The Easter Egg Murder (24 page)

60

Wednesday Morning, April 19, 2000

Harrie overslept after the long, tension-filled evening. When she pulled into her parking space the next morning, she noticed DJ’s car and Caroline’s. She debated about driving around for a bit before going in. DJ said he would tell his mother this morning about her newly discovered parentage, and Harrie didn’t want to disturb them. She finally decided to chance it and went in.

She dumped her briefcase in her office and went
for coffee. DJ and Caroline were sitting at the table in the kitchen, sipping coffee and talking.

Harrie said, “Oh, excuse me.” She turned to leave, but DJ called out
, “Wait. Don’t go. Come in and join us.”

Caroline came around the table, and hugged her.
“Thank you so much for all you’ve done for me.”

Harrie felt speechless. “I can’t think of anything I’ve done for you. You’re the one we should thank for
helping solve the mystery.”

Caroline said, “You have my gratitude for bringing closure about my childhood.
Now I know where I came from and why I was given up for adoption. That’s something I’ve wondered about for years.”

Harrie said to DJ, “You must explain that Philip, Nick, and Elizabeth did all the investigating. Ginger and I just found what Philip hid for us.” She looked at Caroline. “I’m glad you’re okay with all this. It must have been quite a shock to find out your boss all those years was really your father.”

Caroline said, “I always thought there was something about Jacob that seemed so loving and protective. He treated me with the kindness and concern I’d always longed for in a father. My adoptive parents were older people. They were strict and not comfortable with showing affection. I knew they loved me in their own way, but it was never enough. I had such a longing to be cherished. I’m sure that’s why I ran away and got married at such an early age. Jimmy . . . that was David’s father . . . was sweet and gentle. We loved each other so much, and he wanted us to make a home where we could raise our children with the love and tenderness I never had. When he was killed, I’m sure I would have died too if I hadn’t been expecting this wonderful boy.” She beamed at her son, and DJ put his arm around her and hugged her to him.

Harrie felt tears welling up in her eyes. Seeing the love that flowed between mother and son made her ache for the love she’d been missing so long. She tried to wipe away the tears before anyone noticed
. DJ stood close enough to reach out and pull her into the embrace of his other arm. That scene greeted Ginger when she came sailing in moments later.

“Uh oh,” she said. “What am I interrupting here?”

Ginger and Harrie declared it a day of celebration and closed the office. They decided to take everyone to lunch at La Esquina at the Galleria. Ginger called Steve and asked him to join them and invite Swannie to come along. Ginger wanted her parents to meet them there, too. After the previous evening’s operation, DJ was back on vacation and free for lunch. Only Philip would be missing. Ginger said she’d save him a sopapilla and smuggle it to him at the hospital later in the afternoon.

Harrie went to her office to collect
her briefcase. In her haste, she didn’t realize it was unlatched. When she grabbed the handle, it spilled its contents on the floor. As she bent down to pick up the mess, she saw the bundle of mail she’d stuck in there on Friday. She noticed a fat envelope with no return address, postmarked in Santa Fe. She opened it and discovered a three-page letter. The handwriting looked vaguely familiar and her breath caught in her throat when she looked at signature: Nick.

61

Wednesday Afternoon, April 19, 2000

“My Dearest Harrie,

You’re probably thinking, ‘Where does this jerk get off addressing me that way?’ Of course you’re right, but I still feel a connection to you and sadness for the way I left. I also regret the financial disaster I dumped on you. I hope you’ll read this letter all the way through and try to hear my words, not to excuse me, but to
understand the transition that occurred because you were in my life.

Harrie, I was literally running for my life, and in a way, yours too. I knew that if I left, some very nasty people I worked for would leave you alone. The bastards were closing in, and the only way to keep us both safe was to disappear. Unfortunately, that meant not giving you any notice and leaving behind an enormous trail of debt you would have to handle. So I left like a c
oward in the night and tried never to look back. After a while, it began to penetrate my thick skull that I had to make significant changes. It didn’t happen all at once, of course. It took me another five years to clean up my act to the point I could find a good job and begin to climb out of the mess I created. During that time, I went home to see my grandfather. He was skeptical at first, but even he could see that I wasn’t the same conceited jerk I had been when I left his house. I told him I only wanted to redeem myself in his eyes, not to be put back in the will . . . I didn’t care about that anymore. I just wanted to win his respect. He was the only family I had, and I wanted to make him proud of me before he died.”

Ginger rushed into Harrie’s office. “Hey, what’s the holdup?” She stopped in her tracks when she saw Harrie’s face, cheeks wet with tears, and pale as a winter shut-in. “My God, what’s wrong?”

Harrie wordlessly handed the letter to Ginger, who started reading it then looked back at Harrie. “What the
. . . where did this come from?”

Harrie explained about the mail she’d picked up from her house and just now rediscovered. “Why don’t you read it to me? I’m having a little trouble focusing right now.”

Ginger found
the place Harrie had left off.

“Eventually, I began practicing law again in a small town in Nebraska. The only attorney in that town needed an associate, and I begged him to let me work with him. Then my grandfather became very ill, and I went home to upstate New York to be with him. He only lasted for six months, but I was there with him that entire time. And don’t laugh, Harrie, but I took care of him. I sat by his bed at night, cleaned him when he needed it, gave him his medicine and held his hand when he was delirious. Just before he died, he had two good days when he seemed to rally. We talked for hours, and he told me things about my mother and father that I never knew. He told me how kind and gentle my mother was and how much she loved me. He also told me about my father’s coldness and his willingness to abandon my mother and me for money. I was ashamed when I realized how much like my father I had become without ever knowing the man. I decided to return to Albuquerque and see if I could make amends.

“
If you wonder why I didn’t try to contact you or Steve, it was because I didn’t want you to know I’d returned until I was in a position to really make amends to all of you. There were people here in town who expected me to go back to my old habits, and I had to handle that situation carefully. I heard about your remarriage and the death of your husband. Harrie, I’m sorry for your loss. After what I put you through, it doesn’t seem right. Maybe someday I can apologize in person, but for now, I just wanted to say I regret all the heartache and trouble I’ve caused.

“
In the meantime, please accept the enclosed check. A small part of it covers the financial debt I owe you. The rest is for the emotional debt, although there is not enough money in the world to settle that.

“
Harrie, you were a gift to me that I threw away. Please know that I’m very much aware of what I lost.”

Ginger dropped the letter on Harrie’s desk. “Where’s this check he mentions?”

Harrie blew her nose and picked up the envelope. She handed a check to Ginger who looked at it and let out a shriek. “It’s a million dollars!”

DJ and Caroline rushed in, concern on their faces
. DJ said, “What the hell is going on? It sounded like someone being murdered.”

Harrie took the check back from Ginger and said, “No, actually, it’s a kind of rebirth. I think the past is finally behind me, and suddenly, I feel wonderful. Could we get out of here now? I’m starving!”

“Yeah,” said Ginger. “And she’s definitely picking up today’s tab.”

62

They gathered at the restaurant, a small treasure tucked away in the basement of the Galleria. They sipped Margaritas from fat, salt-rimmed glasses. The waiter kept them supplied with baskets of tortilla chips and fiery salsa that was a specialty of the chef. Harrie told them about the unexpected letter and check from Nick.

They
were still chewing on that news when Caroline spoke up. “I forgot to tell you I heard from my friend at the publishing house in New York. She found out who Francis Black is.”

Harrie said, “So who is he really?”

“Well, believe it or not,” Caroline said, “it’s Peter Templeton.”

There was a stunned silence. Ginger said, “But why would he write a book pointing to Eric as the killer? That doesn’t make any sense at all.”

DJ said, “No, actually that’s pretty clever. In view of what Philip told us last night, blaming it on Eric was one way to deflect suspicion away from Daniel, Peter, or even Sheriff Smiley Hernandez. Peter maintained all along that Manny Salinas and some unknown acquaintance did the deed. Nobody would suspect him of writing a book with a completely different theory, especially one that accused his own nephew. It was brilliant.”

They were still talking about the book when Swannie joined them.

“Sorry I’m late but an interesting call came in just before I left. It’s a bit of a shocker. Our old friend Daniel Snow died this morning. He left a note saying he had been diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer and didn’t wish to stay around for the end that awaited him. He secured a hefty quantity of barbiturates and took them during the night.”

“My God,” Caroline broke the silence. “I guess he was my last living relative except for sleazy Jonathan and the institutionalized Eric. I suppose I should feel something, but I don’t. I only remember
how much Jacob disliked the man and how much he distrusted him.”

DJ spoke up
. “Well, there’s one more surprise, Mom. I neglected to mention to you earlier what Philip Lawrence told us last night. Daniel made a will in which he left his entire fortune to any surviving children of the Snows. Jonathan was excluded from any inheritance unless absolutely no one else survived. Elizabeth says Daniel set up a trust fund years ago for Eric’s care. That means you are the sole inheritor of Daniel Snow’s considerable fortune.”

Caroline’s face showed
surprise and disbelief. Harrie started to giggle.

“I’m sorry,” she said when the others turned to look at her, “but think about it
. Just a few days ago, none of us would have guessed we’d be sitting here today, sipping Margaritas together with new friends like Caroline and DJ and that Caroline would be the long lost child of the woman in Senator Lawrence’s book. Then there’s the additional strange communication from Nick, ending years of speculation about why he left and what happened to him.”

Ginger added, “And we also had no idea that Harrie and Carline would be wealthy women. I said in the office that Harrie would be picking up the tab today, but—“

Caroline held up her hand. “I know what you’re going to say. I’m going to share the expense with Harrie.”

Ginger nodded then stared at DJ. “Somehow I get the
idea that isn’t all you two will be sharing in the future.”

“Ginger!” Harrie yelled, her face as red as the salsa.

When the laughter subsided, DJ said to the whole party, “Now that Harrie has riches to go with her beauty, I better make my move before all the other men come running”

Harrie sat back and folded her arms. She studied the handsome man beside her and thought of all the reasons she had avoided entanglements. She thoug
ht of the loneliness she’d felt and the opportunities she’d rejected. All those years of trying to protect herself could not suppress the warm feeling emanating from her heart. Something had melted inside her, and she didn’t even try to suppress the grin that creased her face.

“I have a question for you.” She brought her face up close to his.
“How do you feel about women who love cats and have strange dreams?”

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