Secret Keepers and Skinny Shadows: Lee and Miranda (10 page)

                    
Chapter 20

                                       Present Day

L
ee pulled into the parking lot of the Safe Haven Rest Home forty-five minutes later. At the front desk he told the receptionist, he was here to visit Kathy Wilson.

“Hum, you’re not on the list of visitors for Kathy.” She looked Lee directly in the eyes.

“Yes, I know that, but I was a friend of her sister Lilly, she asked me to stop in and see Kathy if I was ever in the area.”

“Well, okay. I’ll take you back to her room.”

When the nurse opened the door, his eyes stopped at a small, frail looking women sitting in a chair by the window. Lee walked in took a seat in the chair beside her. She stared with a blank expression at him.

“Do I know you, young man?”

“Kathy, my name is Lee Perkins. I would like to ask you some questions about your sister, Lillian.”

Kathy broke into a faint smile.

“Do you know Lilly?” she said as she leaned closer to Lee.

“Well, I’m an acquaintance of hers.” Lee took Kathy’s hand in his gently patting it. “Kathy, I need you to think hard, if you can.”

She nodded.

“Lilly wrote a book, I think she hid it in a safe deposit box in a bank somewhere.”

Kathy’s face lit up. “Yes, but I’m not allowed to tell anyone where Lilly hid it.”

Lee raised his eyebrows. “You mean you know where it is?” he whispered.

“Oh, yes, I know, but I promised Lilly I wouldn’t tell anyone where she hid it. Because she exposed the police for the corrupt men they were. Why, that no good Mr. McCune, he was nothing but a numbers runner and enforcer for the mafia back then. She stopped and put her finger to her lips. You can’t tell anyone I told you that. I promised Lilly I wouldn’t say anything.”

“Don’t worry, Kathy, your secret is safe with me. Now, to get back to where the book is.” “You can tell me. Lilly wouldn’t mind. She wanted me to get it to clear some things up for her.”

“Well, I guess it would be alright to tell you. Lilly was more afraid of Robert Mason getting it than anyone. I miss Lilly. Did she say when she was coming to see me again? She didn’t like Robert. He was trying to get her money.” Kathy paused. “Then there was that Indiana druggist she married. She said he was the only guy who ever treat her right, and what did he do? He up and died three weeks after she married him from a throat infection. Poor Lilly. She had the worst luck with men and love.”

“You don’t have to worry. I’ll make sure Robert doesn’t get it,” Lee said. “Do you know where Lilly hid the key?”

Her eyes glazed over as she smiled.

“Oh, yes. I have it around my neck. Lilly said I was to keep it safe for her.” She put her hand up to her neck pulling on a gold chain inside her nightgown. When she slid it out, Lee could see a large ornate key on the end.

Lee’s eyes widened.

Kathy smiled. “Here it is, but don’t tell anyone I have it. It’s a secret.”

“That’s the key?”

“Yes. It’s the key to my heart. Lilly has one just like it. Isn’t it beautiful?”

Lee’s face dropped as he patted her hand. “Yes, Kathy, it’s beautiful.”

Kathy stiffened, and looked at Lee with wide eyes.

“Who are you and why are you holding my hand? What are you doing in my room? I don’t know you.” She grabbed the buzzer next to her chair. Lee tried to stop her, but was too late. She pushed it.

The door to her room flew open. “Nurse, I don’t know who this man is. I want him to leave.” Kathy turned her head away from Lee.

“Sir, you will have to leave now, or I’ll call the guard.” The nurse pointed to the door.

“Yes, okay, I’m going. Goodbye, Kathy.” Lee stood, shook his head as he made his way to the door. In his car driving back to Bridgetown, he called Miranda and told her what had taken place.

                                
CHAPTER 21

Present Day

L
ee opened the door of the mansion, walked in dropping his keys on the counter as Miranda stuck her head around the corner.

“Hey, Lee, sorry you didn’t find out anything.”

“Do you remember in Lilly’s last letter, she said she put some jewelry and coins in a safe deposit box?” Lee said.

Lee made his way into the computer room and took a chair next to her. She stopped working, looking up at him with a smirk.

“Yes, I remember that she also said she hid the key to the box in a safe place,” Miranda said.

“One thing I know for sure, it won’t match the one Kathy has around her neck. We need to find the real key. What did that last paragraph in the letter say?”

Lee stood pacing back and forth in front of her, trying to contain his anger. He was still angry with Kathy for not telling him what he wanted to know.

“Kid, do you think Kathy knew what she was talking about, or was she delusional when she said she knew where the book was?”

“You’re the one who talked with her. What do you think?”

“We need to head on down to Florida, get that manuscript, and maybe the extra bonus of jewelry and coins.”

“Stop pacing, Lee, and calm down. I’ve been dying to find that key.”

He stopped and looked at her.

Miranda got up from her chair, walked out to the living room, stopping in front of the window staring out at the mountains. Lee moved over and stood beside her.

“I was disappointed after reading the last letter,” he said. “Lilly seemed to change her attitude, or maybe she resigned herself to the fact that she couldn’t change city hall. Maybe she gave up the fight, being too old to care anymore. In any event, it was a different Lilly from the other letters. If it wasn’t for the key and what might be in that safe deposit box, her last letter would have been a bomb.”

“I was disappointed, too, except for the key thing,” Miranda said. “Or was it that Lilly had so successfully sucked me into her world that I had become emotionally invested in her life after only a couple of hours of reading? Then at the last minute she slammed the door on me in her last letter. Lilly seemed removed from her love for Bert, the murder, and who committed it.  Making me believe she wrote off that part of her life.”

“Lilly may have wrote of that part, but we haven’t or at least I haven’t, we need to think about that key. I think banks only hold a safe deposit box as long the rent is paid on it. Then what do they do if no one claims what’s in it? Do they have to hold it for a certain period of time, or do they empty it and throw away the contents? And how do we know what bank? Was it in Bridgetown or in Florida? But first we need the key.”

Miranda walked over to the sofa taking a seat on the end.

“Yes, we have a lot to look into. Maybe the ad in the newspaper will help. That is, if anyone even remembers the murder or Lilly.” Miranda raised an eyebrow and pointed her finger at Lee. “Maybe we need to read the last part of Lilly’s letter again. Maybe she was giving us clues and we didn’t recognize them.”

Lee picked up the letter again. This time he studied the last two paragraphs.

                           
CHAPTER 22

                                     Present Day

P
.S. My book was never published, but I put the manuscript in a safe deposit box at my bank. . . . Everything should be okay there. I put the key to the box in an envelope and put it in a safe place.    

Love never dies; it just mellows with age. Friends and lovers help hide what we hold dear. Bert always held the secrets to my heart. As he protected them in life, he will protect them in death. Oh, well, at least the manuscript is in a safe place now. In a place where I know that old coot Robert Mason won’t be able to get his fingers on it.

As Lee finished reading the last two paragraphs, the doorbell rang.

“I’ll get it.” Miranda sprinted to the door. From Lee’s position in the room he could see the surprised look on her face when she swung the door open.

“If isn’t a ghost from the past, Ridgeway Tarkington, get in here and give me a hug. You’re still a big old good looking guy.” Miranda wrapped her arms around the neck of a tall well-built man who looked to be in his early sixties, as he stepped into the vestibule scooping her up in his arms he flashed a white toothy grin through his five o’clock shadow planting a kiss on her cheek. Lee was instantly jealous. Miranda looked like a little kid in this big guy’s arms.

“Miranda, you’re still as beautiful as the first day I met you.” He placed Miranda back down on the floor.

“You always could charm the boots off a cowgirl, Ridge.”

“Yes, but I could never charm yours off of you, and not for lack of trying.” Miranda’s face flushed, she turned toward Lee while touching the man’s elbow.

“Come in, Ridge. I would like you to meet Lee Perkins, a fellow research investigator.”

Ridge stuck out his big hand and shook Lee’s with a tight grip. “Hello, Lee, it’s nice to meet you. I’m glad to see Miranda has a friend to share this big house with.”

“Hello, Ridge, it’s a pleasure.” Lee shook his hand.

Ridge grinned at Lee.

“Wait a minute, Ridge. Lee and I don’t share anything. Lee is staying with me as a guest while we work together on an investigation. That’s all there is to it.” A wide grin broke across Ridge’s face as he looked at Miranda.

“Okay, Miranda, whatever you want to call it.” Ridge flashed a grin in Lee’s direction.

She wrapped her arm around Ridges guiding him into the living room.

“Come in and sit down, Ridge. Can I get you something to drink or eat? And what are you doing in this part of the world?”

“You know me, I’m still hung up on diet cola.”

“I know what you mean, Ridge. That has been my vice since you introduced me to it way back when,” Miranda said.

“As to what I’m doing here, I’m sure you heard that Chuck Darrell passed away a couple of months ago. I couldn’t make it for the funeral, so on my way to Maine to investigate a dig site, I decided I’d stop and spend a few hours visiting with his family.” Ridge shrugged.

“I did read in the paper that he’d passed away. He was six years ahead of me in school. I didn’t know him; I just knew of him. He was a big shot in the local government, wasn’t he? I thought you were friends with him, but I wasn’t sure,” Miranda said as she put a hand on his shoulder.

“Yes, we were friends in school, but after graduation we went our separate ways and lost contact with each other. He was one of the comptrollers for the city before he died.”

“I wasn’t aware of that. But I’m glad you’re here,” Miranda said.

“While leaving the Darrell’s today I thought I’d just pop in and say hello to you. Sorry I didn’t ring you up first, but I didn’t think you’d mind.”

“My door is always open to you, Ridge. Don’t feel you ever need to phone ahead. I know—I’ve been in those situations myself, I’ll get your diet for you.” Miranda hurried into the kitchen.

“Ridgeway,” Lee said. “That’s an unusual name, was it passed down to you from a member of your family?”

“It’s my father’s name, he pinned it on me, saying it would make more of a man out of me. I don’t know what he meant by that statement, but it is what it is.” Ridge shrugged as he looked eye to eye with Lee.

Miranda entered the room carrying the soda.

“Here you are, Ridge, just the way you like it—no ice.”

“Thanks Miranda, you’re the best.”

“Ridge, I heard you retired from the FBI a few years ago?”

“Retirement for me is wonderful, now I can immerse myself deep into my passion, archaeology.”

Lee was half listening as he watched Ridge talk and interact with them. Ridge’s eyes gleamed with an inner light of confidence. He was still good looking for a guy a couple of years older than Lee, his eyes light up his tanned, rugged face. Lee was questioning the jealousy he was feeling for this tall, good-looking guy interacting with Miranda.

Lee watched her melt at every word he said, leading him to believe she had it bad for this guy. He wondered if Ridge was the reason she made it clear to Lee that she’s not interested in him in a romantic way, but Lee decided he wasn’t ready to give up on her yet.

She must be madly in love with this guy and he isn’t aware of her feelings for him. She’s secretive about certain aspects of her life, but isn’t everybody? Do we ever completely reveal ourselves to people? Lee shook his head to bring his attention back around to what Ridge was saying.

“The FBI job would provide money and security for the future, which by the way, Lee, that’s how I met Miranda and our mutual friend, Cassie.” Ridge turned his head toward Lee and smiled.

He nodded in acknowledgement to what Ridge said.

“Miranda was a great partner, I trusted her with my life for the couple of years we were together in the field then she took a promotion breaking up our team.” He smile at Miranda.

Lee thought it was amazing watching her dissolve into her chair. Lee knew his suspicions were right—she did have a strong desire for this guy.

Ridge finished his diet and stood to leave.

“Wait, Ridge,” Miranda said. “Before you go, we’d like you to take a look at this and tell us what you think it means.”

Miranda handed him Lilly’s last letter. She couldn’t take her eyes off of him as he studied it.

“If this Bert’s grave is around here, I’d say dig around the headstone. It sounds to me like she buried the key there, if it was me that’s where I would look first.” Miranda looked at Lee. He glanced back with raised eyebrows.

“My thoughts were leaning in that direction, Ridge,” Lee said. “Thanks for confirming what I was thinking.” Lee looked at Miranda with a grin, she glared back at him while nodding her head.

“Sure you were, Lee.” Then she turned back to Ridge. “Thank you. It seems you arrived at the right time. It doesn’t matter what Lee said we weren’t sure how to go forward with this information.”

“Hey, glad I could help you, Miranda, anytime I can assist you, please call me. Would you let me know if you find anything around the grave? I would like to know if my thoughts panned out.”

“Sure, Ridge, I’d be glad to. I’ll call as soon as we find out anything.” Ridge smiled at Miranda and looked over at Lee.

“I must be going now if I expect to be in Maine by tonight. Thank you for your hospitality, Miranda. Lee, it was nice to meet you. I hope our paths cross again in the future now that we have a mutual friend. Miranda, it’s always good to see you. I’ll keep in touch.”

“I would like that, Ridge,” Miranda said. “I’ll call you.” Ridge shifted his stance and winked at Miranda. It looked like he was flirting with her.

“Call me. You have my number.” Ridge bent down kissing Miranda on the cheek. “Bye for now. Keep in touch,” he said softly to Miranda. He turned and walked out the door, crossed the porch, went down the stone steps, and got into his waiting Hummer.

They stood in the open doorway watching the car weave down the driveway passing the tall trees then turn north onto the main road.

“So Miranda, you worked with Ridge at the FBI?”

She opened her mouth to say something, then stopped short, raised her eyebrows giving him a glassy stare.

“Don’t be so clingy. Ridge and I worked together. Of course, we were close. Ridge watched my back and I had his.”

“I’ll bet he was watching more than your back.”

“Oh Lee, you’re hopeless, you sound like a jealous lover, as long as you remember we’re working together on this research project and that’s as far is it is going to go if or when it goes beyond that, I’ll let you know.”

“Why are you so defensive? What is it with you? You tease me and pull me close, then when I move toward you, you push me away.”

She turned toward Lee with her hands on her hips, her face muscles tightened.

“You may have perceived that I was drawing close to you when in reality I was just being a kind person, so get over yourself, you’re not all that much and more.”

“Okay, okay, Kid, just forget about it let’s go back to finding the key.” Lee took a seat on the sofa.

“Good, that’s what you’re here for, Lee, nothing else. Just a researcher. Get it?”

He rolled his eyes, shrugged, and offered her a smile.

“You know, it’s scary that you can find out so much information about people from the Internet and they have no idea that you’re doing it. I can see now why you think you’re a real detective. A real-life detective wouldn’t have the money to own all this expensive equipment. Or live in this big house or travel at will,” Lee said as he threw his arm in a sweeping motion around the room. “This roomy office with its expensive furnishings and up-to-date computer and other equipment.”

“You sound jealous. What good is money if you can’t spend and enjoy what it can buy? My parents left me well off when they passed. My dad made a lot of good investments in the stock market. I made some wise investments with my dad’s money while I was working, so now I intend to enjoy the rest of my life doing what I want, when I want, and the way I want.”

“Okay, okay, don’t get your panties all twisted. I was kidding you.”

Miranda plopped in her seat in front of the computer. He watched her as she briefly closed her eyes taking a deep breath, then exhaling. Her fingers were working the computer keys. She looked up then shoved the other chair at Lee he grabbed the back of it.

“Pull up a chair, Lee,” she said, looking in his direction.

He pulled the chair over beside her.

“What are you looking for?” Lee asked.

“I was hoping to find out what banks did with abandoned deposit boxes. It says here that banks are required to keep the safe deposit boxes for years even after the person stops paying for it. After repeated efforts to contact the owner of the box without success, they can then empty the contents and, by law, they have to send the items in it to the state. The state holds them until they are claimed, but the length of time the banks can hold the box isn’t listed, so I guess they could hold the box for any length of time.” Miranda paused.

“That looks like a link to check for abandoned boxes,” Lee said, pointing to the screen.

Miranda clicked on it and a site box came on the screen to put in the state and the name of the person who might have had a box at a bank. Miranda typed in Lillian Grace, Florida. Luck was with them when an abandoned box in her name appeared in Osprey, Florida at the East Tampa Bank. It even gave the account number 574109. Miranda turned to Lee.

“Can you believe that?”

“No, I can’t,” Lee said. “It might be another Lillian Grace we have to consider that point, but the bigger challenge would be finding the key, and if we do find the key, you have to be the owner or a relative it says here.”

“Well, Lee, if we find the key and go to Florida, I could be a relative. Who would know? I could say I was her niece.”