Letter from a Stranger Read Online Free Page B

that.”
    “You always know what I’m going to say, just as I know what’s going to come out of your mouth … but not today, I don’t think.” A brow lifted quizzically, and he continued to stare at her.
    Justine nodded, put her hand in her jacket pocket and took out the envelope, handed the letter to him. “I’d better give you this.”
    Richard looked down at it, his brow lifting again. “It’s addressed to Mom—”
    She cut him off. “And be glad she isn’t here, didn’t get to open it, and that I did! Otherwise we might never have known the truth.”
    His blue eyes narrowed. “What do you mean, Juju? What is this all about?”
    “ Gran . I have to tell you something—” She cut herself off and took a deep breath. “The letter says Gran is still alive, Richard.”
    “What?” He was flabbergasted by her words and he shook his head vehemently. “That can’t be —” His voice trailed off; he was so shocked he was unable to finish his sentence.
    “It’s true,” she answered, trying to keep her voice steady.
    Richard pulled the letter out of the envelope and began to read it avidly. When he came to the end, he went over to the empty chair and sat down, looking as if he’d just been punched hard in the stomach.
    Justine saw how truly stunned he was, as she herself had been earlier. All of the color had drained from his face, and he was immobile in the chair. It was obvious to her that he was shaken to the very core of himself. And why wouldn’t he be? The news was incredible.
    “It’s hard to come to grips with it, Rich, I know that, and I—”
    “Do you believe it?” he interrupted sharply, then looked down at the letter he was still clutching, bafflement on his face.
    “I do, yes. It has the absolute ring of truth to it, and why would this woman write such a letter if Gran wasn’t alive? That doesn’t make any sense,” Justine pointed out.
    “I wonder why she didn’t write to Mom before?” He gazed at Justine, puzzlement still flickering in his eyes.
    “I’ve no idea. But I do think something important has happened recently, which made Anita Lowe put pen to paper. Finally. She does say that Gran seems more unhappy, morose was her word, and look, Gran might even have been taken ill. Or maybe, in her desperation, Gran asked Anita to write.” Leaning forward, Justine stared into her twin’s face. Her own was very serious and her eyes were troubled.
    “You could be right,” Richard muttered. “In fact I’m sure you are.”
    “We have to find Gran as quickly as possible,” Justine announced.
    “Yes, I agree.” He rose, walked over to his desk, a huge slab of thick glass balanced on top of two steel sawhorses. Sitting down behind it, he was thoughtful for a few seconds, staring out of one of the windows at the trees.
    He finally brought his gaze back to his sister. “She lied. Our mother lied to us ten years ago. What a rotten thing to do. Telling us Gran had died. It was wicked, cruel. I remember very well how upset we both were, how we grieved for her.” He snapped his eyes shut for a moment, and when he opened them he finished in an angry voice, “It’s the most unconscionable thing I’ve ever heard of, and it is unforgivable. ”
    Justine was silent. He had voiced everything she had thought earlier; but then they were like two halves of one person and had been since the day of their birth. There was only fifteen minutes’ difference between them; Richard had always teased her that he was the eldest, having been born first.
    She said, “God knows what happened between Gran and our mother to cause this … estrangement. But to carry it on for ten years seems outrageous. Really ridiculous to me. It’s all our mother’s doing, obviously.”
    “Certainly Anita Lowe indicates that, Justine. Anyway, let’s not forget our mother was always a bit ditzy.”
    Justine was taken aback. “That’s putting it mildly, don’t you think?”
    “I’m being kind, I guess. She was