"I guess it comes with the territory."
"Yeah. The nature of the family's business makes it a condition of employment. Brigit and her staff live in the area…they're on retainer. She and Dave, her husband, are the only lifers. The rest, Brigit hires them as needed. The chalet employees are a separate entity from the estate staff, and only required to live in when family members are in residence here."
Ewyn paced the room while he spoke, pausing every so often to look at a variety of family photos on the walls. "Brigit has full autonomy regarding the running of this property, so there's no reason for her to communicate with Rosa, unless there's a problem Brigit can't handle."
"As family, they don't talk on a regular basis?"
"I doubt it. They're distant cousins, several times removed. And even if they did talk, neither would breach their commitment to the family," Ewyn declared. "What goes on at any given property doesn't leave the property. They've been with the family forever, since they were young girls. They understand."
"Hmm. I think the staff's code of silence may have been the reason Niki decided to come here."
"But why…what did she think she couldn't tell us?" Ewyn came to an abrupt stop when Devin stepped in front of him, halting his forward momentum. "It couldn't have been about the pregnancy, hell…she was grown, what possible objections could Gem or I have had." Ewyn looked up, tears brimming in his eyes. "Dev, what could she have been afraid of?" His eyes widened. "Or who?"
"I don't think their coming here had anything to do with fear. Think about it. Brigit said they were happy, carrying on as usual, anticipating Kiera's arrival, traveling, and doing what any two young women of means would do in their free time." He slipped his arms around Ewyn's waist and pulled him close.
"Besides, Niki was smart, organized, and too much like her father to be fearful. If there had been something she couldn't have handled on her own, or she thought it was life threatening, she would have contacted you or Mick," Devin stated. "Especially if it involved her mother. She would not have put her baby or Caro in jeopardy."
"Okay. So what went wrong, why the secrecy?"
"Who's to say Niki was being secretive? She and Caro had been handling their own lives for some time. With Gem being ill, Niki probably didn't want to stress her out. We don't know what changes a woman experiences during pregnancy, but you know Gem would have worried about every minute until the baby arrived." Devin shrugged. "Maybe pregnancy and the pressures of school didn't mix--it was Niki's last year. Or, she decided to take a leave of absence until she had her baby."
"Okay, I can buy that. It seems strange they didn't keep their roommates in the loop."
"Not really. Niki's leaving school indicates she didn't want to be bothered with anyone fussing or hovering, and she wasn't alone, she had Caro with her." Devin grabbed Ewyn's hand and tugged him over to the sofa. Once they were comfortable, he whispered, "Relax. We know where they were, so we have a starting point."
"You're right. I'll start with this one." Ewyn leaned forward and opened the box obtained from Patterson. Devin reached for the other box and they worked in silence for almost an hour before a knock on the door interrupted them.
"Come in." Ewyn watched Mycelia enter with a squirming Kiera in her arms. "Break time." He took Kiera from her nanny, and baby-girl gurgled and smiled as if happy to see him.
Her rapid growth and advancing motor skills constantly amazed him. Already teething, her first tooth was trying to break through the gum. The pediatrician said she was right on schedule for five and half months-- happy, healthy, and having an easy time with the teething, sans fevers and crankiness.
Ewyn climbed on the bed, placed Kiera on her stomach, then settled down beside her, chuckling at her attempts to get on her hands and knees. She was at the up on her hands and knees rocking back and forth in preparation for the crawling, stage. He didn't know if he should be happy those particular skills had developed to such an extent, or fearful of the consequences of her achieving her goal. He wasn't ready for that phase.
Devin came to the bed and flopped down next to Kiera. She rolled onto her side and giggled. "Hey, baby-girl." He scooped her up, nuzzled her neck, blew air bubbles on her tummy, then held her at arm's length while she kicked and squealed, making him laugh. He kissed her slobbering mouth and put her back on the bed, where she squirmed and wiggled her little butt, propelling herself around the bed in a circle.
Devin grinned and looked at Ewyn. "I think our little girl is growing up. She'll be walking and talking in no time."
"Hell, Dev, don't tell me that. I'm lying here thinking about the crawling stage and the chaos accompanying it."
"What's to worry? I've got it covered. Carlo is going to childproof the entire condo."
"Oh."
Mycelia laughed. "We've already taken care of the nursery and Gemma's apartment," she said. "By the way, I came to ask if you're ready for lunch, and is there anything I can do to help you with Niki's things?"
"Yes, to both questions." Ewyn glanced at Devin. "I'm starved. Are you hungry?"
"I am. And Myce, you can go through the room, see if you can find anything helpful."
"Sure." She picked up the phone on the bedside table and pressed the intercom button. "Hey. Yeah, they're ready for lunch. Niki's room. Hold on, let me ask." She put the call on hold. "Do you mind if I have my lunch in here with you?"
"Myce, pul-lease." Ewyn rolled his eyes. "Tell Brigit to send up a bottle and a few teething pretzels for Kieki." He lifted Kiera and used her bib to wipe the drool from chin.
Lunch arrived and Ewyn spread a baby blanket on top of the comforter and placed Kiera in the center, supported by pillows and cushions against her back and sides. He handed her a teething pretzel and joined Devin and Mycelia at the table.
While they ate, Mycelia said, "By the way, Brigit asked me to apologize for her."
Brow furrowed, Ewyn asked, "For what?"
"She's feeling guilty because she didn't put any significance on the girls being here. She thinks she may have forgotten something important."
"Tell Brigit to stop worrying and apologizing. If she remembers anything, no matter how trivial, tell her to feel free to come to us."
With the lunch things removed, and Kiera asleep on her mother's bed, Devin, Ewyn, and Mycelia went to work. Devin and Ewyn returned to the two storage boxes, while Mycelia, methodically rifling through the walk-in closet, suddenly exclaimed, "Oh, no!"
Ewyn jumped to his feet and rushed into the closet with Devin close behind. "Myce?" He came to a sudden stop when he saw Mycelia staring down at an oak chest. Turning at his entrance, she stared at him with tears welling up in her eyes, then brushed by him and ran from the room.
Stunned, Ewyn moved to the chest and stood motionless, staring at its contents--neatly folded baby clothes, blankets, toys, and baby books. He whispered, "Dev, she…" He couldn't go on, couldn't even take a deep breath. Devin's strong arms circled his waist.
"I know, baby. I feel you." Devin's arms tightened and he kissed the top of Ewyn's head and pulled him out of the closet. "Let's not do this now."
"You're right. Let's get back to finding whoever is responsible for this tragedy."
Mycelia came back into the room. "Sorry."
"Don't worry about it. It had the same effect on me," Ewyn remarked. "Leave it. I'll go through it later."
Mycelia returned to the closet and resumed her search. Finding nothing else of note, she moved to Nicole's desk. Half-hour into her search, she found a lockbox in the bottom desk drawer.
Devin went to the desk, sat down, and retrieved the lockbox.
"I have her keys." Ewyn extracted a key ring from an envelope and tossed it across the room.
Devin caught the ring, rifled through the keys until he found the right one, and opened the box. Inside were two sealed manila envelopes and a book. "Niki kept a journal," he said and flipped through the pages. "Maybe it contains the answers to our questions." He set the book aside and examined
the contents of the two unaddressed envelopes. "Copies of hers and Caro's wills."
Brow furrowed, Ewyn leaned forward and rummaged through the box he picked up from the dorm until he found the folder labeled, wills. "Copies here, too, which are Jennifer's, plus Niki gave copies to Kathleen, and there are the missing ones, too. Wonder why she made so many copies, and where are the originals."
Devin shrugged. "Haven't a clue. Have you read it yet?"
"No. I wasn't ready to deal with the legalese. I wanted to go over everything else first." Ewyn tossed the envelope on the table. "It's probably a straightforward revision of the original, making Kieki sole beneficiary. Since it was signed and witnessed, it's just a matter of form for our attorney to have it officially executed, superseding the old one."
Kiera woke and made her presence known. "I think someone is hungry. I'll bring her to see you before I put her to bed for the night," Mycelia said.
"Okay, and thanks for your help." Ewyn watched her whisk Kiera away. "I could use a drink, Dev."
"Me, too."
Devin stood and stretched, then walked over to the sofa and sat next to Ewyn, who slipped off his shoes, propped his feet on the arm of the couch and rested his head on Devin's thigh. Devin flung the journal and two envelopes on the table and settled back. "Let's take this stuff to our room and start fresh tomorrow morning. I want to take a walk before dinner." His fingers toyed with the disheveled black curls. "Want to join me."
"Sure. Probably need to make walking or running a regular thing while we're here, or we'll each weigh a ton by the time this vacation is over."
"True, if breakfast and lunch were anything to go by." He smiled down at Ewyn. "I'll give Brigit the recipe for my smoothie, let her know what you like to have for breakfast, and have her stock your decaf coffee." He watched Ewyn's brow pucker. "What…you don't want her to fix your usual?"
"Huh? Oh, no…I mean yes, let Brigit know what I normally have for breakfast." Ewyn sat up and grabbed the envelope with the will. "I was thinking about all the copies of the wills. Why did Niki need so many? Once executed, it's a matter of record, a permanent copy." He pulled out the will and quickly perused the salient points.
"Maybe she didn't think she'd have a chance to have them executed." Devin retrieved the two envelopes he had tossed on the table.
"But she had them notarized. They'll stand up in court, if someone tries to contest them."
"Is each copy dated and witnessed the day she died?" Devin scanned the copies he held then looked at Ewyn.
"These are," Ewyn replied.
"These are dated, not witnessed. You need to call your attorney and let him know about this revised will."
"Yeah, but it's only a matter of form. The original already made Kieki the beneficiary. This one only eliminates the possibility of anyone trying to claim…" Ewyn's voice died away as he stopped reading and looked at Devin. "Do you think there's a link between so many copies of the wills and Niki getting out of Dodge for six months?"
"Hmm. Like whoever killed her has a vested interest in the details of the original will," Devin remarked. "No, I don't think it's connected to her leaving town, but I've considered she made so many copies for insurance, as she told Jennifer. In case something happened to her before she had them witnessed or executed. Whatever was going on in her life at the time, she wanted to make sure at least one copy reached the family attorney."
"Does this bring us back to CeCe?"
"No, because we can't rule out Kieki's father. He's a more likely candidate. If he knows the terms of the original will, and he comes out of the woodwork to claim paternity, he could be banking on getting his share of the inheritance along with controlling Kieki's share. Finding out he doesn't because of the revision, or if he's connected to the murder…" Devin paused to let his words register with Ewyn before he continued.
"Do you understand the implications of what I'm saying?" He saw a look of apprehension enter the green-eyed gaze and nodded. "Yeah. If the dirtbag killed Kieki's mother--"
"No," Ewyn snarled. "He wouldn't dare."
"We're talking about a helluva lot of money. If he should gain custody, and he's our perp, people have killed for less, and children are not exempt. It also puts you in danger."
"But the way Niki worded this new will…" Ewyn paused then growled, "What do you mean, I'm in danger? This will is airtight--oh! Kieki's father doesn't know, does he?"
"If he's the killer, he knows. Remember, Niki's copies disappeared. Whoever took them, he or she must be aware of the terms of the initial will and must benefit in some way. Why else take them," Devin stated. "The perp wouldn't want that revised copy to see the light of day since it eliminates everybody but Kieki, with you as executor holding the purse strings."
"But it's too late to stop the process," Ewyn exclaimed. "Besides, how could the perp expect to benefit? Whoever tries to claim the money, wouldn't he or she be the killer."
"Not necessarily. However, if the perp is one of the beneficiaries, and so far, we have no proof, then he or she has figured it out and has a contingency plan. So how do we stop him or her? Brings us back to the danger."
"Dev, if anyone tries to hurt our baby-girl…"
"You'd have to get in line. But we can't leave anything to chance with so much money involved." Smiling, Devin leaned forward and kissed the pouty mouth. "We'll make sure nothing happens to Kieki. However, I don't think Nicole's reason for coming up here had anything to do with the wills."
Ewyn scowled. "Why do you say that?"
"Because of the date of the wills. If something had been bothering her when she arrived, she would have changed her will then. Brigit said the girls weren't nervous or upset. They were happy and carried on as usual, did quite a bit of traveling."
"Well, I can understand them traveling. Being pregnant, Nicole probably had restrictions on her usual summer activities, leaving very little to do up here all summer."
"True." Devin nodded. "And she probably didn't want to go to her usual haunts in Los Angeles, because she wanted to avoid her regular crowd. Those are the actions of someone who didn't want to be bothered, not the actions of someone running scared.
"No, something happened while Niki was here, or she discovered something during one of her trips to the doctor. I don't know, but the timing of the revision indicates something critical happened, which made her believe her will had to be changed before Kieki was born." Devin sighed. "You know, maybe she was using the new will as leverage."
"Against who or what?"
"Haven't a clue. Just speculating."
"Damn, Dev. I came here to get a break from this for a while. Instead, it's getting more complex." Bottom lip gripped between his teeth, Ewyn remained silent for a few minutes, then, "Hell…here we go again. I can take care of myself. Kieki's safety is what's important."
"For now, her safety is guaranteed. No one can gain entrance to the estate if the family hasn't approved access," Devin reassured him. "I'll contact Tim and have him put the staff on alert. They know the procedure. Any time Kieki leaves the property, she'll be well protected."
"What about when Kieki is with me? I can protect her inside the condo, but when we're out…wait a minute. What did you mean, Kieki is safe for now?" Ewyn sat up.
"As a baby, no one can get to her, because she's under constant supervision. But when she starts walking, goes to Pre School…hell. Gemma signed her up for that exclusive private preschool, the day after she was born." He shook his head. "If we don't resolve this before then, we won't be able to control her movements so easily. She'll be more accessible and protecting her will become more complicated."
"But we'll resolve this before then, won't we?"
"Ewyn. Cecilia plotted on you and your mother for years before making her move."
"Then we have to set up something now, damn it! We need Patrick."
"Oh-kay. Calm down. You're determined to ruin my surprise."
"Surprise? We don't have time for any surprise bullshit with K
ieki's life hanging." Ewyn glared. "Are you talking about the condo?"
"Oh yeah." Devin sighed and tugged Ewyn onto his lap. "As soon as Cecilia's name came into this, I went on full alert. Tim was already on the same page, because as soon as I broached the topic with him, he had several viable ideas."
"Such as?"
"After speaking to Gemma about the possible threat to you and Kieki, she added a new employee to the Calderone payroll."
"A bodyguard?"
"Yes and no."
"Devin," Ewyn growled.
"Okay! Mick has agreed to work for the family, taking over where Patrick left off. Not only did Gem add him to the payroll, but also, Mick and Tag are going to purchase the rest of the other condo. Is that okay with you?"
"Dev!" Ewyn threw his arms around Devin's neck, then just as quickly leaned away and frowned. "You're not just messing with me, are you?"
"No, not this time. Not about something as crucial as Kieki's safety." He pulled Ewyn's head forward and kissed the tempting mouth.
"Mmm, nice," Ewyn mumbled, pulling away. "Then it's more than okay, it's perfect. The way Mick and Tag feel about Kieki, let someone try to hurt our baby-girl."
"That's the idea."
"Good enough. Knowing Mick and Tag are onboard with Kieki's safety, I'll try to relax. Let's get a drink, then I'll be ready for our walk." Ewyn stood and gathered up the papers spread out across the table and put them back in the boxes. Picking up his shoes, he headed toward the door. "Going to change these," he said, indicating his shoes. "Meet you in the lounge."
Devin put out the fire, grabbed the boxes, and left the room. When he entered the master suite, Ewyn wasn't there. He dumped the boxes on the table, snatched his cell phone from his waistband, pressed #3, then speaker, and laid the phone on the table. While he waited for Timothy to respond, he exchanged his Dockers for his Converse cross-trainer tacboots.
"Hey, Devin. How's all that relaxation treating you?"
"I wouldn't know. Except for the fresh air, we've been knee-deep in discovery." Devin went on to explain. Conversation finished, he disconnected and went searching for Ewyn.
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