Forget to Remember, page 20
“You must have told somebody.”
Carol thought. “There was one person.”
“Who?”
“Rose, your paralegal.”
Paul looked upset. “It couldn’t have been Rose. She wouldn’t do that sort of thing.”
“Listen, Paul. I remember now. When I called your office to invite you to dinner I talked to Rose. After she checked with you and we confirmed the appointment, she didn’t hang up immediately. She asked me some questions. I thought she had a friendly concern for me, so I answered them. She asked me how my memory was. I said it was still a problem. I told her I’d been to England. I didn’t tell her I was sure of my identity, because I wanted Grandma to tell you.
“Then she asked whether I was staying at the farm. I said I was staying at a motel. She asked for the name of it. I gave it to her. Then she asked for my room number, in case, she said, you had to get hold of me here. I gave her that. Michael knew my room number. He was lurking in the stairway just a couple of doors from my room. He expected me to come from the elevator instead of up the stairs. I’m sure his plan was to follow me into my room before the door closed and then kill me.”
“Shit.” Paul stared at his coffee cup. “Rose couldn’t have done it. She couldn’t be in cahoots with Michael, could she?” He thought some more. “I’m going to talk to her in the morning.”
“Michael also knew when I was coming here the first time. That’s when he called Grandma and threatened her. How would he have known if Rose hadn’t told him?”
This was one time Carol was glad to have Paul escort her to her room. They went inside together and made sure Michael wasn’t hiding in the closet. He had her spooked, and she wouldn’t have been surprised if he’d somehow been able to come through the wall.
When she was convinced Michael wasn’t there, Carol kicked Paul out and said she’d talk to him in the morning. She locked the dead bolt and set the chain and turned on the television set for company.
***
It was late, but Paul had to find out the truth about Rose. If she tipped off Michael about Carol, she could be an accessory to attempted murder. A murder that would cheat him out of millions of dollars. That was too unfeeling. He really liked Carol; he wouldn’t want any harm to come to her even if she weren’t a valuable asset to him. He often thought about their night together and wished it could be repeated. She had the softest skin of any woman he’d ever known.
He went back to his office and started rooting through Rose’s desk. Looking for—what? The smoking gun. She probably didn’t write anything down. He turned on her computer, but he wasn’t knowledgeable enough to find hidden information about Michael, such as an address or phone number. She probably had it stored in her cell phone, anyway, which of course she had with her. Damn modern technology.
Not knowing what else to do, he took a quick look through the office file cabinets but didn’t turn up anything suspicious. The files contained a folder for each of his clients. None looked out of place. The Sakai folder was thick but didn’t have anything unusual in it, as far as he could tell. Rose was too smart for that, especially since he looked at it all the time. He had perused it that afternoon.
He couldn’t open the middle drawer of Rose’s desk. It had its own lock. What did she keep in that drawer? She had the only key. They kept a small tool kit in the office for doing minor repairs. Paul retrieved a long screwdriver. He shoved the blade between the top of the drawer and the desk frame. This damaged the desk, but that couldn’t be helped. Using brute force, he pried the drawer open, breaking the flimsy lock.
Inside the drawer were several pencils and pens and some other office supplies. There were also a few papers. Paul pulled out the papers and dumped them on the desktop. Among them was a checkbook. He knew she had a checking account at the bank close to the office. He picked it up. Rose was meticulous about keeping the office accounts. She probably kept her checkbook the same way.
He opened the checkbook and looked at the ledger. All her deposits and withdrawals were neatly entered. Paul recognized the amount of her paycheck, entered regularly every two weeks. He thumbed through the pages of the ledger until he reached entries that had been made within the past few weeks. The running balance took a big jump on one page.
Paul knew Rose didn’t have any outside sources of income. Her parents didn’t have any money to spare. Her only investment was a 401K plan Paul managed. He looked at the four-figure deposit that caused the increase in the balance. The notation for it was “WF.” What did that stand for? The timing was such that it must be a payment in return for her telling Michael when Carol was coming for the first time. WF must stand for Weatherford Foundation.
This was the smoking gun.
CHAPTER 33
Rose was crying. Paul handed her his handkerchief to dry her tears. They were sitting on the sofa in his office he used to meet with his clients in a more informal atmosphere than talking across a desk. He had come in early, before she arrived, so he could confront her before she started wondering about her desk being broken into.
She spoke haltingly. “I didn’t know Michael was alive. I certainly didn’t know he was trying to kill Carol. I was dealing with Katherine Simpson at the Weatherford Foundation. She asked me to notify her any time Carol came into town. I didn’t know Carol was actually the heir. What Katherine wanted sounded innocent enough. I didn’t even think the information was particularly confidential. I wasn’t trying to cheat Carol out of her inheritance. I know I shouldn’t have done it, but I needed the money. My son has to have orthodontia.”
Paul believed her. She wasn’t a murderer. Except for this incident, she’d been a loyal and dependable employee. He was inclined to be lenient. “You betrayed office confidentiality, so, of course, I have to let you go. I won’t press charges if you won’t have any more dealings with Katherine Simpson. Don’t say anything about Michael being alive to anyone. In addition, tell me everything you know about Katherine and the foundation.”
“I don’t know anything. I’ve never met Katherine. All I have is her phone number. She sent me two checks drawn on the foundation. The first was a sort of retainer with the understanding I would give her a heads up about any possible heir to the Sakai estate. The other was for telling her Carol was coming here the first time. She promised me another check for telling her about Carol’s return.”
“When Carol called here, you pumped her for the name of the motel where she was staying and her room number. That doesn’t sound innocent.”
Rose blew her nose into what had been Paul’s clean handkerchief. “Katherine gave me a list of things to find out whenever Carol came to town. I didn’t think it was anything sinister. I was just trying to earn my money.”
Paul had another thought. “The first time Carol came, did you give Katherine the address where she was staying in Los Angeles?”
“Well…yes.”
“That almost cost Carol her life. Michael flew out to California and shot her. Fortunately, the wound wasn’t serious, but it could have been.”
Rose sobbed. “I didn’t mean to hurt her.”
***
Carol grabbed a bagel from the continental breakfast setup in the motel lobby and chugged down a glass of orange juice. She had slept longer than she intended. She checked out of the motel as she was leaving. She would be staying at the farm from now on.
She drove directly to the farm. She was concerned about Mrs. Horton’s safety. She passed through the gate in the deer fence and was approaching the house when she saw a man in the driveway. He was wearing the uniform of a security service. He motioned for her to stop. She did so and rolled down her window.
He was middle-aged, with a pot belly, not her idea of a guard. He did have a gun, but she suspected she could get the better of him in hand-to-hand combat. She introduced herself. He nodded, consulting a list. “I’m Tim. You’re the granddaughter. I understand you’ve got two names, Carol and Cynthia.” He smiled, showing a missing tooth.
She didn’t tell him about her third name. She told him she was glad he was there. He must have been lonely because he became chatty. “I’ve got the day shift today. We’re furnishing twenty-four hour coverage. The deer fence around the house is a big help, because it only has a few gates. Even though the fence is quite long, we can essentially watch all the gates from this spot. Just the same, I’m periodically walking the fence. At night we’re going to turn on the outside lights to aid visibility.”
“This is the only road to the farm.” Carol was thinking out loud. “To get to the other gates, a person would have to walk through the woods or the fields. That would limit his escape possibilities.”
“Yes, ma’am. Exactly what we figured.”
The guard service hadn’t been given Michael’s name, only a description of him. He wouldn’t be using his real name, anyway, but more important, to the rest of the world Michael was dead. Carol and Paul wanted Michael to be under the illusion he was still unidentified. His sister had seen him, but she had amnesia. With his mental problems, he might buy into the idea that he was invincible. In that case, he wouldn’t feel the need to act cautiously.
“Thanks for being here. I’m sure Mrs. Horton feels safer. I know I do. Keep up the good work.”
“I will. You can rest assured we’ll protect you.”
Carol returned his gap-toothed smile. She was quite certain she’d made a conquest. Not only was that good for her ego, it might come in handy. She drove to the house and parked in front of the garage. She carried her suitcase and backpack along the sidewalk that fronted the house, accompanied by Butch. Audrey met her at the front door and started gushing.
“Carol. Are you all right? I understand you had a confrontation with Michael last night. Or should I say Cynthia? I don’t know what to call you.”
“Thank you. I’m fine. You can call me anything you want. Just don’t call me late to dinner. But please, don’t mention Michael to anyone outside the family. We don’t want the news media trumpeting the story he’s alive.”
“Of course not. Here’s your key to the house. Mr. Vigiano already phoned. He said he’s coming over about noon, so I invited him for lunch. The poor man is living alone now, and he’s probably not getting the proper nutrition. You know how bachelors are when it comes to eating.”
“Good job. How is Mrs. Horton doing?”
“She’s upset about having a guard.”
Indeed, Mrs. Horton was sitting up straight in her chair in the family room, glaring out the window. Following her gaze among the trees that fronted the house, Carol could see Tim sitting at one of several picnic tables in the large grassy area between them and the gate on the road, not looking particularly vigilant. Carol came down the two steps and gave Mrs. Horton a hug and a kiss.
“Good morning, Grandma.”
“Are you sure it was Michael who attacked you last night?”
“He had red hair, but his face was like the pictures I’ve seen. He was a little taller than I am, and he had a wild look in his eyes. He had Michael’s odor. We’re not telling the rest of the world this, but who else could it be?”
“It was him, all right. What is the world coming to? You’re my only remaining descendants, and you’re trying to kill each other.”
“I’m not trying to kill him.” Although if an opportunity had presented itself last night…
Mrs. Horton was unhappy about the guard situation. She saw it as an invasion of her privacy. Carol tried to convince her it was for the best. Audrey had put Carol in the downstairs bedroom. She moved her few belongings into it and unpacked, hanging up clothes in the closet.
Mrs. Horton still slept in the master bedroom upstairs. Audrey told Carol it took her a while to negotiate the steps with the help of her cane and the banister, but Carol wasn’t going to try to convince her to move downstairs as long as Michael was about.
***
Paul arrived at noon. Carol gave him a hug. He’d been a big help last night, and she was glad he’d hired the security service, even though the money was coming out of the estate. Mrs. Horton complained about the guards, but he managed to calm her down—more successfully than Carol had, she noted. Perhaps it was because he was a man.
As they sat down to lunch, Paul became solemn. “You were right about Rose, Carol. I was up half the night looking for evidence, but I found it. I fired her. She didn’t know Michael was alive; she was dealing with Katherine Simpson at Weatherford. That’s circumstantial evidence of a tie-in between Weatherford and Michael. I hired a private investigator I know in Virginia to find out exactly how Michael is involved with the foundation.”
Paul spent a few minutes explaining to Mrs. Horton what he was talking about. Then he turned to Carol. “We have another problem. Weatherford’s attorneys have challenged your identity, claiming you’re not Cynthia. The timing is strange, because I haven’t taken action to establish you as the heir yet, but Rose told Katherine you were back. I was afraid they would do this, just not so quickly.”
Mrs. Horton put down her fork and glared at Paul. “Can’t you accuse this blasted foundation of shady practices?”
“That’s a side issue, not really worth pursuing. It won’t help our cause. What we need to do is establish Carol’s identity beyond a doubt. One problem, Elizabeth, is they can claim you denied Carol was your granddaughter.”
Carol said, “I mailed Grandma’s DNA test last night. I’ll call Frances and tell her it’s on the way. With her connections to the lab, she can probably speed up processing.”
“That’s good, but they can claim there’s no proof the DNA really belongs to Elizabeth. In fact, they can claim the same thing with Carol’s. You’ll both have to take additional DNA tests under the supervision of the probate court. That’s one reason we have to keep you alive.”
The joke fell flat, but it started Carol thinking. As they ate apple pie, she called Frances in California. Fortunately, Frances was home. Carol quickly brought her up to date on the situation. Frances was glad to hear from Carol and she was pleased her identity had been established. Carol told her about the DNA test, and then mentioned Paul and Mrs. Horton were present. She turned on the speakerphone and asked a question. She wanted Paul and Mrs. Horton to hear the answer that would confirm what she had already told Mrs. Horton.
“Assuming we can prove the DNA belongs to us, will it prove I’m Mrs. Horton’s granddaughter?”
“Your mitochondrial DNA, the DNA passed by women to all their children, should be the same as Mrs. Horton’s. It will show you’re related but won’t prove exactly how. That, in addition to other evidence such as Mrs. Horton testifying that you are her granddaughter, should be sufficient to establish your identity. Your autosomal DNA, the DNA that isn’t sex-linked, will also help, if necessary. You have inherited approximately a quarter of Mrs. Horton’s autosomal DNA, perhaps in blocks, and it can be used to establish with a high probability that you’re closely related.”
“Hi, Frances, Paul Vigiano here. Would you be willing to testify as an expert witness if we need you? Of course, we’ll pay your expenses and a fee for your time.”
“I’d be more than happy to testify if it will help Carol. One more thing, Carol. Remember Victoria Brody? We got the results back for her full genome mtDNA test. You aren’t a match. She isn’t your mother.”
Carol sighed. “That’s good. We don’t need any more complications right now.”
***
Carol walked Paul out to his car. She wanted to speak to him out of earshot of Mrs. Horton. “How long before you’ll need me for some kind of testing or court appearance?”
“It’ll be a week or more. You know how the law works. It grinds slowly.”
“I can’t just sit here and wait for Michael to strike again. I’m sick and tired of being the victim. I’m convinced that in my former life I was an action kind of girl. I’m going looking for Michael. The hunted is going to become the hunter.”
Paul was upset. “Don’t do it. You’re safe here. I’ve got a detective working on locating Michael. If we can find out where he is, we’ll have him arrested. If he can’t find Michael in a reasonable time, we’ll go back to our original plan and talk to the authorities.”
He couldn’t dissuade her. He offered to give her a gun, but she refused. “I don’t know enough about guns, and I can get into trouble if I’m caught with one crossing state lines or whatever. Even you might not be able to get me off the hook. I’ve watched some martial arts movies recently, and I’ve come to the conclusion I probably studied karate or something similar. I verified that with Grandma. It’s coming back to me. I can take care of myself.”
“Karate isn’t very effective against a gun.”
“He won’t have a chance to use it.”
Paul gave her a hug and showed concern for her that went beyond sex. That pleased Carol until she remembered she was worth several million dollars to him.
CHAPTER 34
Audrey drove Carol back to the farm after Carol turned in her rental car. They talked about safety. Audrey slept in the upstairs spare bedroom where she could hear Mrs. Horton if the older lady needed help during the night. Audrey had a phone beside her bed with the number of the security service on speed dial. If she heard noises she could be connected to the guard on duty within seconds. Audrey assured Carol she was a light sleeper.
Their best defense other than the guard was Butch. He stayed downstairs at night and sometimes barked at noises he heard outside. This resulted in false alarms, but Audrey said she could tell the seriousness of the situation by the intensity of his barking. Carol was satisfied that with the guard service, Audrey, and Butch, Mrs. Horton would be safe. Safe from a sane person, that is. Michael’s actions had shown he was a few bricks shy of a full load. She would worry about her grandmother until Michael was behind bars.
***
Carol drove to Virginia on Sunday in Mrs. Horton’s Toyota Camry. In spite of being fifteen years old, the car had only eighty thousand miles on it. Mrs. Horton hadn’t driven it in several years, but Audrey told Carol she drove it for shopping trips and to take Mrs. Horton to the doctor, and had it serviced on a regular basis.
