Missing Heiress (A Jackie Harlan Mystery Book 2)

by Marti Talbott

  “I understand.” Jackie pulled a business card out of her purse. “Here’s my card. If you need anything, call me, and I’ll send someone to help you.”

  “Oh, if you don’t tell him, Mr. Connelly will never think to look for me here. I’m right under his nose.”

  Jackie laid the card on the table. “I want you to have it anyway. Maybe you’ll think of something else that can help us find her.”

  “I wouldn’t know anything more. I haven’t seen her since she was six. You think I could have the picture I gave Mr. Gladstone back someday?”

  “I’ll send it over by courier.”

  “Thank you. If you find Georgia, will you tell her how sorry I am?”

  Jackie tenderly patted the back of Adelaide’s hand. “I’ll tell her.”

  *

  Teresa was surprised when the front doorbell chimed. Laura didn’t feel like doing anything except watch soap operas in the family room, so Teresa was busy catching up on a few chores. She set her broom in the corner of the bathroom on the first floor, and hurried to the foyer. Before she opened the door, she straightened her apron and glanced in the wall mirror to make certain she looked presentable. Just as the bell began to sound again, she opened the door.

  The woman standing on the top step had blonde hair, was wearing a strapless, floral print summer dress, with bright red gloss on her full lips. “May I help you?”

  “I’m Amanda Black. I would like to see Mrs. Connelly.”

  “Let her in,” Laura said, as she walked into the room.

  “Yes, Mum,” said Teresa. She opened the door wider and stood aside.

  “Come in and sit. We do not often have visitors.” Laura went to the sofa, made herself comfortable, and waited for the much younger woman to join her.

  Teresa closed the door and stayed just inside the foyer.

  She was a little hesitant, but Amanda chose an armchair, and then carefully smoothed the back of her dress before she sat. “Mrs. Connelly, I...”

  “What is your name again?” Laura interrupted. “I believe I have forgotten you.”

  “We have never met. I am Amanda Black.”

  Laura abruptly stood up and headed for the liquor cabinet. “Would you like a drink?”

  “No thank you, it is a little early for me.”

  “A soda then? Teresa would be happy to go to the kitchen.”

  “No thank you,” said Amanda. “Mrs. Connelly, I would like to speak to you alone.”

  “Oh, I see. I would rather Teresa stay…just in case she is needed, you understand.” Laura finished pouring her drink and carried it back to the sofa.

  “Very well.” Amanda cleared her throat. “I have come to ask you to give Mathew a divorce.”

  Laura slowly smiled. “Two in a week? My, but my husband does get around. Of course, the other one didn’t come in person, she called instead.”

  “She called?” Amanda asked.

  “Yes, from Sweden, I believe it was. She has a very heavy accent and I could hardly make out what she was saying.” Laura took a quick sip of her drink and bluntly asked, “Do you love him?”

  Amanda was caught completely off guard and stammered at first. “I…very much.”

  “Of course you do, he is handsome and can be most charming when he wants to be. I loved him once myself.”

  “You don’t love him now?”

  “I merely tolerate him when I must, though he is rarely here. Perhaps you know where he is these days?”

  “In Florida.”

  “Ah, yes, he goes there quite frequently. I believe Tampa is his favorite. What does he say he does for a living?”

  “He is a salesman,” Amanda answered. “Mrs. Connelly, I…”

  “Of course. That’s how he explains the need to travel all over the world. What do you do?”

  Amanda was starting to get annoyed. “I don’t see what business that is of yours.”

  “You’re right, it is not my business. Let me guess, you work in a casino. You are likely a blackjack dealer. Those are his favorites.”

  Amanda repeatedly blinked. “Favorites?”

  “Yes, dear, he adores blackjack dealers. I have no idea why he finds them so tempting. They don’t even have to be pretty, although you are quite captivating. It is perhaps a fetish of some kind. I suggested he see a doctor about it, but…”

  “You are joking,” Amanda decided, beginning to smile.

  Laura wasn’t smiling. “I wish I were. Surely, you do not think you are the first to ask me to give him a divorce. My dear, he’s had a woman in every port, as they say, for the last twenty years.”

  Amanda simply couldn’t be sure if Laura was serious or not. “What?”

  “Shall I name them for you? I have the names written down somewhere. I believe I even noted the year.”

  “You are lying; Mathew swears he has only loved two other women before me – you and a girl he knew in high school.”

  This time it was Laura’s turn to be taken aback. “Mathew told you he loved me? He is a better liar than I thought. He never loved me, not for one single moment.”

  “Then why are you still married?” Amanda asked.

  “Why indeed?” Laura took a much longer sip of her drink. “People do things, stupid things they can’t undo, no matter how much they want to. We’re trapped, Mathew and I, and we both deserve to be…I suppose.”

  Feeling like a third wheel, Teresa lowered her eyes. Yet, a long silence between the two women made Teresa look up again, and when she did, both were staring at the floor as if neither knew what to say next.

  “I have always been curious about something,” said Laura finally. “Does Mathew win or lose most often?”

  Amanda wasn’t sure she should answer that question. “You don’t know?”

  “Well, he hardly shares his news with me – good or bad. I take it from your expression, he loses and quite heavily. If I were you, I’d not take up with a man like that…unless you can afford to support his expensive little habit. I can hardly manage it myself. Come to think of it, perhaps I should let you have him. I would be much better off for it.”

  “Mathew has plenty of money. He won two million just last week playing a slot machine.”

  “Well, good for him. His luck has certainly changed. Of course, he’ll spend it trying to win more, you know.”

  “Are you saying he is a gambler…and not a salesman?”

  “I am afraid so. He goes from casino to casino. Occasionally, he races his greyhounds, but then, he does that here in Denver. Once, I saw him two nights in a row. That was when we were first married, you understand.”

  Amanda was steadily becoming irritable. “I still don’t believe you.”

  “I’m sure you don’t. You only have my word for it. Does Mathew know you’re here?”

  “No,” Amanda answered. “Are you going to tell him?”

  “I tell him even less than he tells me. Coming to see me is a big mistake on your part. If he finds out, you will most likely never see him again. How long has he been with you?”

  “Six months.”

  “Ah, well it’s about time then. At the six-month mark, a woman wants more than a man like Mathew is willing to give. Are you married?”

  “No.”

  “That’s odd, he normally prefers them married. The risk of getting caught by an irate husband is more exciting for him. Plus, a married woman is less likely to come see me – unless she has left her husband, that is.”

  “If what you say is true, I…”

  Laura took another sip of her drink. “Amanda, have you seen that horrible scar on his arm?”

  “Yes.”

  “He caught his arm on a nail as he was climbing out a window.”

  “I know, he told me.”

  “Do you know why he was climbing out a window?”

  “He said the room was on fire and the only way out was through a window.”

  “How very clever of him. He saw fire all right – coming from an enraged husban
d’s gun. If you like, I will give you the name and phone number of the husband. He left his wife, of course, and Mathew deserted her as well.”

  “You are telling me the truth?”

  “Every word.” Laura felt sorry for the woman with tears in the bottom rims of her eyes. “Dearest, do not cry. Men like Mathew are not worth even one single tear.”

  “I thought…I mean…I believed him.”

  “I know, it is so easily done,” Laura comforted. “You must be wise in what you do next. Do not tell him we have spoken. Instead, find a way to make him leave you.”

  “How?”

  “I don’t know; do something crazy or disgusting…anything and everything until he leaves. If you reject him, he will be inspired to win you back. Let him think the end of your affair is his idea.”

  Amanda stood up. “I’ll try, but right now I am so angry, I can’t think straight.”

  “I know. Do take care of yourself.”

  “I will.”

  Teresa hurried to open the door for Amanda and then gently closed the door behind her. When she walked back into the living room, Laura had her eyes closed.

  “Are you alright?”

  “Yes, dear. I feel so sorry for each of them. It is always the young and the vulnerable that men like Mathew prey on. I wish I could put billboards up all over the world to warn them.”

  “Are you afraid of Mathew?”

  “Me? No, dear, I am the last person he would ever harm…at least not yet. I have something he can’t live without.”

  “What’s that?”

  “A steady income large enough for a fresh stake when he hits a losing streak.”

  “Has he ever hurt you?” Teresa asked, following Laura back to the family room.

  “Once when we were first married. I had an attorney draw up the divorce papers, but Mathew swore it would never happen again and I believed him. I was so in love, all I wanted was to be back in his arms.”

  “He never hurt you again?”

  “No, but I suspect he has hurt others,” Laura sighed. “Taking him back turned out to be the biggest mistake I have ever made.”

  “I can see why.”

  “I’m sure you can. I hope you are the wiser of the two of us. You are young and beautiful, and that makes you a prime target for men like Mathew. A man with wealth will take you to all the best places, buy you nice things, make passionate love to you, and work hard to win your heart. Once you say you love him, the challenge is over and he begins to lose interest.”

  Teresa sat down in the chair next to Laura. A soap opera was on TV, but neither of them paid any attention to it. “How do I know which man to trust and which not to?”

  “Well, I am hardly an expert, but I caught Mathew in a lie before we were married, and I didn’t listen to the warning bells. Perhaps that is how you will know.”

  “Thank you, I will listen for them.”

  “Good, you are a dear girl and I like you very much.”

  “I like you too…Laura.”

  *

  As far as Teresa could tell, Mathew had not come home the night before. She found no wet swimsuit or used towels in the swimming pool shower room, and decided he probably was in Florida like Amanda Black said. Nevertheless, she couldn’t be certain that he wouldn’t show up.

  With Laura off to get her hair done, and the house empty except for a cook that liked to watch game shows on TV in the kitchen, Teresa once more moved the picture away from the safe in Mathew’s bedroom, and examined the combination lock. Using the information she memorized from the photo album, she tried the obvious first – the day of the Connelly’s anniversary, then Laura’s birthday, and then Mathew’s birthday. None of those worked. For a while, she tried random numbers, turning from right to left and then right again. Frustrated and on a fluke, she tried her birthday.

  Suddenly it clicked, and when it did, she took two steps back, and swallowed hard. At length, she pulled the handle down and the safe door opened. There wasn’t much inside – just a few documents and some cash. Afraid she would get caught; she closed the safe, spun the dial, and then put the picture back.

  Teresa quietly opened Mathew’s bedroom door, looked both ways down the hall, and then slipped out. In her bedroom on the floor below, she sat on the edge of the bed, and waited for her wildly beating heart to calm down. At length, she opened her nightstand drawer and checked. Her loaded pistol was right where she left it.

  CHAPTER 7

  Saturday wasn’t a day off for the Harlan Detective team. With no solid leads to follow up on, Carl, Michael, and Jackie poured through everything a second time. Jackie’s back was starting to hurt, so she took her laptop to the sofa, slipped her shoes off and got more comfortable. “Mathew had quite a racket going with the jewelry. There must be a million dollars’ worth so far. Traveling from place to place, and buying from different stores each time, kept anyone from getting suspicious.”

  Michael asked, “And a girlfriend in every place to return the jewelry for him?”

  “Probably. Of course, he could only charge $5,000 at a time. I bet he found that frustrating.”

  “I bet he did too. You know what a girlfriend in every town means, don’t you?” asked Carl.

  “What?” Jackie asked.

  “He’s a walking, talking disease. A guy could go to prison for that, if the women could prove he has AIDS and knows it.”

  “Probably,” Jackie agreed, “but that doesn’t help us find Georgia. Michael, what are you doing now?”

  “I’m still looking for Georgia in English speaking countries. Nothing so far.”

  The Harlan Detective team remained quiet for several minutes. Occasionally, Michael glanced at his second laptop – the one that was trying to find the boarding school password. It had six letters and three numbers so far. On his main laptop, he was searching family trees. Finally, he found something. “This is interesting.”

  “What?” Jackie asked.

  “Georgia Marie James died thirty years ago in Wisconsin.”

  “Connelly stole her identification?” Carl asked.

  “Possibly,” said Michael.

  Jackie leaned forward so she could rub the small of her back. “Send me a link.”

  “Me too,” said Carl. He glanced at Jackie and then stood up. “You need a back rub?”

  “I need a new back.”

  “I’ll order one,” said Carl. He went to her, set her laptop on the coffee table and then motioned for her to turn her back toward him. He sat down beside her and started rubbing where it hurt. “We need a massage table.”

  “Except we never have time for the long massages we truly need,” said Jackie. “Maybe we should retire again.”

  When Michael whistled, both of them turned to look toward the dining room table. “What?” Jackie asked.

  “According to the obituary, Mr. Mathew Connelly was her fiancé at the time she died.”

  “Fascinating,” said Jackie, “but it still doesn’t help us find Georgia.”

  “I know.” Michael turned his attention to the printed report Jackie wrote about her meeting with the nanny.

  “Naturalization papers,” he muttered. “You have to be in this country for two years before you can file a Declaration of Intent, and then another three years to file a Petition for Naturalization. I wonder how he pulled that off.”

  “It’s a forgery, but I didn’t mention that to Adelaide, she’s already frightened enough. Did you send that picture back to her?” Jackie asked.

  “It will go out in the morning.” Carl could always tell when she’d had enough back rubbing, and left his place beside her to go back to the table.

  “Thank you, Carl. What about the money?”

  “I put a hundred dollar bill inside,” Carl answered. “Maybe Austin could set up a little fund for her while he is still in charge of the estate.”

  “Without a way for Mathew to find out – if he ends up with the inheritance,” said Jackie. “Good idea, I’ll suggest it.”
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  “You think Connelly sent his PI out to look for the nanny?” Michael asked. “He must have figured out by now that she’s the one who told Nick.”

  Jackie picked up her laptop and carried it back to the table. “I’ll talk to Austin about that too.”

  Carl asked, “Don’t Casinos have to submit winnings to the IRS? Ten to one, Connelly hasn’t paid a cent in taxes.”

  Michael nodded. “I bet you’re right. That might be a good way to send him back to prison.”

  Jackie set her laptop down and went to the kitchen for a soft drink. “Yes, but wouldn’t they try to collect the taxes from Laura?”

  “You’re right,” said Michael, “she would be liable for them too. There must be something we can get him on.”

  “Gentlemen, don’t get too distracted.” She brought her drink back to the table and sat down. “We need to think of more ways to find Georgia.”

  “True,” Michael agreed, “but there’s a clue in Mathew’s background somewhere. I’m convinced of it.”

  “Maybe we already found it. We know what name he gave her and why,” said Jackie. “Does it say how the original Georgia died?”

  Michael pulled up the obituary again. “Car wreck. A lot of those going around these days.”

  “Connelly was probably driving,” Carl sarcastically said.

  “Drunk drivers never die,” Michael muttered. When he saw the look of disapproval in Jackie’s eye, he said, “Well, it’s true. Wanna see the stats?”

  “No, I want you to get me the boarding school records.”

  Michael slumped in his chair. “All work and no play.”

  *

  It was not uncommon for Bronco and Sissy to talk after Austin came back from his Saturday morning ride at the stables. As soon as he took a shower and put on clean clothes, he signed into the chat room, but she wasn’t there. Lately, he spent more and more time thinking about her, wondering what she looked like, what she sounded like, and what she would think of him when they finally met. In fact, he was becoming too obsessed with her. Yet, he couldn’t seem to help himself. As stupid as it was, he was falling in love with a stranger on the internet.