by Kathi Daley
“There’s no way you let me win,” I said, even though I knew it was true. “I not only beat you, I slaughtered you.”
I could imagine the twinkle in Tony’s eye as he responded. “I don’t suppose we can keep that to ourselves? I do have a reputation to uphold.”
“Yeah right. I doubt you called me to beg for my mercy.”
“I found Bethany in Billings.”
I stopped walking. “You did? Did she know Patricia’s secret?”
“She said she did, but she wasn’t comfortable sharing it over the phone. She wants to meet us before she decides whether to tell us what she knows.”
“Billings is over four hundred miles away. It’s not like we can just pop down there after work,” I pointed out.
“Actually, we can if you aren’t busy. I called my pilot and he’s free to take us there and bring us back this afternoon. What time do you get off?”
“Pilot? You have a pilot?”
“There’s a private air service I use when I need to meet with my clients. I know you think I sit around all day playing video games, but the truth of the matter is I travel frequently. How about it? Are you free?”
“I should be finished with my route between three-thirty and four. I’ll need to run the kids home first. Do you want me to meet you at the airport?”
“I’ll arrange for the jet to pick us up at four-thirty and pick you up at your house. I’ll call Bethany and arrange to meet with her at six-thirty. We can have a late dinner after we get back.”
“Okay. I’ll see you then. And thanks, Tony. For everything.”
“No problem. Your mystery is my mystery.”
******
The flight to Billings was fabulous. I’d never traveled by private jet before and had been expecting something small, with room for only a couple of passengers, but the jet Tony had hired was not only big, it was luxurious. There was room for at least ten passengers if all the plush chairs and sofas were occupied, and a fully stocked minifridge as well.
“I guess I knew you must have to travel for work, but I never imagined you traveled like this,” I gasped as we settled in for takeoff. “This sofa is more comfortable than the one in my living room.”
“I don’t like to be away from home for longer than necessary, so I’ve found a private service is the way to go. Would you like a drink?”
“Do you have a cola?”
Tony opened the minifridge. “Glass with ice or can?”
“Can is fine.” I took it from Tony. “Did you ever get around to finishing your tree?”
“I did, and it looks fantastic. Shaggy came by with some Star Wars figures we added to it. By the way, I had a chat with Shaggy about teasing Bree. I felt bad about the way things went the other night. Shaggy now understands that harassing my guests isn’t going to be tolerated, so I’m hoping we won’t have a repetition of the great Chinese food fight.”
“Thanks for talking to him, but I should have called before I popped over with Bree. I wouldn’t have invited her along if I knew he was going to be there. I’ve never seen anyone get under Bree’s skin the way Shaggy does.”
“They do seem to bring out the worst in each other. Did you meet with Bella Bradford today as planned?”
“Yes. She told me a very sad story, but I’m not sure how it could possibly pertain to Pike’s death. At first, I thought the motive for his murder might have been monetary, but Donny confessed to stealing the money but not to the murder. Then I thought the motive might have had to do with the fact that Hank Weston jumped the claim of a dead man and made a fortune, but he’s dead, and from what Hap told me, it didn’t seem there were any hard feelings anyway. And Hap said Pike told him that Bloomfield was killed over love, not money. I don’t know what that means, but I suppose the secret Pike hinted at to Andrew Barton could have to do with Bloomfield’s death. It sounds like Bethany knows the secret, or at least one of the secrets, Pike had been hanging on to. Maybe we’ll have a clearer picture after we speak to her.”
“Have you considered that whoever killed Pike did so for a reason completely removed from the claim jump, Bloomfield, or the secret Pike had been hanging on to?” Tony asked.
“Yes, it has. If that’s true, however, I have no idea where to start. I’d hoped to talk to Mike about it on Sunday, but that didn’t work out. I guess I can try again tomorrow if whatever Bethany has to say doesn’t pan out.”
“Don’t worry, we’ll figure this out,” Tony assured me. “Better buckle up for landing.”
“Already? It seems like we just took off.”
“This jet is one of the fastest on the market. I have a car waiting for us when we land. We should have our answers within the hour.”
The next hour flew by as we landed, were escorted to the car Tony had hired, and traveled to Bethany’s home. Bethany Latham was Patricia’s granddaughter. The first thing we discovered was that Patricia was pregnant with Pike’s daughter when she left White Eagle. She’d informed Pike of his impending fatherhood, but he was unwilling to leave White Eagle and Patricia was unwilling to return, so they’d lived their lives separated by no more than a day’s drive.
“Thank you for agreeing to meet with us,” I said after Bethany showed us to a small seating area that at one time would have been referred to as a parlor.
“When my grandmother told me her secret, she assured me the information was mine to do with as I saw fit. She didn’t ask me to keep her secret only to hold it as she passed into the next life. I knew Pike knew it too, so I figured I’d leave the burden of telling or not up to him, but then, when Tony told me that he’d been murdered, I realized it might very well be time for this secret to be brought into the light. The thing is, the secret, in my opinion, has the potential to hurt people currently living in White Eagle. If I’m going to pass it on I want to be sure it’s to someone who’ll handle the information with delicacy and respect.”
“I understand,” I said. “I’m not sure the secret Pike was keeping is even behind his murder, but the timing of his speaking to the historian and his death seems to be more than just coincidence.”
“I agree, which is why I said I’d meet with you. Can I ask how it is you knew Pike?” Bethany asked.
“He’s been living in White Eagle since long before I was born. I knew who he was—everyone does—but I didn’t know him well until I began delivering his mail. My dog Tilly, who comes on the route with me, absolutely loved Pike, so we’d stop to chat whenever he had mail. Over time we began spending more time together. He liked to talk about the past and Tilly and I enjoyed listening to his stories. The last time I brought mail to him it was the letter you sent, informing him of Patricia’s death. That was the day I found him dead.”
“I’m sorry. That must have been horrible.”
I nodded.
Bethany took a moment before speaking. “If I tell you what I know, do you promise to give thought to what you’ll do with it?”
“I will. I want to find out who killed Pike, but I’m not interested in stirring up controversy if I don’t have to. Based on what I know, it seems this secret has been buried for a long time, and long-buried secrets sometimes are best left that way.” I frowned as I remembered the note I’d found in my mailbag. I still didn’t know who’d sent it.
Bethany looked at Tony. “And do you promise to handle the secret with the care it deserves as well?”
“I do.”
Bethany took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Okay. I have a good feeling about the two of you, and to be honest, Patricia’s secret is one I’d just as soon pass on responsibility for.”
Tony and I sat quietly. I could see it was important to let Bethany set the pace, and I imagined Tony realized that as well.
“My grandmother first went to White Eagle to assist a friend who was pregnant. Grandma was a midwife and the friend had already suffered two miscarriages, so she wanted to improve the odds of her having a successful delivery. After the baby was born the friend moved aw
ay, but Grandma decided to stay. She met Pike and they were married and, based on what she shared with me, she was content with her life as both a midwife and a wife.”
Bethany paused before continuing. “The problem occurred when two of her clients went into labor at the same time.”
“Alberta Wade and someone named Emily Brown,” I supplied.
“You know that part?” Bethany asked.
“A friend of Patricia’s told me part of the story, but please continue.”
“As I said, two of my grandmother’s patients went into labor at the same time and, unfortunately, both had complications. There wasn’t a hospital in White Eagle back then, or even a full-time doctor. When Emily’s husband came to tell Grandma she had gone into labor, she already had her hands full with Mrs. Wade, so she told him she’d come as soon as Mrs. Wade delivered. As it turned out, Grandma was tied up a lot longer than she’d thought she’d be, and by the time she arrived to help Emily she was in a great degree of distress.”
“Bella told me both the mother and child died,” I supplied.
“Yes, that was the story, and the root of the secret. You see, both Mrs. Wade and Emily had sons. Mrs. Wade survived, but her baby died. Emily died while delivering her son, and Mr. Wade convinced my grandmother to give him Emily’s child, which he presented to his wife as her own child.”
“Wait. What?”
“Mrs. Wade had been given a sedative after her baby was born. She never knew he’d died as a result of the difficult labor. When she awoke her husband greeted her with a baby boy and she never knew the difference.”
“What about Emily’s husband?” Tony asked.
“He knew his wife had died during the delivery and was grief-stricken. When he was later told his son hadn’t made it, he didn’t question it. He buried his wife and the body of the baby he was given and left the area.”
“Oh my God,” I gasped. “How could she do that? What could Dillinger Wade possibly have said to convince Patricia to go along with the lie?”
“Emily’s husband was a poor man who drank too much. Mr. Wade convinced my grandmother that the baby would have a better life with him and his wife. Grandma worried that Emily’s husband wouldn’t be able to provide a stable home life now that his wife was dead, so she let Mr. Wade talk her into agreeing to the switch.”
“And the baby’s father…did he ever find out the truth?”
“My grandmother never heard from him after he left White Eagle and had no idea what had become of him.”
I glanced at Tony, who looked as shocked as I felt. “The baby who was switched at birth must be Austin Wade.”
Bethany nodded.
“Do you know if Alberta Wade ever found out that the baby she raised wasn’t her own?” I asked.
“Grandma didn’t know.”
Wow.
Both Dillinger and Alberta Wade were dead, as were Pike and Patricia Porter. Emily’s husband had been out of the picture for a long time and could be dead by this time as well. In my mind, the only one alive who could still be hurt if the truth came out was Austin Wade. I remembered seeing his birth announcement circled in the newspaper. It seemed as though Patricia had told Pike the truth at some point, so it didn’t make sense that he’d been the one who’d looked it up and circled it. I hadn’t been looking for a death announcement for Emily or her baby when I’d leafed through the newspapers, but now I wondered if it might have been recorded in the same weekly edition.
Tony and I thanked Bethany and went back to the airport for our return flight.
“What on earth are we supposed to do with this information?” I asked when we were in the air.
“I’m not sure. Do you think Austin Wade knows the truth?”
“Short of asking him, I don’t see how we can find out.”
“So, the question is, do we ask him?”
“If Austin knows the truth and killed Pike to keep the secret, we need to tell someone what we know. But if Austin never found out and wasn’t responsible for revealing long-buried secrets we’d just be hurting an innocent man.” I looked directly at Tony. “While I can’t claim to know whether Austin knows he isn’t a Wade biologically, I think someone does. Austin’s car was seen in front of Pike’s cabin on the day he was murdered and the note I found in my bag warned me that secrets long buried were best left buried. Unless there’s another life-changing secret floating around, I have to assume someone knows the secret behind Austin’s birth.”
“Note in your bag?” Tony asked.
“I guess I forgot to tell you about that; someone left a note addressed to me in the bottom of my mailbag with that warning.”
Tony frowned. “A threatening note seems like a pretty serious thing to forget to tell me about.”
“The note wasn’t threatening exactly, and I’d had a long day. By the time you showed up I was ready to forget about everything and just relax. I think the important thing to remember is that Rita Carson told Bree she’d seen Austin’s car in front of his house the day he died.”
“Sounds incriminating.”
“So, what now?” I asked.
“The first thing we’re going to do is find out who put the note in your bag. Chances are if we find that person we’ll find the killer.”
Chapter 9
Wednesday, December 20
As it turned out, Tony was wrong. I had Mike pull the prints off the paper the note was written on, and it turned out the person who’d slipped the note into my bag was none other than my co-worker, Jane Watson. When I asked her why she’d done it, she explained she knew I’d been running around town talking to people to uncover some deep, dark secret and was afraid I was going to uncover her deep, dark secret in the process. When I asked her what it was, she’d blushed and declined to say. I suspected Jane had been stepping out on her husband of more than thirty years, and I asked her point-blank if that was the secret she’d been trying to hide. She admitted it was. I had no reason to think she was Pike’s murderer, so I let it go.
Tony and I decided our next move would be to talk to Austin Wade. We weren’t sure what, if anything, he knew, but it seemed all threads in our investigation led to the man who wasn’t a Wade at all. Tony called him to make an appointment for us to see him as soon as I finished my route on Wednesday. To speed things up a bit, Tony met me in midroute to take Tang and Tilly home.
The Wade home was more like a mansion. Austin was the oldest of the three Wade offspring so, while all of Dillinger Wade’s sons were rich, Austin controlled the bulk of the fortune.
“How can I help you?” Austin asked after showing us to his office and offering us a seat.
I wished I’d rehearsed what I was going to say because I was suddenly tongue-tied.
Fortunately, Tony jumped in. “We’re here to speak to you regarding a matter we believe might be related to Pike Porter’s death.”
“I see. And what matter might that be?” Austin, who owned his power and presented a strong, assertive posture, asked.
“We understand Pike came to see you several days before his death,” Tony continued.
“That’s correct.”
“Do you mind if we ask what it was he wanted to discuss with you?” I asked.
“Given the fact that you aren’t a cop or a representative of the Porter estate, I’m not sure what business it is of yours.”
“We spoke to Patricia Porter’s granddaughter,” I said. “She explained the specifics of your birth.”
Austin’s lips pursed and his eyes narrowed. “In that case, I guess you’re aware Mr. Porter knew something about me that I’d prefer didn’t become public knowledge. I imagine you also suspect I killed him to keep him quiet.”
“Did you?” I asked.
“No, I didn’t. When Pike called to speak to me I suspected he wanted to talk about the secret that has overshadowed me for much of my life, so I agreed to meet with him. He said he was an old man and had carried the secret as long as he could and needed to unburden himself befo
re he died. I assured him that I knew my father had convinced his wife to falsify the birth record so it would appear I was born to Dillinger and Alberta Wade, not to the young couple who were my real parents. My father had confessed the circumstances surrounding my birth to me years earlier, when we spoke hours before his death. Pike and I discussed the matter in depth and agreed a secret such as the one he and I had been asked to keep was too big to bear comfortably. Since my conversation with Pike I’ve shared that secret with both my brothers.”
“How did they take it?” I asked.
“Better than I expected. As the eldest Wade son, I was given control of most of the Wade fortune. I suppose my brothers could make a case that because I’m not a Wade by blood, that control should go to the second son, my brother Jonathan, but my brothers agreed that while I may not have been a Wade by birth I became one by circumstance and should continue in my role as trust administrator.”
“Thank you for your honesty. I’m sure the secret has been a great burden to you. I have one final question. If Pike and you spoke the week before, why did you visit him on the day of his death?”
“I didn’t visit him. In fact, I was out of town at a conference that whole week.”
I didn’t argue. Brick had said he’d seen Austin’s car outside Pike’s on the day he died, but it seemed ridiculous for Austin to lie because his alibi was easily verifiable.
“I’m not sure whether the ramifications of the actions taken by my father and Pike’s wife would be as great today as they were at the time of my birth, but I’d like to keep my dirty laundry within the family,” Austin added as Tony and I stood up to leave.
“That’s understandable. Tony and I won’t say a word. Thank you again.”
Back in Tony’s car, I took a minute to process everything. In the past couple of weeks, I’d learned that Hank Weston had stolen a dead man’s gold, though no one presently living seemed to care about it. I’d also learned that Dillinger Wade had made a deal with Pike’s wife that at the time could have had huge ramifications, but now that everyone involved was dead, it had been reduced to no more than a mild embarrassment. The note that had been slipped into my mailbag, which had seemed like a huge clue had ended up being nothing more than a middle-aged woman trying to hide her affair from her husband.
