She stayed focused on the present. Another great-grandchild. A baby for her A.J. She felt robbed. She was devastated. Not only for the kids, but for herself. How selfish.
Moreover, she was worried about A.J. How much could her grandson deal with?
Was he as much like his grandfather as she hoped?
Trying to comfort Cara, yet again, so soon after losing her mother. He was working to support his little family, including keeping a job available for his sister and, in turn, supporting his niece. It was a lot of responsibility for such a young man. She was so proud. She needed to do something to help.
At dinner, the girls acted on a thought A.J. had shared with his grandmother earlier in the day. He wanted to take Cara away for a few days. Away from everything that was weighing on her. He knew she would bring her grief with her, but he hoped with a change of locale, she wouldn’t be buried in the memories and thoughts that had always brought her comfort but now seemed to be crushing her.
The girls would take it upon themselves to plan the getaway.
Adeline even sparkled a bit when she said she thought they should send them to Las Vegas.
The girls had had a lovely time there, and Las Vegas had a little bit of everything. They could sit in the hotel room and hide from the world. They could see any number of shows. They could take a tour of the Grand Canyon or Hoover Dam. They could go out to the desert and shoot guns or shop at any of the outlet malls. They could see the sights or hide from them.
It was also a place the girls had a few personal contacts. They had Mr. Colluride, the head of security at the hotel. His son was doing much better now that they had identified his illness. He was stricken with an orphan disease. The numbers of people suffering from the disorder were not sufficient to justify major research in the area, and although his son looked perfectly normal from the outside, it was obvious to his parents there had been a problem from the onset. They hadn’t been aware at the time, but looking back at baby pictures brought them new insight. Now that the disease was diagnosed, although there was no cure, the specialists Adeline’s team was able to identify for Mr. Colluride and his wife had been very helpful in stabilizing the child.
There was also Amy. A young woman they’d met in Las Vegas. She was now the director of a rather sophisticated daycare operation running twenty-four hours a day and catering to the entertainers and casino staff in the area. She’d recently lost her mother to cancer; treatment had been delayed, and it had a devastating effect on her prognosis. Amy had used the tragedy as a motivator to spur her on to create a network of the parents from her childcare business. Many volunteered to provide rides and general friendship for older women in need of support. Amy was so young to recognize that helping others is the best way to deal with personal strife. Adeline could not have been more proud. Anna had spent untold hours on the phone with Amy. She had been a nurturing and stable influence, and Amy would be forever grateful.
And then there was Rick, or his handsomeness as Anna was prone to call him. The girls doubted they would need to impose on any of their contacts, but found it comforting that A.J. and Cara would have some form of backup if they needed it.
Anna smiled. “You never know. They might even come back married.”
Carolyn tried to keep the lighter tone of the conversation, but it didn’t work. “I doubt it. With Cara so upset about her mother and now the baby, I fear A.J. is a little lost not knowing how to cope.”
Adeline sounded a bit sad. “They have each other. That’s more than most have these days.”
Anna and Carolyn exchanged a look. They’d just sealed their commitment to get Adeline away from her troubles. A cruise was a fabulous idea.
As if it were destined to be, Cara called Adeline the next day and asked for a bit of time off work. She shared her sad news and cried at the kindness her boss showed her. Adeline had been more than generous with time off and everything else she’d done for Cara over the last several months. It didn’t seem odd for Adeline to insist that she and the girls be allowed to handle the arrangements of a little trip out of town.
Adeline felt guilty for strong-arming the girl, but just for a moment. Had Cara not been as strong when Adeline was at her lowest point, she could say with absolute certainty, she would have given up on life and allowed death to take her without a fight.
Life was so much better. Her life had serious challenges right now, everything was rather tumultuous, and some areas were downright chaotic, but she had people who cared for her and about her, and she had never felt so accepted.
She would have to remember that.
She called Anna and Carolyn the moment she was off the phone with Cara. Their planning started in earnest at a lunch date at their favorite little bistro near Carolyn’s condo.
The girls had taken great joy in arranging several surprises for Cara and A.J. They had decided—at Adeline’s insistence—the little trip would be grand and a complete surprise. To that end, they would whisk the kids off in a limo to Adeline’s private plane, where they would cross the country in comfort and hopefully begin to heal. As individuals and as a couple.
The girls didn’t fear for the future of the young people; rather, they wanted to help assure the road to a bountiful and fulfilling future was as smooth as possible. Each of the girls had had hard times and realized every journey was different, and yet, wasn’t it the responsibility of the older generation to provide a soft place for their young to land when everything fell out from under them?
Each of the girls was convinced that A.J. and Cara were perfect for each other and capable of creating their own safe haven.
Carolyn often wondered how her idiotic children had created such lovely offspring, but she chose not to dwell on it.
It dawned on her, while she thought about her own children, Adeline might be in exactly the same position. Her grandchildren turning out to be her beacon of hope while her children were darkness and blight.
Maybe they could discuss that on the cruise.
They were speaking of their own trip openly now. Adeline was supportive as a help to Carolyn. Carolyn was excited to help Adeline. Anna prayed they never found out she was playing one with the other, because both of these women she loved and respected needed to do something in friendship for the other, when in reality, what they required was to do it for themselves. It wasn’t as if she’d set them up—literally—she’d simply suggested to each one the other needed the cruise.
Why it hadn’t come up—even accidentally—set her to thinking.
Which set her to researching.
Which led her to a stunning find.
EIGHT
“ROLAND, THIS IS Anna Harris.”
“Good morning, Mrs. Harris.”
“Anna, please.”
“Thank you.” Roland was accustomed to his staff working with, and sometimes placating, Anna Harris, but a direct call to his personal line got his attention.
“Adeline has asked me to call you. She’s on the other line. I hope that’s alright.”
“Of course. What can I do for you, Anna?” His voice was completely neutral, but his heartbeat had kicked up a notch. Why would Adeline have Anna Harris call? Was she ill?
“Let me just start by saying everything here’s fine. I just need a little help tracking somebody down, and Adeline insisted I call you directly instead of my usual annoying habit of inflicting myself on your staff’s good nature.”
“Not at all.” His pulse rate instantly started back toward a more normal number. Adeline was his biggest client, by far, and things were getting shaken up in all of her holdings. He had multiple teams working on multiple projects just trying to check things out for her. He was well aware Adeline would never skirt a confrontation by utilizing her friend, but still, it was good to hear the girls were simply up to their usual shenanigans.
“You remember Adeline had your group watching when someone put a note under our friend Carolyn’s door. When she was completely incapacitated from her back inj
ury, you kept watch from there in the building, but once things seemed to settle and Carolyn was more mobile, Adeline pulled you off the case.”
“Yes, I do recall. Has there been another incident?”
“No. But I’m pretty sure I figured it out, and just need someone to make sure I’m not crazy or completely off the mark.”
“You figured it out? How did you do that?” He’d had a couple of his junior staff members try to establish a lead, but to no avail.
“It was simple, really. I got to thinking. Did an Internet search on the words from the note left at Carolyn’s door. Turns out, the first part of it is a quote. It’s attributed to a woman by the name of Meg Greenfield. I checked the quote as much as I could, but it led nowhere. That’s when it dawned on me. Life isn’t a linear operation. Which got me to thinking about the mathematical concept of linear operation—you know—having the same effect on a sum as on each of the summands. That thought brought me to thinking about the way each of us sees our own universe. You and I could each be looking at the same thing and come to very different conclusions. From there it wasn’t a big hop to thinking maybe someone in Carolyn’s past didn’t see things quite the way she had. We know her experience at Arlington was very personal; she hadn’t shared some of those details with anyone. The note showed up just after that. And the nickname used on the note indicated something from the past. So, go back to the people that were inside her circle. Cooper and Emerson are both dead. Who is in the next circle? On Carolyn’s side, it’s closed. No others in her immediate circle back then are still with us. So I decided to check on her husband’s side—found a couple of people Carolyn didn’t even know existed—and then on to Emerson’s side. That’s when I found her. It is so obvious. Zelma. Emerson’s sister. How many women named Zelma with a maiden name of Baker even exist? How many Zelmas are in Florida? Turns out, it’s harder to get that information than you might think, but then it dawned on me that church was a big part of Carolyn and Zelma’s lives back then, so I went online and did a little looking around and found Zelma Baker Stiles. The age is about right. I thought of just talking to Carolyn about it, but Adeline would like you to check her out before we do that.”
“Mrs. Harris, I’ve asked you before, but I think I’m prepared to beg. Won’t you come work with me? Please?”
Anna laughed. “It’s just that I have time on my hands. Anyone could find a person with enough time.”
“I don’t mean to argue, but let us hope you’re wrong. My business would see a distinct fall in value if your theory were to be proven.”
“You don’t need to worry. Young people these days don’t have the time or inclination to do it themselves. They would hire a professional. I have all this in a file I’ve organized. Would you like me to email it to you?”
“Are you sure you can’t just bring it with you for your first day at work?”
“I’m flattered but not interested.” Anna laughed good-naturedly.
Roland gave her a specific email address and asked her to send it along. “What priority are you assigning this? Do you believe that Carolyn is in any danger from this person?”
“I truly don’t think she’s in physical danger—thank the good Lord—but I don’t want it to fall by the wayside.”
“Very well. You can expect to hear from me promptly.”
“There’s no need for that. Any one of your people can deal with this. I would have put it through my regular gal, but Adeline insisted. I don’t like being bothersome.”
“If I’d been given a thousand words to describe you, Ms. Harris, bothersome would not have come to mind. Helpful would be more descriptive. I respect both your ability and your sense.”
“Common sense is hard to come by these days, but I think I was gifted with more than my share.”
“It’s more than that. Anna, you have an investigator’s gut. You know what’s important and what is not. You have the tenacity to stay with something even if it’s not panning out quite the way you had envisioned. I have benefited from your insight on more than one occasion, and I’m not too proud to acknowledge that.”
“You’ve made my day, Roland. Thank you. I look forward to hearing all about Zelma.”
When Adeline finally got off the phone, she joined Anna in the living room of her loft. “Was Roland helpful?”
“He’s very sweet. Offered me a job again.” Anna laughed.
“He’s not sweet, he’s intelligent. I would hire you in the beat of a heart, in any capacity you chose. No matter what the problem, Anna. You have a way of deciphering and dealing with issues that I truly admire.”
Anna was touched. “Thank you, Adeline.” She could think of nothing to add.
“I’m sorry to keep you captive and then abandon you. It was not my intent to stay on the telephone for such an extended period of time.”
“No problem. I know you have a lot going on right now. Don’t give it another thought.”
“What did Roland say of your findings?”
“He’s going to follow up. I really have a feeling that I’m on the right track. I think it’s Zelma that left that note.”
“Why would she do such a thing? How did she know that Carolyn went to Arlington? I find it disturbing.”
“Me too, but I think we’ll be to the bottom of it soon. I also think it’s time to tell Carolyn what we’ve found.”
Adeline sounded concerned. “Do you think this Zelma person will confront Carolyn?”
“No, but I believe it’s healthy to face your challenge head on, and I find it somewhat arrogant of us to try to maneuver her life this way. I think it was justified when she was unwell, but I believe it’s time for us to ’fess up.”
“I agree. Perhaps we can do a splendid dinner to soften the blow.”
“Great. I’ll call her.”
“I have another call to make myself.” Adeline uncharacteristically allowed her shoulders to slump.
Anna felt she needed to do something for her friend, but for the life of her, she couldn’t figure out what that might be.
“I’ll tell you what. If you’re on the phone for more than a few, I’ll just let myself out and see you this evening if Carolyn is available. I’ll make all the arrangements. Do you have a preference?”
“High protein. I think I need to build myself up a little. I’ve lost a bit of weight.”
Anna tried to keep it light. “A bit? Adeline, in all seriousness, I’m beginning to get worried for you. We promised to keep an eye on each other, and I think it’s to the point we need to speak to you as well as Carolyn. You’ve been working day and night. Stressed beyond what’s healthy. I know you feel responsible for so many and so much, but what good is it if it destroys your health?”
“I understand and can’t disagree, but we’re in the final rounds, and it should all be dealt with soon enough. Thank you for caring, Anna.”
“I do care, and if there’s anything I can do, please do not hesitate. I come highly regarded from some of your most trusted advisors.” Anna winked.
“You jest, but you’re absolutely correct. There’s no one I trust more, Anna.”
Anna saw the exhaustion in Adeline’s eyes. “How about you rest this evening? We’ll tackle the Zelma issue when you have a bit more energy.”
It was several days before Roland got back to Anna, but when he did, it was well worth the wait.
The file was printed on paper, filled an accordion file, and bestowed Anna with confirmation that she was indeed on the right track.
She called Adeline immediately.
They talked for just more than thirty minutes, then agreed it was time to talk to Carolyn again.
Lunch at the bistro at two thirty.
Anna made the call.
The girls walked into the bistro laughing. They’d just encountered the most beautiful toddler. He was full of himself in the most delightful way. He took it upon himself to open the door for the girls, unable to handle the weight of it but clearly undeterred. After a
llowing him to struggle a moment, Anna stealthily assisted, the young boy believing he’d accomplished his goal.
“I wonder for the little ones. Their parents seem to forget about the magic of youth.”
Carolyn smiled warmly. “Those parents are doing something right. He’s quite confident.”
“Don’t all children start out that way? It’s life that beats them about the head and shoulders until they are convinced their value is measurable.” Adeline took a deep breath.
Anna shrugged. “I was reading an article last night. It explained how we teach people how we are to be treated. I agreed with the majority of it, but found due to my agreement, I felt a bit resentful. If I accept the premise, then I need to take at least partial responsibility for the frustration I have with that nephew of mine.”
Adeline’s eyebrows creased. She’d made a few calls and encouraged one of her managers to give the young man a chance not long after meeting Anna. After he’d been hired—and rightly so—she had taken an interest and monitored his success. He hadn’t yet advanced as much as he would have liked, but he was making steady progress. “Is he causing you problems, Anna? From the last report I got on his work habits, he’s nothing short of amazing.”
“No, he’s lovely to me as always, but he picks the worst women to have relationships with. They all seem to take advantage. This latest one is a real winner.”
“Have you talked to him about it?”
“Till I’m blue in the face.” Anna laughed.
The owner of the bistro approached and greeted the girls warmly. Although reservations were not accepted, the owner was always able to find an appropriate table for the girls. Most often by a window and with little wait.
Once they were settled at the table and had ordered their usual, the mood changed.
“Carolyn, while I don’t think you will approve of what I’ve done, hear me out before you use your bread knife to end my life.” Anna had gotten her full attention.
Adeline cut in. “I appreciate you taking the blame, Anna. Carolyn, this was a joint effort, and I share responsibility.”
At Seddon Station (The Girls Book 5) Page 8