Karen Woods

by The Devlin Diaries (Triskelion) [lit]

  “I’m sorry,” Keith said his voice gentle.

  Mary Kate nodded. “Thank you. It was nice meeting you.”

  “My pleasure. Come in anytime.”

  “Okay,” she said to her father as she started the BMW a few moments later. “There was some subtext going on there. What is Keith’s store? The local gossip clearinghouse?”

  Harry laughed. He figured she’d understand what was going on. “Excellent perception, my dear. That’s exactly what Keith’s store is. And you handled that quite well, as I knew you would.”

  She shook her head. “You want everyone to know that your daughter has come home and that you

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  couldn’t be more pleased about it, I take it?”

  Harry nodded in the affirmative. “You know, I couldn’t be more pleased that you’re with me. As for Keith Rogers, he serves his purposes. He’ll spread that around, and if he doesn’t, any one of the half dozen people who were in the shop will. The word will be out that Harry Devlin’s beautiful daughter is home. Keith’s actually a very fine young man. He and Jase were at Westfield together, along with Steve Anderson. The three of them used to be inseparable.”

  “Jase went into the army, Steve into law, and Keith into the jewelry trade?”

  “The jewelry trade is his family business. And he does very well at it. This is only one of the thirty or so stores in the chain. But he spends most of his time here,” Harry said. Then he added, “Keith has been in love with Missy for years. They dated when she was in college. I’ve never found out what separated them. I suspect that when Missy is ready to date again, we’ll be seeing more of that young man.”

  She sighed. “Father. You don’t have to warn me away from him. I have no intention of taking him up on the dinner invitation.”

  “I wasn’t warning you away from him,” he protested. “I was just trying to bring you up to speed. It has to be difficult for you, just now, to know which end is up.”

  “It is,” she admitted.

  “Be back at the office by three. I want to introduce you to your new supervisor, Dolores Teague, and get the employment paperwork taken care of.”

  “Fine. I’ll be there. Just now, there are some things that I want to get done.”

  * * *

  Mary Kate walked into the fabric store a half an hour later and began browsing. The selection was good. Audra had offered her workrooms. Making a few other dresses to wear at dinner was high on her priority list. She didn’t want to wear the same thing over and over again. And if she was going to be working in her father’s office, then she would need more business type clothes, as well. She decided she would take a look around the office first, to see how people dressed, before she bought the fabrics to make new skirts and jackets.

  She picked out the fabrics and notions for three formal gowns and took the purchases to the draper’s counter. The clerk wrote up her purchases and did a double take when she saw the name on Mary Kate’s charge card.

  “Just sign here, Miss Devlin,” the clerk said, with deference, as she handed Mary Kate the charge slip.

  “Devlin?” An attractive auburn-haired woman customer queried. “Are you Harry’s daughter, Mary Katherine?”

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  Mary Kate looked at the woman. “Yes. And you are?”

  “Alice Richards,” the woman said as she extended her hand. “Welcome home. Jase’s told me so much about you.”

  So this was Jase’s lady friend. Somehow, she had expected someone harder, more like Jase. “Pleased to meet you, Alice. Call me, Mary Kate.”

  “Mary Kate, I work for my father at the local newspaper. Harry Devlin’s daughter is a very interesting topic for conversation locally.”

  “For conversation, read ‘gossip’.”

  Alice laughed. “That, too. Would you consider giving me an interview? I guarantee that it would probably be the most read piece in the local paper.”

  At that, Mary Kate shook her head. “No, I don’t think so. While I don’t subscribe entirely to the old code that a woman’s name should appear in the papers only three times -- at birth, when she marries, and at death -- I am basically a private person. I would be uncomfortable with an interview. Besides, I should seriously doubt that you would get anything worth printing. I’m not a very exciting person.”

  “I doubt that. The rumors I hear say you’re an interesting woman. I know that Miss Emily had some interesting things to say about you. And Steve Anderson told me a couple of things after he met you.”

  “I can just imagine.”

  Alice smiled. “Yes. I’d bet you could.”

  “Although, I doubt I would want to.”

  “Is it true that you run marathons?”

  Mary Kate shrugged. “Occasionally.”

  “That must be exciting,” Alice stated. “I can’t even imagine starting a race like that, let alone finishing one.”

  “Finishing is the best part.”

  Alice smiled. “I think that I like you, Mary Kate.”

  Mary Kate felt herself smile. “Everyone can always use another friend. I’d very much like to have your friendship, Alice.”

  The auburn haired woman looked at the clock. “It’s about lunch time. May I take you to lunch? Or have you eaten already?”

  Mary Kate didn’t want to be rude. “Actually, I was planning to skip lunch.”

  “Why? You certainly don’t need to lose weight,” Alice replied in puzzlement.

  “I was going to go to the library and do some reading on local history,” Mary Kate replied.

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  “Come to lunch. I can fill you in on anything you need to know. In fact, I took the liberty of going through the morgue at the paper and producing photocopies of some stories I thought you might like. Come to lunch with me and I’ll give them to you,” Alice offered after the clerk had gone to wait on another customer.

  “That was thoughtful of you,” Mary Kate returned. “In that case, I’d love to have lunch with you, but it’s off the record.”

  Alice nodded. “If you insist.”

  “I do.”

  “Very well.”

  Lunch was served elegantly in the small tea room down the street from the Devlin offices.

  Alice smiled at her after they had begun to eat. “I went into journalism because people interest me... and because my family owns the paper... The draw certainly wasn’t the salary my father pays me.”

  “Yeah, I know that feeling. I love teaching. But that isn’t a vocation for anyone without good budgeting skills. Teaching is a notoriously underpaid profession.”

  “I find it hard to think of any member of the Devlin family needing to stick to a budget,” Alice replied.

  Mary Kate shrugged. “I’ve always supported myself.”

  “Of course. I didn’t think otherwise. You really taught high school PE?”

  “And a few business classes. And I coached the tennis team, the track team, and the cross country team. Then, between January 30 and April 15, I did tax returns for people. In the summers, I worked as a camp counselor.”

  “Busy lady.”

  She shrugged then responded, “I don’t think I would stay sane, if I didn’t always have more to do than I thought I could get done.”

  Alice nodded and smiled approvingly. “Somehow, I don’t think that is anything you will have to worry about excessively. I don’t think that at all.”

  Then the newspaperwoman looked around furtively before she removed a thick envelope from her purse and placed it beside Mary Kate’s plate. “I’m very glad to see that you’re as strong minded as you are.”

  “What’s this?”

  “What you wanted at the library. Those are photocopies of the pieces that ran locally about your mother before and after her disappearance.”

  Mary Kate looked at Alice. “Why are you giving me this?”

  “I don’t believe your mother had anything to do with Peter Filson’s death. The whole thing reeks to me,” Alice confided. “I remember y
our mother. She was a fine woman. In fact, I took drawing lessons from

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  “You did?”

  Alice laughed. “I did. She was a great teacher. Everything I know about drawing, I learned from her.”

  Mary Kate smiled. “Me, too.”

  “That’s why I don’t believe she had anything to do with Peter Filson’s death. She was far too gentle to do anything that vicious.”

  “Why does any of this matter to you? It was so long ago.”

  “Peter Filson was my uncle, my mother’s brother. I grew up hearing all about how bad Nancy O’Brien was. Then I started asking questions. I don’t buy the story that your mother was involved in his death,” Alice said. “And I would like to see the people really responsible brought to justice, if that’s possible after all these years. The problem is I’m not certain it’s possible.”

  Mary Kate looked at Alice. “If you really believe that my mother had nothing to do with it, why haven’t you gone to the police and had them re-open the case?”

  “I don’t have any evidence, well no hard evidence. Things just don’t add up,” Alice replied. “Besides, officially, the case isn’t closed. No one was ever charged. No one was ever brought to trial. The case has just ended up in the ‘dead’ files at the prosecutor’s office.”

  “What do you want me to do, Alice?”

  “Read the articles. Keep your eyes open. If I’m right, someone else at your father’s house was involved here. That person isn’t going to like having anyone snoop around. There’s been at least one murder. Another isn’t going to matter to whoever killed Uncle Peter. You ought to know that you could very well be in danger.”

  Mary Kate drew a deep breath. “You are serious!” she replied in disbelief. “But that was twenty five years ago.”

  “There is no statute of limitations on murder,” Alice responded. “And given what you said to Aunt Emily about your mother’s death in the fire, I wouldn’t rule out the possibility that your mother knew something about Uncle Peter’s death. Something that scared her enough that she ran... Something that someone might have had her killed to prevent her from telling.”

  Mary Kate supressed a shudder. She had experienced roughly the same thoughts. Only, she had tried to dismiss it. Yet, this possibility was marginally more palatable to her than the other outlook.

  “Be very careful. Don’t trust anyone in that house, except Jase and Missy. They were both too young to have anything to do with Uncle Peter’s death.”

  Mary Kate smiled. “Should that ban on trusting people include you?”

  Alice looked startled for a moment. “Probably. I have my own agenda. Our goals may not be

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  identical.”

  “If there is something to your theory, then like you said, I could be putting myself in danger. For myself, I don’t care. I can take care of myself. But I really don’t want to put anyone else at risk.”

  “I understand that, Mary Kate. I really do. But if I’m right, don’t you want to catch the person or persons responsible for your mother’s death?”

  Mary Kate’s expression became very fierce. “Oh, yes. If I ever found out who killed my mother, I’m afraid I wouldn’t be responsible for my own actions. I want to see whoever killed Mother hung out to dry.”

  Alice nodded. “Then look into this. At worst, I could be totally wrong. At best, we might have a real chance of catching the killers. If I’m right, they’ve killed at least two people: Uncle Peter and Nancy.”

  “The police back home have their own theory about who killed Mother.”

  “I’ve been reading about that in the stories my clipping service sent to me. Do you really think that your former fiancee really had anything to do with your mother’s death?”

  “I don’t want to think it, Alice. I really don’t. It’s almost unbearable.”

  “I can understand that,” Alice acknowledged.

  “You think someone in Dad’s household was responsible for Peter’s death? Who’s your suspect?” Mary Kate whispered, as to not be overheard.

  Alice shrugged. “I could be sued for saying. I have no proof. But I would ask you in legal terms, ‘Cui bono?’ Who benefited from your mother abandoning your father?”

  “So, who benefited?”

  “He never could have married Audra unless your mother was out of the way,” Alice replied.

  Mary Kate was silent for a long time thinking about this. “God...” was all she said. Mary Kate sighed. “Dad couldn’t be taken in that badly.”

  “Love can make fools of us all.”

  “Can’t it though?” Mary Kate agreed with feeling.

  Alice wet her lips and looked around to make sure they weren’t being overheard. “Audra had been in love with Harry for years, before your mother came into the area. She and Jase’s father, Nick Wilton, were separated right after Missy was born. The rumors were that Missy was not Nick’s child. Those rumors have persisted.”

  Mary Kate remembered the tight expression on Jase’s face when Jaime had asked if she were his mother’s sister. Could it be? But she didn’t say anything to Alice about that. “I don’t listen to rumors,” she replied. “Most of the time, they’re just vindictive fantasies.”

  “And sometimes, they’re the only way we can get a handle on the truth.”

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  Mary Kate sighed. “Just what do you think that you are doing?” Alice demanded some moments later. “Leaving my share of the tab.” “Forget it. It’s my treat.” “Only if you let me buy next time.” “That would be lovely.” “Have a nice afternoon, Alice.” “Please be careful, Mary Kate. Be very careful.” “Would you like to play tennis sometime?” Alice smiled. “Maybe.” “Good. I’ve been wanting to try out the courts behind Dad’s house.” “Mary Kate, don’t be taken in by Harry’s sister. Thea likes to give the impression that she is helpless.

  But, she really is one of the least helpless females I’ve ever known. Under that facade, lies one of the more ruthless personalities, and sharpest minds ever to grace this town. Thea is a CPA. She’s one of the best on the coast. She’s got clients all up and down the eastern seaboard.”

  Mary Kate sighed. “She’s not one of my favorite people,” Alice added tightly. “Did you know she used to date Uncle

  Peter?” “Really?” “Oh, yes. Uncle Peter once the club tennis champ, and the resident breaker of women’s hearts. At one

  time or other, Uncle dated Thea , Audra, your mother, and your father’s housekeeper, Billie Green, among

  others.” “Billie?” “Before Billie’s father lost all his money, that family was very much a part of Virginia society. Billie

  married badly. Her husband was a commodities broker, a crook. Billie was conservator of her father’s estate. Tony Green talked Billie into investing everything with him, then he walked away with it all. When the police caught up with him, he had spent it all. There was nothing left, except some real estate, which she sold after she divorced him. She’s been working for your father since before your mother left him.”

  Mary Kate absorbed that information. Complexities upon complexities, she thought. “Why are you telling me this?” “People are their history. You’ll want to clear your mother’s name, if you’re planning to stick around.

  Otherwise, your children will hear tales of their grandmother. And those legends will not be pleasant.”

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  Mary Kate sighed. “I’m not sure if I should thank you or not, Alice. You’ve given me a lot to think about.”

  “Just be careful, Mary Kate. I would hate to be visiting you in the hospital or saying a final goodbye at your grave,” Alice warned, keeping her voice low enough to go no further than the two of them.

  “On that cheerful note...”

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  Chapter Eleven

  Somehow, over the next few days, she found the time to read everything that Alice had given her in the packet. Mary Kate didn’t at all like the picture of her mother that was emerging f
rom the stories. There was her mother’s engagement announcement to Peter Filson, and the subsequent announcement of the termination of their engagement, followed quickly by the announcement of the marriage of Nancy O’Brien to Harrison Devlin. Less than three months later, there was the front page headline story that Peter was found dead in the pond behind Harrison Devlin’s home. The man had serious bruising as if he had been beaten. The ruling of the coroner’s jury was that the cause of death was homicide by person or persons unknown. Then there was the story of the car accident that had been the cause of her mother’s flight. That was followed by a story of her mother’s disappearance coinciding with the disappearance of a quarter of a million dollars from the Devlin accounts. And finally, several years later there was the notice about her parent’s divorce.

  The only thing Mary Kate was sure of was that if Nan had ever had a quarter of a million dollars they certainly would have lived much better than they did. If Nan had taken that money, Mary Kate knew they would have had better clothes, a nicer house, and an all around better standard of living. If Nan hadn’t taken the money, who had? It made her wonder. And it made her very afraid.

  Thankfully, she was too busy to think about being afraid over the next few weeks. The offices of Devlin Enterprises were a busy place, too busy at times, as Mary Kate had discovered during the three weeks she had worked there. The job Jase had offered her was a very junior clerking position in accounting. As Jase had warned her, the work was something she could do in her sleep. Yet, it was an income and for that she was thankful. She had one week remaining on her probationary period.

  The first few days she had been here, Jase had been looking over her shoulder quite a bit. Every hour or so, he had been looking in on her, checking on her work.

  She remembered being involved in making routine ledger entries on the computer system and seeing his reflection in the monitor screen. She had turned to face him.

  “I don’t like people looking over my shoulder,” she had told him in a tone that would have frozen steam.

  He had smiled at her. “Get used to it,” was all he had said before leaving the area.