The Billionaire's Will (10 page)

Sissy3211:
Okay. Are they older or younger?

Bronco8881:
They couldn’t have made my life so miserable if they were older. They were younger by two and three years.

Sissy3211:
What did they do?

Bronco8881:
They hung around my friends, followed us everywhere, and were a total embarrassment. I still haven’t forgiven them.

Sissy3211:
How old were you at the time?

Bronco8881:
Ten, I think, maybe eleven. What about you? Tell me about your childhood.

Austin waited, but she didn’t answer right away.

Sissy3211: I’m kind of tired now. Thanks for being there. Good night.

--- Sissy3211
has signed off---

He
looked at the clock and decided he had better get some sleep too…if he could sleep after talking to her. She couldn’t have found a worse job if she tried. Sadly, there was nothing he could do until she was willing to trust him.

The six-story Fireside Retirement Home had the definite odor of cleaning solutions, mixed with musty belongings that some of the old people weren’t willing to part with. Other than that, the state funded facility was clean, and looked like a pleasant place for the elderly to spend their last days. The foyer led to a reception area where an older woman sat behind a desk knitting a baby blanket.

“I would like to see Adelaide Bertrand
. Is she home?”  Jackie asked.

“Oh good
y,” said the receptionist. “She gets very few visitors. Let me call up to her room and see.”

“I would rather surprise her.”

“It’s against the rules, I’m afraid. We have to have the resident’s permission before we let anyone up.”

“I see.” Jackie gave her name and then
prayed she wouldn’t be denied when the receptionist called for permission. She became further apprehensive when the receptionist repeated her name three times over the phone.

At last
, the woman hung up and smiled. “She’s coming down. Have a seat.”

“Thank you.”
Jackie sat in a chair and waited until she heard the elevator whine its way down to the bottom floor. She stood up as soon as the door opened.

With a hint of a French accent, Adelaide asked,
“Are you Jackie?” She looked to be in her late sixties or early seventies, with gray hair that was close to turning pure white. She was thin, but not overly so, and her shoulders were slightly bent forward.

“I am.
Thank you for seeing me. I wonder if there is someplace where we can talk in private.”

“Are you from Social Services
? Because I sent my change of address.”

“No, it’s about another matter.”

“What other matter?”

Jackie took a deep breath, noticed the receptionist was clinging to her every word
, and lowered her voice. “We really should talk in private.”

Adelaide
studied the candid look on Jackie’s face for a long moment, and then motioned for her to follow. She led the way to a large community room where several other residents were watching a game show on a large TV. “Don’t worry, most of them are hard of hearing,” she said, as she chose a table away from the others.

“Miss Bertrand, I am a private detective
and I’ve been hired to find Georgia.”

Adelaide’s eyes widened. “Does Mathew
Connelly know where I am?”

“No, and we aren’t going to tell him.”

“Do you swear?”

“I swear
.”

Adelaide
again searched the sincerity in Jackie’s eyes and relaxed a little…but just a little.

“
Miss Bertrand, Georgia stands to inherit millions if we can find her. Will you tell me what happened?”

She lowered her
gaze. “What happened? Well, now let me see. I guess you could say I was a bit naughty as a girl. You know the way some girls are when they get with the wrong kind of people.”

“I understand, go on.”

“Well, because of it, I couldn’t get a visa to come to America. I so wanted to come, but there was no way until I ran into Mathew Connelly. I met him in a bar and we got to talking. He said he could get me a visa and naturalization papers. He said I’d never have to worry about a thing, not even the immigration laws. He was right about that part; my papers have never been questioned.”

“What did you have to do to get them?”

In the middle of the table, a small plastic vase with a single red artificial rose sat on a paper placemat. Adelaide began to nervously toy with the corner of the placemat, folding it up, and then smoothing the fold out again. “Just take care of his baby for a while. It turned out to be six years.”

“
How old was Georgia when you got her?”

“Just
two days. He said she was born August 14
th
.”

Jackie got a small notepad out of her purse and jotted that down. “Did he say anything about the baby’s mother?”

“He said the mother died and the baby was too little to travel back to America. My own daughter died when she was three and I was pleased to have a baby in my arms again. Georgia was such a sweet little thing. She hardly ever cried the way some babies do.”

“Did he give you money for her care?”

Adelaide emphatically nodded. “It was cash at first, and then he sent checks.”

“Do you remember the name of the bank?”

“Some bank in England. I don’t remember the name of it. The thing is, he never called to see how she was or sent a letter – just the money. I didn’t mind, I would have kept her forever.”

“Was there a return address on the envelope?”

“Just a postmark.” Adelaide realized what she was doing and put her hands in her lap.

“From where?”
Jackie asked.

“All over the world.”

“I see.”

“There were three from Colorado, so I suspected that’s where he lived.”

“You told Mr. Gladstone that you took Georgia to a girl’s school.”

“Yes, on
her sixth birthday. Out of the blue, Mr. Connelly showed up at my door. He handed me the visa and two tickets to London. He said to take her to Mary Cathleen’s Boarding School in England and leave her there.”

“Did he give you any identification to take with her?”

“No, everything was all arranged when we arrived. They were expecting us.”

When a tear rolled down Adelaide’s cheek, Jackie opened her purse
again, pulled out a tissue, and handed it to her.

“Nothing in my life has ever been harder than leaving that beautiful little girl in the hands of strangers.
Georgia cried and I cried, but there was nothing I could do. She wasn’t mine to keep, you see.”

Jackie waited until the nanny managed to pull herself together. “What happened next?”

“I used the third ticket Mr. Connelly gave me to fly from London to New York City.”

“Did you try to contact Georgia after that?”

“I wrote her a letter. Mr. Connelly got hold of it somehow and found me. I thought he was going to kill me, but a neighbor came to see what all the shouting was about.”

“Did you move
to a different address?”

“No, I stayed. I thought if he knew right where I was, he wouldn’t think I was up to something. Besides
, I didn’t know of anyplace else to go in America. I never tried to contact Georgia again and he stayed away.”

“
How did you end up in Colorado?”

Adelaide wiped the last tear off her cheek.
“Well, they were going to demolish the building I lived in, so I had to go somewhere. I used to get the Denver paper and I read about Mathew and Laura Connelly a few times, so I knew Georgia’s mother didn’t die. Then I read about Mr. Gladstone and his money, and wasn’t it sad he had only one daughter, Laura Connelly, and no grandchildren.”

“So you
knew Mr. Gladstone didn’t know about Georgia.”

“That’s right.
There isn’t a day goes by, I don’t think about my sweet little Georgia. I thought it was about time her grandfather knew, so I spent all I had on a bus ticket.”

Jackie’s eyes widened.
“You rode a bus all the way from New York City to Denver?”

“
It took forever. I’ll never do that again.”

“I don’t blame you.”

“I was down to my last dime, got hungry, and went to a shelter. A nice man there said he could help me. Mind you, I’ve heard that song before. Only this one really did help me. He got my social security checks transferred here, and got me this place to live. It isn’t much, but it’s a roof over my head.”

“Mr. Gladstone i
s very grateful you came to him,” said Jackie.

“Was, you mean. He died. Mathew
Connelly killed him.”

“Why do you say that
?”

“Oh, I don’t know for certain, but I wouldn’t put it past a man like
him. He is pure evil. You can see it in his eyes. No man has ever scared me the way Mathew Connelly did.”

“
I understand.” Jackie pulled a business card out of her purse. “Here’s my card. If you need anything, call me, and I’ll send someone to help you.”

“Oh, if you don’t tell him,
Mr. Connelly will never think to look for me here. I’m right under his nose.”

Jackie laid the card on the table.
“I want you to have it anyway. Maybe you’ll think of something else that can help us find her.”

“
I wouldn’t know anything more. I haven’t seen her since she was six. You think I could have the picture I gave Mr. Gladstone back someday?”

“I’ll send it over by
courier.”

“Thank you. If you find Georgia, will you tell her how sorry I
am?”

Jackie tenderly patted the back of Adelaide’s hand.
“I’ll tell her.”

*

Teresa was surprised when the front doorbell chimed. Laura didn’t feel like doing anything except watch soap operas in the family room, so Teresa was busy catching up on a few chores. She set her broom in the corner of the bathroom on the first floor, and hurried to the foyer. Before she opened the door, she straightened her apron and glanced in the wall mirror to make certain she looked presentable. Just as the bell began to sound again, she opened the door.

The woman
standing on the top step had blonde hair, was wearing a strapless, floral print summer dress, with bright red gloss on her full lips. “May I help you?”

“
I’m Amanda Black. I would like to see Mrs. Connelly.”

“
Let her in,” Laura said, as she walked into the room.

“Yes, Mum,” said Teresa. She opened the door wider and stood aside.

“Come in and sit. We do not often have visitors.” Laura went to the sofa, made herself comfortable, and waited for the much younger woman to join her.

Teresa closed the door and
stayed just inside the foyer.

She was a little hesitant, but Amanda chose an
armchair, and then carefully smoothed the back of her dress before she sat. “Mrs. Connelly, I...”

“What is your name again?
” Laura interrupted. “I believe I have forgotten you.”

“We have never met.
I am Amanda Black.”

Laura
abruptly stood up and headed for the liquor cabinet. “Would you like a drink?”

“No
thank you, it is a little early for me.”

“A soda then? Teresa would be happy to go to the kitchen
.”

“No thank you,” said Amanda. “Mrs.
Connelly, I would like to speak to you alone?”

“Oh, I see.
I would rather Teresa stay…just in case she is needed, you understand.” Laura finished pouring her drink and carried it back to the sofa.

“Very well.” Amanda cleared her throat. “I have come to ask
you to give Mathew a divorce.”

Laura slowly smiled.
“Two in a week? My, but my husband does get around. Of course, the other one didn’t come in person, she called instead.”

“
She called?” Amanda asked.

“Yes, f
rom Sweden, I believe it was. She has a very heavy accent and I could hardly make out what she was saying.” Laura took a quick sip of her drink and bluntly asked, “Do you love him?”

Amanda was caught
completely off guard and stammered at first. “I…very much.”

“Of course you do, he is handsome and can be most charming when he wants to be. I loved him once myself.”

“You don’t love him now?”

“I
merely tolerate him when I must, though he is rarely here. Perhaps you know where he is these days?”

“In Florida.”

“Ah, yes, he goes there quite frequently. I believe Tampa is his favorite. What does he say he does for a living?”

“He is a salesman,
” Amanda answered. “Mrs. Connelly, I…”

“
Of course. That’s how he explains the need to travel all over the world. What do you do?”

Amanda was starting to get annoyed.
“I don’t see what business that is of yours.”

“You’re right, it is not my business. Let me guess, you work in a casino. You are likely a blackjack dealer
. Those are his favorites.”

Amanda repeatedly blinked.
“Favorites?”

“Yes, dear, he adores blackjack dealers. I have no idea why he finds them so tempting
. They don’t even have to be pretty, although you are quite captivating. It is perhaps a fetish of some kind. I suggested he see a doctor about it, but…”

“You are joking,
” Amanda decided, beginning to smile.