Dying Scream (20 page)

Adrianna shook her head. “Friendship and family take time, I suppose. We share blood, but no history. And we’re different in a lot of ways.”

Kendall sipped her coffee but her gaze was like a laser. “What do you mean?”

“You are so direct. You cut to the chase. You ask for everything you want, whereas I scramble around trying to please everyone and keep the peace. I can’t imagine you in my kind of mess.”

Kendall laughed. “I’ve made my share of mistakes. Just ask my husband. And the wanting-to-please-others thing is very common in adult adoptees.”

“I didn’t know I was adopted. My parents lied, remember?”

Kendall dropped her voice a notch. “Oh, come on. Are you telling me you didn’t know on some level that you weren’t born to the Barringtons? I bet you can look back and find a few moments when you stopped and thought: I just don’t fit here.”

Adrianna pinched a piece from her muffin, hesitant to voice this long-held secret. “Maybe. A couple of times. Okay, more than a few times. But doesn’t every kid think she was dropped off by the gypsies at some point?”

Kendall ignored the joke. “When did you feel like you didn’t belong?”

The words tightened around her throat like a noose. “I can see why you became a reporter.”

Kendall shrugged. “You’re dodging the question.”

“I know.”

Kendall waited, letting the silence do her coaxing.

Adrianna met her gaze. “Nothing ever felt right when Mom was in one of her depressions. I just couldn’t imagine how I’d come from her. On my worst day, I couldn’t understand Mom’s moods. And I was so much taller than Mom, even taller than Dad. And Dad was so sick with his diabetes. I never had any of their health problems.”

Kendall nodded, satisfied. “Anything else?”

“I was about twelve and needed a stapler for a project I was working on. I went into Dad’s home office and opened the front desk drawer because I knew that’s where he kept it. That’s when I found a picture of Dad standing by Mom. She was holding a newborn. He looked so happy and so did she. I never ever remembered seeing them that happy around me. It was as if a different couple raised me.”

“Their baby’s death changed them.”

“The other Adrianna.”

“Jacob investigated the death himself. The family doctor confirmed she died of crib death.”

Adrianna tapped her finger on the side of her cup. “You ever suspect there was more to a story even when the evidence was to the contrary?”

Kendall’s lips tipped into a smile. “Sure.”

“That’s where I am with this. I just sense something happened.”

“Do you want me to talk to Jacob?”

“And tell him what? That I have a feeling? No. There’s no reason to tell him anything.”

“There’s got to be someone in that house who knew about the switch.”

“The housekeeper, Estelle, who just about raised me was hired when I was three months old.”

“After the switch?”

“Yeah.”

“What about neighbors? My parents’ old neighbors helped me with my search. You’d be surprised what people in the neighborhood know.”

“I could ask Estelle again.”

Kendall tapped a manicured finger on the side of her cup. “If you need help doing a little unofficial digging, I’m your girl.”

“I appreciate that. I really do. But this is something I’ve got to do for myself.”

“I get that.”

Adrianna shook her head. “My whole life is based on so many lies.”

“Your mother should have told you. You had a right to know about your past, your biology. But I do believe she loves you. My own adoptive mother kept secrets, but I realize now she did it out of love for me.”

Anger burned in her belly. “Mom didn’t keep her secrets out of love. Fear motivated her. And regardless, I should have been told.”

“Agreed.”

Adrianna sat back in her chair. As furious as she was, she maintained a deep loyalty to her mother. A full-blooded sister still didn’t trump a lifetime of memories. “This conversation has gone a little deeper than I’d planned.”

Kendall opened her mouth to speak and then closed it. She laughed. “Sorry. It is hard to turn off the reporter in my brain. Speaking of which, how goes it at the Thornton estate?”

“It’s not. All work has stopped for now.”

“Jacob’s not saying a word on this one.”

“Why not?”

“Our connection.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. We all have priorities.”

For the first time Adrianna heard a hint of sadness in her sister’s voice.

“I don’t want this to get in between you and Jacob.”

“It won’t. We’re stronger than that.”

“I envy you. Your marriage.” Adrianna fiddled with her muffin but didn’t eat it.

“You’ll find it one day.”

“Thanks.” Adrianna thought she had at one time with Gage. But she’d been wrong. “Detective Hudson just informed me that Craig was having an affair with his secretary.”

Kendall shook her head. “I’m really sorry.”

“I don’t believe it.”

Kendall arched a brow.

“Yeah, that’s the same look Hudson gave me. But I’m not wrong about this. Craig was a fool when it came to money, but he did love me.”

“Okay.”

“You want to hear something really crazy?”

“Sure.”

“I dated Hudson four years ago.”

Kendall’s mouth dropped open, her shock undeniable. “Say that again.”

“It was the summer I broke up with Craig. We dated that whole summer.”

“Wow.”

“Yeah.”

“Why’d you break up?”

“He worked a great deal of the time. Kind of obsessed with his cases. As much as he wanted to spend time with me, he wanted to work more.”

“I can see that happening. Cases can get under their skin.”

“He called last minute one Friday. Cancelled so he could keep working. It was the third time in a row and I’d made a gourmet meal. I was so mad. So hurt. I was tired of being last on the priority list.”

“You let him have it?”

“No. And I should have. Maybe if we’d had a knock-down drag-out fight I could have cleared the air. But I didn’t say a word. And then Craig called. He was so sweet it was easy to forget why we’d broken up. I invited him to dinner. I broke up with Gage a few days later.”

Kendall sat back in her chair, her amazed shock palpable. “That couldn’t have been easy.”

“No.” Gage had been so wrapped in anger and frustration he’d barely been able to talk. She could barely finish what she had to say before she bolted from his office.

Gratefully, Kendall didn’t ask for the details. “And now he’s investigating a murder on Thornton land.”

“Small world.”

“Gage is a fair man,” Kendall said. “He’ll do the job right.”

“I know.”

“Do you still have feelings for Gage?”

Adrianna all but stuttered out a forced, “No.”

Kendall studied her a beat. “You sure?”

“Yes!”

“I saw the sizzle in the room between you two at the estate.”

“I’ve no feelings for him.”

“Okay. But if you want to talk about him or any of this, know you can and it will stay between us.”

“Thanks.”

“It’s what sisters do.”

“You know, I have no idea what being a sister entails.”

“Frankly, neither do I. But I hear from friends that it involves borrowing clothes, gossiping about men, and having the occasional fight.”

Adrianna smiled. “I’ve heard a sister is the one person you can tell to go to hell in one breath and then ask to borrow a quarter from in the next.”

Kendall flashed even white teeth. “I’ll add that to the list.”

“List?”

“I’ve been reading up on sisterhood and keeping a list of bits of wisdom.”

If her own mother had been honest about her adoption, then maybe she might have sought Kendall out years ago. “I’m afraid I haven’t given us a lot of thought.”

“You’ve been up to your neck in bigger problems. I get that. And I don’t want to add to your problems, like I’m one more person you have to worry about.” Kendall sounded as if she genuinely meant it.

“Thank you.”

“For what?”

“Just being here. Talking. It’s nice to sit down and just talk.”

They chatted for a few moments and when it came time to leave, Kendall paused. “Do you think you should tell Gage about those flowers? This is the behavior of a stalker.”

Adrianna grinned, determined to convince them both there was nothing to really worry about. “I don’t have a stalker.”

“Don’t be so sure about that.”

Chapter Fourteen

Thursday, September 28, 2:00 p.m.

“Just have Dr. Gregory call me,” Gage said. He parked on East Broad Street in front of an old building that had been divided into small offices.

“No doctor?” Vega said.

“He’s with a patient. Nurse said he’d call back in a couple of hours.”

“Why do you want to talk to him? It’s not a great shock that Thornton died.”

“Adrianna said the doctors expected him to live another ten years. And then he just died in his sleep.”

“You think she had something to do with it?”

“No. But someone else might have.”

“Who?”

“The million-dollar question, my friend.”

Vega glanced at the building beside them. “This is the address Dr. Heckman gave?”

“Yep.” They crossed the street and into the old building that smelled of must and garbage. The lobby floor tile was cracked and coated in years of grim and the overhead lights were dead or dying.

Vega punched the elevator button, but the car never came. “Figures it doesn’t work. What floor is he on?”

“Fifth.”

“Damn.”

In silence they climbed the dim staircase and followed the numbers on the wall until they found 504, the suite number on the card.

Vega brushed his hands as if trying to rid himself of the place’s filth. “I can’t believe he works in a place like this.”

“Fitting, if you ask me.”

Dr. Heckman’s voice echoed from the office. “Have him call me at once. You have my number? I left it the last few times I called. Good, right, well, tell him to call. It’s urgent.”

Gage pushed open the door and they found Dr. Heckman sitting behind an old desk piled high with papers, journals, and books. Behind him were signs that read SAVE THE DEAD. The room smelled of pastrami.

The old man glanced up and peered over his glasses. “Detectives.”

Gage wondered if the guy had ever had a visitor in this office. “Had a few more questions.”

“Sure. Would you like to sit?” A large mustard stain darkened the lapel of his jacket.

Gage glanced at the rickety chairs filled with more books, papers, and trash. “We’ll stand.”

Dr. Heckman knitted his fingers together in a tight hold. “Have you moved the graves?”

“No, sir, everyone’s where we left ’em.”

Some tension eased from the old man. “Thank goodness. Why the visit?”

“Wonder if you could tell me a little about Frances Thornton and the folks closest to her son Craig.”

“Mrs. Thornton was a wonderful woman. Graceful. Beautiful. Dedicated to her family and the Thornton legacy.”

“How’d you two meet?”

“We’ve known each other for years. We met through the historical society. I also knew her late husband, Robert.”

“So you kept up all these years?”

“No. Separate paths and lives. I only came back into her life a few years ago.”

“Why?”

He adjusted his glasses. “We met at a museum function by accident. We struck up our old friendship. We both love history and family legacies.” Dr. Heckman rattled off mundane facts about their meetings. The common thread was history.

Gage wondered how accidental Dr. Heckman’s meeting with Frances Thornton had been. “Frances Thornton cared a lot about the Thornton name?”

The old man’s eyes glistened. “It meant everything to her. Everything.”

“She’d have done just about anything to protect it?”

Dr. Heckman blinked, considered the question. “She would have done what was necessary to save that grand family.”

Did necessary mean murder? “What about Adrianna? She as dedicated to the family?”

Dr. Heckman’s eyes lost their momentary spark. “She has proven to be a poor steward of the land. All you have to do is look at the house to see she doesn’t care.”

“Her hands have been mighty full these last couple of years.”

“A place like the Colonies needs love and attention, just like people.”

“What’s it cost to run the Colonies?”

“Money shouldn’t be a factor.”

Vega lifted his gaze from a pile of old magazines. “It is when you don’t have it.”

Dr. Heckman shrugged.

“So you’re not happy about Mazur buying the place.”

“He’s going to ruin it all.”

Vega sniffed. “He’s restoring the house. Gonna cost him some real money.”

“Adrianna Thornton could have found a way to save that house. She could have kept it in the family.”

“She’s not a Thornton anymore.” Gage delivered the words with an unintended force.

Vega tossed him a quick glance, then focused on Dr. Heckman. “Got any pictures of the Thorntons? I keep hearing names but can’t picture anyone.”

He frowned, turned to a pile of random papers, and started to dig. After a few minutes of searching, he found an old black-and-white. “It was taken on Frances and Robert’s wedding day.”

Gage studied the picture. The image caught him off guard. Frances was a stunning woman, as regal as Adrianna. Robert, however, was a short man, with a stocky build. He studied the wedding party and a woman on the right caught his attention. “This Margaret Barrington?”

“Yes. But her last name was Young then. The Youngs and Thorntons went way back. Margaret and Frances went to school together. Margaret introduced Frances to Robert.”

“They stay friends?” Gage said.

“All their lives. Margaret was at Frances’s side when she passed.”

Gage studied the crowd of smiling faces behind the wedding couple. The Wellses stood in the background. “Mind if I keep this for a while?”

“If you return it.”

“Oh, I will.” Gage carefully slid the picture in his breast pocket. He thought about the tail end of Dr. Heckman’s call. Gut instinct had him saying, “You realize I’m trying to keep this quiet. I don’t want a bunch of curiosity seekers in that crime scene.”