McCann's Manor (22 page)

"Hello, Beautiful,” John whispered as he leaned down to kiss her on her forehead.

"Oh, Johnny, dear, forgive me; my mind was somewhere else. Have you been here long?"

He smiled, took her hands, “Not at all, darling. We just arrived."

"We?” she asked, turning to face the women. “Oh! You brought guests. Isn't that nice?"

"These two ladies are Kim and Liz, dear, the ones I told you about."

Her eyes lit with interest at his words and she could have passed for a woman in her mid-sixties. “Oh, yes! I'm so very pleased to meet you. John has spoken well of you. How is the old house treating you? Johnny tells me you found some bodies,” she said, as though finding a corpse was an everyday occurrence.

Kim stepped forward and took her outstretched hand, said, “I'm Kim, Mrs. Tatum. The house is beautiful. The bodies were not so wonderful, but that has been taken care of now."

"You're brave to take on that old house and I'm so glad to meet you both, but you must call me Betty. Everyone does,” she encouraged.

Kim pulled up a chair near Betty and sat in it. Betty eyed first Kim, then Liz a moment, smiled and nodded. “Yes, you're much as I pictured you. Tell me, what do you think of the place, Liz?"

Liz drew another chair up on the opposite side of Betty and joined the other two women. She wished she could ask Betty at least a thousand questions about the house and her own impressions of it, but she instead smiled and said, “I am so amazed by the place that I don't know where to start."

"Exactly the way I always felt about it; good to hear, because I know by your answer, you love the house as I did. You will be good for each other. Are you comfortable there? Is there anything you need?” she asked.

"So much more than just comfortable,” Kim said. “We can feel your love for the house."

Betty nodded. “Everyone thought I was crazy for loving it so, but after I'd seen it, there was no place else I wanted to call home. That was the feeling—like I had come home. Leonard never cared for the place, but he saw the possibility of making money with the land and the Actor's Guild, so he indulged me."

"It is a remarkable place,” Liz agreed. “I'm glad you loved it all those years."

"I still do, you know. That's the reason I wanted someone to try to heal the spirit of the place. Our friend Mr. McCann seems to have been able to capture love and put it into the very walls of the house.” She smiled, put her hand over her mouth to stifle a chuckle. “Oh, my! What I meant was the house became the
embodiment
of his love for his lady friend—not that he sealed her inside the walls! What did you say her name was, Johnny?"

"Constance, darling,” he responded.

"Constance. How very much he must have loved her. I'd have liked to have known him."

"I know what you mean,” Liz said. “He was a remarkable man."

Betty studied Liz's face with the discernment equaled by few. “You've
seen
him, haven't you?"

Liz fidgeted with her purse strap. “Yes, I have."

She nodded, “He was a brooding hulk of a man, was he not?"

"You saw him, too?” Kim asked.

Betty beamed, lowered her head as though amused by a private joke as she spoke, “I saw him a number of times. He was so kind and gentle seeming, yet so plagued by sorrow. Passion burned in his eyes, like Heathcliff of
Wuthering Heights
. I always felt so impressed by him."

Liz nodded. “I know what you mean. I was quite taken by his presence,” she said.

John leaned against the wall, cleared his throat. “Wow, sounds like you're in love with him, Liz."

Liz grimaced at John. “Well, I wouldn't go
that
far—but he was an interesting man, I'm sure,” she said.

John shrugged, “Must still be; all the women in my life seem to find him
quite
irresistible."

Betty cocked her head as she looked at John, then admonished, “Johnny, dear, don't be jealous of a dead man. It doesn't become you."

"Jealous of—I am nothing of the kind,” John protested.

Betty smiled at John, then turned her attention back to the women. “Yes, I do believe Ben McCann could have been quite the charmer, had he been able to forget Constance and get on with his life."

"Ah, yes—unrequited love—isn't it the stuff dreams are made of, though?” Liz mused.

"Only bad dreams, dear,” Betty said. “Real dreams are made of true love which is returned and shared."

Kim shook her head and sighed. “Not too many of us know that, except in our heads, Betty. I'm glad you found yours."

Betty smiled and nodded, then seemed to drift off a while before remembering her guests. “I know I am one of the fortunate ones. Leonard and I shared a love most only dream of having. He was so handsome and dashing; he quite swept me off my feet."

Liz watched Betty's eyes as the older woman spoke of her husband. Had there been any doubts as to Betty's fidelity, they would have vanished as Liz listened to her words. Here was a woman who had loved and loved so well it brought her contentment even after thirty-plus years of widowhood. Incredible.

"Now, you girls need to know a couple of things,” Betty said as she snapped back to the moment. “John said I should wait to tell you all this, but I am so certain you're the right ones to do the job that I am going to stick my neck out and
spill all the beans
. I want you to treat the house as if it's your own, because in a few short months, it will be. In other words, feel free to make any decorating changes or other adjustments you need to make. You have my complete blessing to move things around, add to or change the color scheme—whatever."

"That is very generous, Betty,” Liz began, “but I tend to agree with John—these things can wait."

"No. Now don't argue with me about this—I have a very stubborn streak and I believe I have seniority here—besides, there's no sense in your paying to keep your belongings in storage when you can have them with you,” Betty said, raising her voice a bit for emphasis.

John cleared his throat again, smiled and waved his hand for Betty to continue.

"There; that's a good boy. Since I don't have any living heirs, I have arranged for the person or persons who can heal the house to inherit it—
and, I might add
—I believe you two are the ones to do that job, so let's not beat around the bush about this.” She paused, waited for any further arguments, but hearing none, continued, “What John hasn't told you is that I also have holdings in California, Iowa, Vermont and France—as well as a healthy bank account. These also will be yours after you have been living in McCann Manor for one full year."

Kim gasped, shot a glance at Liz, who was listening with an open mouth and glazed eyes. Both were silent. Betty continued, “I see you're overwhelmed by this news, and I suppose I can't blame you. There are a couple of conditions to all this
generosity
of mine,” she chuckled. “I should like to visit McCann Manor for a few weeks or longer, once you have completed your end of the bargain.” She looked at both Kim and Liz, waited for a reaction.

Liz found her tongue at last and spoke first, “I don't think that is at all an unreasonable request, Betty. In fact, if it pleases you, we'd like for you to come live there with us as long as you'd like."

Liz's statement seemed to shock John and Betty, but Kim chimed in her agreement before anyone else could speak, “Of course, we would! That's a wonderful idea. The house is huge and there is absolutely no reason why you shouldn't be able to stay there as long as you want."

Betty smiled and said, “I don't really expect to be around that much longer, but I will most certainly take you up on your cordial invitation—and we shall see how long you can stand to have me around."

"You would probably tire of us long before we grew weary of you,” Liz said. “At any rate, we have ourselves a deal."

"Yes, we have,” Betty agreed. “And what does my learned lawyer think of our agreement?"

John closed his mouth, managed to bring himself to an erect position, “I think you are all daffy, since you asked. Three grown women all living in the same house—it sounds a bit like a nightmare to me, but if that's what you all want, who am I to argue with you?"

"Oh, you're such a sensible lad, Johnny. You always know when it will do no good to argue. Your father and I did well to send you to law school! I'm glad I suggested it,” she boasted.

John pursed his lips, but said nothing.

Liz smiled at John, who resumed his stance leaning against the wall. She liked it when he acted like a pouting child. “You suggested John go to law school?"

"Oh, yes. Our family lawyer was getting old and Johnny knew almost as much about my family's business as Andrew did.” Betty said. “The boy was quite bright and I thought he would be a natural. Problem was, he wanted to be an actor, like his father, and so we made the bargain that I would be his sole client. That way, he would still have time to act because my legal affairs aren't all that demanding."

"Right!” John said snidely.

"Well, dear, at the time I didn't think they would be. As it turned out, I have been a very demanding client, though it was through no fault of my own. I did tell you if I became too much of a burden, it was all right to drop me,” Betty pouted.

"Too much of a burden? You? Never, darling!” John reassured her.

She beamed at him, reached again for his hand, “You are such a dear to me, Johnny."

"You're the dear. I'm a dolt so much of the time."

"A dolt? Not at all. You girls know that Johnny was almost my son-in-law, don't you?"

Liz nodded, “Yes, he mentioned that."

"And a fine son-in-law he would have been. Too bad.” Betty drifted off into her own thoughts again.

John took a deep breath, felt the awkwardness of the moment as it settled around them. He stared at the floor, but didn't speak.

Betty reached for Liz's hand, gave it a squeeze and placed it into John's hand, “But you have questions, don't you, Liz?"

Liz smiled at John and pulled her hand back into her lap. She thought a moment before she spoke, wondered how much more awkward things would get if she asked the questions she wanted to ask, “Well, yes, but I don't want to make you feel uncomfortable."

"Nonsense,” Betty protested. “If anything I can tell you will help, you shouldn't hesitate to ask."

Liz wondered how much this precious old soul could stand to bear. Should she ask about Missy's story about her father's death? Should she even tell Betty she had been contacted by Missy? Liz looked at John, who shrugged but offered no help. “You are a very perceptive woman, Betty,” she ventured.

"Old women usually are, my dear. We have so much more time to listen to the voices in our minds, you know,” she said. “Go on; ask me whatever you will."

"Missy's spirit has been visiting me, Betty,” Liz began, waited, but registered no surprise on the older woman's face. “She told me the story about watching her father being shot by an intruder."

Betty nodded, “Yes, the man she called Ptarmigan—she never changed her story, not even one iota. She couldn't understand why a man like Leonard would take his own life. To her, her father had everything a man could want and there was no understanding his suicide."

"She
is
convincing in her story. Is there no one you can think of who might have wanted Leonard dead?” Liz asked.

"Of course, there were several who might have
wanted
him dead—none of them matched her description of the man she said she saw. John looked more like Ptarmigan than anyone else, but Johnny was in Boston and there was no way he could have—or
would have
—done damage to Leonard,” Betty answered.

Kim nodded, asked, “Missy told Liz she went upstairs to wake you after she knew her father was dead. We have been wondering why you didn't hear the shot and come down before Missy went to get you."

"I was always a light sleeper. Leonard was an incurable insomniac, and so to make sure I was able to rest at night with him roaming the house, I used earplugs—still do, as a matter of fact. Also, I was taking a prescription sedative. I had lost a child not too long before—one of those mid-life babies, you know—and I needed a little extra help going to sleep. Between the earplugs and the pills, I wouldn't have heard a shot if it had happened right in the bedroom with me,” Betty explained.

"I see,” Kim said, “No one told us about your miscarriage."

"I don't think anyone knew, not even Leonard. I asked my doctor not to tell because I didn't want to upset anyone. I was finishing filming in Canada and I keeled over on the set. I hadn't told anyone I was pregnant because I had lost several other babies and I didn't want Leonard to get his hopes up again before I knew I could carry it to full term. No one suspected I had a miscarriage; my health was quite fragile at the time and I was given to fainting spells whenever the stress got too high. We didn't know then I was diabetic, which explained a multitude of the symptoms I was having, including the miscarriages, because my lifestyle and diet weren't exactly healthful for someone with diabetes. We didn't know so many things about health back then, compared to what we know now."

Liz caught the surprise in John's eyes and knew this was all news to him. “Were you aware of the secret passage by the library?"

Betty shook her head. “We knew there were passages, but we never found any of them; Leonard thought McCann's secrets should remain secrets. I suspect Missy may have found some of them, though I'm sure she didn't find them all,” she said.

"Did Missy show any signs of multiple personality disorder
before
Leonard's death?” Kim asked.

Betty thought about the question a moment, then shook her head, “I'm not aware of anything. She was a sensitive child and had an active imagination. I suppose many of the things she said she saw could have been pure illusions, although I also saw many of the same things she did."

"Did she ever see Ben McCann?” Liz asked.

Betty smiled at Liz. “She never mentioned him, although I would be surprised had she not seen him from time to time."

"Why is that?” Liz asked.