"Now wait a minute, Kelley. I have questions for, uh…" He looked at his note pad. "Where's the girls' father, Gregorio Calderone?"
Eyes narrowing, Ewyn stared. "Questions?" He held up his hand when the man opened his mouth to speak. "No, don't. I've had one hell of a night, I still have to inform my aunt about my nieces' deaths, and…get this straight, Detective," he mocked. "It's Mister Kelley to you."
Ewyn turned at the knock on the door, saying over his shoulder, "I can understand why Rosa wouldn't let you inside. She has excellent instincts, and taste." He focused his attention on Gemma's personal assistant standing in the doorway. "Yes, Myce?"
"Ewyn, your aunt is ready for you," Mycelia said.
"Thanks. We'll go right up. Please show this…uh…gentleman to the door." Ewyn tipped his head in Patterson's direction, started out the door, then paused and pulled his billfold from his inside breast pocket. He retrieved a business card, handed it to Mycelia, and looked back at the detective. "If you want to talk to any member of the Calderone family, you go through me first, and you make a fuckin' appointment," he snarled. "Failing that avenue of communication, contact the family attorney," he added. "Mick, Tag…Gemma will want to see you."
"Now wait a minute." Patterson moved to follow Ewyn. Mick, Taggart, and MacGregor scrambled to block his path. MacGregor reached Patterson first and grabbed his arm.
"Hey! What is this? Who do you people think you're dealing with?" Patterson grumbled and snatched his arm from MacGregor's grasp. "I want--"
"You want," MacGregor cut him off. "Look around, man. It doesn't matter what you want. You need to remember where you are, and who you're dealing with." He turned to Ewyn. "I'll take care of this."
Ewyn nodded and left without a backward glance. Mick and Taggart followed.
"You go, kid," Taggart said. "I couldn't have handled him better myself."
"The arrogant son of a bitch pissed me off." Ewyn felt heat warming his cheeks. "And why is a Detective Sergeant investigating a traffic accident?"
"The Calderone name," Taggart suggested.
"Is his attitude what Greg and the family have had to deal with because of our name?" he asked but didn't wait for an answer. "Well, hell. With the recent traumatic events decimating this family, I'm short on social etiquette, especially with people like Patterson." He stopped walking and turned on the two men. "I'm not putting up with the bullshit from him or anybody else," he snarled, then immediately mumbled, "Sorry."
"Hey. Don't you dare apologize," Mick said. "Patterson is one of those full-of-himself dicks who don't know when to step down. The asshole should consider himself lucky Devin wasn't here. Trust me. Mac will handle him. He'll be singing a new tune when he talks to you again. If Devin isn't back by then, I'll go with you, just in case."
"Thanks. I'd appreciate it."
"Whoa. I'm not doing it for you," Mick teased. "It's for Patterson. Remember, I've seen you in action. Don't want Devin coming back and kicking off in my ass because you've been arrested for assault."
"You've got that right." Taggart grinned.
Ewyn snorted and headed up the stairs, taking the time to tell them about the night's ordeal. "You should see her. She's beautiful. Of course, I'm probably prejudiced. I only hope Kiera's existence helps to ease some of the pain of loss for Gemma. She spent a lot of time with Niki and Caro when they were children."
"Gemma's nurse is here, right," Mick said.
"Yeah. Round-the-clock."
They reached the third floor and Ewyn paused outside his aunt's apartment, took a deep breath, knocked, then opened the door and stepped inside. Rosa was present, bustling around setting up the coffee and sandwiches on a sideboard in the living room, while the nurse on duty hovered in the background. Gemma, curled up on one end of the sofa, turned frightened eyes on him as soon as he came into view.
"Ewyn, what happened?" She looked from him to Mick and Taggart. "Is it Tim…Devin?"
Eyes tearing up, Ewyn rushed across the room and dropped down on the sofa next to his aunt, grasped her frail hands in his own, and whispered, "No, Gem. It's Niki and Caro." His aunt's grip tightened. "They were in a car accident."
"How bad, baby?"
His breath caught on a sob. "They're dead, Gem."
"Oh, my God, Ewyn. No!" She started crying, the sound heart wrenching.
Tears spilled out onto Ewyn's cheeks as he pulled his distraught aunt into his arms. "I'm so sorry. They were dead when I reached the hospital." He looked up and signaled to the nurse, who hurried forward.
"Mrs. Ryan…" The nurse offered Gemma a handkerchief. "I think you should rest."
"No." Gemma pulled away from Ewyn, took the proffered handkerchief and dabbed at her eyes. "I'll be okay. Ewyn needs me." She sniffled and wiped her nose. Her nurse retrieved the used handkerchief and replaced it with a clean one. "We need each other." She looked at Ewyn. "Baby, are you okay? How did it happen? Where…when? Why were they out on the road?"
"I don't know. I'll have to talk to the police. Maybe they can give me some answers," he replied. "Gem, are you sure you're okay?"
"Yes, baby, it was just such a shock. I'm all right. Promise." She dried her eyes and looked around at the assembled company. "Oh, Rosa, you practically raised the girls, and Myce, you grew up with them…you were like sisters."
"Yes, Miss Gem," Mycelia said, her eyes tearing up. "It's bad. But it will be worse for Mister Greg."
Gemma's hands flew to her mouth. "Oh, Jesus! Greg. We have to get hold of Gregorio!"
"Calm down, Gem," Mick warned. "MacGregor has taken care of it."
"Oh. What am I thinking? You're right, Mick." She smiled weakly and turned to her nephew. "Ewyn, I am so sorry. Of course, you would have taken care of it. Here I am still treating you like a child when, in the last two years, you have proven yourself to be more than man enough to handle any situation."
"It's okay, Gem, not important. There's something else I need to tell you."
Eyes widening, Gemma grabbed his hand and held tight. "What else could have happened?"
"Nicole was pregnant."
"No! We saw her during spring break. She would have…"
"Yes. She would have known she was pregnant then," Ewyn admitted.
"Why didn't…never mind. The baby," Gemma whispered as if she were afraid to say baby aloud.
Ewyn grinned and squeezed her hand. "She's beautiful, Gem. A beautiful little girl and I took the liberty of naming her."
"Oh, Ewyn, a girl. Tell me about her. Is she all right, did you get to hold her?" Gemma stopped and took a deep breath. "What did you name her?"
"I chose Kiera Alanna Calderone."
"Lovely. I like it. A combination of both sides of the family--Irish and Italian. Baby, you did good." She wiped her eyes again, and looked at the housekeeper. "We'll have to get the nursery ready for her, Rosa, and we'll need a nanny. Myce! You'll be her nanny. Get me a pen and paper. I need to make a list…and christening!" She turned to Ewyn. "She has to be baptized as soon as possible."
"Yes, Gem." Ewyn leaned back on the sofa and watched his aunt, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. She was more animated than he had seen her in quite a while.
Mycelia returned to the sofa with pen and paper. Ewyn stood and wandered over to the sideboard where he joined Mick and Taggart.
"It will hit her later," Mick whispered. "But I think your baby-girl is just the medicine Gem needed to see her through this."
Eyes on his aunt giving directions, making lists, and talking nonstop, Ewyn nodded.
* * * *
Ewyn had set the alarm for five o'clock, but he awoke moments before it went off. He'd only slept two hours, but he didn't want to waste a moment of the time he had to spend with Kiera. Hopping out of bed and heading for the bathroom, he only paused to get clean underwear from the dresser. Once dressed, and allowing for traffic, he should reach the hospital around six-thirty. He stepped from the shower, gave his hair a quick blow-dry, and practically ran into the w
alk-in closet. He always had clean underwear here, but not clothes. Luckily, the last time the family had a weekend gathering, he'd left some clothes, so he didn't have to go home to change.
Ewyn dressed and headed for the third floor, taking the stairs two at a time. He wanted to check on Gemma before going to the hospital. To his surprise, not only was she awake, she was dressed and insisted on going with him. "Gem. I don't think you should come with me. Your resistance is low and hospitals are germ infested."
"Forget it, Ewyn. I'm going."
He had to admit she looked better than she had since her cancer diagnosis, but he looked to Gemma's nurse for help.
"I spoke to her Oncologist last night. He said getting out in the fresh air would be good for her. Couldn't hurt." Miss Halloran shrugged. "His words, not mine. However, I'm going with you to make sure she doesn't overdo it."
Gemma looped her arm over Ewyn's arm and smiled up at him. "Okay?"
"Hell. Why not. Her first few days, Kiera is going to need all the love and support she can get," Ewyn admitted. "And listen to me, sounding all knowledgeable." He patted Gemma's hand and kissed her cheek. "Let me call down and have Martin bring your car around. You wouldn't be comfy in my Mustang."
"Not to worry," Gemma said. "I've taken care of it, along with all the necessities a newborn needs to wear home."
Ewyn gawked, then laughed. "I'm not even going to ask how you managed that during the middle of the night. But they're not going to release Kiera today."
"Money talks, baby." Gemma grinned up at him. "We have a registered nurse on staff, so Kiera will be coming home with us today."
Ewyn shook his head, knowing what his aunt said was true. The family name and money still had the hook up. With Gemma leaning heavily against his arm, he guided her from the apartment with Miss Halloran following close behind.
* * * *
Goddamnit to hell!
The baby survived. Wasn't expecting that. Moreover, Nicole, the bitch, drew up new wills while in hiding. Found copies in her dorm, stipulating, if neither Nicole nor her child survived, everything would go to Carolyn. If the baby and Carolyn survived, the baby inherited Nicole's money. In the event both sisters died and the baby survived, the child would inherit everything with Uncle Ewyn as the executor, eliminating anyone else. A helluva lot of money for a damn baby.
However, if Nicole, Carolyn, and the baby died, the terms of the old will would stand, and yours-truly would remain a beneficiary. Carolyn's will mimicked Nicole's almost verbatim, both signed, dated, and notarized the day they died, with their roommates as witnesses.
Wait a minute. If Nicole signed the wills the day she died, why were there only copies in her dorm? Where are the originals? Oh, shit! Did she have them in her purse when she died?
Damn you, Nicole. If you were still alive, I'd kill you and the little bastard! Okay. Deep breaths. Relax…think.
The police would have gone through the girls' things for identification. If the will was in Nicole's purse, they must not have thought anything of it, but the family…had they picked up her personal effects.
The news reports were calling the deaths a tragic accident, so checking personal effects wouldn't be a priority for the family. Hell. Without cause, their uppity asses probably wouldn't ever go through them. Conversely, with or without the official document, if the family discovered Nicole's intent--game over. I wonder. Did Nicole have time to mail the originals to her attorney before I caught up with her or, damn. She drew up the new will herself and had it notarized, but would it stand up in court?
All right, let me think. If they've documented the accident as the official cause of death, they haven't found the gun, or they found it and thought it belonged to one of the girls. Either way, I'm in the clear, giving me time to work out my next…wait. As a family member, I can claim Nicole's property, get the will, and the family never has to know.
Failing that, babies die, the kid is expendable. It's all her fault. If she hadn't been born, Carolyn wouldn't have been there. The little brat ruined everything.
* * * *
"Let us out at the main entrance, Martin," Gemma said to her driver when the hospital came into view. "Take a break. I'll call you when we're ready to leave."
"Yes, ma'am." Martin pulled up in front of the hospital, double-parked, then jumped out and came around to the rear passenger door and helped Gemma from the car.
Ewyn climbed from the backseat and hurried to assist his aunt. Miss Halloran followed, but when they reached the reception area, he stopped her. "You can take a break, too. We'll page you if there's a problem. Otherwise, we'll meet you back here when we're done."
"Not a problem, Mister Kelley."
Ewyn smiled down at his aunt and said, "Let's go meet our baby-girl."
* * * *
The phone rang several times. Then, "How did it go?"
"Got pictures of her in the nursery, and shots of the family as they left the hospital."
"Good. Enlarge the ones of the baby."
"Not a problem, but something is up."
"What do you mean?"
"A Detective Sergeant is handling the accident."
"Could be the Calderone name."
"Maybe. I'm going to see what I can find out before I head back."
"Stay off the radar."
The connection went dead.
Chapter 4
A procession of vehicles followed two hearses from Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Church to the Calderone burial plot. Family and friends came from all over to bid farewell to Nicole and Carolyn.
Afterward, Gemma and Ewyn returned to the estate and met with the family attorney, who laid out the details of Nicole's will. It was only a formality since nothing had changed, which surprised Ewyn to discover Cecilia was still included as a beneficiary. However, since Nicole's child had survived, she became the sole beneficiary of both Nicole and Carolyn's estates with Ewyn as executor. Cecilia eliminated.
One week old and Kiera was an heiress.
* * * *
Ewyn pulled up outside the Silver Fox and turned off the ignition. Before he could get out of his car, Mick came around the corner, climbed into the passenger seat and buckled up.
"Are you sure you want to do this today?"
"Yeah. Patterson contacted the family attorney asking him to intercede and have me call the Detective. Said it was important." Ewyn sighed. "Hell. Before we buried the girls, I didn't have the patience to deal with him. Then, between getting Kiera settled, making sure the trauma of the girls' deaths didn't adversely affect Gemma's health, there didn't seem to be enough time in the day. Besides, where Patterson is concerned, my social etiquette skills run on empty."
"With reason."
"Yeah…well, I've left the man hanging long enough. I'm ready for answers. I want to understand why and how the accident happened. I need closure, Mick." Ewyn started the car. "So yeah, whatever Patterson's problem is, I'm up to the challenge. Let the games begin."
"I hear you."
Ewyn glanced at Mick. "By the way, were you paying attention to the mourners at the funeral?"
"Not really. My focus was on Gemma. Why?"
"With everything coming at me so hard and fast, I thought I must have imagined it, so I put it out of my mind until now," Ewyn replied. "I know it's going to sound crazy, but I thought I saw Greg in the crowd."
"No! Why wouldn't he have come forward--shit. What am I thinking?" Mick shook his head. "A hell of a situation, having to attend your children's funeral incognito."
"I don't understand."
"He has to make a clean break, Ewyn. If he had shown himself, it would have changed nothing." Mick stared out the window for a few minutes. "At least, he was there."
"I guess. But what about Gem? She could have used his support."
"Gemma is a Calderone who grew up in the business. She knows how it works," Mick remarked. "Besides, Greg has to be grieving, too, and maybe it was his way of getting through the trauma."
"Yeah, you could be right. Who am I to judge how he deals with his grief. Besides, I'm not positive it was Greg. No one else seemed to notice."
Ewyn turned off Waterman onto Third Street, slowed down in front of the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Office and pulled into the parking lot. He climbed out of his car and looked around. It had been years since he'd been on this side of town, and didn't it bring back memories.
Looking east on Third, Norton Air Force base used to be down that way. As a kid, he could remember riding by and gawking in fascination at all of those big transport planes. Turning, he looked across the street. He'd forgotten about the Goodwill complex located there. He had been with Gemma, a few times, when she had dropped off things at the donation trailer.
To the west, he could see where the street came to a dead end. If he remembered correctly, there used to be a hotel down there. After a morning of shopping with Gemma at the Central City Mall across the street from the hotel, his aunt used to take him there for lunch--the Maruko! That was the name, but the last time they went there for lunch, the hotel had changed hands. Damn if he could recall which hotel chain had taken over. Hell. Even the mall's name had changed from Central City Mall to Carousel Mall.
Being away at college, and then living in Rancho Cucamonga, Ewyn had spent his adult life hanging out on the Westside of San Bernardino County. Except for the Silver Fox, he didn't know this part of town any more.
"Brings back memories, huh," Mick said as he and Ewyn strolled across the parking lot.
"Oh yeah. Old stomping grounds. Spent a lot of time cruising the mall as a teen. Didn't have a clue as to what I was looking for back then."
Ewyn and Mick entered the Sheriff's building and checked in at the reception desk. The young woman said Detective Patterson would be with them shortly and directed them to the waiting area. Ewyn removed his sunglasses, slipped them into his inside breast pocket, and sat down. "We're on time, right?"
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