“Yes, child, come in, please. I’m Anna Bradbury, my sister, Emma is upstairs. May I offer you a cup of tea?”
“No thank you, ma’am,” Katie said wondering if the elderly woman was expecting someone else.
“Who are you?” Emma asked as she walked down the stairs with two sweaters in her arms.
“They didn’t tell me their names, Emma. Give me my sweater, I’m cold. I wish you would call Jake today about fixing the furnace.” Anna said shivering.
“The sweater will warm you, Jake will be here tomorrow and he’ll check the furnace. For now, I want to know what these young people want and why they are here.”
“I’m Jess King, ma’am and this is your kin, Katie Bradbury.”
“Sir, you have forced your way into our home uninvited. This young woman is no kin of ours. My sister and I have no relatives except each other. Your rudeness in not removing your hat in our home is inexcusable.”
Jess glanced up and realized he was wearing a baseball cap, he took it off and said, “Sorry ma’am, Miss Katherine Bradbury is indeed your kin and has evidence to prove it.”
“Jess, let me do the talking,” said Katie. “I’m not here to cause trouble or upset you. My grandfather, Rex Bradbury, told me his daddy, Arthur Bradbury is the son of Caleb Bradbury. I believe Caleb is your father’s name.”
“Everyone knows our father’s name, miss. However, he did not have a son, only twin daughters and that would be Anna and me.”
“I understand, Miss Bradbury, I’m sorry I bothered you. I only wanted to meet Gramps’ aunts. I’ll leave now.”
“You can’t leave without your share of the money,” cried Jess.
“That’s enough, Jess, we are leaving.” Katie took his arm and pushed him toward the door.
“Wait!” called Anna, “young lady, you stay but the young man must go.”
Jess scowled at the old woman but did as she said.
“Emma, it’s true,” said Anna, “we have a brother, his name is Arthur. When you were off in Europe years ago, I heard Papa talking to a man who said he’d found his son. He gave him some papers and I watched as Papa read them. He had tears in his eyes, I’d never seen Papa cry before. After he read them, he walked down to the basement and put the papers in one of his hiding places. I found them the next day. Our brother was living on a ranch in Wyoming, he had a son who he named Rex.”
“That’s Gramps,” said Katie.
“Where are those papers now, Anna?” Why didn’t you tell me this before? If you are telling the truth, this young lady could be our niece. How old are you, dear?
“I’m twenty-one,” replied Katie.
“Twenty-one! Did you hear that sister? We could have had a niece to dote on for twenty-one years. Where are those papers now?”
“I don’t know, Emma, it was many years ago, maybe Papa destroyed them.”
“Miss, I will look for those papers. If they ever existed, they should still be here. My father never destroyed anything. Leave me your phone number and I’ll call you tomorrow morning after we find them. I do not want your young man in this house again. Do I make myself clear? If you return, you and you alone will be welcome.”
“I understand, Miss Bradbury. I look forward to hearing from you.”
Jess was furious by the time Katie got back to the car.
“What did the old biddy say when they threw me out?”
“You aren’t welcome in their home, Jess. If they call, you must find something else to do.”
Chapter Six
Jake arrived at the Snow house to pick Kenzie up for their dinner date.
“Good Evening, Mrs. Snow.”
“Mrs. Snow? Why so formal, Jake, you’ve been calling me Rebecca for months now.”
“I’m sorry, old habits are hard to break; would you and Andy like to join Kenzie and me tonight?”
“That’s nice of you, Jake, I have a show tonight and Andy will work the curtain again. Tonight is the last performance; Kenzie said you two would be there.”
“You’re right, we were planning to go after a quick dinner. What is it they say? Break a leg?”
“Hi, sweetheart, are you wishing my mother bodily injury?” Kenzie laughed.
“No; you look great; are you ready to go?” Jake answered.
“Are you okay, Jake? You seem distracted.”
Kenzie is right, Jake thought to himself, I am distracted. I’ve got to stay in control, I can’t raise suspicion.
“It was a busy day, numbers are still floating around in my head. I’ll forget about audits and such and concentrate on you.”
Rebecca watched the couple as they walked hand in hand to Jake’s car. She had an unpleasant feeling that something troublesome was about to happen.
Andy stood by her side. “Does Jake’s behavior have you bothered? He didn’t seem like himself tonight.”
“No, he didn’t, and it worries me. My imagination is working overtime.”
Andy knew Rebecca’s intuitions were usually correct. He hoped this wasn’t one of those times.
***
Oakwood Park Hotel
Jess King sat on the sofa in his hotel room thinking about the visit to the Bradbury sisters’ home. He should have turned on the charm with the old girls. Now, he is banned from their house. If they accepted Katie as their kin, he wouldn’t be included in the family reunion. He’d have to make it right with Katie. He shouldn’t have rented an expensive car and insisted on moving to first-class seats on the airplane. There will be time for living in luxury when Katie is his billionaire wife. He can make it up to her by paying for the rental car. He opened his wallet to find thirty dollars and a maxed-out credit card. It was enough to buy a hamburger and coke at a fast-food joint.
Jess knocked on her door across the hall, “Katie are you there?”
“I’m here, Jess.”
“Would you like to get a hamburger, my treat?”
“A hamburger sounds good, are you sure you don’t want to go to a five-star restaurant?” Katie teased.
“I’m sorry, I got carried away. I’m fine with flying coach and renting an economy car. I’ll turn in the convertible if you want me to.”
“We won’t be here that long. If I don’t hear from my aunts tomorrow, we’ll head back to the ranch. I’m getting homesick.”
Jess fought the impulse to convince her to stay and get her money. He smiled and said, “Do you want fries with your burger?”
The Bradbury Home
Emma and Anna sat watching their favorite local news station, both thinking of the young lady who appeared at their door earlier.
“Anna, is it possible, Katherine is our niece? Wouldn’t it be wonderful to have a new member of our family?”
“Yes, I agree, Emma, I want to call the dear girl and have her join us for supper. Why don’t you take another of Maria’s meals out of the freezer to thaw?”
“I don’t trust that boy who came with her. He is rude and kept his hat on inside our home. Does it seem strange to you that they aren’t married and yet they are traveling together? That kind of thing was never done in our day.”
“Sister, many things young people do today were never done in ours. Are you going to call Katherine?”
“Jake will be here early tomorrow. I will ask him for advice. He’ll know what we should do.”
Oakwood Community Playhouse
The last curtain call for Murder on Chamberlain Lake signaled the end of the season for the Community Players.
Dan North was sorry to see the show end. He’d enjoyed his experience as an actor. Earlier that day he’d asked his partner, Erica, if she would like to attend the cast party that evening. She accepted the invitation saying she’d like to meet her neighbors in Oakwood Park. The more she got to know Dan, the more she realized he was nothing like her ex. They were reluctant partners but their trust in each other was growing.
***
Kenzie and Jake attended the party. Kenzie, an artist, was responsible for mu
ch of the set design with her painted scenes used in the production.
“Do you think you’ll ever perform on stage like your mother,” asked Erica.
“No, I couldn’t learn all those lines like my mother does. My talents are best used behind the scenes. How about you Erica? Would you like to play a part in a show?”
“Heaven’s no, I have a hard time reciting the Miranda warning without flubbing my lines. I wouldn’t mind doing something though, these folks seem to have a good time doing whatever they do.”
“It is a good group and we always welcome anyone interested in helping out. It won’t be long before the fall shows begin. I’ll let Nancy Clark know of your interest.”
***
Rebecca was relieved to see Jake laughing with Andy and Alex. Maybe she worried about him needlessly.
“Mom, are you happy the season has ended, you and Dad can relax this summer?”
“It’s always sad when the season ends. I do have my temporary job at the television station.”
“You know they won’t replace you. You’re too good at what you do.”
“Speaking of the show, I was thinking of asking Erica West to join me one of these mornings. She’s a newcomer to town and Dan’s partner. I’d like to ask what made her decide to become a police detective.”
“You mean instead of a fashion model? She is a striking woman. She and Dan make a great looking couple.”
“I don’t think it’s come to that yet, according to Dan they couldn’t stand each other at first. Some relationships take more time than others.” Rebecca smiled at Kenzie knowing her daughter had loved Jake Morgan since childhood. She finally grew old enough for him to love her back.
Chapter Seven
“Good morning, Jake,” Janet said when her boss arrived at the office. She knew by his troubled expression and the obvious effect of little sleep that whatever upset him yesterday was still bothering him.
“Good morning, Janet,” Jake replied with a half-smile on his face.
“How about a cup of coffee? Ben brought Danish this morning; I’d be happy to heat a raspberry one for you.”
“No, thanks, Janet, I’m not hungry although a cup of coffee would be nice. What does my schedule look like today?”
“It’s Wednesday,” Janet replied.
Jake gave her a blank look.
“The Bradbury sisters expect you this morning unless your schedule has changed.”
“No, why would it change? Let me know when it’s nine o’clock, I’ll be leaving for Bradbury Hill then.”
“Jake, what is wrong, you aren’t yourself today.”
“Nothing is wrong; I have work to do.”
“How about that coffee?” Janet asked.
“No, thanks, I don’t want coffee.”
Jake walked to his office and closed the door. He gazed out the window. It was useless to work on the audit he’d started the day before. He couldn’t concentrate on work. If only he could tell Kenzie about it, no, he had to handle this alone.
***
On his drive to Bradbury Hill, Jake struggled to put the situation out of his mind. The Bradbury sisters made a fuss over him and he would concentrate on his visit with them.
Emma opened the front door when she heard Jake’s car in the porte-cochère. The look of anguish on her face alarmed Jake and the uneasiness caused by his other burden vanished.
“Emma, are you ill? Is Anna all right?”
“Anna and I are as healthy as we can expect at our age; I must tell you about our visitor yesterday and the dilemma we now face.”
After greeting Anna and accepting a cup of tea, Jake sat on the sofa waiting for Emma to tell her tale. Jake knew the sisters sometimes thought a problem through so many times it usually turned out being less worrisome than it actually was.
Anna fidgeted in her chair, she was anxious to tell Jake the story of their brother Arthur and his great-granddaughter, Katherine who surprised them with her visit the day before.
Emma took a deep breath and told Jake about Katie’s visit. “The young man who accompanied her is not welcome in our home and I told Katherine I did not want him here. I don’t like his type, he’s vulgar and disrespectful.”
“Emma is annoyed because the boy didn’t remove his hat when he entered our home,” Anna said.
“It’s not only that, he had beady eyes. I don’t trust a man with beady eyes. He was up to no good and told Katherine she couldn’t leave without her share of the money,” Emma said.
Jake was concerned about the visitors. The sisters are alone in the big mansion most of the time. Caleb Bradbury was well-known in the Oakwood Park area. His daughters are vulnerable to con artists who know the Bradbury sisters are wealthy.
“Ladies, it’s time you hire a bodyguard. Someone who will protect you if people try to take advantage of your good nature.”
“Katherine wouldn’t hurt us, Jake, she is a kind young lady, I like her and I hope she is our niece,” said Anna.
“Anna can’t remember where Papa hid the report about a man called Arthur. If we had a brother, I don’t know why Papa hid it from us but he must have had a good reason. Maybe Arthur was evil like that Jess fellow that came here with Katherine.”
“Emma, I think our Katherine likes being called Katie,” whispered Anna.
“Sister, we don’t know if Katherine is ours. Jake will find out for us, isn’t that right, Jake?”
“I can try, you say she’s from Wyoming? There can’t be too many folks with that name. I’ll see what I can find.”
“Sister, you wanted me to remind you to ask Jake about the heater,” said Anna.
“I didn’t forget, Sister, give me a chance. In the meantime, you can concentrate on where Papa hid that report,” said Emma not admitting she had forgotten about the furnace.
Jake reviewed the weekly bills with the sisters. Emma removed a brick and reached behind it handing Jake money to pay the telephone bill. It was an inefficient bookkeeping method but the sisters liked it this way and Jake obliged them.
“I’m not sure I can help with your heating problem, ladies, but I will look.”
Jake walked down the rickety stairs with Anna following behind. He made a mental note to talk with her about having the stairs replaced. They were part of the original structure and a safety hazard. Emma held a flashlight while Jake examined the furnace. The light in the basement was dim, and the flashlight didn’t help much. Jake rubbed his hand around the vent pipe and felt a slight crack. He was unfamiliar with the functions of a furnace but assumed the parts were originals or had been in place for many years.
“Emma, I can’t be certain but I think your furnace is giving out. I’ll call a heating man this afternoon to check it. They might tell you the furnace needs replacing.”
***
Before Jake left the house, Emma gave him a hug. “I don’t know what we would do without you, Jake, you are like a son to us.”
“You ladies are special too.”
Jake left the mansion smiling and not knowing it was the last time he would see the Bradbury sisters together.
***
“Sister,” Anna asked, “does Jake know we are leaving all of Papa’s money and this old house to him when we go?”
“No, Sister, there will be plenty of time to tell him, it will be our wedding present to him when he marries that pretty Mackenzie Snow.”
“Emma, I remember where Papa hid those papers. It came to me when you and Jake were in the basement. It’s behind a brick in the wall next to the furnace. I can picture it as though it happened yesterday. Papa with his big hands pulling that brick out of its place and stashing a big envelope inside.”
“Do you think you can remember which brick it was? Let’s look for it; can you walk down the stairs if I hold your hand?”
“Oh, yes, I want so much for Katherine to be our niece, I’m sure I can make it.”
It took some doing, but Anna made it all the way to the basement floor. She looked around
and gasped. “I’d forgotten how big it is down here, we have a lot of bricks to check. Let’s get started.”
Chapter Eight
Jess King knocked on Katie’s hotel room door. She opened it motioning for him to come in while she checked the flight availability to Elk River and back to the ranch.
“Don’t go home, Katie, I’ll drive you back to see the old ladies. I’ll stay in the car and out of sight. I know you can convince them you are their niece.”
Murder on Bradbury Hill Page 3
