Evangeline (Part Ten)

Tucker’s Grandma Shaw lived on the southern outskirts of town in a fine old Victorian home. Up until her husband died in 1985, the Shaw’s lived a relatively simple life. Grandma Shaw never worked outside the home and her husband Bill worked at the lumber yard until he surrendered to lung cancer, leaving his wife, two adult children and one grandchild.

After his death, Grandma Shaw bought the old Miller place and spent a fortune returning it to its former opulence. There was no doubt that Grandma Shaw had come in to some money. People argued over how she got the money. Most thought her husband must’ve had a big life insurance policy, others insisted that he had been one of the men who robbed the bank in 1965 (the money had never been found – almost $100,000). I myself never gave it much thought, although I did admire what she did with the place. Not only had she restored the home completely, but the beautiful gardens around the home as well. It was a show-stopper.

Both of the Shaw’s children moved away from Sommerville after Bill’s death. Their son Matthew died in the Persian Gulf War from “friendly fire.” Their daughter Leslie and her husband John died in a terrible car accident about five years ago, leaving behind their teenage son Tucker and the proceeds of a $20,000 life insurance policy.

Tucker was 16 years old with $20,000. He had no living relatives except for his Grandma Shaw. He was not about to move to some hick town and live with an old lady. So he immediately dropped out of high school, and disappeared into the under belly of Chicago, only to resurface in Sommerville five years later.