by SUE FINEMAN
Maria hugged Robbie and thanked him for telling her about Dad’s behavior. She’d always been the go-between, protecting the kids from Fred’s foul temper, but she wasn’t there this time. The DNA testing left a feeling of dread in the pit of her stomach. When Fred saw the results, he’d know about Robbie. She’d tell her son the truth when he was old enough to understand, if Fred didn’t blurt it out first. And he would, not for Robbie’s sake, but to punish her. During their marriage, Fred had slept with countless women. She’d had one indiscretion, slept with another man two times, and she had his child. How many children had Fred created? How many had he claimed?
She looked up at Blade. “I need to call Gerry.”
“Go ahead. Robbie and I will see if Mr. Pettibone knows a doctor.”
As soon as Blade and Robbie left the room, Maria closed the door and called Gerry in Gig Harbor. She related what Robbie had told her. “We’re looking for a doctor right now. Gerry, you once told me that you needed to know everything.”
“That’s right.”
“There’s one thing I haven’t told you, something I’ve never told anyone. Robbie isn’t Fred’s.”
Dead silence from the other end said she’d surprised a man who wasn’t easily surprised. “Say that again, Maria.”
“I was working part-time at the University of Washington when Molly was a little girl. Fred had been ragging about me not giving him the son he demanded. He called me every name in the book because I’d had three miscarriages before I had Molly, as if I’d done it on purpose. He was on his third or fourth girlfriend, and my self-esteem was at a low point. The professor I worked for offered something Fred had never given me—compassion and understanding. We had a short affair, and I broke it off before I knew I was pregnant. I didn’t know Robbie wasn’t Fred’s until after he was born. He physically resembles his natural father, more so as he gets older. The professor is very intelligent, and so is Robbie.”
Gerry groaned. “Why didn’t you tell me this before?”
“I thought I could keep it secret until Robbie was old enough to understand.”
“Robbie may have to grow up fast, Maria. If he has to hear it from someone, better to hear it from you.”
“I know.” But she dreaded telling him. He may have a brilliant mind, but emotionally, Robbie was still a little boy, and he thought Fred was his father. For the kid who’d had the most trouble handling his parents’ divorce, this kind of news could knock his emotional legs out from under him.
<>
That afternoon, Maria took the boys to see Dr. Bergman, the Andrews family doctor. He examined them all and took pictures of the welts on Jimmy’s behind. They were healed, but still red. When Maria saw them, she felt like screaming. Fred’s belt had cut into her baby’s tender flesh. It must have hurt like hell.
“I wanted to call you, but Grandma wouldn’t let me,” said Jimmy.
Fred’s mother, a meek little woman, told Fred to stop, but she wouldn’t let the kids tell their mother.
“Did Grandma put some medicine on it?”
“Yeah, and she gave me some ice cream, but I couldn’t sit down.”
Maria held her littlest boy, her sweet baby, and promised him he’d never have to go visit Dad again. If she could terminate his parental rights, none of the kids would ever have to see him again. But she knew Fred, and she knew the only way he’d let Robbie go would be if he knew the truth.
Robbie wasn’t his son.
Chapter Fifteen
Maria tried to be upbeat for the kids, but the sadness wouldn’t leave her. Secrets had a way of coming out, and this secret could destroy an innocent, vulnerable young boy. The indiscretion was hers, not Robbie’s. She had to find a way of telling him, of softening the blow so it wouldn’t hurt so much.
After the boys went to sleep, Maria and Blade walked out to the pavilion with Daisy. Blade asked, “How did the doctor’s visit go today?”
“All right.” Gerry thinks I should tell Robbie before Fred does.
“Tell him what?”
She blew out a breath. “Sometimes I forget you can hear my thoughts.”
“Only sometimes. Tell him what?”
“I can’t talk about it, Blade.”
Blade whistled for Daisy, who had wandered off, and the puppy came on the run. “Then we won’t talk about it.”
Thank you.
“I’m leaving for New York tomorrow.”
So soon? “What time?”
“My flight leaves at noon from San Francisco.”
She didn’t want him to go, especially right after the shooting, but she knew him well enough to know that he needed to face Colin Jacobs, and he had to get control of the stock in his grandfather’s estate.
One way to tell Robbie would be to make it a learning experience. They could go to the airport with Blade and stop at a book store on the way back, so she could buy a book on genetics. Did they make those that an eleven-year-old could understand? No, but Robbie wasn’t a normal eleven-year-old kid.
What if he wanted to meet his natural father? Roberto was single at the time, but twelve years had passed. He could be married now, and she didn’t want to make trouble for him. But if Robbie wanted to meet him, she’d find a way.
<>
Blade walked quietly back to the house with Maria and Daisy. Maria had something on her mind besides Fred hitting the boys, something she couldn’t tell him. She’d closed down. What could be so bad that she couldn’t tell him? Was she worried about the DNA test? Robbie said his father thought Andy and Jimmy weren’t his, when Andy looked just like him. Robbie was the odd kid in the family. If one of her kids had a different father, it had to be Robbie.
He didn’t say anything to her, and she was too preoccupied with her own thoughts to listen to his. If she cheated on Fred, would she cheat on him, too? He didn’t want a wife who cheated. Being single and dating different women was no big deal, but marriage required a commitment, and one leg of that commitment was fidelity. Fidelity was no problem for him as long as he and Maria were able to spend some private time together.
Love was another leg of that commitment, and he still wasn’t too sure about that one. He admired Maria’s love and devotion to her family. He valued her friendship, and the sex had never been better, but did he love her? Sometimes it felt like love, but he didn’t know if he was capable of the forever kind of love that Angelo and Teresa had or that Nick and Cara shared.
For now, he’d have to take it one day at a time.
<>
Before Blade left the house the next morning, he handed Maria a roll of bills. “Buy the kids some toys. I know you didn’t bring much with you.”
Without counting it, Maria stuffed the money in her purse. She hoped they didn’t have to stay away from home long enough for the kids to miss their toys. “I’ll use some of it to buy books on the way home from the airport. Since Fred is having DNA tests done, I thought Robbie might like to read up on genetics.”
He looked deeply into her eyes. “Maria, is there something you want to tell me?”
She looked down. “I can’t—”
“Talk about it,” they said together. She wanted to tell him, but she couldn’t. He wouldn’t understand.
“Okay, we won’t talk about it.” Someday I hope you trust me enough to tell me.
She blinked away tears. I do trust you, Blade, but I can’t talk about it now.
He kissed her, not a kiss of passion, but a tender kiss of friendship and affection. She knew he had feelings for her, knew he was on the verge of falling in love, and she also knew that one secret could ruin the trust between them.
The boys were excited about riding in Cara’s limo, and Blade teased them about being famous movie stars. The limo ride was out of necessity, since Blade had insisted they bring a guard along. The estate van was in the shop, and four adults and three kids wouldn’t all fit in any of the other vehicles.
At the airport, Blade kissed Maria and told the kids he’d see the
m in a few days, and then he disappeared into the terminal building and the limo driver pulled away.
Minutes later, their driver dropped them off in front of a big bookstore. When they left, everyone carried a bag. Maria chose romance novels and two games for the kids, Robbie had a book on genetics and one on astronomy, and Andy and Jimmy picked out toys and books and a ball for Daisy. She’d bought enough to keep them all occupied until Blade returned.
After the truth came out, she might have to get used to not having Blade around. She had no idea how he’d react when he heard she’d been an unfaithful wife. After meeting Fred, he should understand, but she couldn’t count on it.
<>
Mort Schuler’s assistant had made reservations at a hotel in Manhattan, and Blade would have a car and driver to use during his stay. The flight was late, the hotel was classy and obscenely expensive, and Blade was tired and hungry. Although two meals had been served on the plane, he’d eaten very little. The last time he’d come to New York, he was with Maria. They’d left Washington as single people and returned as a married couple. And now she was hiding things from him.
Some marriage.
If Jacobs hired the hit man to kill Sunny, what would he do when he learned that Blade and Maria were married? And what would he do when Blade demanded that the estate be turned over to him? Would changing attorneys at this point jeopardize the sale of the Banner home?
<>
The next morning, Blade’s driver dropped him off in front of Mort’s building. Blade spent several minutes with Mort before they walked two blocks to Jacobs’ office. Mort said he’d scheduled a court date, but if Jacobs handed over the estate, it wouldn’t be necessary to go before a judge.
They rode the elevator up to the law offices. Two women were talking about the preparations for Colin’s retirement party. Blade flashed a friendly smile. “Are you talking about Colin Jacobs? He was my grandfather’s attorney. I didn’t know he was retiring.”
“May 3rd, but if you see him, don’t tell him about the party. It’s a surprise.”
“We won’t say a word,” said Mort.
The women got off on the same floor and headed in the opposite direction. Blade muttered, “He’s retiring with his cut of my grandfather’s stock.”
“We’re about to change his plans.” Mort opened the office door, ending their private conversation.
Jacobs’ personal assistant showed Mort and Blade to the inner office. Jacobs reached out to shake Mort’s hand, and then he saw Blade. “Mr. Banner, I didn’t expect to see you today.”
“It was a last minute trip,” said Blade. He shook hands with Jacobs and sat beside Mort. “How is the probate coming?”
“It’s right on schedule.”
Mort handed Jacobs the papers to turn the estate over to him and Blade, and Jacobs scanned them. Blade leaned back in his chair to watch.
Jacobs looked up. “According to the will—”
“Which you still haven’t given me a copy of,” said Blade.
“According to the will,” Jacobs said again, “the balance of the estate is not to be turned over until you marry, and then only if you marry by your fortieth birthday.”
Blade handed a copy of the marriage certificate to Jacobs. While Jacobs stared in stunned silence at the paper, Blade said, “I want control of the entire estate today, including every share of my grandfather’s stock in Banner-Covington.”
Jacobs didn’t respond, so Blade pushed on. “I also want an itemized list of the contents of the estate, including information on the property in Florida. I don’t even know where this winter house is located.”
“Palm Beach,” said Jacobs. “It’s on the ocean in Palm Beach.”
“Is it staffed?”
“Yes, there’s a couple who live on the property.”
“Who pays the bills? Did Edward have an accountant?”
Jacobs pulled a business card from his desk drawer and handed it to Blade. His hand shook. What was this guy afraid of?
Blade sat back in his chair and listened quietly while Jacobs and Mort took care of the legal details. He’d expected a fight, but all the fight had gone out of Jacobs, and he seemed resigned to doing what had to be done.
When the two attorneys finished their legal business, Blade said, “I expect you know that Sunny was murdered a few days ago. Do you want to tell me what in the hell is going on?”
Mort leaned forward. “Colin, you and I have worked together before, and I know you wouldn’t be involved in something shady unless you were forced to do so. Tell us what’s going on, so we can help you.”
Jacobs stared at his desk and shook his head slightly. For the first time, Blade wondered if he was a victim, too. Had someone used him to get what they wanted?
Still sitting in front of Jacobs’ desk, Blade pulled out his cell phone and called the private investigator, Lonnie Oppenheimer. “Did you get that information for me, Lonnie?”
“Vanessa Milhauser’s father, or stepfather, used to work for De Beers, in South Africa. De Beers controls the world diamond trade. They have mines in Africa, Australia, and South America. Vanessa’s stepfather, Hans Belzer, is the majority stockholder and CEO of Hanzer Ships.”
“What are they shipping?”
“I have no proof, but everything points to diamonds and guns. He knows about the diamond trade, including where to get conflict diamonds.”
“What’s that?”
“They’re also called blood diamonds. They’re sold to fund the wars in different African countries.”
“Okay. How much Banner-Covington stock does this guy control?”
“He and his family own thirty percent outright, and then there are the shares owned by the three on the board you told me about—Jacobs, Baker, and Adler. The total is forty-two percent.”
“I’ll get back to you.” Blade tucked his phone in his pocket. “How many shares of Banner-Covington do you own, Jacobs?”
“Edward paid me in stock and I’ve bought a few shares of my own.”
“If I can find a buyer, will you sell them?” asked Mort.
After a slight hesitation, Jacobs nodded. “Yes.”
Blade knew if they didn’t buy those shares quickly that Jacobs could change his mind, or have it changed for him. “Excuse me for one minute.”
Stepping outside the office, Blade called Gordon Phillips. “Jacobs is willing to sell his company stock, and I now have control of Edward’s stock. Can we get an emergency vote of the Board of Directors to buy back Jacobs’ stock?”
“We can try.”
“Do we have enough votes without Milhauser, Adler, and Baker?”
“Yes. What’s the rush?”
“Vanessa Milhauser’s family controls thirty percent of the stock in Banner-Covington, and that’s without Adler and Jacobs and Baker.”
“I had no idea they owned that much.”
“Do the math and see what you can do. This is urgent, Gordon. Someone murdered my stepmother a few days ago, and Jacobs had been in touch with her. If he didn’t have her killed, he could be next, and we don’t want that much stock in limbo. If they buy Jacobs’ shares, we could lose everything.”
“I’ll set up a conference call right now, minus Adler, Baker, and Milhauser. I hope the company can come up with that much money on short notice.”
“If the company can’t come up with enough, I’ll find another way.” He could ask Cara for a loan. He didn’t know anyone else who had that kind of money at their disposal. If necessary, he’d sell her some of the artwork he’d kept for his own home.
<>
After the meeting, Blade had lunch with Mort and then returned to his hotel to change into his jeans. He’d never get used to wearing a suit and tie all day.
The meeting with Jacobs went better than he’d expected, but it left doubts about Jacobs’ involvement in Sunny’s shooting. If he didn’t have it done, who did? It could be over drug money, but if that was it, wouldn’t they have killed her before?
“I thought I’d walk through the house again, make sure we didn’t miss anything.”
Marvin cleared his throat. “Did you get the contents of the second safe?”
“The only safe I know about is the one in the study. Are you telling me there’s another one?”
“Yes, sir. It’s behind the drawers in Mr. Banner’s bedroom closet. I just assumed that since you’d found the other one…”
Blade took the stairs two at a time. In the console in the middle of the walk-in closet, behind two drawers, he found the door to the safe. On a hunch, he tried the same combination he’d used on the safe in the study. The lock snicked and the door opened. Blade pulled out several small black velvet bags, a bundle of letters from Father Michael, two small paintings, and a stack of cash and put it all on the counter on top of the console. Each one of the velvet bags was filled with sparkling stones. Diamonds.
He looked up to see Marvin standing in the doorway. He held a small tapestry valise. “I thought you might need this.”
“Yes, thanks. Marvin, did Mr. Jacobs know about this safe?”
“No, sir, I don’t believe so.”
“Then we’ll keep it a secret. Mr. Jacobs won’t be coming here again. He is no longer handling the estate. Mort Schuler is now in charge.” Blade pulled a card from his shirt pocket and handed it to Marvin.
“Thank you, sir. Bridget left yesterday, but I just now made a pot of coffee if you’d like a cup.”
Blade nodded. “Yes, thank you. I’ll be down in a few minutes. I want to walk through the house first.”
He packed the valise and left it on the console, and then he started at the top, in the attic. It was empty. The three suites and the playroom on the third floor were also empty. The carpeted rooms had been vacuumed, the wood floors were polished and gleaming, the bathrooms scrubbed, and the furniture gone. Margaret and Bridget had done a good job.