much of her because the covers came up under her chin. She didn’t make much of a lump in the bed. Her hair was snow white and she appeared to be asleep.

  “You’re a special girl, Kathy.” I heard her say. I looked at Adam but he didn’t appear to have heard her.

  “What did she say?” I asked.

  “She didn’t say anything, Kathy. She’s in a deep morphine sleep.

  We tiptoed out and I didn’t mention hearing her speak again. I knew he wouldn’t believe me, and I wasn’t sure I had really heard what I thought I had heard.

  He put his arm around me and led me up a flight of stairs and down a short hall, into a set of double doors and into a suite of rooms that was all in gold; the carpet, the curtains, the bedspreads, everything. It was hideous.

  Adam looked at me and laughed, “You’re like an open book. If you don’t like these rooms we’ll find different ones tomorrow. Right now, I’m beat. Let’s go to bed.”

  He was under the covers when I came out of the bathroom in my best nightgown. It was long and blue with tiny straps that criss-crossed in the back. It was made of satin.

  He had his back to me when I slid into bed. His lamp was off but mine was on. I turned off my lamp and expected him to turn over and take me in his arms but he didn’t move.

  I didn’t know what I was supposed to do. I wanted to please him but I didn’t know if he was asleep or what.

  I finally, timidly, rolled over facing his back and put my arm around his waist. He rolled over and kissed me and whispered, “I’m really tired. Let’s just get some sleep.” He turned back over and went to sleep.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  He had already gotten up when I woke up the next morning. I had barely slept and had cried myself to sleep sometime after dawn.

  According to the bedside clock, it was 10:34 a.m. I had no idea what I was supposed to do. I got dressed in a cream colored a-line skirt and a turquoise silk long sleeve blouse and went in search of breakfast.

  The dining room wasn’t that hard to find. It was off to the right of the huge foyer on the first floor. No one was there but there was a buffet on the side bar with both coffee and tea. I helped myself to bacon, eggs, grits and toast. I put the plate on the table and then grabbed a cup and poured myself some coffee.

  I was just adding cream to my coffee when I heard some voices in the foyer. They were whispering and I recognized Rachael and Adam.

  I couldn’t make out the words but it sounded like he was reassuring her about something and it sounded like she was crying.

  I moved to the end of the table and tried to make out what they were saying and I was so intent on that, I didn’t notice I was not alone. It wasn’t until she started to speak that I startled.

  “Oh, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you. I was saying you must be Adam’s new wife and Miss Gracie’s granddaughter, Kathy. I’m Susan, Adam’s sister and Miss Gracie’s secretary, although she is in no shape to need me much anymore.”

  Another beauty, she had dark, thick hair she wore in a long flip with thick bangs. She was wearing a wispy looking dress in some sort of gauzy material in off white. She was barefoot and I was later to learn that she rarely wore shoes at all, a typical 60s girl. She was about my age.

  She stuck out her hand and we shook. “I’m so glad he found you,” she said and I gathered she wasn’t in on the scam. I couldn’t believe I was really doing what I was doing, but I was also confused. I wasn’t being treated like a bride at all.

  “I hear you had a boutique in the small town you lived in,” She continued in a chatty way, “Do you like to shop? We could do some shopping together while you’re here.”

  “While I’m here?”

  She looked embarrassed, “Oh, I mean, I just assumed that you and Adam would get your own place. Do you want to live here permanently? I can’t wait to get out of her as soon as Miss Gracie gives me my walking papers.”

  “I don’t know what our plans are, Adam and I haven’t talked about it.”

  She took a sip of coffee and seemed to be lost in thought and I heard a child’s voice coming close, “I will too, see granny Grace!”

  Susan laughed, “That’s Ronnie, professor Murphy’s son. He always wants his way.”

  I had always loved kids and as soon as I saw this little boy, I was in love with him.

  The man who followed him into the dining room looked like a professor. He had on a tan suede jacket, tan dress shirt with no tie and a tan pair of pants. He had sandals on his feet.

  Both man and little boy had sandy blond hair that was straight and wispy thin and collar length. They both kept pushing their hair out of their eyes.

  When Ronnie saw me he ran over to me and got right in my face and stared into my eyes, “Who the hell are you?”

  “Ronnie!” The man said, “You must be Kathy. Adam told me all about you this morning. I’m so glad to meet you,” He said holding out his hand. “I’m Eugene Murphy. I’ve been writing Miss Gracie’s memoires. I hope I will be able to finish them. She’s such an interesting person.”

  I had heard those words before about her and yet I knew I had never even met the woman.

  “What’s wrong?” He asked and I realized he was still holding my hand.

  “I just had a déjà vu.” He let go of my ha
nd and I sat back down.

  He smiled at me and I thought it was such a sweet smile.

  “How old is your son?” I asked.

  “I’m five years old,” Ronnie spoke up before his dad could answer. He climbed into my lap and once again looked into my eyes. “Let’s go see granny Grace.”

  “You know what? I think that’s a good idea. She was asleep when I got here last night so I haven’t met her yet.”

  “That’s silly. She’s your real granny. How can you not meet her?”

  “I haven’t seen her for awhile and I don’t remember her.”

  He sat on my lap thinking about that and then jumped down and grabbed my hand, trying to pull me.

  “Breakfast first, son,” Eugene said.

  I ruffled his hair, “I’ll tell you what. You eat a good breakfast while I look around for awhile and then we’ll go see Miss Gracie.”

  CHAPTER NINE

  I had always liked to explore. Growing up in a small town, it was close to the hills and woods and I used to walk for miles. I was looking forward to exploring this house.

  I decided to start at the top and work my way down. I didn’t think it would take the rest of the morning. There were three main floors but then I discovered an attic that covered most all of the wings.

  I started up the stairs leading to the attic and was stopped by a large woman coming down. She had a round face and she was round all over with ginger colored hair.

  “Where do you think you be going?” She asked.

  When I introduce myself, she ignored my hand I held out for her to shake.

  “I’m Mrs. Hildebrandt. I’m the executive chef. There’s nothing up there but servant’s quarters. You want to start your exploring on this here third floor. If you ever need any help with anything just come to me. If anything scares you.”

  I thought it was a funny thing for her to say but I nodded and went back down to the third floor.