“That didn’t mean you could steal from us. The snuffbox is worth a lot of money without having any link to the dresser or the letter. But with those two things, it’s worth a fortune. If you sold it, you could easily pay off all your debts and have money left over.”
“You still haven’t told me about the so-called evidence you have. Although I can’t see how you can have any evidence if I didn’t take it.”
On her flight to Cincinnati, she’d thought long and hard about what she’d say to Derek. He wouldn’t admit to stealing the snuffbox without her providing some kind of evidence. Unfortunately, a sixteen-year-old who saw him put something into his pocket wouldn’t be enough to force him into saying anything.
Diana hated lying, hated half-truths and innuendo. But she had a terrible feeling about Derek and, for that reason alone, she would lower her standards and act like her ex-husband. “Do you think we’re that stupid that we wouldn’t have some kind of security system at the inn?”
For the first time since she’d arrived, Derek looked worried. “You wouldn’t have enough money to pay for a security system for a house of that size.”
“You’d be surprised at what we’ve achieved. Apart from our own money and a loan from the bank, the Smithsonian Institute helped us. When they saw the letter, they installed a high-tech security system to keep everything safe.” Diana took a step forward. If she was going to call Derek’s bluff, she needed to be convincing. Ethan had once told her she was strong and brave and, right now, she needed to believe every single word. “That’s what found you out. After we’d asked everyone we knew if they’d seen the snuffbox, my sisters and I checked the security footage. We saw you take it.”
Derek sneered in the same way she’d seen him do so often during their marriage. “You think you’re so clever. I always knew your sisters were trouble. Even when we were dating, they couldn’t keep their noses out of our business. Sure, I read the newspaper stories about the letter Abraham Lincoln could have written. Why do you think I came to Sapphire Bay? I was never interested in borrowing a few measly dollars from you. I wanted half of what’s mine.”
“Nothing in the house belongs to you. There’s no lawyer in the entire world who would give you half of my grandparents’ estate. I can’t believe you thought you could get away with it.”
“I had affairs with other woman for most of our marriage and you believed I didn’t. What makes you think I couldn’t lie about a little blue box?”
Diana swallowed the bile that was clogging her throat. “I thought you’d changed, that you were a better person for the years we spent apart. I can’t believe how gullible I was.”
Derek’s cruel laugh sent goosebumps down her spine.
“You were always gullible. That’s why I stayed married to you for so long.”
With her heart pounding, she clenched her fists, willing herself to stay in the same room as the vile man she’d married. “Give it back. Now!” For a moment, she didn’t think Derek was going to move. A million thoughts seemed to flick through his brain. She hoped the most important one had to do with the police. “If you don’t give it back, you won’t have to worry about your debts or your career. You’ll be locked up in prison with other people exactly like you.”
Derek’s jaw clenched. She could almost smell the sweat dripping from his forehead. “If I give you the snuffbox, you have to promise you won’t go to the police.”
That was the only place Diana wanted to go and Derek knew it.
“Promise me you won’t press charges,” he repeated.
Diana took a deep breath. “All right. If you give me the snuffbox, I won’t go to the police.”
Derek turned so quickly that she flinched. Instead of hurting her, he opened the drawer of a cabinet on the far wall. Her legs trembled when she saw what he was holding.
“If you’d come here tomorrow, it would have been too late. I had someone ready to buy it.” Derek almost threw it at her. “Take it. I don’t want to see you or the stupid box again.”
Barely able to breathe, Diana carefully placed it in her bag and rushed out of Derek’s apartment. George was already standing at the bottom of the steps, waiting for her. With legs that felt like rubber, he half carried, half dragged her down the street to Sara.
When she saw her friend, she collapsed in her arms. “I have it.”
Sara’s arms tightened around her. “Let’s get back to the car. Did the digital recording work?”
George nodded. “It was as clear as a bell. You did good.”
Coming from someone who worked as a security specialist, that was high praise.
As soon as they reached the car, Diana started shaking.
Sara held her hand. “Sit in the back with me. It will be okay.”
And with George at the wheel, they drove toward the police station. Whatever they did next, it needed to be fast. Derek wasn’t stupid. He’d leave Cincinnati as fast as he could but, with Sara and George’s help, Diana would do everything she could to make sure it didn’t happen.
The following day, Diana stepped into the arrivals area at Kalispell Airport to find Ethan and her entire family waiting for her. Tears filled her eyes at their welcoming smiles.
“I can’t believe you found the snuffbox,” her mom said as she hugged her tight. “How are you feeling?”
She’d tried hard not to feel anything since she’d seen Derek. The enormity of what he had done, the total disregard for her and her family, was beyond anything she’d expected. “I’m glad I’m home.”
“We’re glad you’re here, too.”
Diana relaxed against her mom. It felt as though her entire family had their arms wrapped around them.
“I’m so proud of you,” Katie whispered. “It takes courage to do what you did.”
“Or sheer stupidity,” Barbara said with a smile as they stepped apart. “I’m proud of you, too. I hope the legal system throws everything at Derek.”
“So do I, but I don’t think it will make any difference to the way he behaves.” She looked up and saw Ethan standing beside Penny. He didn’t speak; he just opened his arms and Diana rushed toward him. Knowing he cared, and that he would never treat her or her family like Derek had, meant more than he could imagine.
“It’s good to see you. Are you ready to go home?” he whispered.
Leaning against his chest, she nodded. The past few days had been the longest of her life and her worries weren’t over yet.
Chapter 19
Ethan added another lock to one of the upstairs windows at the inn. Even though Diana had been home for a week, everyone was still worried about her. Whether she realized it or not, she was rarely left on her own. During the day, one of her sisters stayed with her. In the evenings, Ethan or her dad were here.
After Derek was charged with burglary, his family had posted his bail. He would be coming back to Montana to have his case heard, but no one knew how long that would take. In the meantime, Diana’s family were making sure everyone was safe.
He was grateful the Smithsonian had arranged for the snuffbox to be couriered straight from Cincinnati to Washington, D.C. The last thing they wanted was for it to go missing again or for anyone’s life to be in danger.
Downstairs, the front door banged open.
Diana and Katie looked up from the papers they were sorting.
Footsteps tapped their way along the wooden floor below them.
With a frown, Diana glanced at Ethan before heading onto the landing and looking over the rail. “We’re up here, Mom.”
“Thank goodness for that,” Mabel said breathlessly as she climbed the stairs. “I’ve found something.”
“What is it?” Katie asked as she gave her mom a hug.
An excited smile broke across Mabel’s face. “You’re not going to believe what I found in the library archives.” She dropped her bag onto the desk and pulled out a brown envelope. “And it’s all because of Ethan and the apple crate full of photos he found.”
&nbs
p; Barbara joined them. “That sounds intriguing.”
“I popped in to see the librarian. She told me Ethan dropped off a crate of photos from the old steamboat museum. When I looked through it, I found these.” Mabel spread the photos across the desk and stood back. “They aren’t the originals, so don’t worry about damaging them.”
Diana picked up one of the prints. “This looks like Grandma when she was little.”
Mabel nodded. “That’s what I thought, too. I asked the librarian if I could get copies of the photos to compare them to the photo Wyatt found—and guess what?”
“They are Grandma?” Katie asked.
Ethan studied the other photos on the desk. He didn’t know if Diana and her sisters had noticed the man in four of the images, but he had. If the little girl was their grandmother, then the man had to be someone close to her. Someone, if you looked closely, who could be their great-grandfather.
Diana picked up another photo, placing it beside the one that showed the man most clearly. “You don’t think this is our great-grandfather, do you?”
Barbara squinted at the photos. “It could be. He has the same nose and the same shaped eyes as Mom.”
Mabel looked incredibly proud. “There’s more.” She showed her daughters her cell phone and pointed to the image of the man standing in front of a steamboat. “Look what was on the back of this photo.”
With a swipe of her finger, she showed everyone the next image.
Barbara’s eyes widened as she read the faded writing. “P.K. 1905. Our great-grandfather’s name was Patrick Kelly.”
“And he was working on the steamboats traveling across Flathead Lake in 1905.” Mabel looked at each of her daughters. “I think we’ve found a photograph of your great-grandfather.”
Ethan watched Diana’s expression change from surprise to wonder.
Leaning forward, she picked up one of the photos and studied the image. “I can’t believe you found him.” When she looked at Ethan, her eyes were shining. “He was such a handsome man.”
“That doesn’t surprise me.”
A soft blush colored Diana’s cheeks.
“Please,” Barbara groaned. “All this sweet talking will distract us from what we need to do next.”
“And what’s that?” Katie asked.
Barbara looked at Ethan and her family. “We need to let Chloe know about the snuffbox and the photos. She might have a contact who can scan the images and compare them to other photos at the Smithsonian.”
“Like the F.B.I,” Mabel added.
Ethan could almost see her imagination creating Mission Impossible type scenes inside her head.
Mabel checked her watch. “If we’re lucky, Chloe will still be at work.” And with a determination that surprised him, she picked up her cell phone and called the Smithsonian Institute.
Later that evening, Diana sat on the sofa in the living room, studying the photos of her great-grandparents.
“Here you go,” Barbara said as she sat beside her. “I thought you could do with a cup of hot chocolate.”
Carefully, she placed the photos on the coffee table and sighed. “Thanks.”
“Where’s Ethan?”
“He had to meet someone at the clinic. Dad’s on his way over here.”
“That’s good.”
Diana smiled. “You don’t have to keep pretending. I know what you’re doing.”
“We thought our super-sleuth activities had gone unnoticed.”
“It only took me a couple of days to work out what was happening. I appreciate what you’re doing.”
Barbara sighed. “I’m glad. I was worried you’d think it was too much. I haven’t told you, but Chloe called. Her team is still working on the letter and the journals.”
“I didn’t realize how long it would take.”
“I don’t think anyone did. Did you know Ethan called her?”
“Chloe? No, I didn’t.” Diana had no idea why he would talk to her, except if it was about the photos he’d found. “Did she say why he called?”
“All she said was that he’s a great person. I told her we already knew that.”
Diana pulled the photos their mom had left with them, closer. Next time she saw Ethan, she’d ask about Chloe. But, for now, she was more interested in the images spread out on the coffee table. “Do you ever wonder what Grandma’s life would have been like if she’d known her father?”
“It probably would have been completely different. Just imagine if Dad wasn’t in our lives.”
Diana thought about all the times their dad had been there for them. He was always the first person to volunteer for the school camps. He’d taken them to sports practices and games, shown them how to fish, and taught them how to ride their bicycles.
Her heart grew heavy knowing their grandma had never experienced the same bond with her father.
Barbara stretched her feet out in front of her. “At least we know what our great-grandfather looked like. But we still need to find out whether he died on Flathead Lake or if he moved somewhere else.”
“I think he traveled to Europe. There’s only one thing I don’t understand. If he missed his wife so much, why didn’t he come back to America? He could have created a new life where no one knew him or his family.”
“You’re assuming the postcards in our great-grandmother’s chest were sent from her husband and not a friend. We don’t even know that much. Are there any clues in the journals about the friend’s identity?”
Diana shook her head. “Apart from her name, nothing else was mentioned.”
“What about the people who said they saw our great-grandfather alive after he was supposed to be dead?” Barbara asked. “Did Mom find any information about them?”
“The library archives had copies of a newspaper that mentioned a sighting of him in Billings. But, apart from that, I haven’t been able to verify anything. It’s like looking for a one-hundred-year-old needle in a haystack.”
Barbara looked thoughtfully across the room to where the dresser used to sit. “A needle that somehow managed to find a letter Abraham Lincoln wrote to his son. What we need is a spreadsheet.”
Diana’s eyebrows rose. “Didn’t you already start one?”
“I never finished it. By tomorrow morning, I’ll have everything written down that we know about our great-grandfather, and everything we still need to investigate. If we don’t get organized, we might overlook something that would give us even more information.”
Diana lifted her mug toward her sister. “Here’s to your spreadsheet, Mom’s perseverance, and Ethan’s discovery of the photos.”
Barbara lifted her mug. “And to our great-grandparents, whoever they were.”
The girls clinked their mugs together and smiled.
Diana didn’t know what the future held, but she was excited to find out.
Ethan ran a sheet of fine sandpaper over the top of the dresser he was building. So far, everything was progressing better than he expected. Hopefully, in a few weeks, it would be ready to show Diana.
“It’s looking good.”
He glanced at Theo, surprised to see him in the workshop. “Thanks. I thought you were interviewing the man who’s growing the biggest pumpkin in Montana?”
“All finished. And in case that smile means you find it amusing, there’s a lot of science behind growing pumpkins. Especially the prize-winning variety.”
“I’m sure there is. What’s next on Theo Olson’s interview schedule?”
“Tomorrow, I’m speaking to Mabel about the letter her family found.”
“Diana mentioned something about that. Make sure you let her family listen to it before you play it on the station.”
Theo picked up a can of linseed oil. “Has the Smithsonian contacted them about whether it’s authentic?”
Ethan grinned. “Nice try, but I’m not talking.”
“Does that mean you do know something about it or you don’t?”
“It means you need to
speak to Mabel.”
“I might call Chloe at the Smithsonian. She’ll know what’s going on.”
“I’m sure she does, but she won’t tell you.”
Theo walked across to some sheets of paper lying on the workbench. “Did you create the drawings for the dresser?”
“It was a combined effort. I drew the plans, but the Smithsonian sent me the actual sizes. I couldn’t have made the dresser without Chloe’s photos, either. They were my only guide when I was carving the scrollwork around the edge.”
“I’m impressed.”
Ethan laughed. “Flattery won’t get you anywhere. How are you doing with your sponsorship drive?” The cost of running the community radio station wasn’t huge, but Theo needed to make a living. Unfortunately, finding sponsors was proving to be more difficult than he thought.
“I talked to the small business association last week. They had some good ideas about where I could apply for funding.”
“You could always charge people for advertising.”
“I don’t want to ask people for money. It’s hard enough to make a living without adding extra advertising costs to a business’s bottom line. Besides, most of the people who advertise with me are happy for me to interview them. It adds extra content to the station and gives their profile a boost.”
“Does that include the pumpkin man?”
Theo smiled. “Scoff all you like, but Jeff knows what he’s doing. By Thanksgiving, he could have the biggest pumpkin in the Northern Hemisphere.”
“I’ll look forward to the update.”
“I’m sure you will,” Theo said dryly. “I saw Diana on my way here. It looked as though she was taking another couple of guests on a tour.”
“She’s visiting Natalie, Cassie, and Wyatt’s studios this morning.”
“Has she had any contact with her ex-husband since he was arrested?”
“That’s the last thing she’d want.” Ethan left the sheet of sandpaper on the bench. “Even if you forget about him stealing the snuffbox, I can’t understand why she married him.”
Summer At Lakeside Page 16