Call Back: Magnolia Steel Mystery #3 (Magnolia Steele Mystery)

by Denise Grover Swank

  I suspected she’d cut it off as soon as she’d told me everything she wanted me to know. I knew I was being played, yet I had no choice but to follow her rules. “Who was in charge of Winterhaven?”

  Her eyes lit up. “Oh, someone has been doing her homework.” She rested her hands on her lap. “Your father, believe it or not.” She waved a hand. “Well, he wasn’t in charge publicly, but he was calling the shots. The Jackson Project was his idea, and he brought many of us on board to invest in it as well. But I’m sure you heard it all fell apart.” She made a face. “Nasty business. Max and Neil vowed to get revenge, but Bill protected your father. He made sure they never touched him . . . until Brian turned on him, that is.”

  I tried to hide my shock. “My father turned on Bill? When? Fourteen years ago when he disappeared?”

  She laughed and shook her head. “You poor girl. You always believed he was dead. Brian was counting on that. He was so certain the testimony of his precocious daughter would convince the police he’d come to foul play. But his plan didn’t exactly work out, of course. Max and Neil changed things.”

  My heart raced, but I forced myself to maintain my cool exterior. Rowena was counting on me falling apart, and I wasn’t going to give it to her. I was a coldhearted woman no one could touch. If I repeated it enough, I’d believe it. “What does that mean? How did they change things?”

  “They knew Brian was planning to take off, so they planned to catch him in the act and punish him. They had Shannon abducted and killed, then planted her car at the airport along with your father’s. Max knew a woman who worked at an airline, and in exchange for a hefty bribe, he got her to claim they’d boarded a plane to the Caribbean. Max had paid for the tickets several days in advance with Shannon’s credit card so there would be a paper trail.”

  “It couldn’t have been that easy.”

  “It was easier than you might think, particularly if that’s what the police wanted to believe.”

  “And my father?”

  “He escaped, unscathed, of course, and boarded a plane, but not with Shannon. And under an alias. Rumor has it he went to Tahiti. Or Bora Bora. He took the knowledge of the location of the money with him.”

  “Walter Frey, Geraldo Lopez, and Christopher Merritt’s father knew about this? They condoned it?”

  “Not at first, but Bill kept them in line. Everyone has their secrets, Magnolia. Things they never want shared in the light of day. Geraldo hid that he was gay. Walter hid that he’d committed incest with his niece. Christopher went on binges with prostitutes and cocaine.”

  I felt like I was going to be sick. “And Steve Morrissey?”

  “Steve Morrissey was tired of his trashy wife and found out his prenup wasn’t as ironclad as he’d hoped. He gave Max and Neil permission to use her in their scheme.”

  “But Shannon’s sister said she had proof that her husband had been laundering money.”

  She chuckled. “Poor naïve Magnolia. You’re just as gullible as poor Shannon. It was all planted. So were the rumors that she and your father might have been working together to take information to the police.”

  “Bill was involved?”

  “He was the mastermind, my dear. Your father double-crossed him and took his money. Much more than a measly million.”

  “He took Bill’s money? Everyone thinks Shannon stole money from her husband’s account.”

  She waved her hand again. “Smoke and mirrors. Your father stole from the business. He’d been planning it for years.”

  He’d planned to leave my mother, Roy, and me?

  “This must be quite hard to hear, Magnolia.”

  I fought to keep control, but then I realized this woman might be feeding me a pack of lies. “I want the truth,” I said in a firm voice. “Where’s my father now?”

  “That’s anyone’s guess, although rumor has it he pops back into town every few years to get a peek at the people he loved.”

  Shock washed through me. Could the man in the ball cap have been my father? I’d assumed he was paying attention to me because he was the killer, but . . .

  Rowena stood. “This stroll down memory lane has been amusing, but our time is up.”

  “Two quick things,” I said as I stood, hanging my purse on my arm. “What happened to your husband?”

  For the first time, she looked affected by her evil tale. “Unlike the others, he didn’t have a vice to keep him in line. When he threatened to tell . . . he met his untimely demise.”

  “They tampered with his car?”

  She didn’t answer.

  “And your vice?” I asked, holding her gaze.

  A wicked smile crossed her face. “Your father. Our affair was brief but fiery. If word got out that the esteemed Rowena Rogers had slept with a family man . . .” She tsked. “I used to care about things like that back then.”

  The blood rushed from my head. Of all the things I’d heard about him, for some reason this was by far the hardest to accept.

  My whole childhood had been a lie.

  But I was a grown woman now, and I needed to pull myself together. “Was Gordon Frasier dirty?” I asked. “Did he help cover up Shannon’s murder and my father’s disappearance?”

  A sad smile surfaced on her face. “No, poor Gordon was simply caught in the middle of something out of his control, but I hear his nephew is set on clearing his name.”

  But was he doing it by devious means? “How do you know about Owen?”

  “I have friends in many places. Now you need to go, Magnolia, and get ready for your date tonight. A beautiful man always deserves a beautiful woman, and your man is as stunning as your father was back in the day.”

  My mouth dropped open. Who was she talking about? But it made sense that she’d know about my entanglement with Brady if she had friends who kept tabs on Owen. Still, why had she shared so much with me if she believed I was involved with a detective?

  She followed me to the door. When she opened it, I walked onto the front step and turned to face her. “Why did you tell me this? You know I could tell the police, and they could arrest you as an accomplice.”

  “You’re not going to go to the police, Magnolia. You have too much to lose. One million dollars’ worth. Be a good girl and do the right thing. Don’t end up like poor Shannon.”

  With that, she slammed the door in my face.

  Chapter 27

  As soon as I pulled out of her driveway, I called Colt.

  “Maggie?” he answered, sounding on edge. Probably because I only called when I was in trouble. The rest of the time I texted. “Is everything okay?”

  He’d given me Rowena’s information. Had he set me up? Was he the handsome date Rowena had mentioned? I couldn’t help but think about how she’d had that tea tray ready to go. “How did you get Rowena’s information?”

  “Maggie . . .”

  “You’re not going to tell me?”

  When he answered, his voice was guarded. “I can’t.”

  “Why not?”

  “I promised.”

  “Since when do you keep promises?” I asked.

  “Since when did I break a promise to you?” he demanded angrily. We were silent for a moment, and when he spoke again, his voice had lost its edge. “You called her?”

  “No, I went and saw her.”

  “Who’s with your mother?” He sounded agitated.

  “The hospital staff.”

  “Why didn’t you ask me to go with you? What if that woman was dangerous?”

  “She is dangerous.” I pushed out a breath of frustration and pulled into the parking lot of an insurance company so I could look up an address on my phone. “I’ll tell you the rest later, but she knows about the gold, Colt.”

  “She came right out and said that?”

  “She never mentioned the word ‘gold,’ but when I asked her why she’d given me so much implicating information, she said I wouldn’t turn her in because I have too much to lose—one million dollars’
worth. Then she told me to do the right thing or end up like Shannon Morrissey.”

  “Fuck.”

  “Exactly.”

  “What did she confess to?”

  “Who’s controlling your puppet strings?” I countered.

  “Dammit, Magnolia! Did she say anything about tonight specifically, or was it just a general threat?”

  I replayed the last few minutes of our conversation. “Just in general.”

  “Then she doesn’t necessarily know anything. If she knew Walter Frey—or hell, even heard the damn news—then she knew about the money. She was fishing and used it as bait. Did you give her anything?”

  I replayed the conversation again. “No. I only asked questions.” But I realized I needed to tell Colt everything; otherwise, he was going into a dangerous situation not completely armed. Still, I didn’t want to tell him on the phone. I needed to do it in person.

  “Good.” He sounded relieved.

  “I’m coming tonight,” I said. “Although I still don’t have a dress. I’ll come up with something.”

  “Then I’ll meet you out front of the Savannah House at eight thirty,” he said. “Don’t bring your car. Take a taxi or an Uber.”

  “Okay,” I said. “See you then.”

  “Maggie!”

  “What?” I asked quietly.

  “Watch your back. Do you have the gun? It’s under the seat.”

  “I have it.”

  “Good. Bring it tonight.”

  I hung up and looked up the address I’d decided to visit. When I found it, I plugged it into the GPS on my phone and tried to talk myself out of this rash decision. I suspected it wouldn’t end well.

  Like that had stopped me before.

  I headed out of the parking lot, and thirty minutes later, I pulled up in front of a house I barely remembered. Shivers cascaded down my spine. This was utterly stupid, yet I was determined to see it through. I picked up my phone, opened an app to record conversations, and then tucked it into my purse. Hopefully it wouldn’t be too muffled. My gun was in there too if I needed it.

  Before I walked up to the door, I sent Colt a text with the address of where I was and told him to come looking for me if he hadn’t heard from me in twenty minutes. Then I stuffed my phone back into my purse before he could talk me out of it.

  I rang the doorbell, and it was only a few seconds before a young woman who looked to be in her early twenties opened the door. “Oh,” she said, sounding surprised. “Magnolia.”

  My eyebrows rose. “Do I know you?”

  She giggled. “No. But I know you. Come in. He’ll be excited that you’re here.”

  “He’s home?”

  “Yeah.” She gestured to the living room full of black leather furniture. “Have a seat. I’ll go get him.”

  I was too nervous to sit, so I moved around the room, pretending to look at the artwork and the view out the window. But I saw him in my peripheral vision as soon as he entered the room. Steeling my back, I turned to face him.

  Bill James filled the doorway, looking very pleased. “Magnolia. I’m so happy you changed your mind.”

  I couldn’t think of anything to say. Everything I’d planned on the way here had fled my brain.

  “Would you like a drink?” he asked. “Gemma made some lemonade earlier.”

  “No, thank you,” I said, moving toward a leather chair. “I’m fine.”

  He sat on the sofa and watched me take the chair, and it occurred to me that I’d spent the afternoon in the living rooms of two murdering co-conspirators. It was as if I were making Sunday social calls in hell.

  “What made you change your mind?” Bill asked.

  “My mother is in the hospital,” I said. “She’s dying from cancer.”

  He sat up, looking alarmed. “Magnolia, I’m sorry. I had no idea.”

  “No one did. She kept it to herself. But it’s made me miss Daddy even more,” I said, the words tasting bitter on my tongue. If Daddy really was alive, I’d probably spit in his face if I saw him again. But I wasn’t about to let Bill James know that. Not yet.

  “Your father was a good man. But sometimes good men get caught up in bad things.”

  I looked Bill square in the eye. “Was he a good man, Mr. James?”

  His smile faded. “Call me Bill, and what do you know?”

  What was I going to confess to? Though it was the most benign of all the accusations I could level, it stung horribly. Especially with Momma lying there in that hospital room. “I know he had an affair.”

  Bill held up his hand in protest. “He regretted it, Magnolia. It killed him that he was weak.”

  “I know he slept with Rowena Rogers.” The thought of my father sleeping with that vile woman made me want to puke. “However, I don’t know many details other than that it supposedly didn’t last long. I want to know more.”

  “It’s true. It didn’t last long. Maybe a few months. It was when you and Roy were young. You were probably seven or eight, although they had been skirting around it for years.” He paused, sympathy in his eyes. “I caution you against hearing more, Magnolia. What good will it do?”

  “I want to know the truth.”

  “Contrary to popular opinion, the truth doesn’t always set you free.”

  “No, but sometimes a person needs a hard dose of reality. I’m not a child anymore.”

  He studied me for several seconds, then held up his hands in surrender. “What do you want to know?”

  He was confusing me. Despite Brady’s news, I’d been so certain Bill was the serial killer, but why would he be treating me so kindly if he intended on killing me? Was it because Gemma was here? Was she his girlfriend? But when I compared his voice to the voice in his office, I was pretty sure it wasn’t him.

  Then who had been in his office?

  I just needed to focus on getting as many answers as I could—and then get out. “I want to know when and how their affair started.”

  “They met at a fundraiser. We were drumming up clients. We were pretty lean back then, and your father was about to have two babies to provide for. Then there was the house he’d overextended his finances to buy, along with a ballooning-interest mortgage. And Rowena . . . she was beautiful and charming. He was tempted, but he didn’t succumb to the temptation until she was part of a business deal that went bad. She understood what he was going through while your mother was simply furious.”

  “So he was stressed?” I asked bitterly. “That excuses what he did?”

  “No, Magnolia. Of course not. But things were bad at home with your mother, and he felt trapped. He didn’t want to leave you. When you were born, he built his world around you, but it wasn’t enough.” He paused. “Rowena made him feel like a man again.”

  I shook my head in disgust. “Don’t you dare make excuses for him.”

  “I’m not.” He sighed and leaned forward. “Nothing will excuse what he did, and he knew it. He never wanted you or your mother to know.”

  “You said it lasted a few months. Why did he end it?”

  He hesitated. “She ended it. She was in a loveless marriage, and she loved your father. She gave him an ultimatum, thinking it would work, but she underestimated how much he loved you and your brother.”

  “So that’s why she hates me so much?”

  His eyes widened. “You’ve met her?”

  “Yes. A few times.”

  “I would like to think she doesn’t hold anything against you personally, but she’s capable of petty jealousy, so I wouldn’t be surprised if she does.”

  “Did my father also have an affair with Shannon Morrissey?”

  He grimaced. “Honestly? I don’t know.”

  “You told the police he did.”

  Bill linked his fingers together. “I regret that now. I succumbed to gossip.” This was contradicting everything Rowena had said. Who was I to believe?

  “So if he didn’t run off with Shannon Morrissey, what happened to him?”

  �
��I suspect Geraldo Lopez killed him.”

  “But why?”

  “I think we’ve all heard the same thing from the police. Your father, Walter, Chris, and Geraldo conspired to embezzle from Steve Morrissey, and your father was about to go to the police. Geraldo stopped him and used it as a warning to the others.”

  I looked Bill in the eyes. “But that’s not what happened, is it?”

  His demeanor shifted. “Why would you say that?”

  Rowena Rogers had nearly destroyed my family and hated me because my father had—at least once—tried to do the right thing. I decided to throw her under the bus. “Rowena thinks Max Goodwin and Neil Fulton were involved with Shannon Morrissey’s death.”

  His face paled.

  “Did Max and Neil try to kill my father?”

  “Why would they do such a thing? Winterhaven was at least five years behind us. Water under the bridge.” He frowned. “I take it you spoke to Rowena.” When I nodded, he said, “Consider the source, Magnolia. She wants to hurt you.”

  “I want the truth, Bill.”

  “Bill,” Gemma said from the doorway. “I’m sorry to interrupt, but Mitch Kennedy is on the phone. He insists you take his call.”

  Bill looked conflicted, but he shook his head and stood. “I’m sorry, Magnolia, but we’ll have to pick this up later. Maybe we could meet for dinner next week. Let’s eat here so we can talk discreetly. Gemma will cook.”

  “Yes,” I said, standing, trying to sound amicable so he would talk to me again if the need arose. “Of course. Sorry to interrupt your day.”

  “No,” he said, walking over and pulling me into a loose embrace. “You are always welcome in my home. I tried to be more of a presence in your life after your father left, but your mother . . .” He grimaced. “Let’s just say she never forgave me for your father’s indiscretions.”

  It took everything in me not to cringe when he touched me.

  “I never had children,” he said as he walked to the doorway. “I know I’ll never be your father, but I’d like you to know someone is here for you. Especially after your mother . . . passes. Let’s just say I’ve already assumed that role for your brother. I’d be honored to take it on with you.”