Stella didn’t want to see them go down that road again, but they were adults and they had to make their own choices. She would be there for her friend no matter what happened. And so would the others.
The detective hung up the phone, a grin of victory on his face. “Got it! We can open up the room. The only thing he asked is that we video tape everything so there’s a record. I was going to do that anyway, so that’s no big deal. As soon as my forensic team gets here, we’ll find out what’s behind that door.”
“Well of course, it’s never that easy, is it?” Raven groused and pushed her food around her plate. The team had arrived and cordoned off the hallway so nobody could see what was inside. Carl had been especially quiet, only speaking with Cash and the Marwood attorney. “I’m the one who called him, you think he’d at least give me a hint.”
Stella grinned and patted her on the arm. “The man’s doing his job. He’ll tell us what he can, when he can.”
“I don’t know how you can be so patient. Poppy will be back in a couple of days and then I’ll be gone. In a few days, this will all be over, and you’ll lose access to the manor.”
“I know. But the birth and marriage documents should be here today, so we’ll have that to work on. And if there was nothing to find in the room, I’m pretty sure Carl would have told you. That means they found something. Something he has to keep quiet for now.”
At that, Raven perked up. “You’re right. He’s definitely looking tense, so it’s not nothing.”
“That was a double negative, Raven. Do you have a temperature? There must be something wrong with you,” she teased. “You’re adamantly opposed to using double negatives.”
“Be quiet, you, or I’ll turn you into a toad.”
Stella laughed. “Try it, missy, I can still work my magic as a toad, you know.”
“Really? I never thought about it. Maybe we should try it and see.”
Stella stopped laughing and looked at Raven, worried she was going to do it, but the woman was grinning, pleased with herself for having freaked Stella out.
“The mail’s here!” Fiona’s voice rang out. She entered the room with several large envelopes in her hands.
“Saved by the mail,” Raven said menacingly, waving her hand in circles in the air. Unwilling to find out if Raven would dare do it, Stella jumped up and took one of the envelopes from Fiona.
She opened the envelope and looked at the birth certificate. “This is Reginald’s. It says he was born in Florida and his last name is Padgett.”
Fiona had handed an envelope to Raven who now shared the information with the others. “This is for Mildred. It says her mother was Mabel and her father was . . .” she paused for dramatic effect, “Reginald Padgett.”
“Oh my,” Fiona said. She pulled a document partway out of her envelope. She looked at Stella, who was feeling a bit nauseous. “Are you ready? This is Gemma’s birth certificate.”
Stella swallowed and took a deep breath. “I’m as ready as I’ll ever be.”
Fiona pulled the document all the way out and read out loud, “Gemma Spinney was born this date to Willow Spinney and Reginald Padgett.”
Stella wasn’t sure if she gasped or Raven did, but the world started spinning around her. Fiona put her arms around her, and she clung to her for support. “I knew it. My gut told me they were sisters.”
“Yes, you did. You were right. Now what are we going to do about it?”
Stella’s world stopped spinning and she let go of Fiona. “What do you mean what are we going to do about it?”
Fi laughed at her. “Nothing. We still need to check the marriage certificates. I was just trying to snap you out of your funk.”
“I wasn’t in a funk,” Stella argued, but Raven’s guffaw made her stop short. She made a face at both of them then grudgingly said, “Okay, thanks Fiona.”
“Are you ready? This one’s a doozy,” Raven asked.
She sat down next to Raven and nodded. Fiona stood behind her, hands on her shoulders.
“Here goes. There’s a note in here stating that no record of marriage could be found for Reginald with either woman. But there was a marriage license issued; it was for Reginald and Willow.” This time it was Fiona who gasped.
“Could you hand me the girls’ birth certificates, please?” She placed them on the table, next to each other. “Looks like Mildred was born couple of months before Gemma.”
“What do you think that means?”
“I think my great-grandmother stole Reginald from Mabel.”
Raven shared the information they’d found about Reginald and the girls with Carl and he said it would help fill in some of the blanks. Now they could contact Reginald’s family and see if they had information about why he was at the Manor. He also assured her he’d let her know what they’d found in the room as soon as he was able to.
Stella sat in office, unmoving. She’d been in a stupor ever since they’d opened the documents. She wished she could talk with her great-grandmother and ask her what had really happened. She was trying to figure out how it all fit together, but she’d never been good with puzzles, especially when she didn’t have all the pieces.
Cash walked into the office and sat down next to her, taking her hand in his. “Now it’s my turn to ask if you’re all right.”
She scooted closer to him so he could put his arm around her, and she leaned against his chest.
“I don’t know. My whole life I’ve wondered what happened; how Mabel stole the manor from us. Now, I’m scared. What if my great-grandmother murdered him when she found out about him and Mabel? What if that’s why she gave away the manor?”
“I can’t promise that you won’t find out anything bad, but let’s look at this logically. Just listing a man’s name on a birth certificate doesn’t make him the father. We’d need DNA tests to determine that for sure. So, we don’t really know if he fathered either child. It’s possible the women didn’t want to name the real fathers or maybe they just did it to upset each other.”
“That’s true. I hadn’t thought about that. Women are strange creatures. It’s possible they did it to get even with each other, or something.” She paused for a moment, then sat up straight as something occurred to her. “Could we use my DNA to determine Gemma’s father?”
He frowned, “I’m not sure. I know you can determine paternity comparing a grandfather and grandchild, but I’m not sure if that goes for great-grandchildren.”
“I still have some of my grandmother’s hair brushes. I don’t know how quickly DNA degrades, but maybe they could test her hair.” Stella was getting excited, but her next thought brought her back down. “That would tell us if Gemma was his daughter, but it wouldn’t tell us about Mildred. I’ve never heard of her, have you?”
Cash’s cheeks turned a bit pink and he wouldn’t meet her eyes. “Nope, I don’t know anything about a Mildred.”
“Cash Crawford, don’t you dare lie to me,” she scolded. “What do you know and why are you pretending not to know anything?”
He looked up at her and grinned sheepishly. “I’ve never heard of Mildred, but the detective told me something I’m not allowed to share. I’m not lying to you; I just can’t tell you something.”
Stella’s eyes lit up and she felt her heart start pounding. “She’s in that room, isn’t she? Or at least, her body. Oh my! Did they find an old woman or a child? Please tell me they didn’t find a baby,” she sputtered to a halt.
“I can neither confirm nor deny anything. You’ll have to wait until the detective says it’s okay. My lips are sealed.”
“That sounds like a dare to me,” Stella said, leaning towards him. “I bet I can find a way to part your lips.”
She watched his face turned bright red and his mouth gaped open. As soon as he realized what he was doing, he shut his mouth firmly and shook his head.
She leaned closer, her lips a mere breath away from his. She looked into his eyes and was delighted to see them dilate; she
heard his breathing grow ragged.
She whispered, “I’m not going to force you, Cash. You’ll tell me when you’re ready.” She stood up and walked out of the room feeling powerful and feminine, a silly smile on her face.
26
Poppy was back and Raven had left the manor. Their time was nearly done, and they still didn’t have the answers she needed. Stella sighed as she gazed out the window of the alcove.
She hadn’t seen Cash since she’d left him wanting more. She grinned, admitting to herself that he wasn’t the only one. She didn’t know what it was about him, but he made her feel more desirable and loved than she’d ever felt before.
She’d never been afraid to use her feminine wiles to get her way, and she’d never hesitated to use magic to get what she wanted. But since she’d met the Crawford brothers, it hadn’t been the same. She’d enjoyed working in the soup kitchen with Chad and she liked teasing Cash. She felt like they saw her for who she was inside, and they weren’t interested in how her family’s bank account could make their life easier.
She looked at the clock on the wall. Carl had told Martha to round everyone up and have them meet in the dining room at 6 pm. It was quarter till, so she should probably head that way. She took one last look out at the garden.
“Enjoying the view? So am I.” Cash’s voice had her spinning around. He grinned as their eyes met.
“I thought you were avoiding me,” she said.
“I was. But now Carl is going to tell you everything, so I don’t have to keep quiet anymore. You can’t threaten to part my lips, now.”
She knew he was teasing her, and she couldn’t resist teasing him back. “Oh, Cash, that wasn’t a threat, it was a promise,” she purred. She pushed past him, letting her shoulder brush against his. The sound of his indrawn breath made her smile. “I’ll let them know you’ll be a minute,” she told him.
“Good idea,” he called back, his voice a little higher pitched than usual.
“I’ve still got it,” she whispered to herself.
“Thank you all for joining me here today,” Carl began, his eyes sweeping across the anxious faces in front of him. “I have some information to share and I wanted you to hear it first. As you know, some of the ladies found a hidden room upstairs. They called us and we were able to get permission to enter the room. What we found is very disturbing and I suggest you prepare yourselves for a shock.”
Fiona put one arm around Poppy and reached for Stella’s hand. She gripped it tightly and held her breath.
“When we entered the room, we found a body. It appeared to be that of an infant.” He paused as murmurs erupted around the room. “We’ve determined through DNA that the body is that of Mildred Marwood, the daughter of Mabel Marwood.”
Stella felt her stomach turn and she gripped Fiona’s hand even harder. Cash spoke up, asking the question she dreaded, yet needed to hear. “Have you determined who the father was?”
Carl stared at him for a moment, then slowly nodded his head. “Yes, sir, we have. It appears that the father of the child was Reginald Padgett, the man whose body was found in the garden.”
The blood drained out of her face and Stella felt the world wobble. Strong arms wrapped around her and she felt the soothing comfort of Cash’s warmth. He held her to his chest until she stopped shaking, then he moved back so he could see her face. “Are you okay? There’s more.”
“Can you sit here and hold me?” she asked. He nodded and pulled a chair up next to her, sitting with his arm around her.
Carl had been silent for a few moments, waiting as they processed the news. “It appears that father and daughter were killed around the same time. It’s impossible to pinpoint the exact dates, due to the amount of time that’s passed and the decay of the bodies, but from what we can tell, it was within a few months of each other.”
“Were you able to determine how Mildred died?” Stella was glad her voice sounded normal. She’d been afraid it would be squeaky and betray her nerves.
“It appears that she was shot as well.”
“Why are you telling us this?” Cold-eyed Stephanie’s eyes were wild for once and it was frightening seeing behind the usual mask. “We’re living in a murder house. I need to leave. I need to leave now. I can’t be stayin’ in no murder house.”
Fiona’s eyebrows raised as the woman’s façade fell apart. “Martha, I’m leavin’ now. Call me a cab. You can pack my stuff and drop it off later. No, scratch that. I don’t want nothin’ from this murder house.”
Stephanie ran from the room; Martha and one of her assistants hot on her heels. The sound of the door slamming made everyone jump. They sat in silence until Martha walked back into the room. She shook her head at Cash who sighed. He let go of Stella and stood up.
“If there’s anyone else who wants to leave, you’re free to go. We’ll help you pack, and we’ll give you a ride home. If you leave, you aren’t eligible to win, but we all understand.” He waited, looking around at everyone.
“One of the assistants hesitantly raised her hand. “I’d like to leave.” Cash nodded and she removed her headset, handing it to Martha as she exited.
Susan had scooted closer to Poppy who untangled herself from Fiona and wrapped her arms around the young woman. She looked near to tears and Stella was glad her friend had reached out to her.
“That’s pretty much it,” Carl announced. “We’re still investigating, of course, but given how long the bodies have been here and the fact that nobody even knew about Mildred, it might take a while to untangle this mess.” He ran his hands through his hair and for the first time, Stella saw sadness in his eyes. “Miss Spinney? I’d like to talk with you for a moment, if you don’t mind. The rest of you are free to go. Thank you for listening and if you have any questions or think of anything, you can let Martha or Cash know. They know how to contact me.”
Once the others had left, except for Stella and Cash, Carl pulled up a chair and sat down across from them. “Hi Stella. It’s been a long time.”
She grinned. “Yes, it has. But it’s really nice to see you again.”
His laughter sounded like the bark of a sea lion, and he shook his head. “I’m sure I’m the last person you wanted to see.”
“Not at all, Carl. I just don’t want to see Raven hurt again, that’s all.”
“I know. I don’t want my heart broken, either. But dang it all, there’s just something about that woman that does funny things to me. I really love her, Stella.”
Cash cleared his throat. “Should I leave? This seems like a private moment.”
Carl shook his head. “No, sir. It’s all good.” He looked at Stella, his expression back to being serious. “I wanted to let you know that we’re looking into Reginald and his relationship with your great-grandmother. We were able to get a blood sample from your mother and we’re comparing her DNA with that of Reginald. We should know in a couple of days if they’re a match.”
“When do you think they both died?” she asked, her voice trembling as she said the words. “I mean, I know you can’t pinpoint exact dates, but you have some idea, right?”
“We think it was around February or March of 1950.”
Stella felt herself start shaking again. “The marriage license for Willow and Reginald was signed on February 5th, 1950. They were supposed to get married in April.”
Carl reached over and took her hand in his. “We’ll get to the bottom of this, Stella.”
“That’s kind of what I’m afraid of,” she admitted.
27
Stella had been in a fog for the last couple of days. Raven would be back the next evening and the show would be ending in a few days. The mood was somber, and things were strange now that it was down to just Stella, Fiona, Poppy, Susan and Raven, but the show must go on.
Martha had been running them ragged, getting as much of the finale as possible filmed before Raven even returned. The crew was thinning out, with more people deciding they didn’t feel comfortable in
the manor every day.
Stella woke up late and made her way down to breakfast, hoping there was still some bacon. Fiona, Poppy and Susan were sitting at the lone table, drinking coffee. She walked over to the buffet and was annoyed to find there was no bacon left. There was a blueberry muffin, two hard-boiled eggs and some hash browns, and that was it. She took the muffin, scooped up the last of the hash browns and left the hard-boiled eggs behind. She joined the others, setting her plate on the table.
“Would anyone like a coffee refill?” she asked.
“I would, if you don’t mind,” Susan replied with a smile.
“Here, I’ll help you,” Fiona said, taking Susan’s cup along with her own.
“Poppy?”
“No thanks, Stella. I just refilled it, so I’m good.”
Fiona and Stella walked over and got fresh, hot coffee, then returned to the table. “Poppy was telling us about her date,” Fiona told her.
“Did you enjoy it?” she asked.
“Not as much as I enjoyed the bacon this morning,” she replied.
Stella stared at her, wondering why she’d mentioned bacon and annoyed that there wasn’t any left. “I wouldn’t know, since it’s all gone.”
“Really? Are you sure?”
Fiona’s sparkling eyes should have warned her, but she was tired and frustrated, and she didn’t get the hint.
“Of course, I’m sure. I just checked.”
“Maybe you should check again,” Susan grinned.
“Now listen here,” Stella sputtered. “I don’t know what game you’re playing but there is no bacon. Case closed.”
Fiona lifted a napkin from a plate in the center of the table, revealing a whole plate of crispy bacon. “Tada! Here you go Miss Grumpy Pants.”
Stella felt tears well up in her eyes and she started bawling like a baby.
“Hold on, what’s all this about?” Fiona asked.
A Get Witch Quick Scheme (Bewitching the Rich Guy Book 1) Page 11