Magnolia Nights

by Ashley Farley

  He raked his hands through his dark hair. “I’d like to pay my respects to, um, Ashton. I brought clothes for the funeral.”

  “A private funeral will be held in a few days. You are not invited.”

  Abbott saw her then, the spitting image of her mother, hiding behind a wing chair in the adjacent living room. His heart danced across his chest the same way it had when he’d first seen her mother in that modeling agency in New York. Sensing her fear, he approached her with caution. “Hey there. What’s your name?”

  She removed her thumb from her mouth. “Ellie.”

  “That’s a very pretty name, Ellie. You must miss your mommy.”

  She lowered her head and nodded.

  “You don’t know me, but I’m your daddy. I’d like very much for you to come live with me in California.”

  Eleanor Pringle appeared beside him. “Please dispense with the goo-goo talk, Mr. Cohen. I have other business to attend to.” She pressed a folded document into his hand. “This is her birth certificate. You are listed as the father. Your daughter’s bag is waiting by the door. You may take her now and leave.”

  Unsure of how Ellie would react to being separated from her grandmother or being forced to leave the only home she’d ever known, Abbott wanted nothing more than to flee this haunted house and the witch who owned it. He snatched up his daughter and her suitcase and bolted out the front door. He felt Ellie’s body trembling in his arms and her face pressed against his chest, but much to his surprise, she didn’t cry. She sat in the passenger seat beside him on the way to the airport. She shivered so much her teeth chattered, but her eyes were wide with excitement as they crossed the Ashley River Bridge. A month would pass before she spoke, a year before she smiled, and eighteen months before she laughed. Her grandmother had taught her that bad things came to little girls who showed emotion.

  Ellie never offered specifics about the treatment she’d received at the hands of her grandmother. Much of it he pieced together when it came out in bits. His daughter had been abused—mostly verbally but probably a bit physically as well. She’d never been allowed out of her grandmother’s house except to play in the garden. She couldn’t count to ten or recite her alphabet. She recoiled from any form of touch and called out from nightmares in her sleep. Over time, she grew comfortable in her new home. Even Jenny, the least maternal woman Abbott had ever known, was a fairy godmother to Ellie compared to her grandmother.

  What surprised Abbott the most was his overwhelming love for his daughter. God had blessed him with this beautiful, fragile creature, and he vowed to protect her at all costs. The world outside her grandmother’s home mystified her. The airplane that flew her to San Francisco. The crowded streets and cable cars. The supermarket and skyscrapers and ocean. Cats and dogs and babies in strollers. The playground and school. Every day offered a new experience for Ellie, and he delighted in watching her embrace them. To be near her, he worked from home that first year, selling his work to eager collectors. He read stacks of books to her at bedtime and walked her to school every day. She was a quick learner, and with him tutoring her, she caught up with the rest of her class in no time. Ellie was the only one he allowed in his darkroom while he was working. Perched on a stool in the corner, using his photographs as her inspiration, she painted six-year-old masterpieces with the watercolors and sketchbook he bought for her.

  By the time Abbott understood the depths of his daughter’s trauma, and comforted by the twenty-five hundred miles that separated them from Charleston, he decided to focus his attention on getting his daughter help rather than getting revenge against her grandmother. Instead of calling the authorities, he paid for years of counseling—some of which helped, most of which didn’t—and he ignored her questions about her mother. He hoped she would forget, and when she did, he prayed she would never remember.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  Ellie

  Ellie was mad as hell at her father when she went to bed that night. She’d been angry with him for a long time for not supporting her need to remember the past. To find out he’d known more about her time spent in this house as a child than he’d ever let on was like adding gasoline to the fire. Although she didn’t agree with his reasoning for keeping it from her, she understood he was trying to protect her. What he knew about her past could’ve helped her have a breakthrough, but it could just as easily have caused a breakdown.

  She dreamed that night of her early years in California, of the patience and kindness her father had shown her when she first went to live with him. She’d forgotten about the time they’d spent together in his darkroom, how happy she’d been with her little paintbrush in hand. She’d inherited his creative gene, and he’d shown her early on how to appreciate it. She woke feeling at peace for the first time in many years, realizing that Abbott was the best father a girl could ask for. He’d always put her needs before everyone else’s, including Jenny and her stepbrothers. She understood now that his love for her was a direct reflection of the love he’d felt for her mother.

  When he returned from his morning run, she greeted him on the piazza with a cup of coffee and a hug despite his sweaty clothes.

  “What’s that for?” he asked.

  “For being you.” She kissed his cheek. “And for being honest with me last night. You helped me see things in a different light.”

  Abbott hung his head. “Unfortunately, we’re no closer to finding your sister.”

  With Pixie bouncing at their heels, they took their coffee across the street to Battery Park. They sat down on a park bench and took turns tossing a rubber ball for Pixie.

  “Why did you never have my name changed to yours, Dad? I’ve always wondered about that.”

  “I gave it a lot of thought during our first years together, but in the end, I decided not to take away from you the one link you had to your mother.”

  They sat for a while lost in their own thoughts. “More and more, I’m thinking maybe Mom put Lia up for adoption,” Ellie said finally.

  Abbott considered the possibility before responding. “I don’t think so, Ellie. Given the circumstances, I can’t see Ashton contacting an adoption agency. She was a well-bred woman from a well-to-do family. What reasonable explanation could she have provided for wanting to put her child up for adoption? I doubt your grandmother would have given Ashton permission to leave the house. And even if she had, from what you’ve told me, Ashton was too weak to carry this out on her own.”

  “You’re right, it would’ve aroused too much suspicion. Eleanor Pringle would never have allowed it.” Pixie dropped the ball at her feet, and Ellie kicked it away.

  “I noticed the windows in my room are painted shut and the door leading to the porch, the piazza as you call it, isn’t really a door. If what you say is true, and Eleanor was the only one with a key to the dead bolts and the security system, I don’t know how your mother could’ve snuck your sister out of the house.”

  “Which leaves only one other option.”

  “If Eleanor pushed your mother down the stairs, I would think her capable of worse. It could’ve been an accident as you suggested last night. Lia may have fallen down the stairs or drowned in the bathtub. I’m beginning to think we should call the police.”

  “I’ve considered calling the police,” Ellie said. “But what are they going to do, excavate the backyard looking for her remains?”

  “Do you have a better idea?”

  “Actually, I do. I think we should start by contacting a private investigator. If nothing else, he may be able to help us locate Maddie.”

  Abbott shrugged. “I guess we can give it a shot.”

  Ellie patted her pockets. “Darn, I forgot to bring my phone again. Julian knows everyone. I’ll call him when we get home and see if he can recommend one.”

  But when they got back to the house thirty minutes later, Maddie was waiting for them in the kitchen. Ellie was so happy to see her, she threw herself into Maddie’s arms. “I’ve been worried sick about
you. Why haven’t you called me? Have you been ill?”

  “I’m fine, Miss Ellie. Truth is, you scared me the other day with all your questions about your mother.” Tears welled up in Maddie’s eyes. “I’m too old to go to jail.”

  “Why would anyone send you to jail?” Ellie asked, alarmed.

  The housekeeper darted a nervous glance at Abbott.

  Ellie made the introductions. “Maddie, this is my father, Abbott Cohen. He came down from DC to help me find Lia.”

  “Oh Lawd.” Beads of sweat broke out on Maddie’s forehead as her trembling hands gripped the counter for support. “I was afraid of that. You remembered Lia.”

  Ellie’s relief at seeing her housekeeper vanished, and she was suddenly furious. “You knew I would. You just said so yourself. That’s why you disappeared.”

  Abbott cleared his throat. “Why don’t we go talk on the terrace where we can enjoy this nice weather.”

  Ellie walked out of the room, leaving her father and Maddie to follow her. Once they were seated around the table outside, Ellie said, “I found more of my mother’s journals in an old trunk in the attic during the storm. Either Mom stopped writing after my grandmother pushed her down the stairs or someone destroyed the rest of her journals, because they are not in this house. I have a lot of questions, Maddie. And I expect you to answer them all. The most important one is, do you know what happened to my sister?”

  Maddie closed her eyes and shook her head. “I don’t, Miss Ellie. I swear to you, I don’t know.” She dabbed at her eyes with a tissue. “The flu was going around something terrible that winter. Sally Bell and I were scared to death your mama would catch it. She was so sick by then, the flu would’ve killed her. It nearly killed me. I was out sick for ten days. When I came back, Miss Lia was gone. And so was Sally Bell.”

  Ellie felt lightheaded. “Are you saying they disappeared together?”

  “I don’t know.” Maddie closed her eyes. Ellie thought she’d fallen asleep when suddenly she opened them again. “Miss Ashton told me your gramma fired Sally Bell for stealing her jewelry. But I know ole Sally wouldn’t have taken her belongings. She wasn’t that kind of person.”

  “Did Ashton tell you what happened to Lia?” Abbott asked.

  “Nah. Miss Ashton refused to talk about Miss Lia. But she was all tore up, same as you, Miss Ellie. You both cried for months. You asked me the other day if something traumatic happened to you in this house. Many things happened to you here, but having your sister taken away from you was the worst.”

  An idea struck Ellie that made goose bumps appear on her skin. “Do you think it’s possible that I hurt my sister?”

  “Goodness no. Nothing bad happened to Miss Lia. At least I don’t think so. I suspect your mama found a way to sneak your sister outta here. Maybe Sally Bell helped her. Maybe she didn’t. Miss Ashton was upset because she missed her baby, but she didn’t seem all that worried about her whereabouts. I asked Miss Ashton if she wanted me to call the police, and she said it wasn’t a good idea to get them involved.”

  “Did you try to find Sally Bell, to ask her what had happened?” Ellie asked.

  “Yes’m. I went to her house that very evening when I got off work. But she was long gone. The neighbors said she took her chilrun and went to live with family in Savannah.”

  “How did Mrs. Pringle reacted to Lia’s disappearance?” Abbott asked.

  “She never mentioned the child’s name again. But she was mad as fire at Sally Bell. Missus Pringle said she’d fire me, too, if I stepped out of line.”

  Ellie propped her elbows on the table. “Let’s assume, for a minute, that Sally Bell wasn’t involved in Lia’s disappearance, and Mom was able to sneak Lia out of the house. She couldn’t have done it without help from the outside. Do you have any idea who might have helped her?”

  “If not Sally Bell, then it could’ve been only one person: Miss Louisa Whitehead, One Fifty-nine West Ninth Street Apartment Three B, Greenwich Village, Manhattan. I can still remember her address from the letters I mailed to her.”

  Abbott cursed under his breath. “Louisa swore to me she didn’t know how to find Ashton.”

  Ellie gripped her father’s arm, signaling him to remain calm. “You said letters, Maddie, as in more than one? In her journal, Mom mentioned the letter she wrote notifying Louisa that she wouldn’t be returning to New York. If I’m not mistaken, you mailed that letter to Louisa using your return address.”

  “That’s right,” Maddie said. “But your mama wrote more letters to Miss Louisa after your gramma pushed her down the stairs. They wrote back and forth a few times each.”

  “Bingo!” Ellie clapped her hands together. “There’s the missing link.”

  “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, sweetheart.” Abbot turned to Maddie. “Ashton was having you mail the letters and using your return address. Surely she gave you some clue about what was in the letters?”

  “I was happy to deliver her mail, Mistah Abbott, but she never told me what was in the letters. She said it was best for me not to know. Miss Ashton was always worried about me like that. She didn’t want me to get in trouble with her mama.”

  “Is there any chance Ashton kept the letters?” Abbott asked.

  “No sir. After she read them, Miss Ashton had me burn them in the fireplace in the library.” Maddie stared down at her lap. “Miss Ellie, I understand if you don’t want me working here after I disappeared on you the way I did.”

  “Don’t be silly, Maddie. I’m thrilled to have you back.” Ellie got out of her chair, walked around the table, and wrapped her arms around Maddie’s neck from behind. “But don’t you dare leave this house today without giving me your phone number.”

  Maddie cackled. “No’m. I won’t.”

  Ellie knelt down beside Maddie’s chair. “I have one more question for you before you get to work. You mentioned a little while ago that you were worried about going to jail. Why would anyone send you to jail when you clearly don’t know anything about my sister’s disappearance?”

  “Because I knew about all the other bad stuff happening in this house, and I didn’t do anything to stop it. I should’ve called the police at the first sign of trouble, Miss Ellie, and gotten you, your mama, and your sister to safety. But my mama was sick around that time, and I desperately needed my job to pay her doctor bills.”

  Ellie gave the housekeeper’s hand a squeeze. “I understand, Maddie. We all make sacrifices for the ones we love. My grandmother was an evil woman. Calling the police might have backfired, and so much worse could’ve happened. While you had no way to get us to safety, you took care of us as best you could. I told you the other day how much I appreciated your kindness. You helped me survive my time here.” Ellie smiled over at her father. “My ending was happy. I found my way to my father. And I’m hopeful we’ll find Lia alive and well. So you stop worrying about anyone sending you to jail. It’s not going to happen.”

  She grinned, revealing a mouth full of dentures. “Yes’m, I understand.” She rose from the table. “If you’ll excuse me, I got a lot of work to do to make up for last week. By the way, Miss Ellie, did someone rob the house while I was gone?”

  Ellie laughed out loud, remembering her second day there when Maddie thought someone had stolen Eleanor Pringle’s portrait. “You’ll be happy to know, Maddie, that an antiques dealer paid good money for my grandmother’s portrait. Little did he know I would’ve given it to him for free.”

  They spent the rest of the morning searching the Internet for information on Louisa Whitehead. Abbott never went anywhere without his camera bag and his laptop. Having two computers enabled them to cover more ground in less time. By lunchtime, when Julian showed up with containers of tomato basil soup and Cobb salads from Five Loaves Cafe, they’d compiled a list of possible matches for Louisa Whitehead.

  Julian and her father hit it off right away as Ellie suspected they might. They peppered each other with questions regarding their respective career
s during lunch on the terrace. They went back to work once they’d finished eating and the trash was put away. Julian jumped in to help. He turned out to be a whiz at locating phone numbers for the Louisa Whiteheads listed on their legal pad. Abbott was the obvious choice to place the calls, since he and Louisa had once been friends. He began working his way down the list. His face registered recognition when the sixth Louisa Whitehead answered the call.

  “Louisa, it’s Abbott Cohen. We need to talk.”

  Turning his back on Julian and Ellie, he took his call outside for privacy. For fifteen minutes, he paced back and forth on the brick terrace with shoulders slumped and an intense look on his face. When he finally came back inside, his expression was dismal. “She claims she doesn’t know anything about Lia.”

  “And you believe her?” Ellie asked.

  “Not at all. There was something in her voice. I can’t explain it, but I get the feeling she’s holding something back.” He sat down beside her on the sofa and flipped open his laptop. His fingers flew across the keyboard. “She lives in Urbanna, Virginia, a small town off the Rappahannock River. According to Google Maps, Urbanna is a seven-hour drive from here. If we spent the night in Richmond, we could drive the rest of the way in the morning.” He looked up at his daughter. “I say we pay Louisa a visit in person. It won’t be as easy for her to lie to our faces.”

  “Let’s do it!” Ellie said, already on her feet. “Would you like to come with us, Julian?”

  “Thanks for asking, but the two of you should make this trip alone. Leave Pip-squeak here with me. I’ll move Command Central to my house in case you need anything researched.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

  Ellie

  Abbott offered to drive the first part of the trip, although he complained for a solid ten minutes about the size of her MINI Cooper. Her father wasn’t a tall man, but he was broad shouldered and muscular. Ellie suppressed a laugh. He looked like a giant driving a toy car.