Mystery Dad

by Leona Karr

  “And yet, Jason made no financial provision for her. You said the only insurance he had was partnership insurance. She might have taken a calculated risk, pretending to be his wife in the hopes that you would come through with some kind of a settlement.”

  “So I may have no obligation to her kids at all. She’s just using me as a patsy.” His eyes flashed angrily. “Surely she would know that I’d find out the truth eventually?”

  “Maybe she’s buying time.”

  Kerri watched pain deepen the lines in his face as he fell silent. This must be terribly hard for him, she thought. Mark obviously had cared deeply for his brother, tried hard to keep him on the right track, wanted the best for him, but always ended up carrying the burden of Jason’s mistakes. This last one was enough to break anybody’s heart.

  She reached over and touched his hand. “Give me a little time and we’ll have some answers.”

  He sighed. “Yes, of course. In time we’ll know everything. I don’t know about you, but I’ve had enough questions for one day. Let’s dance.”

  Later when she thought about it, she was surprised to realize that she hadn’t even thought about refusing. He led her to the dance floor and she cradled into the graceful length of his body with perfect ease. He was a polished dancer, guiding her with slight pressure, and holding his head so close to hers that laying her cheek against his was a given.

  They didn’t talk. There wasn’t any need. The harmonious movement of their bodies was communication enough. Each dance created a suspended detachment from the cares of the day, and when she let her hand move slowly around his neck, he whispered, “I like what I see in your eyes now.”

  His words instantly dispelled the harmony between them. She came to herself with a jolt and missed a beat of the music. What kind of signals had she been giving out? It didn’t take a genius to know where this kind of romancing on the dance floor was leading. Her sister Cathy would have said, “So what? Go for it!” But she wasn’t her sister, and she wasn’t the kind of career woman who slept with her clients.

  Avoiding his direct gaze, she gave a light laugh. “Sorry about the stumble. I think it’s time to call it an evening. It’s been fun, but that’s enough dancing for one night.” She eased away from him, and walked quickly back to their table.

  As he paid the tab, she knew he was baffled by her mercurial change in mood, but she didn’t care. He had to share the blame for turning the evening into something that she had promised herself wouldn’t happen. If he hadn’t drawn her out on the dance floor, she wouldn’t have been mesmerized by the wonderful feel of their bodies moving together in such tantalizing nearness.

  As they left the club, Mark politely kept his distance, all the time cursing himself for not leaving well enough alone on the dance floor. Why did he have to open his big mouth and spoil everything? With any other woman, he would have danced and wined her, and kept any references to her beguiling eyes to himself. He’d never been one for poetic utterances and he couldn’t believe he’d acted like some adolescent Romeo.

  As they drove back to Windhaven, Kerri made certain that she didn’t give her client any more wrong signals. She stayed on her side of the car seat.

  They rode the elevator in silence and as she paused in the doorway of her hotel room, she made eye contact with him for the first time since they left the dance floor.

  Before she could say anything, he held up a hand and stopped her. “I know. You’ve made it clear enough. Either I fire you so I’m not your client, or I keep my distance? Is that about it?”

  “I think it’s better that way.”

  “Well, I can hardly blame you if you’ve already begun to hate the name, Richards. By now, you know that I wasn’t the brother I should have been.” He looked grim. “I failed Jason when he needed me the most.”

  “Maybe the situation was beyond your help from the very beginning,” she countered. “Don’t flay yourself until we know a lot more. I’ll keep poking around, and usually something turns up unexpectedly when the trail seems cold.” Even as she admitted to herself that the remark was a prayer as much as anything else, she gave him a reassuring smile, and bid him good-night. “We could meet for breakfast, if you’re up about eight. I’ll have a written report ready for you by then.”

  “You’re going to work tonight? It’s after mid-night.”

  “I know, but it always takes me time to settle down after an evening out.” Especially when my emotions have been taken on a roller-coaster ride.

  “Maybe I could help?”

  “Good night. I’ll see you in the morning.” She impulsively touched his cheek with her hand, and then quickly shut the door. As she heard his muffled footsteps retreating down the hall, she fought an impulse to call him back. They were two adults occupying rooms a short distance from each other. Why not admit how much she wanted to be with him? Her father’s voice echoed in her head: Ye know why, Kerri, lass. Keep your feet on firm ground. Ye can’t be tending to business when your mind’s up in the clouds.

  Kerri tossed her evening bag on the bed and kicked off her shoes. A blinking light on her telephone told her she had a voice message.

  “I’ve been trying to call you all evening,” Debbie said excitedly. “This afternoon, on a hunch, I contacted the Office of Civil Marriages in Mexico City. Are you ready for this?”

  Kerri’s heartbeat quickened, and her fingers tightened on the receiver.

  “Yep. Jason Richards was married in Acapulco, six months ago. He married Ardella L. Browski.”

  Bingo!

  Chapter Seven

  Kerri told Mark the good news over breakfast. “Now that we have a name, things should move a lot faster.”

  An instant wave of relief crossed his face. “Ardella Browski,” he said thoughtfully. “It’s certainly not a common name that one would forget. What does the L stand for?”

  “Maybe a middle name, or maybe one from a previous marriage. Somewhere along the line, we’ll tag into her full name. I’ve already talked to Debbie this morning. By the time I get back to Denver, she should have more data for me.”

  “Then you’re going back today?”

  She nodded. “I have a noon flight. There’s really nothing more I can do here. You’ll find everything in this written report.” As she handed it to him, she said hesitantly, “There’s something in it that I haven’t mentioned before.”

  “Oh?” He raised one eyebrow. “Why do I have the feeling you’d rather not mention it now?”

  “Because I wasn’t successful in turning up anything.”

  “All right, tell me about it.” He leaned back in his chair, waiting.

  “I spent some time at the police station, looking into your brother’s accident. Jason’s lab tests didn’t show any alcohol or drug impairment. Speed or falling asleep at the wheel could have caused him to lose control. There’s no way to know.”

  “I don’t follow. What’s this all about?”

  Kerri saw him stiffen, and she chose her words carefully. “One of the officers who was at the scene mentioned to me that it was possible that someone might have run him off the road. It’s just a possibility,” she repeated quickly. “There’s no evidence to go on.”

  Kerri could tell that Mark’s acute mind was searching for some support or denial of what she’d just said. Finally he shook his head. “I don’t know. I just don’t know. From time to time, Jason was in with some pretty tough company, but I thought he’d pulled back, had gotten his act together. I haven’t had to pay any big gambling debts for more than a year, but maybe Jason was afraid to ask me for any more help. I didn’t mince words the last time. I warned him I was through bailing him out. Maybe he reneged on a debt and…and…” Mark’s mouth worked but the words were lost in his throat.

  Sometimes I hate this job, Kerri thought, seeing the pain reflected in his eyes. She believed in being honest with her clients, and sometimes that wasn’t easy, like now, when she wanted to reassure Mark that his brother had reformed and
his death was just an untimely accident.

  He stared at some point beyond her for a long time. Then he came back, and asked, “What do we do now?”

  “Once we find Ardie, she’ll be able to tell us what was going on in your brother’s life. Until then, we’ll just have to live with some unanswered questions.”

  “Even though we know the woman’s name, we still don’t know where the hell she is,” he countered gruffly.

  “A lot of the mystery will clear up once we start compiling a personal history through records like social security, driving licenses, state and county records, health records and the like. We’ll get a composite of her background, and maybe even a trail of activities that brings us up to the moment she left her children with you and disappeared.”

  “You sound pretty sure of yourself.”

  “I am. Most people who disappear can be found with time and effort. I just hope that finding Ardie doesn’t jeopardize her well-being in some way.”

  “What are you saying?” He frowned and searched her face.

  “Since we don’t know why the woman disappeared, there’s the possibility that our search for her might somehow put her in danger.”

  “I’m more inclined to think she acted on a purely selfish level,” Mark answered shortly. “Besides, if she had a legitimate reason, why wasn’t she up-front with it?”

  “Would you have been receptive to accepting the temporary care of her children?” When he readily shook his head, she nodded knowingly. “That’s what I thought. Maybe that’s why she didn’t stick around. Anyway, let’s not waste time on speculation. I’ll spend a few days in the office and see what I can come up with. How long will you be staying in Los Angeles?”

  “I don’t know. Jeff seems to have the office under control, but we have to hire another consultant. Probably I’ll be able to get away in a day or two.”

  “If anything jells before then, I’ll let you know,” she promised.

  They walked out of the hotel restaurant together and paused in the lobby to say goodbye. As they stood together in the swirl of hotel activity, he moved closer, and she remembered how it had felt to be in his arms, her cheek pressed against his. For a moment, a total awareness of his presence swamped her senses.

  As he looked down at her and saw the sudden softness in her eyes, he was tempted to forget all about her insistence on maintaining a professional decorum between them. And yet, he knew she was right. He certainly knew better than to complicate his life with a romantic relationship. He’d remained a bachelor because that was the life-style he preferred. Although he enjoyed the company of women, he’d never found himself mesmerized by one. Not until now. It was not a vulnerability that he liked and he cursed the whole blasted situation that had thrown him off balance. He’d spent a night plagued with a restless desire that had flared again the moment he saw her that morning.

  “Goodbye then,” he said, wanting to throw good sense to the winds and take her in his arms and kiss her soundly.

  “I’ll be in touch,” she promised.

  For a fraction of a minute longer than necessary, they stood looking at each other, then he turned and walked away.

  Kerri’s gaze followed his strong masculine figure as he weaved through the mingling crowd and disappeared out the revolving doors. For a moment, she entertained inventing a pretense of having to go with him to his office, but quickly chided herself for such foolishness. She reined in her emotions, and went back to her room to complete some office work she’d brought with her.

  KERRI’S TWO-HOUR FLIGHT back to Denver was uneventful, and she decided to see how things were going at the home front before going to the office.

  “I’m back,” she called out, as she shut the front door and dropped her traveling bag in the hall. No answer. The house was unnaturally quiet.

  Kerri’s chest tightened. Where was everyone? She expected to be greeted with a cacophony of childish noise, not the creaking silence of an old house.

  The kitchen was deserted. No sign of anyone in the backyard. Maybe they were over at Cathy’s house. Letting the back screen door bang loudly behind her, she crossed the yard and alley, and then let herself in through the back gate to her sister’s yard. There was a hushed stillness about the house that told her even before she tried the back door, that everything was locked up. Nobody was home.

  “Looking for your sister?” Mrs. Tipton called across the wire fence separating her backyard from Cathy’s. The woman was the neighborhood gossip, always tugging and pulling at any strand of gossip that might be raveled into a good story for her bridge club, but even gossips have their uses, Kerri thought as she nodded and smiled brightly. “Do you know where she is?”

  “Gone to the park. You must have some family with kids visiting? I don’t remember seeing them around before?”

  Kerri only gave her a noncommittal nod. She wasn’t about to feed the neighbor’s avaricious curiosity, and could just imagine Mrs. Tipton’s near apoplexy if she told her the whole story. What a delicious tale to spread about abandoned children staying in her own neighborhood, and the search for their mother. Kerri gave the neighbor a wave of thanks and quickly made her escape.

  A small residential park was only a couple of blocks away, and recently new equipment had been purchased by the city to upgrade the playground. Kerri had been too busy to pay much attention to the improvements, but as she crossed a wide span of grass which bordered the playground, she was pleasantly surprised to see a small merry-go-round, several different-size swings, a slide that looked like a space ship, and some gaily painted teeter-totters.

  There were only a few children and adults enjoying the park. As Kerri came closer, she saw that Cathy was pushing Patti in one of the toddler’s swings. The twin girls and Timmy were playing on the merry-go-round. Squealing, they hopped on for a whirling ride until they had to jump off and push again.

  Kerri’s mother and grandmother sat at one of the picnic tables, the remains of snacks and drinks still littering the table. A double baby carriage that Kerri hadn’t seen since the twins were infants was parked at her grandmother’s knee.

  “Well, Lordy, look who’s here,” her mother greeted Kerri with a big hug. “Sit yourself down, honey. There’s still some brownies and a spot of tea left in the thermos. I guess you figured out where we’d be, most likely.”

  “With the help of Mrs. Tipton,” Kerri admitted with a wry smile. “I was a little baffled when I found all of you gone.”

  “Worried, were you?” her sharp grandmother asked, peering at her through spectacles resting low on her nose.

  “Well, not really. Just a little anxious to know if everything was all right.”

  “Well, now, did you find something out in California that ain’t to your liking?” the elderly lady prodded.

  Kerri was tempted to admit that unanswered questions about Jason’s accident weren’t to her liking, but decided against mentioning it. No use spending time on idle speculation; better to stick to known facts. “Debbie called me with some good news. We now know the name of the children’s mother.”

  “Ardella?” her mother echoed when Kerri told them the name. “There aren’t many of those around. Lordy, I’m glad she didn’t saddle her girls with a name like that They’re really sweet, and that Timmy’s a real charmer. Now that he’s settling in, he’s showing a bit of spunk. Took his mother’s running off really hard. Poor thing. Just the mention the word, mother, and his little eyes looked sadder than a lost dog’s.”

  Kerri felt her heart tighten a little as she watched the little boy throw back his head and laugh as the merry-go-round whipped him around in a circle.

  Cathy waved at Kerri from the swing set where she was pushing Patti, and motioned her over. “Your turn, Sis. She won’t get off.” Patti had her little hands fastened around the swing’s chains as if she’d defy Hercules himself to remove her from it “She’s all yours for another hundred swings,” Cathy said, heading back to the picnic table.

  At tha
t moment the merry-go-round wound down to a slow stop. “Come push us, Auntie,” yelled Amy, waving her arms madly.

  “Push us. Push us,” Timmy and Emily took up the cry.

  “Okay, okay,” Kerri yelled back. Then she turned to Patti, and ignoring the belligerent pout of her little lips, said, “It’s time to play on the merry-go-round now, and show Timmy what a big girl you are.”

  The operative word was Timmy, and Kerri could see the little girl’s stubbornness wavering. Kerri just smiled and waited. Slowly, Patti held out her little arms to be lifted out of the swing. A small victory, but Kerri flashed a triumphant smile at her sister, as she and Patti joined the other children on the merrygo-round. Maybe she wasn’t so bad at this childrearing business, after all, she thought with a tinge of smugness as she pushed the merry-go-round, and hopped on for a ride herself.

  She laughed and played with the children in a carefree mood she wouldn’t have thought possible a few hours before. Their innocent joy renewed and strengthened her and made her laugh, but another emotion brought tears to her eyes as Patti gave her a hug and sloppy kiss. What if these kids were hers—hers and Mark’s?

  Finally, thoroughly worn-out, and ignoring the children’s pleas for “More, more,” Kerri decided it was time to call it quits. The other women agreed.

  As they prepared to leave the park, amid the squealing and scrambling children, Kerri became aware of a solitary man sitting on a nearby bench watching them with solemn intensity.

  Instantly alert, she tightened her clasp on Timmy’s hand as they walked. Cathy was pushing Patti in the double stroller with the baby, and the twins were bouncing along beside her grandmother. There was no way someone could get to the children without confronting an adult, Kerri reasoned, but her heart had quickened and she was suddenly tense.

  She stiffened when Timmy glanced in the direction of the man, prepared for the boy to react with the same emotional recognition as he had in the Dirk incident. When Timmy suddenly pointed and squealed, Kerri heart lost a beat.