Southern Greed (6 page)

According to the bedside clock, it was 10:34 a.m.  I had no idea what I was supposed to do.  I got dressed in a cream colored a-line skirt and a turquoise silk long sleeve blouse and went in search of breakfast.

The dining room wasn’t that hard to find.  It was off
to the right of the huge foyer on the first floor.
  No one was there but there was a buffet on the side
bar with both coffee and tea.  I helped myself to bacon, eggs, grits and toast.  I put the plate on the table and then grabbed a cup and poured myself some coffee.

I was just adding cream to my coffee when I heard some voices in the foyer.  They were whispering and I recognized Rachael and Adam.

I couldn’t make out the words but it sounded like he was reassuring her about something and it sounded like she was crying.

I moved to the end of the table and tried to make out what they were saying and I was so intent on that, I didn’t notice I was not alone.  It wasn’t until she started to speak that I startled.

“Oh, I’m so sorry.  I didn’t m
ean to scare you.  I was saying
you must be Adam’s new wife and Miss Gracie’s granddaughter, Kathy.  I’m Susan, Adam’s sister and Miss Gracie’s
secretary, although she is in no shape to need me much anymore.”

Another beauty, she had dark, thick hair she wore in a long flip with thick bangs.  She was wearing a wispy looking dress in some sort of gauzy material in off white
.  She was barefoot and I was later to learn that
she rarely wore shoes at all, a
typical 60s girl.  She was about my age.

She stuck out her hand and we shook.
  “I’m so glad he found you,” she said and I gathered she wasn’t in on the scam.  I couldn’t believe I was r
eally doing what I was doing, b
ut I was also confus
ed.
  I wasn’t being treated like a bride at all.

“I hear you had a boutique in the small town you lived in,” She continued in a chatty way, “Do you like to shop?  We could do some shopping together while you’re here.”

“While I’m here?”

She looked embarrassed, “Oh, I mean, I just assumed that you and Adam would get your own place.  Do you want to live here permanently?  I can’t wait to get out of her as soon as Miss Gracie gives me my walking papers.”

“I
don’t know what our plans are,
Adam a
n
d I haven’t talked about it.
”

She took a sip of coffee and seemed to be lost in thought and I heard a child’s voice coming close, “I will too, see granny Grace!”

Susan laughed, “That’s Ronnie, professor Murphy’s son.  He always wants his way.”

I had always loved kids and as soon as I saw this little boy, I was in love with him.

The man who followed him into the dining room looked like a professor.  He had on a tan suede jacket, tan dress shirt with no tie and a tan pair of pants.  He had sandals on his feet.

Both man and little boy had sandy blond hair that was straight and wispy thin and collar length.  They both kept pushing their hair out of their eyes.

When Ronnie saw me he ran over to me and got right in my face and stared into my eyes, “Who the hell are you?”

“Ronnie!” The man said, “You must be Kathy.  Adam told me all about you this morning.  I’m so glad to meet you,” He said holding out his hand.  “I’m Eugene Murphy.  I’ve been writing Miss Gracie’s memoires.  I hope I will be able to finish them.  She’s such an interesting person.”

I had heard those words before about her and yet I knew I had never even met the woman.

“What’s wrong?” He asked and I realized he was still holding my hand.

“I just had a déjà vu.”  He let go of my hand and I sat back down.

He smiled at me and I thought it was such a sweet smile.

“How old is your son?” I asked.

“I’m five years old,” Ronnie spoke up before his dad could answer.  He climbed into my lap and once again looked into my eyes.  “Let’s go see granny Grace.”

“You know what?  I think that’s a good idea.  She was asleep when I got here last night so I haven’t met her yet.”

“That’s silly.  She’s your real granny.  How can you not meet her?”

“I haven’t seen her for awhile and I don’t remember her.”

He sat on my lap thinking about that and then jumped down and grabbed my hand, trying to pull me.

“Breakfast first, son,” Eugene said.

I ruffled his hair, “I’ll tell you what.  You eat a good breakfast while I look around for awhile and then we’ll go see Miss Gracie.”

CHAPTER NINE

I had always liked to explore.  Growing up in a small town, it was close to the hills and woods and I used to walk for miles.  I was looking forward to exploring this house.

I decided to start at the top and work my way down.  I didn’t think it would take the rest of the morning.  There were three ma
in floors but then I discovered an
attic that covered most all of the wings.

I started up the stairs leading to the attic and was stopped by a large woman coming down.  She had a round face and she was round all over with ginger colored hair.

“Where do you think you
be
going?” She asked.

When I introduce myself, she ignored my hand I held out for her to shake.

“I’m Mrs. Hildebran
d
t.  I’m the executive chef.  There’s nothing up there but servant’s quarters.  You want to start your exploring on this here third floor.  If you ever need any help with anything just come to me. 
If anything scares you.”

I thought it was a funny thing for her to say but I nodded and went back down to the third floor.

I went from wing to wing lo
o
king and
it didn’t look like anyone occupied any of these rooms.  I wondered why they didn’t use thes
e for the servant’s quarters.  T
here would have been
less stairs
to climb.

When I got to the West wing I found a little girl’s room.  It was furnished in different shades and prints of pink.  It was beautiful.  I looked in the closet and saw little girl’s dresses and casual outfits.  They were very expensive looking.

I suddenly became very dizzy and had to sit on the bed.  When I put my head in my hands I saw a fire and I heard screaming.  A woman was screaming, “Run, Kathy, Run.”

Just as suddenly as it had started, it stopped and I almost fell onto the pink carpet, I was so off balance.  It was almost too quiet after all the noise.

There was a large room off of the little girl’s room and
I thought it mus
t
have been for the parents or for the nanny.  It shared a bathroom with the little girl’s room but most all of the other bedrooms had their own bath.

The second floor was pretty much like the third but, instead of bedrooms, they were all apartments with their own sitting rooms.  There were one, two and three bedroom apartments.

Each was very elaborately furnished and I decided to pick out one for Adam and me.  I picked out one facing the South.  It would have sun all day.  It
was furnished in bright green and white with plenty of white wicker.

I didn’t wait for Adam to approve but decided to move all our things on over there.

Once I got that done I went down the stairs to the first floor and found sitting rooms, both formal and informal, and several rooms for eating, dining rooms of all sizes and breakfast nooks.  I was amazed I had found my breakfast this morning.

I didn’t stop to find Ronnie but continued to the basement.  I heard water splashing when I got halfway down the stairs and heard Ronnie, “Watch this, dad.”  I smiled to myself.  It must be an indoor swimming pool.  I wondered if there was an outdoor one too.

I didn’t go in but continued to see what else was down there.  I found a bowling alley and a movie theatre.  It had everything anyone would want and
I could see why Adam said it should be made into a resort.

I found a sauna that included a cedar lined steam room and several types of hot tubs and showers.  It was amazing.

I made my way back to the swimming pool and noticed it was Olympic-sized.  Ronnie was swimming with his dad and he was a good swimmer.

I liked to swim too and planned to use the pool often.

When Ronnie saw me, he waved and swam over to the edge of the pool, “You ready to go see granny Grace?”

“As soon as you get on some d
ry clothes,
”
I said as I laughed at him.

CHAPTER 10

Rachael was coming out of Gracie’s bedroom when we went in and told us we could go on in, that she was awake.

Ronnie took my hand and pulled me into the bedroom.  I was sweating bullets.  All I could think about was that they were going to find out I was a fake and I was going to end up in jail.  I was beginning to doubt my sanity, that I would even consider doing something like this.

She had her eyes open and they were light blue.
  She smiled as Ronnie climbed right up on the bed with her.  He kissed her cheek, “I love you granny Grace.”

“I love you too, sweetie.”

Her voice sounded strong but, when she tried to raise herself to a sitting position, she appeared to be very weak.

I went over and helped her and she eyed me the whole time.  When she was sitting up with many pillows behind her, she said, “So, you’re Kathy?”

I nodded while trying to maintain eye contact but I had to look away under her intense stare.

She didn’t say anything but just sat there studying me, “Do you remember me?” She asked.

I decided to be truthful and that way, if I was ever caught maybe the judge would go easy on me.

“Adam found me and said I look a lot like your granddaughter.  I don’t know for sure if I am, but I don’t remember my childhood before the age of seven.

She chuckled, “I’ll bet you took one look at Adam and fell in love with him.  All the women do.  He could have talked you into to anything.

“
Well, in my day he could have probably talked me into anything too.  He reminds me a lot of my own husban
d, God rest his soul.
it
sure didn’t get rested while he was alive.

“
Rachael tells me you two already got married.  If you are my granddaughter you’ve sure changed.  Kathy was smart and could have never been conned.  She saw through everyone.  Most kids do, though.
”

I got tears in my eyes.  It hurt for her to think ill of me.  I don’t kno
w why it should have mattered.

I planned to end this farce and leave
t
here, get an annulment and go home where I
belonged.  I did
n’t know how I
thought I
cou
ld do something like this.  It
just
wasn’t me.

“I’m sorry,” I told her, “I should not have let Adam talk me into this.  I will leave here and go back to
Rehobeth
where I belong.

“
Rehobeth
?
  Did you say
Rehobeth
?”

When I nodded she started coughing.  I started for the door to get Rachael but she waved me back in.

I went into the bathroom and found a glass and filled it with water and handed it to her.  I noticed that Ronnie had fallen asleep at the foot of her bed.  I had forgotten he was there.

She took some water and got control of her breath.
  “Adam found you there.  That’s where he looked.  He knew to look there.  I wonder how he
knew?
”

“What are you talking about?  You wonder how he knew what?’

“Kathy’s parents, your parents if you are Kathy, died in a car fire near there.  I had never heard of the place before then.  They never found the child.  We advertised in every newspaper ar
ound there as well as in Savannah
.  No one ever came forward.

“We hired private detectives, but she was never found.  Police went door to door right after it happened to no avail.”

Once again, I started feeling dizzy and lost my balance.  I fell across the
bed and heard the same thing I had heard before and saw the fire.  Now I knew what it meant and I knew I was the real Kathy, but didn’t understand how my parents ended up with me.

My grandmother rang a bell she picked up from the bedside table and Rachael came hurrying in.

I felt like I couldn’t breathe and Rachael said, “She’s having a panic attack.”

She took both my hands in hers and said, “Slow the breathing down
.
  Come on, breath
e
with me.  In…out…in… out.”