by Woods, Karen
She sighed. “Father. You don’t have to warn me away from him. I have no intention of taking him up on the dinner invitation.”
“I wasn’t warning you away from him,” he protested. “I was just trying to bring you up to speed. It has to be difficult for you, just now, to know which end is up.”
“It’s all of that,” she admitted, as she pulled into the parking lot and parked in the reserved parking place with the sign proclaiming “Harry Devlin, CEO”.
“Come on in, and take a look around. Then be back here by four. I’ll want to introduce you to your new supervisor, Dolores Teague, this afternoon and get the employment paperwork taken care of.”
Chapter Eleven
Dani walked into the Junior League resale store just before noon. She’d found clothes for the office at another thrift store. Now, she needed formal dresses for dinner at her father’s. She knew she was more likely to find those here than at Goodwill. She culled through the racks of evening gowns and found two suitably modest dresses in her size. Both bore designer labels, although both were clearly several years old. The costs were more than the fabric would have cost, but far less than she’d have to pay for new formals. Besides, she wouldn’t have time to sew until she got the sculptures completed for her father. She really couldn’t wear the same dress to dinner every night.
On another rack, a brown tweed riding habit caught her eye. It clearly wasn’t new, but it was in her size and it was affordable.
The clerk did a double take after reading the name on the charge card.
“Just sign here, Miss Devlin,” the clerk said, with deference, as she handed Dani the charge slip.
“Devlin?” a woman queried from behind her. “Are you Mary Danielle Devlin?”
Dani turned to look at the woman. “Yes.”
“Sarah Richards,” the elegant auburn haired woman said as juggled the bags of clothes she was obviously donating. Extending her hand in greeting, Sarah said, “Jase said you were coming home.”
Dani took Sarah’s offered hand. So this was Jase’s lady friend. Somehow, she had expected someone harder, more like Jase. “Pleased to meet you, Sarah. My friends call me Dani.”
“Dani, I publish the local newspaper. Harry Devlin’s daughter is a news topic.”
“For news, read ‘gossip’,” she answered, her voice as dry as Death Valley in July.
Sarah laughed. “That, too. Would you consider giving me an interview? I guarantee it would probably be the most read piece in the local paper.”
At that, Dani shook her head. “No, I don’t think so. While I don’t subscribe entirely to the old code that a woman’s name should appear in the papers only three times — at birth, when she marries, and at death — I am basically a private person. I would be uncomfortable with an interview. Besides, I should seriously doubt you would get anything worth printing. I’m not a very exciting person.”
“I doubt that. The rumors I hear say you’re an interesting woman. Bob Hunter and Steve Anderson both told me a most interesting tale when I phoned them after hearing the dispatcher on the scanner, early this morning. And my great aunt Emily has been talking about you.”
“I can just imagine,” Dani said, hearing the defensive dryness of her own tone.
Sarah smiled. “I’d bet you could.”
“Although, I doubt I would want to.”
Sarah smiled. “I like you, Dani.”
Dani felt herself smile. “The feeling’s mutual. Everyone can always use another friend. I’d very much like to have your friendship, Sarah.”
The auburn haired woman looked at the clock. “May I take you to lunch? Or have you eaten already?”
Dani sighed and confessed, “Actually, I was planning to skip lunch.”
“Why? You certainly don’t need to lose weight.”
“Have you ever eaten a breakfast like my father’s house-keeper cooks? I really could go without eating anything else the rest of the day.”
“Sissy does tend to put on spreads,” Sarah agreed.
“Actually, I was going to go to the library and do some reading on local history,” Dani added.
“Come to lunch. I can fill you in on anything you need to know. In fact, I took the liberty of going through the morgue at the paper and producing photocopies of some stories I thought you might like. Come to lunch with me and I’ll give them to you,” Sarah offered after the clerk had gone to wait on another customer.
“That was thoughtful of you,” Dani returned. “In that case, I’d love to have lunch with you, but it’s strictly off the record.”
Sarah nodded. “If you insist.”
“I do.”
“Very well.”
Lunch was served elegantly in the small tea room down the street from the Devlin offices. The tea room had a limited menu; shrimp salad or turkey casserole. Their lunch came very quickly.
Sarah smiled at her after they had begun to eat. “I went into journalism because people interest me... and because my family owns the paper... The draw certainly wasn’t the salary.”
“Yeah, I know that feeling. I love teaching. But that isn’t a vocation for anyone without good budgeting skills.”
“I find it hard to think of any member of the Devlin family needing to stick to a budget,” Sarah replied.
Dani shrugged. “I’ve always supported myself.”
“Of course. I didn’t think otherwise. You really taught high school art?”
“Sure. I would have preferred to be able to spend most of my time in a studio, sculpting. But, there’s such a thing as paying the bills and keeping food on the table. There’s a reason the stereotype of an artist is of someone starving.”
Sarah laughed. “I know a few fairly successful artists. I minored in art and hung out with the artistic types.”
“Not a bad bunch to hang with,” she agreed. “Where did you go to college?”
“William and Mary. I majored in public policy and minored in art. Then I did my Masters at Harvard in Journalism.”
“Except for college, you’ve lived around here all your life?”
“Yes. Why?” Sarah asked.
“My pastor back home gave me the name of one of his buddies from seminary. What do you know about Franklin Greer?”
Sarah nodded. “Frank Greer is the rector of my parish. I like him, immensely. He’s a literate and thoughtful preacher and a very good, dedicated, pastor. He and his wife, Bette, have just walked in. Let me introduce you.”
“Please.”
Sarah waved the couple over.
Dani looked at the two people who walked over to their table. Frank Greer was a tall, extremely thin, fiftyish fellow dressed in a khakis and a polo shirt, not clericals. His wife appeared to be a pleasant sort of person, also middle-aged, not as thin as her husband, but not particularly plump.
“Sarah?” the rector greeted.
“Frank, Bette, this is Dani Devlin, Harry Devlin’s daughter.”
“Miss Devlin,” the priest greeted her with a smile.
“Father Greer,” Dani acknowledged. “I was just telling Sarah, Father Josiah Smith asked me to convey his greetings to you.”
His smile became broader. “I received a letter from Josiah this morning. He said you were coming and that I’d probably be seeing you soon. We may be substantially more evangelical than you’re used to, Miss Devlin, since no one around here calls me ‘Father’. Most people just call me ‘Frank’.” He handed her his card. “That’s the church address and service schedule on the back. You have a lovely voice. Do you sing?”
“Frank!” Bette Greer chided.
Sarah laughed. “He’s always trying to recruit people for the choir,” she explained.
“No, I don’t sing particularly well. But, I’ve served on Altar Guild for fifteen years. I’ve also served as a licensed lay reader,” Dani said. “I’ll be happy to serve in either capacity here, if I would be welcome to do so. I don’t want to step on any toes. I’ve found that altar guilds and reader ro
tations do sometimes tend to guard their little fiefdoms rather jealously.”
“There won’t be any problems. Call me tomorrow. I’ll show you the church and we’ll talk about the way we do things in this parish.”
“It will have to be over lunch. I start working for my father tomorrow. It’s a summer job.”
Frank Greer nodded. “Very well. Harry does like to keep family involved in his business. I’ll meet you at the church around noon, tomorrow. See you then.”
Dani watched as the rector and his wife walked away. “They seem nice.”
“They are genuinely good people. Bette teaches history at Westfield Academy. They’ve been married thirty years, have three grown children and seven grandchildren. Frank’s been at the church for fifteen years. You’ll like him, when you get to know him.”
“I already do.”
Then Sarah looked around furtively before she removed a thick envelope from her purse and placed it beside Dani’s plate. “I’m very glad to see that you’re as strong minded as you are.”
“What’s this?”
“What you wanted at the library. Those are photo-copies of the pieces that ran locally about your mother before and after her disappearance.”
Dani looked at Sarah. “Why are you giving me this?”
“I don’t believe your mother had anything to do with Peter’s death. The whole thing reeks to me,” Sarah confided. “I remember your mother. She was a fine woman. In fact, I took drawing lessons from her as a child.”
“You did?”
Sarah laughed. “I did. She was a great teacher. Every-thing I really know about drawing, I learned from her.”
Dani smiled. “Me, too.”
“That’s why I don’t believe she had anything to do with Uncle Peter’s death. She was far too gentle to do anything that vicious, especially to anyone she cared about. And she was very fond of Peter, maybe even loved him, although I really don’t think she was ever in love with him. If she had ever loved him, she wouldn’t have been swayed by your father’s wooing. She’d been engaged to Uncle Peter before she met your father. They weren’t in any hurry to marry.”
Dani filed that away. “Why does any of this matter to you? It was so long ago.”
“Peter Filson was my uncle, my mother’s brother. I grew up hearing all about how bad Nancy O’Brien was. I don’t buy the story your mother was involved in his death,” Sarah said. “And I would like to see the people really responsible brought to justice, if that’s possible after all these years. The problem is I’m not certain it’s possible.”
Dani looked at Sarah. “If you really believe my mother had nothing to do with it, why haven’t you gone to the police and had them re-open the case?”
“I don’t have any evidence, well no hard evidence. Things just don’t add up. Which is why no charges were ever filed,” Sarah replied. “Besides, the case isn’t closed. It’s just ended up in the ‘cold’ files.”
“What do you want me to do, Sarah?”
“Read the articles. Keep your eyes open. If I’m right, someone else at your father’s house was involved here. That person isn’t going to like having anyone snoop around. There’s been at least one murder. Another isn’t going to matter to whoever killed Uncle Peter. You ought to know you could very well be in danger.”
Dani drew a deep breath. “You’re serious!”
“There is no statute of limitations on murder, Dani.”
“I know. But are you sure about any of this? Really? Isn’t all of this a little far fetched?”
Sarah continued, “Perhaps. But, I wouldn’t rule out the possibility your mother knew something about Uncle Peter’s death.”
“I see.” But Dani didn’t see at all.
Sarah said, “Something scared Nancy enough she ran...Something someone might have had her killed to prevent her from telling, even over decades later.”
Dani suppressed a shudder. She’d had that thought herself.
“Be very careful. Don’t trust anyone, except Jase and Beth. They were both too young to have anything to do with Uncle Peter’s death. Harry was away on his annual Reserve training when Uncle Peter died. So, you can trust him, too.”
Dani smiled. “Should that ban on trusting people include you?”
Sarah looked startled for a moment. “Probably. I have my own agenda. Our goals may not be identical.”
“If there is something to your theory, then like you said, I could be putting myself in danger. For myself, I don’t care. I can take care of myself. But I really don’t want to put anyone else, particularly my father, at risk.”
“I understand that. I really do. But if I’m right, don’t you want to catch the person or persons responsible for your mother’s death?”
Dani’s expression became very fierce. “Oh, yes. If I ever found out who killed my mother, I’m afraid I wouldn’t be responsible for my own actions. I want to see whoever killed Mother hung out to dry.”
Sarah nodded. “Then look into this. At worst, I could be totally wrong. At best, we might have a real chance of catching the killer or killers. If I’m right, they’ve killed at least two people: Uncle Peter and Nancy.”
“Who’s your suspect?” Dani whispered, not wanting to be overheard.
Sarah shrugged. “I could be sued for saying. I have no proof. But I would ask you in legal terms, ‘Cui bono?’, who benefited from your mother abandoning your father?”
“Who?”
“He never could have married Evelyn unless your mother was out of the way,” Sarah replied.
Dani was silent, thinking about this. “God...” was all she said. She sighed. “Dad couldn’t be taken in that badly.”
“Love can make fools of us all.”
“Can’t it though?” Dani agreed with feeling.
Sarah wet her lips, nervously. “Evelyn had been in love with Harry for years, before your mother came into the area. Her husband, Nick, died, the victim of a mugging gone wrong, only months after Beth was born. The rumors were Beth was not Nick’s child. Those rumors come up every once in a while, still.”
Dani remembered the tight expression on Jase’s face when Jaime had asked if she were his aunt. Then there was that odd reaction from Lyn in response to the question about her father and her having children. Could it be? But she didn’t say anything to Sarah about that. “I don’t listen to rumors,” she replied. “Most of the time, they’re just vindictive fantasies.”
“Sometimes, rumors are the only way we can get a handle on the truth.”
Dani sighed. “I’ve several things I need to get done today, including a run to change my driver’s license and car registration and license. I’m sure you need to get back to work.”
“Soon.”
“Would you like to play tennis, sometime?”
Sarah smiled. “Tennis is my favorite sport.”
“Good. I want to try out the courts behind Dad’s house.”
“The courts at the Country Club are also good. I frequently play there.”
“I’m not a member.”
“I’m sure you’re covered by the Devlin family member-ship.”
“My father and I haven’t discussed it.”
Again, Sarah looked around furtively. “Dani, don’t be taken in by Harry’s sister, Thea. Under that gentle façade, lies one of the more ruthless personalities, and sharpest minds ever to grace this town. Thea is a CPA. She’s got clients all up and down the eastern seaboard.”
Dani sighed. “You sound like you don’t like her.”
“She’s not one of my favorite people,” Sarah admitted. “She used to date Uncle Peter.”
“Really?”
“Oh, yes. He once the club tennis champion, and the resident breaker of women’s hearts. At one time or other, Uncle Peter dated Evelyn, your mother, Thea, and your father’s housekeeper, Sissy Green, among many others.”
“Sissy?”
“Before Sissy’s father lost all his money, her family was very well to do. Siss
y married badly. Her husband spent most of Sissy’s inheritance, then died in a bar fight. There was virtually nothing left, except some real estate. She’s been working for your father since before your mother left him.”
Dani absorbed that information. Complexities upon complexities, she thought.
“Why are you telling me this?”
“People are their history. You’ll want to clear your mother’s name, if you’re planning to stick around. Other-wise, your children will hear tales of their grandmother. And those legends will not be pleasant.”
“I see.”
“Just be careful. I don’t want to be visiting you in the hospital or, worse, attending your funeral.”
“Neither of those options are high on my list of preferences, either.”
Chapter Twelve
The two weeks Jason had been gone on Reserve duty had been a godsend, both on a business and personal level. She had gotten a real feel for the company without Jase constantly checking on her. The family business was a vast and diversified operation with many interests in civil engineering, but increasingly in land development and construction.
Having found her way into the Devlin corporate computer network, Dani had learned much about her father’s business, and she was still learning. But her exploratory forays into the system were limited to the time before and after regular office hours, or during her lunch hour. Not the least among her discoveries was her father’s computer system security was far too lax. Dani was able to easily access information which she should have never been permitted to see, or even to know of its existence. If she had wanted to, it would have been easy to alter the files to reflect anything, including the transfer of large sums of money to herself or to anyone else.
