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get that,” Mary said, pulling her hands away from Wheeler.
        When she opened the door, a middle-aged man was standing there.
        “May I help you?”
        “Yes,” he replied. “I saw your sign out front and I’d like to inquire ----.”
        Then I saw the look of astonishment on his face.
        “Mom?”

CHAPTER 3
     
        Mary just stood in the doorway staring at the stranger, a look of bewilderment on her face.
        When neither of them moved, I went to her side.
        “Mary, I’m confused. You never told me you had a child.”
         That brought her out of her funk. “That’s ‘cause I never did. Don’t you think I’d know if I’d popped out a kid?”
        That was the Mary I knew.
        “Then how about we invite this gentleman inside and get to the bottom of this mystery?”
        I pushed the door open. “I’m Walt Williams. I’m the landlord here and this is Mary Murphy. She runs the place. Please come in.”
        “Thank you. I’m James Walker and I’m so sorry if I upset everyone, but ---.”
        After we were all seated, I said, “I guess the obvious question is why you called Mary ‘Mom.’”
        James opened his wallet, pulled out a photo and passed it around.
        It was the perfect likeness of Mary Murphy.
        “This is my mother, Martha Walker,” he said. “I think you can see why I was confused.”
        Mary stared at the photo and a tear trickled down her cheek. “Martha. That was my sister’s name.” She turned to James. “Martha? She’s alive?”
        James hung his head. “For now, but not for long I’m afraid.”
        “Where is she? What’s wrong with her? Tell me everything!”
        “Mom’s had a hard life. My father left us when I was ten. She had to raise me by herself. She worked two jobs as long as I can remember just to keep a roof over our heads and keep me in school. It finally caught up to her and her heart gave out. She’s in a nursing home on Truman Road in Independence.”
        “I don’t mean to pry,” I said, “but you seem like you’ve got it together. I’m just wondering why you’re looking for a room here?”
        “We had an apartment, but when Mom went into the nursing home, I couldn’t afford to keep it. It takes every penny to keep her in the home. I was driving by and saw your sign. Forty bucks for a sleeping room is about all I can afford right now.”
        Up to this point, Chris Wheeler had been silent.
        “I guess this explains a lot,” he said with a smile. “Think about it. If Brother Cyrus hadn’t shown himself, your tenants wouldn’t have been upset and called you. If you hadn’t made the decision to let him stay, your tenant in #6 wouldn’t have walked away creating a vacancy. Then, your ‘For Rent’ sign goes up just at the moment when Mary’s nephew drives by looking for a place to live. Kind of blows your mind, doesn’t it?”
        I had to admit that it did.
        Mary was still in a daze. “Nephew? You really are my nephew! My twin sister’s kid,” she cried, grabbing poor James and giving him a bear hug.
        I was still trying to get a handle on this incredible turn of events.
        “Mary, you and I have been friends for years, and I realize now I had no idea about your past. Why don’t you start at the beginning and fill us in?”
        She took a deep breath. “My mom and dad were Carl and Marie Carpenter. We lived on a farm north of Liberty, Missouri. Everything was going fine, then the war came. Daddy was drafted into the army and was in the First Infantry Division that landed on Omaha Beach on June, 6 th , 1944. He died that day.
        “With Daddy gone, Mom couldn’t keep the farm going and we lost it. Daddy was a member of the Odd Fellows Lodge in Liberty. They had a home just south of Liberty for widows and orphans of lodge members, so that’s where we moved when we lost the farm.