“Then what?” Tammie added.
“Stolen artifacts. The real stuff,” Serena said, pulling away from Trudie and running to the statue Dylan had seen the other day. She picked it up and smashed it on the floor. “This is what was so precious to them that they took my family away from me.”
“I don’t understand. I thought those were reproductions,” Tammie said.
It finally dawned on Dylan. “That one might be, but I’m guessing not all of them are.”
“You’re right,” Aurore said. “They use the auctions as a cover to move stolen art of all kinds and sell them on the black market. Byron used to be a middleman to help them launder the money into foreign bank accounts. For a while it worked for him. But then Eleanor got suspicious.”
“She always did have a nose for sniffing out the truth,” Trudie said, then looked at Tammie and chuckled. “You’re a whole lot like her.”
“How do you know?”
“Your mother always spoke of you. It did her heart good to see you grow up a beautiful woman like Eleanor.”
“You knew my mother, too? Connie Gardner?”
“Eleanor’s dad used to call the four of us peas in a pod. Where there was one, there were the other three. It broke my heart to lose Eleanor, and then to lose Connie, too, after she and Aaron left Eastmeadow. But the friendship always remained. I watched you grow up from afar, with the pictures your mom and dad sent. It wasn’t often enough. We were careful to make sure not to attract attention.”
“Did Cash find out about these stolen artifacts?” Dylan asked.
“He did,” Aurore said, “but it isn’t as simple as that.”
“What about you and Cash?” Dylan asked Serena. She appeared much more in touch with reality than she had been in days. She was more like she’d been the day they arrived in Eastmeadow.
“What do you mean?” Serena asked, her bottom lip wobbling with emotion. Her eyes were red from crying. The skin around them was puffy. But she was looking at him, really looking at him, for the first time.
“Pastor Robbins said you two were very close.”
Serena rolled her eyes slightly and shook her head. “Your brother wasn’t just a man I had a child with, Dylan. He was my husband.”
The room went silent for a moment.
“Your husband?”
How was it possible that Cash had a wife and he’d never known? And a child? Wouldn’t he have told him something like that? Made his family a part of their life?
As if reading his expression, Serena added, “It hurt him deeply to keep the secret. You have no idea. He did it for our safety. I know all about you. Cash spoke of his family so often. He loved you all so much.”
“Then why didn’t he ever trust us enough to tell us he was married?” He didn’t expect an answer. Still stunned from the news, he dropped down into a chair and scrubbed his hand over his face.
“It wasn’t because he didn’t trust you. It was because he didn’t know if Turgis would go after one of you in retaliation. He did it to protect you.”
“He knew about Manuel Turgis?”
“He was my husband. Of course he did. He knew it all, because I’d confided in him. Although we kept our marriage secret and very rarely went out in public together, especially after my father got so sick, we didn’t keep secrets from each other.”
Dylan leaned forward in the seat. “What happened when Byron got sick?”
Serena looked at Aurore, who nodded and walked to a cabinet opening a drawer and pulling out a thick envelope. The paper was worn with creases, and smudged fingerprints stained the outside, showing it had been handled a lot.
“What is that?” Tammie asked.
“It’s a letter from your father to Serena,” Aurore said, handing it to her. “Byron knew he didn’t have much time. His illness struck him fast. He needed Serena to finally know what happened so she could carry on what needed to be done.”
“Which was?”
“Byron got in over his head,” Aurore said. “Eleanor had her suspicions, but nothing she could ever put her finger on.”
Trudie motioned with her head toward the portrait of Eleanor and a young Serena with disdain. “He’d insisted Eleanor and Serena pose for that enormous thing. Eleanor hadn’t wanted to do it while she was pregnant.” Then Trudie laughed. “What woman wants to have a constant reminder of how big she got during pregnancy?”
“But he was relentless,” Aurore added. “He kept at her. She’d wanted to wait until Tammie was born, so she could have both her babies with her. But he wouldn’t let up, and so she finally agreed.”
“I don’t get it,” Tammie said, shaking her head in confusion. “What does that portrait have to do with anything?”
Dylan rose from the chair. “I’m guessing it wasn’t the portrait. It was the artist. Am I right?”
Trudie nodded. “It gave Byron a reason to do business with the artist and help Aztec Corporation hide stolen artwork. There was a series of paintings that had been stolen from a private collection. It was worth a fortune back then. I can only imagine what those paintings would be worth in today’s dollars.”
Aurore sat down. “Turgis needed a way to get the stolen painting to his buyer without there being a paper trail connecting him to it. He needed to hide it in case it fell into the wrong hands.”
“How’d he do it?” Dylan asked.
Trudie huffed. “He had this artist paint over the original. Then they hung it out at the auction for everyone to see. Of course, the price tag on the painting was ridiculously high by normal standards, and no one bought it—which they expected—so they packed it up and shipped it out like they do a lot of goods sold. Except this one had already been bought and paid for. We’re talking about millions of dollars here.”
Dylan pulled out the postcard Sonny had couriered to him overnight. It was the one he’d seen at Cash’s apartment. He looked at the picture.
“Is this one of them?” he asked.
“Looks like it.” Trudie sneered. “It’d been in the papers a few years back, when the painting supposedly emerged from hiding.”
“If the paintings were shipped out, what was the problem? Why is Turgis after the Davcos?” Tammie asked.
“The money had changed hands. The buyer had put the funds into a foreign bank account, waiting for the painting to be shipped. Only that’s when Eleanor found out. The final transaction never went through.”
Aurore broke down and wept then, turning her face away from them until she could contain herself. “Eleanor got ahold of Byron’s paperwork and wouldn’t let him have it.”
Trudie’s face turned hard with anger. “Eleanor fought bitterly with Byron to stop. She feared her babies would be hurt somehow. You don’t underestimate people like this.”
“High-level Colombian cartel disguised as businessmen,” Dylan said, mimicking the words Jake had used on the phone earlier.
Trudie raised an eyebrow. “You have done your homework, young man.”
Dylan pressed on. “Tell me what else happened.”
“Eleanor was so upset. She was almost to term. The night of the fi— That night, she’d packed her bags and told Byron she was leaving him. Of course, he begged her not to go. He became—” Trudie glanced briefly at Serena “—enraged,” she said, almost apologetically.
Serena’s eyes widened. “My father?”
“You were too young, child. That night changed him. Eleanor threatened to go to the authorities. She was desperate at that point, and she refused to give him the paperwork that had the numbers to the foreign bank account. Looking back, I almost wish she had. She’d still be alive today.”
“You said Eleanor was murdered. I thought she died in the fire,” Tammie said.
“Turgis set it.” Trudie shook her head. “He’d threatened Byron, beat him nearly senseless. He’d...threatened to kill Byron’s family. Eleanor, Serena, and the baby. But Byron insisted he’d pay back the debt if it was the last thing he did.”
Au
rore stood still, folding her arms across her chest as if she were cold. “He did, you know. Byron finally had the fortune he’d always hoped for, but it wasn’t enough. He’d made Turgis look like a fool to his people. There’s no price on that. The only thing that kept Byron alive was Turgis’s greed. He made Byron pay back the money tenfold, taking all the profits from his business, which was much more than the original money for the painting. He wanted to ruin Byron, not only in business, but in his life. The money in Eleanor’s trust took care of the house and Serena’s expenses, but all of Byron’s money went to Turgis. He’d gotten quite crafty at fixing the books to show there was no profit from the company.”
“You said Turgis started the fire? Why? If he was content to get his money from Byron, why would he set the fire?” Dylan asked.
Aurore looked at Trudie, then turned away. Trudie spoke next, her voice thick with emotion. “You can break a man’s legs and arms, you can torture him until he can’t stand any more. But nothing is more torturous than taking what is most precious to him. Turgis had intended to kill Eleanor and the baby that night. It was his revenge. Byron knew it, and came rushing home to get them. He begged Eleanor one more time to give him the paperwork with the foreign account, and I think she might have conceded, only she was so upset, she went into labor. Tammie came so quickly, there wasn’t time to call for help.
“In those few hours before the fire, Eleanor confided only in the tight-knit circle she knew she could trust. Me and Aurore—” she looked at Tammie “—and Connie. We promised we’d take care for you both, and keep you safe. We’ve done the best we could.”
Tammie had been reading the letter from Byron Davco to Serena, tears filling her eyes. “He knew he was losing his battle with Alzheimer’s when he wrote this.”
“Yes,” Serena said. “He told me about you. He even showed me pictures of you that Connie sent.”
“When Serena turns thirty years old, she’ll be able to do as she pleases with the money Eleanor had set up in trust. Your father urged her to give it all to Turgis—the house, the money, everything. It’s the family fortune, but Turgis wants it all. He’d never hurt Serena, because she holds the key to the money. But anyone connected with her is fair game.”
Serena started to cry again. “That’s why he took my Ellie. It was his insurance.”
“And Cash?”
Aurore shook her head. “When they took the baby, Cash was completely beside himself. With his work in the DEA, he knew these people. He’d already been arrested on that drug trafficking charge. So when Serena posted his bail, he went after them. He didn’t care what the danger was. He just wanted to get Ellie back. He’s quite a brave man.”
Dylan couldn’t have agreed more. But the word stupid came to mind, as well. Why hadn’t he asked for help? This was too big for him to tackle alone. But he could see Cash walking through fire, fueled by his love for his wife and his baby, if it meant he could save them.
“If you kept your relationship a secret, I’m assuming you kept the baby a secret as well.”
Serena nodded.
“How’d they find out about the baby? How did they get her?” Dylan asked, pacing, unable to sit.
“That’s just it,” Aurore said. “We have no idea how they found out. But one morning, the baby was gone from her cradle.”
He swung around and looked at the women in the room. “What do you mean, no one knows how it happened? You have to have some idea how they did it. Was the baby ever alone?”
“Never.” Serena shook her head. “Cash didn’t want us to leave the house.”
“And there were no signs of a break-in?’ Tammie asked.
Aurore shook her head. “I don’t know how they’re getting into the house. Byron had a security system put in place years ago. If he could have afforded an armed guard, he would have done that, as well. But it’s not the only time. Every so often, one of these statues appears here in the living room.”
Tammie’s eyes widened. “What do you mean appears?”
“Just that. It isn’t there when we go to bed, but it’s there when we wake up.”
Realization showed on Tammie’s face. “That’s why you wanted me to lock the bedroom door at night.”
Aurore sighed bitterly. “Not that it would have helped. Turgis seems to have men everywhere.”
“Why did Connie and Aaron take Tammie?” Dylan asked.
Trudie closed her eyes and stood. “I can barely stand the memory of it. Eleanor called me. The stress must have brought labor on early. I raced right over to help her. Aurore helped Eleanor deliver Tammie in the upstairs bedroom.
“Byron said there was no time. He knew Turgis’s men were coming. So he had already fled with Serena and brought her to the church. When I got to the house the fire had already started. Aurore met me outside with Tammie in her arms. Meanwhile, Aurore had gone back into the house to help Eleanor, but the fire was already out of control. I didn’t know just how bad it was because I brought Tammie straight to the church expecting that Eleanor and Aurore would be coming right after me. Byron and Eleanor had to leave right away, leave everything they had, or Turgis would kill them all.”
Tears rained down Aurore’s cheeks, and she could hardly speak. “Eleanor was so weak when I made my way through the smoke to her room, she could barely move. I tried to pick her up and help her, but when the smoke became too thick, she begged me to leave her, to save myself. She made me promise I’d take care of the babies, and I’ve dedicated my life to keeping that promise.
“This whole room was engulfed with flames and the exits were blocked.” She touched her face. “It was so hot, I almost didn’t make it. I ended up running through the tunnel out back. By that time, the fire department had arrived, but it was too late to save Eleanor.”
“When they didn’t make it to the church, we feared the worse,” Trudie said. “And we were right. Byron went back to the house to get Eleanor, but he was too late. When he returned to the church to get the girls, he was completely distraught and we learned Eleanor had died and they’d taken Aurore to the hospital for her burns.”
“They thought the baby had died with Eleanor and Byron wanted them to think that,” Aurore said. “It was safer that way. It made sense for Connie to take Tammie. She and Aaron had no children of their own. It was easier that way.”
Tammie pointed to the portrait on the wall. “How did the portrait survive the fire?”
“It had only been delivered the day before the fire, and it was in the barn with a bunch of other paintings Byron had waiting to ship. The fresh paint made Eleanor nauseous. She’d wanted to air it out before putting it up. Byron loathed it but he also treasured it. He said it was the only thing he had left of his beloved wife and his baby girl.”
“Where’s this tunnel?” Dylan asked.
Aurore waved a hand. “It’s gone now. It was part of the original structure, a way for the servants to get to the barn in bad weather. The original mansion dated back to the late 1700s. It was one of the first homes in Eastmeadow. Most of the older homes had tunnels to the barns so servants could take care of the animals. After the fire, it was destroyed.”
“Are you sure?”
“Positive. The opening was cemented shut after the fire and the tunnel was filled in. There’s nothing but an ugly sc—” Aurore touched her face. “There’s a black scar on the wall in the basement now.”
Tammie handed Dylan the letter. “Why would Turgis come after the family after all this time? If he’s been paid and was quiet—”
“Oh, he was never quiet. Never!” Aurore said. “He took pleasure in taunting Byron, reminding him what a fool he’d made of both of them.”
“Daddy made yearly payments to Turgis. It wasn’t payment for the money that was lost. It was in exchange for our safety,” Serena said. “Yours and mine.”
“Manuel Turgis is a greedy man. It was never enough.” Aurore paused. “Then Byron got sick.”
When Aurore couldn’t go on, Trudie continu
ed. “He was going fast, and he knew it.” She motioned to the letter in Dylan’s hands.
“When was that?” Dylan asked.
“Two or three years ago. Maybe a little longer. His business started to falter. He lost control of it and could no longer manipulate the books to his advantage. That’s when the payments stopped.”
Tammie was quiet. Dylan could see the wheels in her head spinning.
“My parents knew this?” she asked.
Trudie nodded. “I called your mom. You’d just finished graduate school and moved to Vancouver. Since you weren’t in Winchester with them, we all thought you were safe.”
“Until the boat explosion,” Tammie said.
No one said a word, but the message was clear. Tammie looked at each of them one by one. “Turgis was behind the boat explosion, wasn’t he?”
“I can’t be certain,” Aurore said, a look of sympathy in her eyes.
Trudie added, “He’s a very powerful man. He manages to stay under the radar of the law here in the U.S.”
Aurore threw up her hands in disgust. “He’s considered a hero in Colombia. He works with high-level political leaders. There are those who wish they could run him out, but no one will cross him for fear of what he’ll do.”
* * *
Tammie sat silent. She could barely remember the explosion, but it was still in the back of her mind. She could almost feel the physical pain of it.
She wanted Dylan to come to her, to tell her the pain would go away, tell her she was safe and make her feel like she’d felt when she was in his arms. But it would be a lie. He could guarantee none of that. And she knew he wouldn’t lie to her.
He was standing across the room, looking at her. For a moment, he looked helpless, but then his face turned hard. “He hasn’t met me yet,” Dylan said.
“What? Don’t be foolish like your brother, young man,” Trudie said. “You don’t know what you’re up against. I don’t care how many years you’ve spent in the military.”
“I’m not going to be foolish. But I’m not going to lay down and die, either. If Turgis is the reason my brother and his baby are missing, then I’m going to find him and I’m going to find my family.”
Reckless Hours: a Romantic Suspense novel (Heroes of Providence Book 3) Page 18
