Bella shook her head to clear her thoughts. She did a final check of the hallway to make sure no one was lurking about, and walked to the elevator. The fine hairs on the back of her neck were standing on end, she could feel them move. Don’t think. Don’t think about anything. Just get through the day, then drive out to Pinewood, where she would be safe. Her safety right now was paramount. She didn’t know how she knew that, but she knew it as surely as she knew that she was standing on the corner waiting for the traffic light to change from red to green.
Bella stepped off the curb, thinking, My God, that’s why Myra Rutledge wanted her to move out to Pinewood. Myra and the others also believed her life was in danger.
Chapter 12
Avery Snowden stared out the window of his rental car, wondering if he was doing the right thing by showing up unannounced at the Nolan family attorney’s office. What was he going to learn here? The Nolans had passed quite a while ago, prior to the death of their son. Surely, probate was over and done with, settled, and all things pertaining thereto taken care of. If he’d had his druthers, he would have gathered up his people and headed for the airport, but Annie had called, and said, “Not so fast, Avery. Go talk to the lawyer. Lawyers know secrets, and with all the Nolans gone now, he may very well share some of those secrets with you.”
Avery didn’t believe it for a minute, but Annie signed his checks, so whatever the boss wanted, he was duty-bound to comply. It wasn’t that he had something to rush home to anyway; he didn’t. He just hated wasting time and walking away empty-handed.
He pressed the button to raise the car window just as the door to the red brick building opened. A tall, striking redhead sashayed through, wearing bright red stilettoes. Avery always marveled at how women could keep their balance, still walking and looking regal to boot at the same time. One of the Sisters, Kathryn Lucas, called red stilettoes slut shoes. He grinned, although the woman exiting the building that housed the Nolans’ lawyer didn’t look like a slut. She was dressed conservatively and was carrying a very pricey ostrich briefcase. Probably an attorney. He waited another minute or so until the woman passed him and got into an equally pricey, high-end set of wheels: a Mercedes-Maybach. Yep, he decided, she had to be a high-dollar attorney to afford a set of wheels like the sleek vehicle he was looking at. He waited another second to appreciate the generous expanse of leg and thigh as she got behind the wheel. He sighed. The days were long gone since his imagination took him to passionate places.
His knees protesting mightily, Avery climbed out of the car and walked up to the stand-alone brick building with a small parking lot on the side. A simple plaque adorned the door, polished to such a high sheen to match the other hardware on the door that he could see his reflection clearly, even the pimple on his chin: BRADFORD AND SONS LAW FIRM.
Avery looked at his watch; it was a quarter to five. Almost quitting time unless they worked till six o’clock. It was already six forty-five for Annie back East. He looked around. Now that the redhead with the great legs was gone, there were only three cars in the lot in addition to his own. He speculated that Bradford Senior, if there was still a Bradford Senior, was retired, and two of the cars, both Beemers, belonged to two sons, and the other car, a Saab, probably belonged to a secretary or receptionist.
Avery opened the door. Directly in his line of vision was a desk with a middle-aged woman sitting behind it, stamping envelopes. She looked up, smiled, and said, “I do hope you are not going to tell me you have an appointment I forgot to log in the books. My boss would be very unhappy if that were so.”
Avery grimaced. “No, I’m not going to tell you that.” He showed his credentials, and said, “I just need five minutes, possibly ten. And I have no problem paying for your boss’s time. I’m headed back to Washington, D.C., in another hour, and I have to get back to the airport as soon as I leave here.”
“Washington, D.C., is certainly popular today. The client who just left here was also headed back to Washington, D.C. I’ve never been. One of these days,” she said with a sigh.
“Go through the door on the left, walk down the hall, and Mr. Bradford, that would be Ellison Bradford, Mr. Bradford Senior’s oldest son, he’s packing up to go home a little early today so he can go to his daughter’s basketball game. Just tell him Julie, that’s me, said it was okay for you to see him.”
Avery smiled and nodded as he started off. Loose as a goose. From the looks of things, the Bradfords ran a loose ship, which was good for him. He liked places like this, with actual wood, worn carpets, scarred furniture that was old and comfortable. Kids’ pictures plastered on all the walls with Scotch tape, along with their framed law degrees. Outdated magazines that were falling apart and a candy dish with only three mints left were on a messy oak coffee table that looked like it had come over on the ark completed the picture of an old family law firm that had been practicing law since dinosaurs roamed the Earth.
Ellison Bradford snapped the lock on his briefcase just as Avery tapped on the frame of the door. “Julie said it was okay to come back here. She also said you were leaving early for your daughter’s basketball game, so I’ll make this quick. I’m Avery Snowden. I worked for MI6, for Her Majesty. I’m retired now and living here. I wonder if you would mind talking to me a bit about Sonia and Dan Nolan. Andy, too, if you know anything about him. In a manner of speaking, I represent Andy’s widow, Bella.” He waited while the young attorney digested all he’d said.
“I have some time. Please, sit down. If I have a stupid look on my face, it’s because Sara Windsor Nolan just left here not fifteen minutes ago. We finally settled and signed the last of the probate papers. You just missed Sara by a few minutes. She’s probably the one you want to talk to. I have to warn you, she is . . . a bit edgy. I don’t know her all that well. Sonia and Dan Nolan, before their demise, were my father’s clients. My brother and I inherited all of Pop’s clients. I knew Andy quite well, we played football together our senior year. Sara . . . like I said . . . I didn’t know her, still don’t. She’s . . . um . . . I guess difficult would be the word to use. I tried to get more background on the family after they passed, but Pop has dementia and would get frustrated with the questions, so Tony, that’s my brother, and I just gave up.
“When we heard about Andy’s death, we were beside ourselves. Sara showed up and all she wanted to know was what the estate was worth and when she would get the money. She produced Andy’s power of attorney. For a while, it was a hot mess.”
Ellison Bradford picked up a dark brown accordion-pleated envelope and waved it at Avery Snowden. “This is the Nolan file. Andy’s paperwork is in here, too. I asked Sara if she wanted a copy, and she asked why she would want that crap? Then she said, ‘Just write me the check, and I’ll be out of here. My brother and I were the executors of the estate.’
“I could almost feel Andy breathing down my neck and saying don’t do it, don’t do it, but I had no choice. I talked it all over with Tony and Dad. Sometimes he has lucid periods, and we got him on one and he said we didn’t have a choice. He also said Sara was bad news. Andy was different. Andy was a great guy. He constantly made excuses for Sara. I’m not sure if he liked her or not. Even though she wasn’t a blood sister, he treated her like one. I don’t know what else to tell you, Mr. Snowden.”
“Would you consider letting me take that folder if I promise to return it in the same condition you give it to me? I would like to study it. I’m afraid that Sara Windsor Nolan is trying to cheat Andy’s widow. I don’t want that to happen. How much was in the estate?”
“It was quite robust. Dan was a very savvy investor. He made Andy a wealthy man in his own right by investing his salary from the early days in the military. Round numbers, close to $10 million of Andy’s money alone. In addition, the Nolans owned some really pricey property in Montana that they sold to a conglomerate to build a ski resort. They bought it way back in the day for $75,000, made payments on it for years, and planned to retire there one day. They fina
lly sold it for $25,000,000. They left everything to Andy. They did leave a token amount to Sara—$5,000. And now she has it all. And do you know why she has all of it? Years ago, Andy came into the office and made a will. He was being deployed at the time. He left everything to Sara. I am the one who drew up his power of attorney. It was the first one I had ever done. Dad stood over me. I wish to God that that had never happened. Water under the bridge, as they say.
“But to answer your question, sure you can take the folder but be sure to return it. I hate to rush you, but I have to leave now.”
Avery looked up at the tall, lanky man with the infectious grin and thanked him. Ellison laughed out loud. “You’re wondering how someone my height, my weight could have played varsity football, right?” Snowden nodded. “Speed. I was also on the track team. Fleet of foot and all that. I wanted to go the pro route and I had a good chance at it, but then I blew out both my knees, and that’s how I ended up being a lawyer. Listen, call me and keep me updated, okay? I feel like I owe Andy my best, so if there is anything I can do to help you, I will, and there will be no charge.”
The two men shook hands; then Snowden was sitting in his rental staring at the accordion file. He’d actually seen Sara Windsor and hadn’t even known it. He wondered what he would have done had he known it was her when he first laid eyes on her. He made an ugly sound in his throat at where his thoughts were taking him.
Snowden warned himself not to go there, not yet anyway. Soon, though.
Chapter 13
Sara Windsor Nolan, also known under dozens of other aliases, sat down at the kitchen counter on one of the tufted, luxurious stools she’d bought on a whim for $900 a pop. Were they worth $900 each? Probably not. The only reason she bought them was because she could. These days, she could buy anything she wanted anytime she felt like it. She had what she believed was unlimited money, so why not spend it and try to make herself happy? Why not indeed.
But the money did not make her happy. She knew that even if she were the richest person on the planet and had a trillion dollars sitting in a box next to her, she still wouldn’t be happy. The only thing that would or could make her happy was Andy Nolan, and that was never going to happen because Andy Nolan was dead and buried.
Andy had shared his body, his love, his passion with that twit Bella Ames. How was Sara supposed to forget that? There had been other twits before the twit he had married, but they didn’t matter. A series of one-night stands didn’t mean a thing to him, and that’s precisely what Andy had told her. And she believed him. Andy had never lied to her. In fact, Sara doubted that Andy even knew how to lie. He had gone on to explain that every guy had one-night stands. Everyone knew that. Here today and gone tomorrow. They meant nothing.
She let her mind take her back to that week when Andy had visited her in San Francisco and how wonderful it had been. Until the last day when Andy went out to buy some shrimp to cook for dinner and forgot to come home because, as he put it, he’d met the girl of his dreams. She was the one for him. The one he was meant to meet. In a fish store, no less. His soul mate. And wouldn’t you know it was on the day before he was to leave to go to Oklahoma. He was devastated.
All he kept saying was, “You have to meet her, sis. You’ll love her. I love her already, and I just met her a few hours ago. I got her phone number and address. I’m going to try to get back this way before I get my final orders.” He kept gushing about Bella, and all she could do was paste a sick smile on her face as she prayed for Bella whatever her name was to drop dead. That night, though, after Andy fell asleep, she went through his wallet and copied down Andy’s new love’s address, name, and phone number. Information was power.
Even though she had not planned to go to Oklahoma with Andy, she changed her mind at the last second after she learned about Bella from the fish store. Together, they left San Francisco for Oklahoma because there was no way she was going to let Andy out of her sight for even one little minute. She regretted it almost immediately because all Andy did was talk about Bella. It was Bella this and Bella that, and how Bella wasn’t into makeup like Sara was or fancy clothes like Sara wore. She worked hard, was frugal, and she was an orphan, and on and on he blathered until she finally snapped at him, “Enough already, Andy! I had no idea my clothes and makeup offended you,” she screeched. Something she’d never ever done.
Because Andy was good-natured, he took Sara’s comment in stride and toned down his comments, but he did say, “I’m not letting this one get away. We’re meant for each other. I know it, I feel it in every bone of my body. Soon as you meet her, you’ll know what I’m talking about.” Then he added insult to injury, and said, for the umpteenth time, “Sara, my dearest darling sister, you need to find a boyfriend who will love you like I love Bella!” Right then she wanted to throw up and scream at him. I did find him, he’s standing in front of me! It’s you, you fool! Why can’t you see it?
And then the magic was gone. Just like that. That quick, the love was gone to allow hate to seep into her pores. They went to Oklahoma, where she pretended to be glad to see Sonia and Dan, who smiled at her but hugged and kissed Andy till he cried for mercy. Then they returned together to San Francisco, and Andy sought out the faceless Bella for a brief few hours. When Andy returned to her tiny apartment to gather up his things and head to the airport, she knew from the look on his face that he had cemented his relationship with Bella.
Andy had sex written all over his face. How she kept it together she didn’t know, even after all these years. She did, though, and somehow she even managed to smile and wave goodbye and not show how devastated she was when Andy didn’t kiss her goodbye. He did, however, stop in the doorway and blow her an air kiss that she did not return. She knew he didn’t even notice.
Sara tried every trick in her arsenal to find out Bella’s last name from Andy even though she already had the information. She wanted to see what he would say, but he was having none of it. He made it clear that Bella was off-limits, even to her. What she took that to mean was that Andy was saying “I’m not telling you because I don’t want you screwing it up for me.” The realization hurt so bad, Sara thought she was going to bleed.
Andy left, and Sara continued to do what Andy told her to do so many times—she found a boyfriend. After ten years of going from rich boyfriend to rich fiancé to an occasional rich husband and back again to rich boyfriend, she’d lost count of the number of boyfriends and fiancés—dozens. All of them meaningless. Two, she married early on and never bothered to divorce. Both as meaningless to her as her other relationships.
But all of them had money. Which she helped herself to, to line her nest egg. She always made sure to clean out their bank accounts before moving on. Always with a new name and identity.
Until Steven Conover. He was the nicest of all the men she’d filled her life with. She actually liked him. But he wasn’t Andy Nolan. And yet he was by far the richest. Which meant she was now rich. She knew to the penny what her portfolio was worth. High seven figures.
Sara let her mind go back further to Sonia’s and Dan’s deaths, which didn’t bother her in the least. She’d tried to whip up some tears for the benefit of the Olsens, but she simply could not squeeze them out of her dry eyes. She did her duty. She sat in the metal chair in the funeral home, shaking hands with the Nolans’ friends. Andy had been notified but didn’t arrive until after the funeral. He’d cried on her shoulder. Sobbed, actually. She had closed her eyes and let her dreams take hold as she stroked his head and wiped at his tears and kissed his cheek. He’d burrowed against her chest. It felt so good, she thought she was going to black out. Then he’d jumped up and run out of the house.
When he said goodbye to her hours later, he told her he’d gone to the park and called Bella and spent his last hours talking to her. A quick kiss on Sara’s cheek was all she got. Plus his words. “I hate leaving you with this, but I have to get back. You have my power of attorney, do whatever you think I would do. It would be nice if you
could magically double my bank account while I’m gone, because when I finish this tour, I’m going to ask Bella to marry me. We’ll need to buy a house for the kids we plan on having and a truck for me and an SUV for Bella to haul the kids around in. Bella asked me to ask you if you would be her maid of honor. You’re the only family I have, and by extension, Bella’s also. I said you would. My buddy Paul is going to be my best man. If I can get him here, that is.” Andy blew her a kiss, and yelled, “See ya, sis. Pray I get back in one piece.”
She didn’t pray, though. She was too distraught to do that. Andy was going to marry the faceless Bella. Hate blossomed quickly. She had to find a way to get rid of her once and for all. If they got married, then she’d get a Christmas card once a year. Andy would forget about her. He’d have kids. Bella would require all his time. And there she was, not belonging again, left out in the cold, her life as empty as a grocery sack after the groceries were put away. She had money, but money couldn’t make her happy no matter how much she had. She was smart enough to figure that out. The only thing that could ever make her happy was Andy taking her in his arms and saying, “I love you, I love you, I love you!”
Now it seemed like it was never going to happen.
More time went by. Sometimes, it was fast and other times tortoise slow. Communications from the other part of the world were sparse. Sara understood that Andy was fighting a war. He had the rank of major now. He’d risen quickly in the army. She’d tried to find out whatever she could about Bella, but Andy wasn’t sharing anything. He did mention her on occasion. He said she’d moved east and that she liked Washington, D.C. Then he threw what Sara called the mother of all bombs at her. He said he’d wrangled a ride on a cargo plane that was coming Stateside and would be here for two days. He didn’t tell her the dates and there was no way for her to find out, either. Andy said he was calling and apologizing ahead of time for not being able to see her, but he was dragging Bella to a justice of the peace the minute he got off the plane. “We’re finally going to get married, and I want to spend every second with the love of my life.”
Truth and Justice Page 13