She Waits (26 page)

"I can tell you're not a morning person," I said softly and for a moment, she grinned and leaned into me. I could feel her warm body close to mine. I swallowed with difficulty and didn't trust my voice at that moment. She was like a zombie as I guided her back to her room.

"In you go," I said.

"Mornings are not my best time," she whispered and crawled back into bed.

As I pulled the covers over her, she looked up through sleepy eyes. "No going out. Stay in the house." She yawned and snuggled into the covers.

"Yes, doctor, now go back to sleep," I said.

As I turned away, she reached for my hand.

"I do appreciate all you're doing. Truly I do," she whispered tiredly.

I looked down at her sleepy face. She looked so young and so peaceful. Before I knew what I was doing, I bent down and gently kissed her forehead. As I pulled back, she sighed and pulled the covers up to her neck. Yes, I noticed the slight grin as she cuddled the blanket to her.

"Go back to sleep," I whispered and gently tucked the covers around her, desperately trying to ignore my racing heartbeat.

Mac was in the kitchen reading the paper and drinking coffee. He looked up and smiled. "Good morning. Teri's still sleeping. How are you feeling?"

I poured a cup and sat across from him. "Fine and good morning. I don't suppose Steve called?"

"Nope, not yet. He will."

"Mac, he's got to solve this soon. I feel like we're so close."

"I know. I thought for sure he would have called already. Well, it's early."

I was making breakfast, again, when Hannah came into the kitchen.

"Good morning all," she said in a quiet voice. She looked a bit haggard.

"Sit, Hannah, I'm making breakfast," I said.

Hannah sat next to Mac. I poured coffee for all of us. They both talked absently and I tried unsuccessfully to not think about Sarah.

Mac nudged me and I looked up. "Okay Sherlock, what's on your mind?"

"I was thinking about Sarah. What was she arguing about with Jonathon? The notes said the Winfield Clinic. What was the big deal? It's a clinic. But Bedford said, 'there goes her meal ticket.' Okay, then it's a big deal. If it was Sarah and Nathan's meal ticket and Jonathon was taking away the meal, that's a motive. And you did say they were running through money like shi... well, they were running through money. Right, Hannah?"

"Yes, they are," she said sounding very tired. "Sarah loves to spend."

I thought of Allison's comment yesterday about her compensation. "How was Sarah going to compensate Allison for being a dupe if she had no excess money?"

"I don't know, dear," Hannah said.

"I missed that yesterday. What is Allison's deal?" Mac asked.

"Well, it appears Sarah was telling her I was the one who was causing all the problems and she wanted Allison to stay close to Maggie to protect her," I said and thought about it. "Once again, we're back to Maggie, dammit. This is annoying."

I looked out the kitchen window. It was a cold and rainy, blustering fall day. "Maggie," I said, thoughtfully. "What did she have to do with that clinic? She had no money invested in it. She doesn't work there. Because she was family, and Jonathan died, she was now on the Board of Directors. Big deal."

"It's not only the seat on the Board, dear. Once Jonathon's will is out of probate, she'll have controlling ownership of the Winfield Clinic."

I looked at Hannah and, for the first time, like an idiot, thought about Maggie's inheritance. "What about his company? Who gets that?"

"Well, Charlie works there, I think he's in there somewhere, but Maggie is his sole heir. But it has always been that way. And of course, she has her own money from Alexander, so Margaret doesn't need the Clinic or Jonathon's company. I'm not quite sure what she's planning. With all this, we've never even talked about it."

My mind raced as I thought of a possibility. "Hannah, what happens if something happens to Maggie? What happens to the company and the clinic?"

Hannah thought for a moment. "Because of the complexity of the family business and the clinic, I believe it would be as it was with my father. The bulk of his estate went to Jonathon, who in turn would leave it to his heir. It as my understanding if anything happened to Margaret, who is without an heir, it would revert to the next surviving male heir..." her voice trailed off as she frowned in contemplation.

"And that would be Nathan," I said.

We sat in silence for a moment.

"I never realized how wealthy Maggie is. Wow, so she's loaded," I said jokingly, trying to lighten the sudden dark turn this was taking.

Hannah gave me a superior look. "No wonder Allison needs Margaret so desperately," she said with more than a trace of sarcasm. "What Margaret needs is someone to love." She was still sporting a superior look as she smiled sweetly.

Maggie came into the kitchen. "Good morning." She apparently tried to sound cheery though she looked exhausted.

"G'morning," I said and noticed her sad eyes.

She sat at the table and said nothing. Mac nudged her. "You okay?" he asked and she nodded.

I poured a cup of coffee and put it in front of her. She looked up and smiled. "Thanks."

"Margaret, what's wrong? You look terrible, dear," her aunt asked.

Maggie took a deep breath. "I had a horrible dream. Like the dreams I had when I was young, about being chased through the woods, but I couldn't see a face. I just kept running." She stopped and put her hands over her face.

I pulled up a chair and sat next to her. "Maggie," I whispered and put my hand on her shoulder.

She sobbed and, suddenly, she threw her arms around my neck. I was shocked at first and didn't know what to do. She cried mournfully into my neck and I put my arms around her and held her tight.

"Hey, Maggie, it's okay," I said. "It was only a dream. Don't worry, we'll get this thing solved and you won't have bad dreams anymore. I promise." My hand found its way to her soft wavy hair. I gently smoothed it back off her face.

She clung to me for a moment then pulled away, completely embarrassed. "I am
so
sorry." I handed her a napkin. She smiled and dried her eyes.

"Don't apologize," I said. "I'm glad I had a shoulder." I smiled and gave her an encouraging hug.

With breakfast finished, we sat in the den not knowing what to do next. Then the phone rang and Maggie nearly flew to it. Thankfully, it was Steve. Maggie handed me the phone.

"Good morning, Kate. I haven't been able to locate Sarah, but I did talk to Nathan. He's still in Dubuque. He's coming back tomorrow."

"Did you tell him about Sarah, and Bedford's notebook?" I asked and leaned against the desk. It was then I noticed Allison standing in the doorway talking to Maggie. Where did she come from?

"I did not. I didn't want to tell him over the phone. He has no idea where Sarah is. I tried to call her this morning and left a message. My deputy has been patrolling the estate and he's calling in periodically. So far, all is normal. Last night, the lights were on, but that doesn't mean she was home."

"Why don't you go get her?" I asked and suddenly had a nervous feeling in the pit of my stomach.

"I drove by and she wasn't there. Kate, I hear the impatient tone in your voice. Sarah, until proven one way or the other, is a very prominent figure in this community. I can't go around harassing her."

"Steve, you're not harassing her. You're questioning her. And as for prominent figures, doesn't Maggie count as one of those? I mean the poor woman has been scared to death on more than one occasion. Bedford's dead and now we're talking about Miranda
and
Jonathon having been killed." I stole a glance at Allison, who, with Maggie, was listening intently to my side of the conversation.

"Kate, I know what you're saying. Please let me do my job and I'll call you when I've contacted Sarah."

He was so calm and he sounded so like the hospital psychiatrist, I wanted to strangle him, too. "Okay, I'm sorry. I'm a little impatient. We'll wait for your call." I hung up the phone, calmly.

Allison sat on the couch with Maggie. "I take it he didn't talk to Aunt Sarah," Maggie said.

"No, he'll talk to her today. He
did
talk to your uncle. He'll be back tomorrow." I looked at Allison and wondered what she was telling Sarah, if anything. "You haven't seen Sarah, have you?" I admit I had an accusatory tone.

She glared slightly. "No, Kate. I have not seen her at all."

"My advice is for you to go home and, if she calls, tell Steve. He's looking for her to answer a few questions." I was hesitant because I still didn't trust her not to alert Sarah.

"Well, I can't go home. I have a business to run and it's my busy time of year," she said in a challenging tone. I could tell she still considered me a threat to Maggie. "So, on that note," she said and stood, "I'll get back to the shop."

Maggie put her hand on Allison's arm. "Al, this is serious. We don't know what's going to happen. Please, just listen to Kate, promise me."

Allison walked over to her and affectionately cupped her face in her hands. "I like you worrying about me, Mags." She caressed her cheek and then kissed her on the lips.

It didn't appear to me as if Dr. Winfield minded in the least.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Maggie had gone up to her room. The rest of us sat by the fire. I stared at the flames. "This waiting is killing me. I feel helpless," I said and ran my fingers through my hair, letting out a groan.

"It's okay. You've come up with quite a bit. We just have to figure out why someone wants Maggie out of the way." Teri smiled hopefully.

"Is that all?" I asked. "Well, I don't think I could've gotten
this
far without you," I said, meaning every word.

"We'll bill you later," Mac said with a wink. "Better yet, we get to use your cabin for a month."

"Mac, I couldn't love you more if you were my own brother." Then I stopped dead in my tracks.
My own brother
. "I'll be a sonofabitch!"

They both gave me a worried look. "Okay, stay with me. All this time we've been hearing how Nathan's picture was in Miranda's locket. No one wanted to come out and say Nathan and Miranda were having an affair. If they couldn't say that, then they'd never be able to face the obvious conclusion."

I retrieved the photo album and handed it to Mac. "Mac, pick out who you think is Maggie's father." Teri stared at me.

"Okay." He started to leaf through the photos of aunts, uncles, relatives and friends. There were a lot of men from which to choose. He looked for five minutes and shook his head. "I couldn't even guess. Maggie doesn't look like any of them. Well, maybe this guy." He turned the album around. There was an old black and white photo of a skinny young man, perhaps in his twenties.

"We must not have seen that one. I wonder who it is." I gently took the photo out of its place and turned it over. I was shocked. I thought I might be right, but never believed it. I handed it to Teri who looked like someone socked her in the gut. She handed it to Mac.

He stared at the writing on the back and said slowly, "Nathan's 21st birthday, July 1961."

We all sat and stared at the photo. In the distance, I heard the phone ring. My stomach flipped. I hoped it was Steve.

"Kate, do you know what this means?" Teri whispered.

I merely nodded. I put the photo back and closed the album. "I'll be a sonofabitch."

Hannah came back into the room and sat down. "Where the heck did you disappear to?" I asked. "I heard the phone. Was it Steve?"

"No, dear. It was Allison. She--"

Maggie walked in just then, looking a little worn. "Look, I'm going to go out for a while. Don't worry I'll be back in an hour or so."

Hannah said nothing as I looked at her, then Maggie. "Whoa. We need to talk. I don't think it's a good idea for you to go off alone right now. Where are you going?"

"Can't I even go out by myself? Do I need your permission? Christ, I don't need a chaperone. I'm just going out for an hour and I'll be right back for Christ's sake," she said with a caustic bite.

I stared at her with my mouth open. "Hey, hey, don't get snotty with me. I just asked. Have you forgotten what's happening around here?" I started sarcastically then stopped. "Look, you do whatever you want. You're going to anyway," I said and threw up my hands in resignation.

"You--" she growled. "I will be back in an hour," she said angrily and stormed out.

We heard the front door slam and the car engine rev. The tires screamed as she pulled away.

I stood staring at the front door. "Want to tell me what in the hell just happened?" I asked.

Mac and Teri sat dumfounded.

Hannah played with her ring. She said, not looking at me, "She went to Allison." She coughed nervously, and said, "I, uh, listened on the extension."

Teri put her hand to her mouth. Mac smothered a grin. I gave her a shocked look.

"You what? Hannah! Shame on you," I said in a stern voice.

We all sat there for a moment.

Finally, I looked at her. "Well, where did she go?" I asked casually.

"Allison's antique shop," she said.

"She could have told us that. I don't care where she goes; it's none of my business. I just didn't want her going off by herself, that's all. She said she'd be back in an hour," I said and looked at my watch, "Okay, it's three-thirty."

I got up, poured myself another cup of coffee and sat down. "I mean it's none of my business where she goes. I don't care."

"You already said that," Mac said.

"I know what I said," I said quickly. "Do I look like I don't know what I'm saying?"

"No, no, not at all," Teri said.

"Well, then, let's forget it shall we? What the hell was I saying anyway?" I asked.

"Nathan and Miranda," Mac said.

"Okay, right."

I looked at Hannah and told her what I was thinking and what happened with the photo of Nathan. She listened, amazed, and looked at all three of us.

"Let me see that picture," Hannah said urgently.

Mac handed it to her.

She stared at it with tears in her eyes. "This was right before he and Walt went to med school. I remember taking this picture." She looked up at me. "Kate, can this be possible?"