“I think we should close the door so that no one knows we have found it,” Miss Lottie suggested. “Patricia is probably sitting there wondering what happened to us.”
They reentered the room to see Patricia right where they had left her. She looked like she had been crying.
“Well, where did it lead to?” she asked.
“To the back door near the servant’s entrance,” Adams answered. “Mrs. Bellington, I am afraid that I will have to come back here tomorrow with a team to search the house under a warrant. This narrows down the suspect list and I am afraid we are looking at an inside job.”
“It’s the day before Christmas Eve. We have a huge party held here every Christmas Eve and it was too late to cancel it this year. Will they make a mess of the house?” Patricia questioned.
“We will be as neat as possible. Don’t tell anyone about this room or the other secret entrance. We need to catch whoever removed the necklace by surprise if they enter this room again.”
“I understand,” she sighed. “I need to get ready for dinner. I told my children to be at the table at six-thirty and it’s almost that time. Are you done here?”
“For now. I will be back at eight in the morning with my team. I’m sorry that this discovery has pointed a finger in the direction of someone that you trust,” Adams said, shaking his head. “You just never know, do you?”
“I’ll walk you out,” Miss Lottie said.
They returned to the study and Patricia excused herself to get ready for dinner. Adams closed the bookcase and they walked to the foyer.
“It broke my heart to be that blunt with the poor woman after all she has been through the last week,” Adams said to the housekeeper. “I could sure use an antacid to settle my churning stomach right now.”
“How about a peppermint candy cane? My father used to eat peppermint to settle his stomach after he ate my mother’s cooking; God rest both their souls. My mother was the worst cook in the neighborhood,” Lottie chuckled.
“You’re the second one this week who uses that remedy. Tagnello told me that the cognac upset his empty stomach and he took a cane off the tree right before he left here the night Mr. Bellington was murdered.”
“You see, old ways are the best,” Miss Lottie said, fetching a candy cane from the tree for Adams. “This will settle your stomach. And don’t you worry about Patricia; she’s a strong woman and will continue to be for her children. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
At six-thirty the family was seated at the table. Timmer served their dinner and left the room, closing the doors behind him. Lottie stayed at the request of Patricia and sat in the corner next to the buffet table.
For the next hour, their mother repeated her story for the third time. She had requested that none of them leave the room until she was done, and they did as asked. Kimberly Ann cried and surprisingly, so did Vanessa. Robert Jr. sat in his chair, staring and not showing any emotion. Patricia almost fell apart a couple of times, but pulled herself together and continued with her story.
She never mentioned the second mistress or anything about the secret room as the detective had requested. Their mother apologized many times for deceiving them over the years, while telling them what they now needed to know. They were warned that this would be all over the news as the media loved to sensationalize other people’s grief. When she was done, she sat there looking at her children, waiting for the questions to start.
“Do you know this other woman?” Vanessa asked.
“No, but I am sure we all will soon,” she answered honestly.
“I just don’t understand,” Kimberly Ann started to say. “Weren’t we good enough for him?”
“Don’t ever think that. He loved all of you more than life itself,” her mother answered.
“Sure, he did,” Robert Jr. said, sarcastically. “You know what, Mother? We weren’t enough if he had to have more kids and other mistresses. We were the older ones that he didn’t need anymore. He would buy us off with expensive gifts and lots of money and we would go away and not question anything that he did. You will never convince me that he loved us and needed us around. We were just the cover story for his other lives.”
“Robert, I really hope in my heart that you don’t mean that,” Patricia said, lowering her head.
“What’s going to happen to us?” Vanessa asked. “Will we lose everything to this other family?”
“I don’t know, Vanessa,” Patricia answered. “At this point, I’m not sure of anything.”
“Are we still going to have the Christmas Eve party in father’s honor?” Kimberly Ann asked.
“What a joke! The party is two days away and I’m real sure the press will have told our story to the whole world by then. We’re going to look pretty stupid honoring someone who lied to us his whole life, aren’t we?” Robert Jr. groused. “I won’t be at the party. Count me out.”
“May I say something?” Miss Lottie asked, standing up and walking from her place in the corner.
“Go ahead, you’re going to anyway,” Robert Jr. muttered.
“The party does not have to be in honor of Robert Bellington; no announcements were sent out as such. The invitations stated it was the annual Christmas party that is thrown every year by this family. Yes, the press will probably already have broken the story about your father, so why not present a united front amongst yourselves and make this party a new start for the four of you,” Miss Lottie suggested. “Don’t care what the press or other people think; just concentrate on running Bellington Computers together. No more lies and be a real family who talks to each other and leans on each other for support and love.”
“Please, Robert. Let’s just try to get through the holidays together and then you can do as you see fit,” Patricia pleaded with her son. “You can even invite Angie to the party if you choose to.”
“I thought she was invited already?” he asked.
“She was, but I uninvited her the day after I found out about the two of you. I didn’t want her to be around my family, especially my son. She used to date your father way back in high school,” Patricia replied.
“She dated my father?” he asked, sitting back in his chair. “Unbelievable!”
“Can we please proceed with the party as planned? Please stay with me and help me to face the people that will probably be my worst critics; our friends,” Patricia pleaded.
“You didn’t do anything, Mother,” Vanessa insisted.
“Yes, I did. I could have stopped it long ago and divorced him, but I didn’t for you children. I didn’t want you to be the ones hurt in all this. I was hoping your father would have made the proper arrangements to take care of his other family and taken this secret to his grave. I never thought he would be murdered and everything would come out this way,” Patricia admitted.
“I’ll be at the party,” Kimberly Ann assured her mother.
“I will, too,” Vanessa added.
They turned to look at Robert Jr. who was still sulking in his chair. He looked at his mother’s face and saw the years of strain that had collected there; something he had never noticed before. How could his father have done this to her? Through all the bickering and insults, he knew she had been a good mother. He didn’t realize just how much hurt she had held inside protecting her children.
“I’ll attend the party, and without Angie,” he said.
The next morning, true to his word, Detective Adams showed up with a team to go through the house. The kids had been sent away by their mother to shop for clothes for the party the following night. James took them all to the city in the limo to keep them away from the house for the morning. Miss Lottie had been smart enough to hide her cash stash in a little secret compartment behind her books that Mr. Bellington had built for her when the bookcases had been installed. She knew it wouldn’t look good for her to have all that money when so much money was missing from the safe.
Patricia and her staff sat in the kitchen out of everyone’s way while they tor
e the house apart. Timmer walked around with Detective Adams holding a set of master keys that would open any space he requested to be opened for the investigators. They blanketed the house with their search and then moved on to the outer buildings. Adams stayed behind and printed the secret room. He looked for anything that could have come out of the safe, but found nothing.
The whole process took a little over seven hours and nothing was found anywhere on the estate grounds. The team left with a promise from Adams that he would get back to them if he learned anything from the prints found in the secret room.
Miss Lottie had hired extra staff to come in for the afternoon to straighten out the mess made by the search. By early evening, the mansion was back to normal and the kids had returned from their shopping trip right before dinner was announced.
There was a different atmosphere in the dining room that night. The three siblings ate, talked and joked with each other. It was as if a gloomy veil had been lifted off the household.
They had watched their mother leave prior to dinner and saw how happy she was now that the truth had been told. Patricia skipped dinner as she had an appointment in Bellows Falls at a dress shop to find an evening gown to wear the following night. James was taking her to town and they held hands as they walked to the car because they didn’t have to hide their love anymore.
After eating, the kids retired to their bedrooms and the staff finished up their chores and left for the night. Miss Lottie was in the kitchen having a cup of tea and watching the snow lightly fall outside the window. Robert Jr. entered the kitchen and placed a box in front of the housekeeper.
“What is this?” she asked, setting down her teacup.
“I know I haven’t been the nicest person to you lately. In fact, I’ve been a down-right jerk. I hope you will attend the Christmas Party tomorrow night, not as a housekeeper, but as a member of this family. The girls and I bought this for you while we in town today. We hope you like it,” Robert Jr. replied. “Vanessa picked it out being the fashion queen that she is.”
Miss Lottie opened the box. Inside was an emerald green, satin dress. It was floor length, high collared and had a big bow on the shoulder. Matching satin pumps with diamond bows on each shoe finished the look. It was perfect for a woman of her age.
“Well, I never…” she exclaimed. “How did you know my sizes?”
“Kimberly Ann sneaked into your closet before we left and checked. I know we shouldn’t have been in there without permission, but we wanted it to be a surprise,” Robert Jr. said, smiling.
It was the first time in many years that Miss Lottie had seen the smile that she knew when Robert Jr. was a young boy. Maybe, things would change. Maybe, Patricia could make them a family again instead of four individuals living under the same roof.
“I don’t know what to say. This is beautiful; it’s certainly something I never would have bought for myself,” Miss Lottie beamed. “I will gladly accept your invitation to the party.”
Robert Jr. bent down and gave her a hug. He didn’t say anything more and walked away smiling.
Miss Lottie picked up her tea. Tomorrow was Christmas Eve and they still didn’t know who killed Mr. Bellington. Everyone would be so busy for the next few days, his death wouldn’t be given a second thought, unless of course it was brought up by a nosy person prying into the family business.
She rinsed out her cup, picked up her present and retired to her room.
CHAPTER 10
* * *
The staff had arrived for work earlier than usual. Three professional decorating crews had come to prepare the mansion for the party. One crew would work on the ballroom, one on the living room and the final group would prepare the foyer for the guest’s grand entrance into the festivities. They were under strict orders that everything had to be completed by three o’clock.
Extra kitchen staff had been hired to assist Chef Ramon in preparing the food and the serving of the food throughout the evening to the guests.
New presents had been added under the tree and Robert’s presents had been removed and piled in the study. The crystal case had been removed from behind the tree and also placed in the study. Patricia insisted that the staff’s gifts be added under the tree. She was trying her hardest to unite the family and make it a place of love instead of a place of lies.
In the front foyer, a twenty-foot tree, dressed in gold and red had been placed between the split staircase. It was the first thing you saw when you entered through the front doors and its magnificent beauty would take many a breath away. The banisters were wrapped in pine garland with holly berry sprigs woven in and out. Every five feet or so, a large red bow hung from the garland on the outside of the railings. Poinsettia plants had been placed in a circle around the base of the large tree, and scattered on various steps of each staircase.
Giant decorated pine wreaths that matched the tree, hung in the two large windows at the top of the stairs. Poinsettia plants were scattered throughout the rooms, bathrooms included, to give the house a bright, festive atmosphere.
The ballroom was massive and only used for special functions. A parquet dance floor ran down the center of the room surrounded by tables covered in purples and golds. At each end of the hall stood matching fifteen-foot Christmas trees decorated in purples and gold to match the tables.
The ceiling looked like a golden snowstorm coming down from the sky. Large glittered snowflakes twirled freely from invisible fishline, surrounded by smaller varying sizes of the same glittering snowflakes.
Specially ordered, purple dyed poinsettia plants, with gold sprays, took the center spot on each table. Matching purple plants were placed on hutches and buffet tables scattered around the hall.
The living room fireplace was used as the focal point. Red poinsettias had been scattered around the room and formed a large semi-circle, several rows deep, around the family tree to keep people away from the gifts. Not that they thought that anyone would steal any gifts, but it divided the room and kept the seating area to the front nearest the foyer.
The last decorating crew left at two-fifteen. Patricia wandered around the mansion, lost in thought. She never pictured a Christmas without Robert and it felt strange. Tonight, Christmas Eve, would have been their thirty-fifth wedding anniversary. The thirty-nine Packard that she had purchased for Robert’s Christmas present was delivered at noon and placed in front of the garage with a big red bow on it. She had tried to cancel the order, but it was too late.
James was a good man and he loved her unconditionally. They had many things in common and enjoyed each other’s company. He was a hardworking man, but once they were married, he would never want for anything again. They could spend their time traveling and enjoying life together, unless everything blew up in their faces and additional mistresses and kids turned up belonging to Robert. She couldn’t think about that right now; she had a party to get ready for.
The family always met at the family tree at six-thirty. They would toast to Christmas with a bottle of Robert’s best champagne and then take their places near the front door to greet the guests who started to arrive at seven.
Miss Lottie was hustling around making sure everything was under control and ready for the guests. She had placed a white apron over the long green gown so that nothing would spill on it before the party. The kids chuckled when they saw the apron over the fancy gown that they had gifted her.
Kimberly Ann was dressed in a floor-length red gown with white fur trim. She had on white gloves that covered her arms up past her elbows. Her hair was swept up in a bun on the back of her head with curly wisps of hair framing her face. Red ruby drop earrings finished the look.
Vanessa was stunning. She wore a white, form-fitting satin gown with silver trim that outlined the thigh-high split on the front of the gown. Silver heels and diamond jewelry gave her a finished look that belonged on a Paris fashion page.
Robert Jr. and James were standing at the foot of the stairs dressed in black evening wear tuxe
s, each one handsome. They were waiting for Patricia to come downstairs, so they could go into the living room and start the evening with champagne that Robert Jr. had brought up from the wine cellar. He didn’t know a lot about wine or champagne, so he chose the bottle with the most festive label on it.
Patricia turned the corner out of her bedroom and stood at the top of the stairs. She was radiant. Her hair had been done up in the same fashion as Kimberly Ann’s and her make-up was pristine. A green chiffon evening gown with a diamond trimmed neck, floated effortlessly as she walked down the stairs.
They all walked together into the living room and raised their glasses for the toast. Robert Jr. did the honors.
“Another Christmas is here, but Father is not. We will miss him, each in our own way. He was not a perfect man, but he loved this family the best way he knew how. Father, we will carry on as a family without you because you taught us to be strong and independent. We will welcome new members into our family to start living again. Father, here’s to you. May you find in heaven what you were always looking for here on Earth,” Robert Jr. said, holding his glass to the sky.
Glasses were clinked together and then everyone took a sip of champagne. Patricia teared up and asked to be excused saying she would be back momentarily. James went to go after her, but Robert Jr. grabbed his arm.
“Let her go. She needs a little time by herself,” Robert Jr. insisted.
They stood there talking and drinking while waiting for their mother to return. Several minutes later, she did return, but she didn’t say anything.
“Mother, what’s wrong?” Vanessa asked.
“Come with me,” she whispered.
They followed her to the study. She pointed to the corner of the room. In the crystal case was the bust of Patricia wearing the Canary diamond necklace and the matching bracelet had been draped over the hand that had been left behind in the case.
For a quick second, Robert Jr. got a funny look on his face.
“Where did they come from?” Patricia whispered.
Cozy Christmas Murder Page 45