by Terry Spear
The smell of bleach and lemon-scented wax cleaner masked the odor of smoke from the fireplace that would have dominated the room.
Jessica headed past the billiard table, a rowing machine, and a treadmill sitting against the opposite wall. A dartboard in a cabinet took center stage against a corkboard wall, perfect for really lousy shots.
“Do you come down here a lot?” Anna asked.
Jessica shook her head. “I don’t like it.” She shuddered.
Bjornolf noticed her trembling a little.
“I’ve never seen a dartboard like this,” Anna said.
“It’s one of those electronic ones.” Nathan motioned to the scoreboard. “It keeps score on an LED screen and has voice commands and makes sound effects.”
Anna shook her head. What happened to doing things the old-fashioned way?
Jessica unhooked the dartboard and set it on the floor to expose a wall safe. “He figured if anyone ever searched for his safe, they’d look in his office or bedroom. Maybe the living room. But a basement? Behind a dartboard? No one would think of that.”
Heavy-duty gray wall safe. Standard dial combination.
“You don’t happen to know the combination, do you?” Bjornolf asked Jessica.
“I only know one of the numbers is six. I was watching him when he saw me and told me to run back upstairs. He was angry, but I’m sure he didn’t think I could ever figure out the other numbers. That was the only time I ever got close when he was unlocking it.”
Bjornolf got on his cell phone to Hunter. “Okay, we’ve got six as the first number of the combination. Any ideas for the rest?”
“Give me a sec.” Hunter started talking to someone nearby. “Rourke, in your investigations, have you come across any numbers that might have been used on a safe?”
The speakerphone was on as Rourke responded. “Yeah, often wedding dates or birth dates. Sometimes owners won’t change the combination on a safe after it’s installed and it’ll be all zeroes. You said the first number is six?” Rourke paused. “Bingo. Try one and then five. The numbers correspond to the month and day that the Evertons’ daughter was born.”
Click.
“It worked,” Bjornolf told Hunter. He pushed the lever down and pulled the safe door open.
Inside the safe, bundles of money were stacked on one shelf. A huge stack of papers rested at the bottom of the safe. Bjornolf pulled out the papers and said to Hunter, “Thousands of dollars’ worth of cash stashed in the safe. I can’t imagine why someone who owns a Christmas tree farm would have this much cash on hand.”
The papers included birth certificates, a marriage certificate, titles to vehicles—including the work vehicles used by employees at the farm—and the deed to the tree farm.
Bjornolf said to Hunter, “Just going through the papers now.” He handed some of the documents to Nathan and Jessica.
They carried them over to the pool table, spread them out, and began concentrating on the birth certificates and the Evertons’ marriage certificate. “Everton was Roger Wentworth, married to Dorothy Slade on the marriage certificate. And here’s a birth certificate for Angela Wentworth. Then a death certificate dated three years later for Angela Wentworth,” Jessica said, her voice soft and upset.
Anna looked at the death certificate. “She died when you would have been just a toddler. Did your adoptive mom ever talk to you about it?”
Everyone looked up from the documents they were reading and studied her. Jessica took a deep breath and nodded. “Just once. I was looking through some pictures my mom had taken of me at Christmastime with Santa, and I came across some photos of Mom holding a toddler I didn’t know. I asked who she was. My mom said she was her daughter born three years before they adopted me. It happened when they lived in Portland. Mom was at the mall shopping. A nanny was watching Angela and she got away from her. She ran out into the street and a car hit her. My mom gave me a sad smile and said then they adopted me. She wouldn’t talk about it after that.”
Jessica sorted through the papers she’d been looking at. “No birth certificate for me. No adoption papers. Nothing. I don’t even know if my first name is really Jessica.”
Nathan looked unsure. Anna joined Jessica and pulled her into an embrace. “We’re all trying to learn the truth. You’re not alone in this.”
Jessica nodded and gave her a hug back. “Thank you.” Then she wiped her eyes and went back to looking at the papers with Nathan. She paused and glanced at Anna and Bjornolf. “Nathan talked to me about the dead men.”
Anna and Bjornolf looked at him.
He let out his breath and shrugged. “She smelled the dead bodies, too. Like we did. I told you. When she and I went on that walk that time. I thought she might have been here at the time. Heard something. No one has asked her.”
“And?” Bjornolf asked.
Jessica sighed. “I overheard a couple of men talking with Dad. I stayed home from school because I had a bad cold that day and was in my bedroom playing a video game, but you know how our hearing is. They asked Dad how well he knew my Uncle William. He said he was his half brother. They asked if he knew anything about Uncle William’s business.
“He said sure, Uncle William was into pharmaceuticals. They wanted to know if he was involved in anything illegal. My dad said for them to follow him outside because he had to get some work done, and they could talk while he worked on some new plantings. That was it. He must have gone to get his coat and gloves and stuff, and then left with them, shut the door, and was off.”
Stuff? More like a gun, Anna suspected.
“When was this?” Bjornolf asked.
“It was a Monday morning. We’re closed on Mondays to give the farmhands a break for working over the weekend. Dad catches up on work even when we’re closed. So we didn’t have any customers.”
“How did your dad and William get along?” Anna asked.
“It was weird. They hated each other but needed each other for jobs… somehow. Not sure. Dad worked for Uncle William before he got the tree farm. So they were kind of okay back then. But then Uncle William cut Dad out of their father’s will, and Dad said he wasn’t going to work for his older half brother any longer. I… don’t think he knew William was having an affair with my mom. If he knew, I’m certain that Dad would have killed Uncle William.”
Anna nodded. “I’d have to agree with you there.” She examined the deed to the farm while Bjornolf was searching through some old papers having to do with plants in the Amazon. They were dated thirteen to fifteen years ago, shortly before Jessica was adopted by the Evertons. After comparing handwriting on documents written, signed, and dated by Everton, Bjornolf could tell Everton was not the same person who had written the list of rainforest plants.
Anna touched Bjornolf’s arm and he saw the worried look in her eyes. “The Everton farm belonged to an Oliver and Jenna Silverstone,” she said quietly.
Silver. Gray wolves. They often used gray, grey, or silver in their names.
“The deed’s old,” she said.
He scrutinized it. “It is. But why would Everton have this old deed and not the one that shows he and his wife now own the property?” The situation looked more sinister than he had first suspected. “Hunter,” Bjornolf said over the phone, “I’m scanning the deed and sending it to you.” He waited.
“Got it. We’ll check into the deed as soon as the county courthouse opens this morning,” Hunter said.
“Sounds good. What do you make of this?” Bjornolf asked Anna, showing her the papers listing the rainforest plants and their chemical properties.
“What if the Silverstones were doing research on plants in the Amazon?”
Bjornolf agreed. “Hunter, we’ve got more. Listen to this. In the documents we found, someone made a detailed report of plants in the Amazon. Chemical pr
operties, common plant names and botanical names, what they might be used for. There are weeks of detailed reports collected over two years, with breaks in between dates for several months, and then more reports as if the researcher left the Amazon, then returned and continued with the studies for another few months.”
Bjornolf read a small portion of the notes to Hunter to give him an idea.
“Amor seco, a dense leafy perennial grass, rich in flavonoids and alkaloids.
“Ajos sacha, leaf power, calming effect for some, not sure of effectiveness, causes thirst.
“Uncaria tomentosa, cat’s claw vine bark and root powder, strengthens immune system, similar to a wolf’s.
“Bauhinia forficate, or pata de vaca, leaves of a flowering tree in the pea family used for diabetes mellitus.”
“Hmm, sounds like we have another mystery,” Hunter said.
Bjornolf took pictures and then emailed them to Hunter.
After a few minutes, Hunter said, “I’ll have a research botanist I know look these over and see if she can come to any conclusions.”
“Good,” Bjornolf said. “I’ll take pictures of the rest of these documents, then return the papers to the safe.”
“Do you mind if I grab a bag of a few more of my things? Some more of my clothes?” Jessica asked.
“No, go right ahead.” Bjornolf put away the papers as Nathan and Jessica went upstairs.
When he thought they were out of earshot, Bjornolf said to Hunter, “Something else that seems strange. Both Anna and I detected a very faint scent of gray wolves in the house. I checked out the whole house and found their scent in every room. It appears they were here years ago. A man and a woman.”
“Like maybe fifteen years ago or so? When Jessica was a toddler?” Hunter asked.
“Possibly.” Bjornolf glanced at the stairs. “Do you think maybe her parents actually owned this house? That this was her home all along?”
“Could be. My uncle lived here for many years, deeding the cottages along the coast to me and Meara this past year. He’s living in Florida now, but he might know something about them. I’ll call him.”
“Something else to consider,” Anna said. “What if it was combination of things? Something the Silverstones were looking into in the Amazon that the Wentworths wanted, and Dottie had seen the Silverstones’ toddler and wanted to replace the toddler she’d just lost?”
Bjornolf swore under his breath. Then he told Hunter about what Jessica had revealed to them about the family dynamics. “We’re finished here. We’re taking the kids to our cottage for a bit, then they’ll go back to the family they were staying with until the open house tomorrow night.” Bjornolf grimaced as he realized it was later than he’d thought. “Actually at this rate, it’ll be tonight. Talk to you later.”
He took Anna’s hand and walked up the stairs with her to the first floor.
Nathan and Jessica met them at the landing, two bags in hand. Nathan was smiling at them. He was glad when Bjornolf invited them to the cottage.
Jessica looked upset as she wrung her hands, then caught Anna’s eye and quickly shoved her hands in her jacket pockets.
Anna said to Jessica, “It’ll be all right. It’s not going to be the end of the world, no matter what the results show.”
Bjornolf realized it was probably getting to be time for Jessica to take the pregnancy test. They could feed the kids breakfast, see them on their way, and spend the rest of the day in bed while Hunter learned what he could about the situation.
“What do you think of all this?” Anna asked, climbing into the Land Rover with Bjornolf. Nathan was loading Jessica’s bags into his truck.
“Seems odd that Everton was getting a lot of cash for Christmas tree sales and stuffing it in a safe. The list of rainforest flora doesn’t make any sense unless it’s something that’s making them money.”
“Like illegal drugs,” she said.
“Yeah. And the deed? I’m wondering if Everton came by the property in the same way they came to adopt Jessica.”
“He murdered her parents and raised their daughter,” Anna said, believing just what Bjornolf had been thinking.
How could they prove it, and how would Jessica take the news if they learned the truth?
Chapter 22
Hunter guessed it was about six in the morning when he settled on the couch in his living room to make some more phone calls. Tessa was finally sleeping soundly after another restless night, the babies kicking in her belly and giving her fits.
Hunter dialed his uncle’s number.
“Hunter. This must be important if you’re calling me at this ungodly hour. Babies come early?” Hunter thought his uncle sounded hopeful.
“No, not yet. Knowing you, you’re sitting on your porch watching the waves roll onto the beach while eating grapefruit with your highly sweetened coffee.”
Hunter could envision his uncle smiling at that. “All right, here’s a question for you. Did you know a couple of gray wolves who ran the Christmas tree farm near here? Everton’s Christmas Tree Farm? They would have been a family—a man, woman, and baby.”
“Hmm, yeah, now that you mention it. Long time ago, though. Twenty years maybe? Fifteen? They were off to the Amazon on trips all the time.”
“How do you know that?”
“They told me. They were an odd couple. They had some notion they could control a wolf’s need to shift. For those who were newly turned or who had a lot of human roots in their lineage. I bought a Christmas tree from them once. Mr. Silverstone was excited about some new finds, chemical properties of the rainforest plants he thought might help some of our kind. He told me because he recognized I was a wolf and might be also interested in a ‘cure.’ Blamed fool notion if you ask me. We are what we are. Instead of trying to change our nature, revel in it, I say.”
“So they must have been fairly new wolves. What happened to them?” Hunter asked.
“I really never thought of them after that.”
“Did any wolves work at the Christmas tree farm?” Hunter asked.
“No. All humans. The couple was kind of like me. They enjoyed not being part of pack life. So what’s this all about?”
“Looks like we’ve got a case of humans taking over the farm, due to foul play, and adopting a wolf baby.”
Hunter’s uncle didn’t say anything for a moment. When he did, he said, “Hell.”
After ending the call, Hunter called Shelley Campbell, a wolf botanist he’d located when he was trying to learn something about plants for a mission he’d been on. “Hey, Shelley, Hunter Greymere here. I’m looking into a situation out here on the Oregon coast that I thought you might be able to shed some light on. I’ve got some plant names and their properties I want you to look over and see if you recognize any of them. You’re not too busy, are you?”
She gave a heavy sigh. “No. Let me turn on my computer if my Highland hero will let go of me.”
Duncan grunted. “No man should be calling you at this hour, lass, unless I know him personally. Even then, he’s walking on thin ice.”
“Whatever,” she said, and Hunter listened, smiling as she left the bed, the mattress squeaking slightly.
Her computer signaled it was waking up, and he heard the Highlander with the distinctive Scottish burr say to her in a hostile throaty voice, “Who… is… he?”
She laughed. “A mated wolf friend who has twins on the way. He’s a Navy SEAL who sometimes asks me to look into botanical questions relating to his missions.”
“Tell him to hurry it up, then.”
Hunter emailed her the images of the handwritten notes about the plants.
She gasped and said to Hunter, “Where did you get this information?”
“A couple of gray wolves living out near me were investigating plants
in the rain forest, and—”
“Jenna and Oliver Silverstone? The initials in the margins look like theirs. She’d make notes and he would also, both documenting who had done what by initialing them. That way if one of them made a mistake, the other didn’t get blamed for it. I haven’t seen them in years. How are they?”
Hunter nearly stopped breathing. “You knew them?”
She paused and he wondered if she realized he’d referred to them in past tense. She took a moment to collect herself and said, “Yeah, I knew them. They were the ones that first got me interested in plant biology. They were trying to find a way to stop our kind from shifting. Not so much that we wouldn’t shift ever, but just be able to control it. Especially for newly turned wolves. They had only been turned for a couple of years. Before that, they had trained and worked as a plant biologist team. Instead of continuing to look for new cancer cures, they began researching remedies for werewolves.” A heavy pause ensued. “What happened to them? They had a daughter—Jessica. She was their angel.”
“It seems they’ve disappeared. The new owners had a young daughter die, and the toddler they raised was named Jessica,” Hunter said, confirming a piece of the puzzle. “Had you ever been to their house?”
“Yeah, while they were in the Amazon, I lived there and even managed their Christmas tree farm for a few months. They had the technology down to an art. The business fascinated me.”
“The couple took their daughter with them when they visited the jungle?”
“They always took her with them. I saw them at a plant biology conference and they had the baby with them then, which is where they talked to me about taking care of their tree farm. They didn’t belong to a wolf pack. They adored their daughter. As much as they loved plants, they would never have left her with strangers. She’s okay, then?”
“She is, although it’s going to be some adjustment for her as we try to teach her our ways and how to get along in a wolf pack. Are any of these plants something that might be turned into illegal drugs?”