Half Past Mourning (17 page)

Nina hadn’t thought about how draining the trip would be. Traveling in the sheriff’s car wouldn’t be much of a treat, either, encumbered as it was with his equipment and set up for transporting suspects rather than young schoolteachers. “It sounds pretty grim...”

Peter dropped into the chair beside her. “Look, let’s make it easy, shall we? You and I will drive over in my Merc, plan to stay in the city for the night, and come back Thursday morning.” He took her hand, and the stroke of his thumb along her palm was somehow comforting. “This is liable to be another stretch for you, Nina, and you’ve had about enough of those lately. The drive in the morning won’t be bad, but this time of year, coming back, it’s going to be like driving through an oven. And you’re going to be frazzled from getting with the lawyers. No matter how well it goes, that meeting isn’t going to be a walk in the park for you. Let’s make this one as easy for you as we can, shall we? Stay over and have a quiet dinner and get a fresh start the next morning?”

The sheriff interrupted before Nina could answer. “Good thinking, boy. I’ll have to come back, but there’s no reason Nina should be put through that kind of a wringer. You plan to drive her over, and we’ll meet up at that lawyer’s office. Soon as we wind up that business, I’ll be heading back.” He turned his attention back to Nina. “Mebbe have a means of getting in touch with that missing husband of yours. An official search this time; not something to concern yourself with, Nina, till I get some results. You can take your time coming back.” The sheriff flicked the brim of his hat, removing a speck of imaginary dust, and looked pleased with himself.

“I don’t know,” Nina began. “If we find out where Danny is, I should be where I can talk to him or...” She looked at the two men opposite and saw refusal written in both faces. “No? You don’t think I could help?”

Al Hayes crossed his arms across his narrow chest and glared. “I’ll take care of the talking when we find Danny Wilson. I think the first thing we better find out is if selling that car involved any shenanigans that concern this office. Once I’m clear on that, he can talk to you or Marigold or President Eisenhower, for all I care. But I get him first, missy, so you might just as well take Shayne’s invitation and have yourself a little escape from all this.”

Nina’s hand felt warm and reassured, tucked into Peter’s larger paw. He stroked it as he turned to face her. “Did you tell the sheriff about running into your friend Paula King last night?”

Shocked at the suggestion, she sent Peter a glowering stare. “I don’t see any reason to bring it up.”

Peter’s fingertips brushed her cheek. “I know, sweetheart, I know you don’t want to repeat what she said, but it’s information that covers another aspect of that last day. The sheriff needs to know everything that was going on in Danny’s mind, every plan he made, so he can figure out what really happened. You need to tell him, Nina.”

Boots thumped across the floor and Sheriff Hayes rested a firm grip on Nina’s shoulder. “If you’ve learned something more about the way Danny spent the last couple of days before he left, I do need to know it, Nina. What’s up?”

With more reluctance than she could conceal, Nina shared the story that Paula had told her the night before. “But, Sheriff, Paula doesn’t know what happened any more than I do. She’s just another woman who fell for Danny.” Nina stared down into her lap. “Heaven knows there must have been a host of women who fit that description. Paula wasn’t unique, she’s just the last we know about. And she’s suffering the torments of the damned right now, feeling like she’s lost a friend, done a terrible thing to me. I don’t think she can add anything to what you know, Sheriff.”

“Mebbe so,” Al Hayes answered with a nod, “but I think I’ll have a quiet chat with Miss King, see if there’s something she might not want to say to you, or something she remembers but didn’t mean anything at the time.”

“Don’t make things worse for her, please? She’s tearing herself to pieces over this as it is. And she’s getting married in a couple of weeks, so she doesn’t need any other problems.”

“Shayne, take this young lady out of here, buy her a cup of coffee, convince her to stop playing mother hen, will you? I’ll see the two of you early Wednesday morning. We’ll leave from here at the office around eight. I’ll have us set up to meet those citified lawyers, and we’ll see if we can get Danny Wilson pinpointed on a map somewhere. Now, I’ve got work to do. You two scoot.”

****

Though she wasn’t convinced her presence would carry any weight with the lawyers, Nina dressed with the care due a trip to the city and a formal meeting. Her white linen sheath fell in crisp, elegant lines, with tailored details accented by dark green piping. Her green bag and pumps picked up the contrast. She finished the look with short white gloves and a hat that was little more than a wisp of natural straw and a puff of veiling, though the spray of tiny silk leaves and daisies gave it color. She’d been at pains to tame her curls into a smoother, more sedate look. A quick check of the seams in her stockings and immaculate gloves and she was ready. She’d already tucked into her envelope bag the marriage license Sheriff Hayes had insisted she bring.

“I guess I have to do this, Sinbad.” She rubbed the cat’s notched ear, and he opened one eye. “Do I really want to know where Danny is now? I mean now that I know so much more about him? Will it make a difference?” The cat issued a disinterested rumble.

The sound of a car stopping in front of the house halted Nina’s conversation with the cat. Peter had arrived, and she needed to go. She picked up the small train case waiting beside the door and started out as Peter came up the walk. She looked down at the bag and back at Peter.

“This is going to give my snoopy neighbor something new to tell Marigold.” She passed the bag to him and locked the door. “She’ll be on the phone to Marigold before we get to the corner.”

Peter wrapped her in a bear hug. “Might as well really give her something to talk about then.”

Nina felt a smile coming, and the smile became laughter. She hadn’t laughed in so long it felt foreign, strange, to find a glimmer of humor in her world and a warm sunny morning shining on her face.

Peter hugged her again. “Good start for the day, sweetheart. You have such a beautiful smile, but you don’t let it out as often as you should.”

Tempted to lean into Peter’s embrace, Nina remembered what the day ahead required and drew away. “I guess there hasn’t been much to smile about for a while.” She stepped back. “We need to go. It doesn’t do to keep Sheriff Hayes waiting. When he said about eight this morning, he meant fifteen minutes before eight, not fifteen after.”

The drive to Dallas wasn’t as hot as Nina had feared. The morning was sunny, but the summer heat was diminished by a small cool front blowing through. Though breezy and accompanied by an occasional shower, the drive proved to be a pleasant one. Along the way she learned that Peter, the middle of three sons, was an army brat and had changed schools nine times before he finished high school. His older brother had followed their father into military service and the youngest was still trying to decide what to do with his life.

“I always envied other kids with brothers and sisters,” Nina admitted. “I think it would be nice to have the parental focus on somebody else once in a while. And I wish I had somebody to remember things with, now that both my folks are gone.”

Peter took his hand off the wheel long enough to give her shoulder a sympathetic squeeze. “I don’t know that anybody would have wanted the three of us. Seemed like one of us was always coming up with some kind of mischief and getting the other two into it. Grandmother lived with us most of the time, and I think it took all three adults to keep us in line.” He urged the car into the heavier traffic heading into the city. “But I see what you mean about having somebody who remembers. When Matt and Mark and I get together, I think the conversation always starts with ‘remember the time we...’ and goes on to explore every antic we tried.”

“Matthew, Peter, and Mark?”

Peter grinned. “Yes, my mother is something of a biblical scholar and named us accordingly. If we’d been girls, we’d probably have been Ruth, Esther, and Rachel.”

“That’s really pretty special.” Nina smiled at the idea of a feminine version of tall, lanky Peter sporting a name like Esther. “My mother got ‘Nina’ from a baby book and then added ‘Phyllis’ for my grandmother.”

The traffic became thicker and Peter, watching for the office building that housed the law firm, kept his attention on the road. Buildings clustered tighter and taller. Nina counted block numbers till she saw a formidable grey stone building that towered over its neighbors and filled most of the city block.

“I think that’s it, Peter.”

Peter had already spotted the entrance and maneuvered the car toward a parking area. “Not bad on timing, either, Nina. I see the sheriff’s car at the end of the parking lot. He must be waiting inside.”

Sheriff Hayes, rail thin in his grey uniform, every military crease as sharp as a paper cut, was waiting when they entered. Nina took in the dark wood, marble floors, and intimidating expanse of names on the brass wall plaque that filled one wall.

“That one,” Al Hayes said, resting one finger below the impressive four-name firm. “Our quarry, J. Sandover Borman. Looks like he’s hibernating up on the fourteenth floor. Let’s go see what he’s got to say.”

Nina felt distinctly like the country mouse come to the city as she followed the sheriff into the elevator and then along a stately hall to the frosted-glass-and-mahogany reception area of the firm. The majestic being at the wide desk, from her coiled silver-blonde hair to her French-tailored black suit, barely gave them a nod before making a discreet phone call.

“Please make yourselves comfortable. Mr. Borman’s secretary will be with you.” Her icy tone suggested they would be tolerated in her realm only because the person coming for them would not delay.

Peter and Nina took the indicated seats, but the sheriff walked the length of the reception area studying the portraits on the wall, reading the small inscriptions, taking in the subdued ambiance of the room. He’d made the circuit when a young woman in a sedate navy suit came into the area.

“Mr. Borman is available to see you now,” she murmured.

“Good enough, young lady.” The sheriff’s voice cut through the room, his soft Texas drawl sharpened by impatience.

Nina and Peter followed Hayes and the secretary along the corridor to a corner office. The door, a slab of dark mahogany with no detailing other than a name plate, opened silently at the secretary’s touch. The office on the other side gave a view into the towers and powder-puff clouds beyond floor-to-ceiling windows. The man behind an acre of polished desk seemed small in contrast to the tall windows and bookcases surrounding him. He came around the desk to shake hands with Al Hayes and gave Nina and Peter a slight nod.

“This is quite a trip for you, Sheriff Hayes, and I’m afraid the information you’re looking for may not be something I can give you.” He tucked his hands into his pockets and leaned back against the edge of his desk. He hadn’t asked them to sit, and his posture suggested their visit would be brief.

Al Hayes glanced around the office. “Nice setup you have here, Mr. Borman. Real good-looking offices, and a pretty girl to bring folks back here to your lair. The dragon lady at the front desk does her part, too. A tidy way to keep visitors a little off balance.” The sheriff turned back to Nina and Peter. “Go on and sit, folks, ’cause we’re going to be here a while. Mr. Borman and me, we got some talking to do. I got a few questions, and he’s got some answers, and once we get shut of the formalities, he’s gonna be real helpful.”

The lawyer jerked away from his desk. “I don’t think there’s any point to this, Sheriff. I told you I can’t give out information about my clients.”

Standing his ground, not shifting a boot or relaxing his stance, Al Hayes waited. His pale eyes didn’t blink, but his beetling brows rose a quarter of an inch. “A citizen of Santa Rita has been missing for two years. His mama doesn’t know where her only son is. His friends haven’t heard word one from him.” The sheriff turned back to Nina. “Got that piece of paper, child?” Nina nodded. “Give it to me.” He held out his hand as Nina opened her bag and passed him the envelope containing her marriage license. “Worst thing of all is that his wife, Miss Nina over there, hasn’t seen or heard from him since their wedding. Now, Borman, you and I know that things happen and sometimes a man figgers he’s made a bad choice and ducks out on a responsibility. That may be the case here, but young Danny Wilson did marry Miss Nina and then apparently abandoned her. She’s got the right to be his wife or be free of the marriage. Don’t matter to me which one, but Miss Nina here seems to care a whole lot about the boy. Can’t understand it, myself, but then I personally don’t much care for young Mr. Wilson. So if you’d just ascertain an address where the fella can be found, so she can start some legal proceedings, we’ll be on our way. Failing to do that, we’re gonna have to institute a search, mebbe get some officials involved here, just to make sure that Danny Wilson is alive, well, and his inheritance hasn’t devolved to his wife because of an untimely demise.” He opened the envelope, shook loose the single sheet inside and passed it to the lawyer.

Borman took the crested sheet, its gold state seal catching a gleam of light from the windows. He read it over, pulled a pair of reading glasses from his pocket, and read it again. When he looked up, the supercilious curl had left his lips. He shook his head and gestured toward the club chairs at the end of the room.

“Sheriff Hayes, I think we may have more to talk about than I realized. Let’s sit down.”

The room had felt icy in both temperature and tone when they entered, but Nina sensed a subtle shift as the lawyer and the lawman took chairs opposite her and Peter.