Dangerous Inheritance

by Shirley E. Watson

  She smiled and said, “Oh, yes, she’s over here.” She led him to a corner in the back where Klara was already seated. It was a different Klara from the one he remembered. She wore a low cut black dress and dangling earrings that sparkled like diamonds. Her blonde hair was down on her shoulders. She smiled in welcome, her red lipstick against white teeth, skin glowing in the candlelight. He was surprised. Klara looked younger than he’d thought – and definitely not uptight.

  She greeted him and the waiter came over to take drink orders. Derek remembered his promise to Colleen but then, she was probably driving home, so why not? He ordered a Sam Adams. Klara was having a martini. She held the drink up, the olive echoing the gray-green color of her eyes. Derek leaned towards her, catching the scent of a musky perfume. He drew back again. “So, Klara, this is a nice place. Did you have something you wanted to discuss that couldn’t wait? I hope it’s good news.”

  “Why don’t we have dinner first, Derek. I just wanted to have a little chat with you and get an update about where you are.”

  “Well, OK, sure.” Derek lifted the menu. Klara took his hand and removed the menu. “Let me recommend something.” Derek took his hand back. “All right, that would be nice.”

  Klara ordered for both of them and requested more drinks. Derek was about to protest but thought he could handle it. He’d certainly drunk more and longer in his time. This was just dinner.

  When the food came, they talked about Derek’s music career, or lack of it, as Derek thought to himself. When he mentioned Colleen, Klara’s eyes narrowed. “Colleen McMurray? I’ve heard that name someplace.”

  Something, some instinct, warned Derek to be discreet. “She teaches music in Boston. She gave me a lift up here. Nice girl.”

  “Well, that’s good. Always good to know some nice girls.” Klara smiled in a way that led the viewer to assume there were also not so nice girls in the room.

  They had got to the dessert menu. Derek ordered ice cream. He asked Klara, “How is Mr. Montville doing?”

  “Oh, he is just as usual for Mr. Montville, very busy all the time.”

  “I sort of thought he wasn’t that kind of lawyer who rushed around to court and so forth.”

  Klara laughed. “No, that’s true. But he has a lot of important clients. He has occasion to travel a lot.”

  “Maybe I should drop in on him while I’m here?”

  Klara said, quickly, “Oh, that’s not necessary. I’ll tell him everything we talked about. That’s why it’s nice to meet this way for a change. A nice informal chat. You know, I was really surprised to get notification that your cousins are dropping out of the challenge.”

  “Yes, so was I! I couldn’t believe it. But it’s up to them. If they can’t do it, I guess they can’t.”

  “So, you’re continuing, right? How are you getting along with it?”

  Derek had got to the part he was dreading. He knew she was going to ask about this.

  “Er, I’m doing great. Working every day on it.”

  Klara moved her chair closer. “Really? Can I hear what you’ve done yet?”

  Derek threw back his beer. “No, not yet. It’s going to be a surprise.” Even to me, he thought.

  “Well, I’m so thrilled that you’re going to be performing your composition. Where will it be presented?”

  “I’m working on that.” He had an inspiration. “Colleen is going to help me with that.”

  Klara’s expression tightened. “Be careful. Remember the Challenge is for you alone.”

  Derek said, “It will be my composition, don’t worry. That’s what I wanted to do.”

  Klara reminded him, “The challenge you gave us says that you will compose a memorable piece of music and perform it before a crowd. So you need to keep to the outline of what you gave us.”

  Derek nodded miserably. “I know, I know.” He forced a smile. “You’ll see soon, I promise.”

  Klara smiled. “I know you will.” She took out a credit card. “This is on the company.” The waiter took it away. Klara said, “Would you like to come back to my place? I live just around the corner.”

  Derek looked at her. Maybe it was the beer or maybe Klara was looking better and better. He grinned but before he could respond, he heard a voice say, “So there you are! Ready to go?”

  He looked around. It was Colleen. Klara was looking at her, but not in a friendly way. Colleen eyed Klara. “You must be Mr. Montville’s assistant. I’m pleased to meet you.” She held out a hand but Klara seemed to be rummaging in her purse. Colleen let her hand drop and raised her eyebrows at Derek. “Ready to go?”

  Derek got up and stumbled a little as he put on his jacket. Colleen shot a look at him. Derek ushered Klara out before him. “Thanks for dinner, Klara. I’ll definitely let you know about the event. You can count on it.”

  Klara looked at him. “I’ll be in touch. You only have a few months left, so don’t forget.”

  “Would you like us to walk you home?” Derek inquired politely.

  Klara strode away, “No, no, I’ll be fine.”

  They watched her tall figure clad in a black cape, disappear around a corner. There were plenty of people in the street, so it seemed fine that she was on her own.

  They went to the car and Derek put his hand out for the car keys. Colleen got into the driver’s side. “Not a hope. You didn’t really think I’d let you drive after you’ve been drinking, do you?”

  Derek grinned. “Not really. And you’re so good at it.”

  She gunned the car and he was slammed back against the seat. He let his head remain there and closed his eyes. He liked a woman who knew where she was going. Even if he could feel her eyes boring into his skull every once in a while.

  Colleen apparently didn’t think that Derek should get a nice sleep on the way home. She demanded to know the details of the meeting.

  Derek told her that Klara hadn’t said very much. He didn’t want to add that she had quizzed him about his challenge. That he still hadn’t started on.

  Colleen asked if there was news from Klara’s employer, Clifton Montville. How had he reacted to the fact that Derek’s two cousins had given up on the challenge?

  “She didn’t say. She didn’t seem all that interested, to tell you the truth.”

  “Well, I wonder what she WAS interested in?”

  Derek looked over at Colleen. “No idea.”

  She tossed her head of midnight black hair but said nothing more.

  They rode the rest of the way in silence. Derek finally dozed and woke up with a start as Colleen parked the car near his cottage.

  “Thanks for driving, Colleen.”

  “You’re welcome.” She shrugged and walked away.

  Derek looked after her. She seemed very cool. Not friendly. He went in. He thought about another beer and then remembered he’d got rid of them. So he went to bed feeling there was a lot he had missed, somehow. He’d been out with two great looking women and yet here he was, going to bed at a relatively early hour. Alone. A melody wandered somewhere through the back of his mind, but left again. He went to sleep and had a strange dream of two boa constrictors which were playing a game of dice to see who would devour him. He was bound hand and foot to a tall banyan tree. He shouted and pleaded all to no avail. Finally one of the boa constrictors came over and wrapped itself around his mouth. He shouted without sound until he woke up, sweating. It took him a while to go back to sleep.

  CHAPTER 27

  Cassie and Rob were visiting her father.

  “Thanks for coming, Rob,” Cassie said. “You don’t have to come, you know.”

  “I know. I like your father, and I want to come.”

  “All right. I just wanted you to know that if you have other obligations, it’s fine. I’ll be here anyway.”

  “No, don’t worry about that.” They were walking down the hall to Finn Connor’s room. He was lying on top of the bed with his clothes on. When they entered the room, he opened his eyes.

>   “Hello! It’s always nice to have company. Have we met?”

  Cassie went over and took his hand. “Dad, it’s me, Cassie. And this is Rob.”

  Cassie’s Dad looked at her. “Well, if you’re my daughter, I’m a lucky man. And are you her husband, young man?”

  Cassie hastily said, “No, no, Dad. Rob is just a friend.” She felt the warmth of a blush on her cheeks. She helped her father to sit up. “Do you feel like going to the rec room, Dad?”

  :”OK, are you coming, too?”

  They walked along with him. Cassie thought her Dad looked good. Although his memory went in and out, he seemed to be in good spirits. By the time they reached the rec room, he had remembered who they were.

  “How is Lee and Stevie?” he asked.

  Cassie said they were fine and would be coming to see him soon. They found comfortable chairs in an area off to one side where it was quiet. Cassie asked, “Dad, could you try to remember for me?”

  “Sure, anything for my girl.” Cassie’s Dad reached over and grasped her hand. Holding his hand, Cassie pressed it and asked, “Mom’s father. What can you remember about him?”

  Her Dad looked a little strained. “Wow, that’s going back into the past, all right. I’ll give it a try for you, honey. Grandpa Woodson. I only met him a couple of times. The first time was when I got engaged to your Mom and the second was when we were married. When you girls were born, he sent christening gifts, but we never saw him again. When your Mom passed away, he sent flowers but didn’t come to the funeral. The lawyer said he never attended funerals. After that, I had no use for him. He could at least have come to his daughter’s.”

  “So you don’t know much about him, really?”

  “No, and never wanted to know.”

  “How did Mom get along with him?”

  “As you can tell, not all that well. How can you get along with somebody you never see?”

  “He didn’t contact her in any way?”

  “He sent gifts at Christmas and birthdays but she usually gave them to charity.”

  “What caused them to be estranged?”

  “I don’t really know, Cassie. I think it might have been because your Grandma died and Grandpa married again, a younger woman, who wanted nothing to do with his first wife’s family. It happens a lot. Your Grandpa was a businessman and that’s all he did. He left it to his wife to get in touch with people and arrange events.”

  Cassie noticed that her Dad was getting tired and his eyes were dulling. She stopped asking questions and talked about what was going on at Golden Lifestyles. They took her Dad out for an ice cream, which he enjoyed, and then returned him. When they said goodbye, and began driving back home, Cassie turned to Rob. “I know it was the right thing to bring him here. He needs the structure and we know he’s being cared for.”

  Rob nodded, “Yes, you’re right. Neither you nor Lee would be able to handle his care on your own when he gets worse. It’s good that he’s nearby so you can come to see him.”

  Cassie nodded. “Yes, I miss Dad so much. I wish we could have the old Dad back again but that’s impossible.”

  “What’s going on with his house?”

  “I still have to get the things in there sorted out. He had so much stuff. Then I’ll get it on the market.”

  “If you need me to help, let me know.”

  “Maybe you’d like some of his things, Rob. He has some nice fishing poles.” Her eyes filled with tears and she gulped. “Guess he’ll never use those again. Lee and I will have to go there soon and I’ll let you know about what he had. I don’t know what to do, really. Maybe I should just store most of them in case he asks for something.”

  “That’s not a bad idea. You could call one of those storage companies that delivers a container to your driveway and then you can load it yourself. Just throw away the junk. But don’t get rid of the fishing poles just yet. I may take your Dad out some day and we could get in a few hours fishing at a lake I used to go to.”

  “Oh, he would love that. Yes, that’s what I’ll do about the contents of the house Then it can be sold and I can deal with the stuff at my leisure.”

  They had reached Cassie’s apartment. She thanked Rob for the lift and he drove away. After thinking for a moment, she got into her own car and headed for the library. She wasn’t working but she wanted to do a little research.

  She entered the library and said hello to those of the staff that she knew. Mary Ellen wasn’t there. The reference department was upstairs and she walked up rather than take the elevator.

  She got onto the computer and began a search for the name “Everett Woodson.” After a half hour, she sat back, frustrated. The only references she could find were years old. Apparently, Everett Woodson had worked for a company that processed wood products as a young man in the 1930’s. He’d become the owner and taken the company to new heights. Then World War II broke out and things became less clear. Before the war, there was mention of Everett Woodson and the Rotary, Everett Woodson receiving a Community Service award, Mrs. Everett Woodson at a charity event. Cassie looked at a grainy photo. This must be her Grandmother, Juliana. It seemed as though her Grandfather had sold the company and enlisted in the Army. She found a picture of him in uniform, an Army lieutenant. After the War, he came back only to face the death of his wife. Cassie found a notice that he had married again, a woman by the name of Caryn. Then a few society notices about Caryn and Everett Woodson. Her grandfather must have been working but she couldn’t find at what. There seemed to be nothing further until there was a death notice for Caryn Woodson, about ten years later. She hadn’t known that her Grandfather’s second wife had passed away. Her mother just didn’t talk about anything to do with her family. She had asked her if she’d known her father’s second wife. Cassie’s mother had looked scornful and said, “I knew her for what she was.”

  There seemed to be a veil of secrecy over her family. Her mother just didn’t want to talk about them after her own mother passed away. As far as she was concerned, her father and stepmother didn’t exist. Cassie did manage to find out one day that her mother and her mother’s sister had run away soon after her father married again. They were 17 and 19. Her mother was the oldest. Everett Woodson had disappeared from the records after that. Until he reappeared via his lawyer to give them a strange task.

  Cassie left the library and went to Lee’s apartment. Lee had just come back from school and was getting ready to go to work. She still worked nights to support herself. Cassie filled her in on the result of her researches.

  “That’s interesting,” Lee said as she pulled on a white shirt and black skirt. “But it doesn’t really tell us anything more, does it?”

  “No. One thing I didn’t know was that Caryn Woodson passed away quite a long time ago.”

  “Who? Oh, the witch!”

  “Well, that’s what our Mom thought of her.”

  “She ought to know. It’s all past history, anyway. The one good thing, Mom used to say, was that she found Dad. Did you find out anything more about our tuition? I haven’t had the time to call the lawyer’s office. Actually, I’m afraid to. This means too much to me.”

  Cassie took out a pen and pad and made a note to herself. “I promise I’ll call first thing tomorrow. I want to know, too.”

  Lee brushed her wavy dark hair smooth and tied it back with a black ribbon. “You know, Cass, I’m going to find out if I can continue my school even without the help. They only promised us one year, anyway. So I’d still have to do it. The important thing is to get good marks now.”

  “I’m sure you can get a scholarship or something if you can do well, as you say. Maybe the school can tell you where to apply.”

  “Yes, I’ve got an appointment with the vocational counselor. I’ll let you know how it works out.” She turned to Cassie, her cheeks stained with red. “I’m so excited about it, I can’t tell you!”

  “I’m pulling for you, Lee, really I am.”

  Lee picked u
p her bag and jacket. “The only thing that worries me is, are these people who’ve been sending us the messages done? I’d go crazy if anything happened to Stevie again. Or Dad either.”

  Cassie looked stern. “I don’t know what’s going on, but they better not mess with my nephew.”

  Lee laughed at the unusual sight of her mild-mannered sister looking suddenly like a lioness. The tension broke for the moment. They walked out together and Lee left. Cassie went and sat in her car for a minute. This whole challenge thing was just strange. Was it really Everett Woodson, her grandfather, behind it? If not, who? There was no one else who would have thought up such a crazy scheme, surely. They had got involved because it seemed like a good idea even if it was a little odd. Free tuition for a year, $10,000. Maybe more money at the end. What could they lose by doing it? She was beginning to wonder. The Boston lawyer, Clifton Montville, had given them the idea that it was a real thing. But what if it was all some kind of big hoax or scam? She couldn’t think what anyone could get out of it. None of the three cousins had anything that anyone could steal.

  The other thing was, who was making them drop out of this? That made no sense either. What had anyone to gain? She clutched her head, running her fingers through her hair.

  Well, they’d officially dropped out, so whoever it was should leave them alone. They had the $10,000, their tuition and the only thing that would be missing was the final award. That was probably no more than another $10,000. So, for a total of $30,000 gained, someone was trying to intimidate them. Who? Had Everett Woodson promised that $30,000 to someone else?

  For the first time, Cassie wondered if Caryn Woodson and her grandfather had had any children. She’d never heard of them, if so. But that might make sense, if that person expected to gain money from her grandfather’s will. There would be at least $20,000 more since she and Lee had dropped out. But what about Derek? She didn’t know what his decision was. As far as she knew, no one had threatened him. At least, he hadn’t reported any threats. She made a note to herself to call him again. Also to go back and look up her Grandfather’s name again and try to find out if he and his second wife had had any children. It was so long ago. Maybe there was a lot of sense in letting sleeping dogs lie. If there had been a child who had been doing this, it might not be a good idea to try to find them. It could only be a deranged mind who threatened and kidnapped people. And she suddenly remembered Jay. Murder! Was it connected to their problems? A chill ran through her and she started her car, turning up the heat. She was going to go home and try to rest tonight. Tomorrow, there was a lot to do.