Lisbeth sighed. “And I have to interview him about the attack, as well. What a time for John to go on vacation.”
Hank smiled. “Tina and I will help.”
Lisbeth looked at him askance. “Okay.” She drew the word out, then laughed “I’ll take what I can get. Tina has proven to be pretty good about figuring stuff out.” She stood up. “Let’s go see the Youngs.”
Tina left her car and rode the few blocks with Hank to the Youngs’ Victorian. “You have any profound thoughts about all this?”
He laughed. “Not at the moment. Not enough data. We can only hope that forensics will give us some answers about the people in the secret room. But, and it’s a big but, that’s doubtful. They have probably lived off the grid for years, maybe decades.”
“You think they were there when Aunt Margaret lived there? And if so, did she know?’
“We won’t find out the answer to those questions, I don’t think, until we find the people who are obviously hiding up there.”
“From the clothing and other stuff we found, it appears to be at least a mother and a young girl, and perhaps Joshua Young, though, right?”
“That would be my guess, yes.”
They’d arrived at the Young’s house, and Tina climbed out of the car with some reluctance. She did not think this was going to be a fun visit. She saw Lisbeth pull up behind Hank’s Jaguar. The three of them went up the walk together.
Mr. Young answered the door and seemed surprised to see them. He frowned, but then invited them in. Hank introduced Lisbeth, then asked, “Has Leslie come home yet?”
“No.” Mr. Young led them into the living room.
Tina felt at ease. She’d been in this house more times than she could count. Mrs. Young had updated the wallpaper and the rug, Tina noticed, but the furniture was the same stiff Victorian so many of the homes in this area of Newport had. Red velvet loveseat, gilt-legged chairs, fragile-looking tables with china dogs and cats, bells, and dolls placed on tops.
Everyone sat down, and Patty Young entered the room. Tina thought she’d put on about ten or fifteen pounds since she last saw her. She hoped that was because she stopped drinking and was substituting food for alcohol. Mrs. Young had always been painfully thin, so Tina was happy to see her with more weight on. But she noticed Leslie’s mother also seemed older and worn. About the same age as Tina’s own mother, Mrs. Young looked about ten years older. Or more.
Mrs. Young seemed even more surprised to see them than her husband had been. Her gaze fell on Tina. “What’s going on?”
Hank introduced her to Lisbeth and explained who she was. Mrs. Young looked alarmed. “Has something happened to Leslie or Brandon?”
“They’re both fine,” Tina quickly told her. “Brandon had a slight accident, but he’s okay now.”
“What do you mean accident? With the car? But if it was an accident, why is a homicide detective sitting in my living room?” Almost all the color left Mrs. Young’s face, and Tina was afraid she was going to faint.
“Not the car.” As gently as she could, Tina explained what happened to Brandon and what they had just found at Leslie’s house.
Brandon’s mother kept shaking her head in disbelief. When Tina finished, Mrs. Young closed her eyes. When she opened them, she stared at her husband. “You know, I remember Margaret acting strange after she moved into the house again. I even mentioned it to you, but you didn’t agree. I wonder if she knew about what was going on, and for some reason didn’t say anything to us.”
Mr. Young frowned. “I don’t know why she wouldn’t tell us. Or me, at least.”
“What would your reaction have been?”
Mr. Young looked startled. “I don’t know,” he said slowly.
“I think I do.” Mrs. Young pulled a pack of cigarettes from her pocket and lit one with jerky movements. “You would have first been disbelieving. Then you would have demanded something be done if your brother, Joshua, was one of the people living there. Maybe put him in an institution. In other words, you would have taken charge.”
“Well, maybe that would have been a good thing. Maybe Joshua Young would be alive today if he’d been institutionalized.”
Mrs. Young’s jaw slackened, and she slumped into the chair back. “You have an answer for everything, don’t you?” She looked at Lisbeth and sighed. “I suppose you have some questions for us. As you can tell, I knew nothing about the secret room, and I seriously doubt my husband did either, or he would have taken charge.” She took a huge drag on her cigarette, then studied the end. “Please ask your questions so we can get this over with.”
For a moment, Lisbeth looked at a loss. She cleared her throat. “The first thing I need to establish is whether either of you knew of the existence of Joshua Young.”
Both Youngs shook their heads.
“And neither of you knew about the secret room?”
Again, head shakes.
“Mr. Young, was your father brought up in that house?”
“Yes, he was. His name was David. My mother was Catherine. After my father’s parents died, he moved back in with Catherine. It was always understood that Margaret, who loved the house, would inherit it, and I would get an equal amount of the value in cash and the rest would be divided between us.”
Lisbeth was taking notes. “Do you recall anything odd about the house growing up?”
Josh sat a moment, staring into space. “I realized that our back yard was much more private than most. Children could run from one to another, except when they got to ours. But it had always been that way. I certainly didn’t hear any strange noises or ever have any suspicion that anyone was hidden behind a wall. Never ran into a stranger in the house. Thinking back, it’s hard to believe that anyone was living there secretly. There were four of us, and we went from room to room quite a lot. It would be hard to sneak about.”
When Mr. Young stopped, Lisbeth looked up from her notes. “You never heard any whispered conversations about a brother with your name, or anything that puzzled you?”
Mr. Young shook his head again. “I’m sure if there were any, they were held behind my parents’ closed and locked bedroom door. The walls are thick—I never even heard a murmur from behind them. But, my bedroom was across the hall and opposite their bathroom, so hearing any conversations would be unlikely.”
“So, it’s possible even your parents didn’t know about the secret room.”
“I guess so.”
“Did any other family members live in the house, or even long-staying guests, while you were growing up?”
Josh frowned. “My Aunt Hannah, my father’s sister, lived with us off and on through the years. Never married.”
Mrs. Young had stubbed out her cigarette, and now she shifted in her chair, looking bored, Tina noticed.
Lisbeth glanced at Mrs. Young. “How long have you and Mr. Young been married?”
Mrs. Young looked startled. “Thirty-two years. I’m his second wife.” Her tone sounded defiant to Tina.
“How long had you known Mr. Young before you got married?”
“About two years.”
“So you know nothing, first-hand, about his childhood. How much did you and Margaret Young talk about family and the house?”
Patty’s eyes shifted toward the doorway. Tina thought she looked as if she wanted to escape. “We didn’t talk much. Actually, we didn’t get along very well.”
Lisbeth looked surprised. “Why not?”
Patty frowned. “Do I have to answer that?”
Lisbeth cocked her head. “Is there any reason why you shouldn’t?”
“Only that it’s uncomfortable for me to talk about.”
Mr. Young cleared his throat. “Margaret had a problem with Patty’s illness. She didn’t have a lot of patience with people she thought, how should I put this, could straighten up and fly right. This hurt Patty, of course.”
Lisbeth glanced at Tina. Tina guessed she wondered how far she should push Mrs. Young. Tina could t
ell Patty was uncomfortable, but she didn’t seem to be in a lot of distress.
Tina gave Lisbeth a slight nod, indicating she thought she could go ahead with the questioning.
In a gentle voice, Lisbeth said, “I know about your alcoholism, Mrs. Young. Could you tell me when it began? I’m wondering if you knew Margaret before that and what your relationship was like then.”
Patty sighed. “It started about five years after we got married. Soon after Leslie was born. Before that, Margaret was very busy with her real estate business and traveling as much as she could. We didn’t see a lot of her. As she got older, she traveled less, and I noticed her attitude toward me was rather cold. We never talked about it, or much of anything. It ended up being a very superficial relationship.”
Lisbeth nodded and turned to Josh. “How was your relationship with your sister?”
“We always got along well. I didn’t like the way she treated Patty, but there was nothing I could do about it. She was never mean or outwardly disapproving. But it was obvious she thought Patty should just pull herself up by her bootstraps and stop drinking.”
Tina suppressed a sigh. If only it were that simple, everyone would do it, wouldn’t they? Mrs. Young caught her eye, smiled, and seemed to relax a little. She must have read the sympathy on my face. Tina smiled back, and nodded. You’re doing fine. She hoped the thought came through.
Lisbeth changed tact. “Could you tell us how much your daughter has told you about what she found at the house?”
“She gave us a copy of the genealogy.” Mr. Young tugged on his pant leg to straighten out the crease. “I pretty much knew the genealogy line, so the only surprise was her telling us about the first Joshua Young.”
“Finding that out must have been quite a shock,” Lisbeth said.
“It was.”
“Can either of you think of anything else that might help us find out what happened to Joshua?”
Both Youngs shook their heads. Lisbeth stood up, and everyone else did, too. “Thank you for your time. I’ll keep you abreast of developments since it seems likely you are Joshua Young’s closest relatives. I’m very sorry about all of this.”
Mr. Young held out his hand to shake Lisbeth’s. “You’ve been very kind. We’ll do anything we can to help, of course.”
Lisbeth shook his and Mrs. Young’s hands. “Thank you for your patience.”
Hank and Mr. Young shook, and Tina and Hank hugged Patty Young.
Out front, Lisbeth sighed. “Not much help, I’m afraid. Now I need to talk to Leslie.”
“I’ll call her, see what’s going on with Brandon.” Tina pulled out her cell. She wondered why Leslie hadn’t called her by now. When the phone took her to voice mail, she hung up frowning. “That’s odd.”
“What?” Hank and Lisbeth said together.
Before she could answer, Brandon drove up and swung into the driveway, tires squealing. He jumped out of the car and ran toward them. “Leslie’s disappeared. She was gone when I woke up, and she doesn’t answer her phone. Where could she be?”
CHAPTER 31
Tina gasped. Hank took her arm to steady her. “She wouldn’t just leave you without a word.” Tina turned to Lisbeth, “We have to find her.”
“I agree.” Lisbeth pulled her phone from a pocket and made a call.
“Are you okay?” Tina stared at Brandon. He looked tired, but seemed steady enough on his feet.
He ran his hand through his hair, then winced when his fingers found the bump on the back of his head. “I’m fine. I had worse hits on the head when I was a kid.”
Hank laughed, and squeezed Tina’s arm. “That’s true.”
Lisbeth ended her call. “Tell me exactly what happened.” She took out her notebook and waited.
“I woke up about fifteen minutes ago. Got showered and dressed and went into the living room. No Leslie. I looked around the whole place. She wasn’t there. She didn’t leave a note. Her purse was gone, but her car’s still in the lot. I tried calling her, but it went to voice mail. This is not like Leslie at all. She would not have left me on my own until she was sure I was okay. Something has to have happened to her.”
“Okay. Is your phone charged up, in case she tries to call you?”
“Yes, fortunately, I remembered to plug it in before I fell into bed last night.”
“All right. Have it with you at all times, and charged, please. Because of the circumstances, I’m not going to wait to file a missing person report.”
“Thank you.” Brandon looked at the house. “I dread telling my parents. But they’ll wonder where Leslie is.”
The front door opened, and Mrs. Young gazed out at them. “Brandon, you’re okay? Thank goodness. Get in here so I can look at you.”
“Be right there, Mom.” He gave Tina a helpless look and whispered, “What should I say to them? How can I tell them?”
“I’ll come with you, if you want. Just tell it slowly, not all in a rush. Give them a chance to absorb each part.” She was thinking it was too bad they couldn’t suggest a brandy. “Your mother may need sedating. I hope you have the family doctor’s number handy?”
“Brandon?” Mrs. Young called. “Come on.”
Brandon sighed. “Coming.” He took Tina’s hand. “Yes, please come with me.”
“I’m going to go check on something,” Hank said.
“And I’ll go back to the station to get things rolling there.” Lisbeth took off at a fast pace, and Hank walked toward his car.
“Deep breath,” Tina told Brandon. “Everything will be okay.”
Brandon tried to smile, didn’t quite make it. They went up the walk together. Mrs. Young was no longer smiling at her son.
“What’s wrong? Where’s Leslie?”
“Let’s go inside, Mom. Where’s Dad?”
“He’s in the living room. Josh!” Mrs. Young hustled Tina and Brandon into the room. “Something’s wrong, I can tell.”
Mr. Young stood up, looking alarmed. “What is it?”
“It’s Leslie.” Brandon slumped into a chair and put his head in his hands. “You tell them, Tina. Please.”
Tina’s legs suddenly felt weak. She sat down in the chair next to Brandon’s and looked at his parents. “Leslie’s disappeared. I’m sure she’s all right—probably forgot to leave Brandon a note. But we don’t know where she is.”
Mr. Young frowned. “Did you call the shop?”
Brandon looked up, startled. “Didn’t think to. Sorry, I’m a bit out of it.”
“Are you sure you’re all right?” Mrs. Young had sat down and now lit another cigarette, her hands shaking.
“I’ll be fine.” Brandon pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and said, “Call Leslie at shop.” They could hear it ring. “Amelia? This is Brandon. Is Leslie there?”
Tina couldn’t hear what Amelia said.
“You haven’t heard from her?” He glanced at his mother, then quickly looked away. “No, I don’t know when she’ll be in. I’ll let you know as soon as I find out… Okay.” He said good-bye and hung up. “Can you think of anywhere else she could be?”
“At her house?” Mr. Young suggested.
Again, Brandon looked startled. He stood up. “Tina, let’s go check there.”
Tina shook her head. “We can’t get in. I have a lot to tell you about the house. The police are there because someone trashed the library. We found a secret space in the attic. They now consider the house might be part of the crime scene because of where Joshua was… You know.”
Brandon looked shocked. “Does Leslie know?”
“We haven’t had a chance to tell her.”
“Then we should still go there. Since she doesn’t know she might have gone there to find you and Hank.”
Tina doubted she would have left Brandon before he woke up, but taking action felt better than sitting around doing nothing. “All right.”
She and Brandon stood up. “Sorry, Mom and Dad, we’ve got to move.”
Mr
s. Young was pale, and her hand holding the cigarette still shook. Mr. Young didn’t look much better. Tina walked over to him. “I think you should call your family doctor for your wife. We’ll call the minute we find Leslie. I’m sure we will.” She patted Mrs. Young on her shoulder. “Have faith. We’ll probably know something soon.”
“Thank you, Tina,” Mrs. Young whispered. “You’re a good girl.”
Tina smiled. “I try.”
She and Brandon left the house. “I’ll follow you to Leslie’s, if you’re sure you’re okay to drive. Are you in much pain still?”
“Only when I touch it. It’s nothing. I can drive. It’s not far, after all.”
“Okay. Be careful.”
In less than ten minutes they pulled up in front of Leslie’s Victorian. A police tech van was parked in front and a cruiser behind it. No sign of Leslie’s car. But Tina knew she could have parked in back in the garage.
Brandon hurried up the front walk and was ringing the doorbell when Tina caught up to him. An officer in uniform answered and recognized Brandon. “Mr. Young. I’m afraid I can’t let you in. But the techs will be finished soon, and Detective Dotson has told us to allow family members in after that. She also told us about Ms. Young being missing. We will get in touch if she shows up here. I wish I had better news.”
Brandon’s shoulders slumped, but he thanked the officer and turned to leave. Tina took his arm, and they walked out to their cars.
“I don’t know what to do now.” Brandon’s voice was anguished.
“Let’s go back to your condo. Leslie may show up there without calling you.”
“Good idea. I’m going to call Lisbeth, make sure she leaves an officer here until we find Leslie. And I’ll call Amelia again and tell her to be sure Leslie has contacted me if she goes to the shop.”
“Okay. We have a plan.”
Brandon closed his eyes. “This is a nightmare. How did this happen?”
Tina was at a loss for words. She knew Brandon hated for things to be out of control. “I don’t know. I wish I did. We can only hope for the best.”
Brandon nodded and called Lisbeth, then Amelia. When he finished, he said, “Okay, let’s go.”
Cluttered Attic Secrets (Tina Tales) Page 12