Missing Heiress (A Jackie Harlan Mystery Book 2) Page 18

  Carl walked to the door. “You and Michael stick to Georgia like glue and I’ll stay close to Connelly. All I need is one good reason to punch his lights out.”

  Austin quickly stood up. “Is Georgia safe in the ladies room?”

  “Trust me,” Carl answered, “no one tangles with Jackie and walks away unharmed.”

  *

  “So what do you plan to do?” Jackie asked. She stood behind Maggie and watched the girl’s reaction in the bathroom mirror.

  “Pardon me?” Maggie asked.

  “To your parents, I mean.”

  Maggie wrinkled her brow. “What?”

  “Georgia, I am a private investigator. We’ve been looking everywhere for you. Your grandfather left you a fortune.”

  Maggie didn’t bother to look at her. Instead, she stared at her reflection and narrowed her eyes. “The grandfather who didn’t want me either, you mean?”

  “He didn’t know about you until a week before he died.”

  “So you say.”

  “So Austin says. He and your Grandfather were good friends. As soon as your grandfather found out, he changed his will and left it all to you.”

  “I don’t want it. I don’t want anything from any of…” She stopped talking when a woman came in to use the facilities. She put both hands on the edge of the counter to steady herself, and dropped her gaze until the woman left.

  “I know you’re angry, but…” Jackie started.

  “I am well beyond angry. Did you see how they danced as though they have not a care in the world? They have a care – they just didn’t want the burden of it…of me.”

  “That may be true, but your grandfather had nothing to do with it. If you do not claim the inheritance, your parents will. Is that what you want?”

  She finally turned to face Jackie. “I don’t want them to be my parents.”

  “I understand, they’re not much of a prize. Your father is a gambler and if he gets the chance, all your grandfather’s money will be gone in a matter of months. I bet you could think of a lot better ways to spend it.”

  Georgia said nothing.

  “Why did you come here? Why this night?” Jackie asked.

  “I came to publicly embarrass them. I would have done it months ago, but they are never in the same place at the same time. This is the first time I have found them together.”

  “If you want to embarrass them, then let the world know you exist, and that you are claiming your grandfather’s wealth. It is 1.6 billion dollars and I can’t think of a sweeter revenge.”

  “And then what do I do? I still have them for parents. All I wanted…all I ever needed…was for someone to love me. Now it is all about money and using it to seek revenge. I cannot do it, it ties me to them still and I wish to be free.”

  “Do you remember Adelaide Bertrand? She took you to Mary Cathleen’s Boarding School for Girls.”

  Georgia turned away and looked in the mirror again. “I remember a woman leaving me at the school, but she never came back for me.”

  “She couldn’t, your father forbid it.”

  “She could have found a way if she wanted to.”

  “Adelaide wanted to very much. She just couldn’t. She was the one who told your grandfather about you.”

  Georgia fought back years of repressed tears. “She wasn’t my mother anyway. Did my father forbid my mother to come too?”

  “I don’t know, why don’t you ask him?”

  She scoffed. “Ask him to tell the truth? He has lied about me all these years; why would he tell the truth now?”

  “You’re right. Yet, you have the advantage. You can keep him from getting his hands on your grandfather’s money. If you do that, everything he has done will have been for naught.”

  Georgia turned around to face Jackie again. “Would my mother try to keep me from getting it?”

  “I don’t know that either. I do know that at the reading of your grandfather’s will, she did not recognize your name.”

  “What?”

  “I’ll gladly show you the video.”

  “How could she not know my name?”

  “We think Mathew told her you died at birth. Please, Georgia, don’t let you father win.”

  Georgia took a deep breath, slowly let it out and rubbed her forehead. “All I have to do is claim the money?”

  “That and give us a blood sample so we can prove who you are. After that, all you have to do is show up in court.”

  “And that’s all? I can give the money away, go back to England and be happy, finally?”

  “You can do anything you want. We’ll even take you there in our private jet.”

  At length, Georgia sighed. “Does Austin know who I am?”

  “Michael is telling him now. He is handling the lawsuit on behalf of you and your grandfather, and he’s the one who hired us to find you. I’m sure he’s delighted to know who you really are.”

  “He might not be as delighted as you think.”

  “Would you like to meet your parents now? I’d be happy to introduce you.”

  *

  In the empty, well-lit mail center, Teresa opened the mailbox she rented, and pulled out the package she sent to herself. She stepped behind a counter, dropped the shawl on the floor, and then ripped the package open. Next, she pulled the skirt of her gown up and ripped the taped baggie off her leg.

  “Ouch,” she moaned. She pulled stretch jeans on under the dress, unzipped the gown, and let it fall to the floor. As fast as she could, she pulled a sweatshirt on over her head and traded Laura’s heels for tennis shoes. At last, she was dressed in unremarkable dark clothing. She put the cash in her purse, checked to make certain her ID and airline tickets were there, put a blonde wig on over her pinned up hair, and then stuffed everything else in an upright trashcan.

  She looked both ways, in case Mathew somehow managed to follow her, and then sprinted across the street to the waiting cab and jumped in. “The airport,” she told the driver.

  “No luggage?”

  “Just a sudden urge to fly away.” She put another forty dollars on the front seat and then relaxed enough to let her frayed nerves calm. She had just enough time to catch the redeye to New York.

  *

  With Carl not far away, Mathew tried to talk to Laura again. She stood near the buffet with the birth certificate in one hand and a drink in the other, swaying to the music while she continued to look for Austin. “I want to talk to you,” he tried.

  “Feel all that money slipping away?” she asked without looking at him.

  “Not everything is about money.”

  “Darling, I am so shocked to hear you say that.”

  He noticed a nearby couple, who seemed a little too interested in their conversation, and took hold of her arm. “Lower your voice.”

  She looked down at his grasp and glared at him. “Let go of me, Mathew, or I’ll scream.”

  Slowly he released her, but before he stepped aside, he tried to take the birth certificate out her hand. She abruptly put her hand behind her back. “You’ll regret this, Laura.”

  “Not as much as you will,” she said, slipping into the crowd.

  Not willing to give up so easily, Mathew was right behind her when Laura finally spotted Austin. She waved the birth certificate in the air, skirted around the dancers and headed toward the group of people he was with. She didn’t think it odd that all of them were watching her too.

  “Laura,” Austin said, as soon as she was close enough to hear him over the music. “I want you to meet someone. This is…”

  “Hello, dear,” Laura said, glancing at the girl beside him. “Austin, don’t ask me how I got it, but I have my daughter’s birth certificate finally. Take it, will you?”

  “It is a fake,” Mathew grumbled.

  Laura ignored her husband. “I am listed as the mother and now you can prove Georgia truly exists.”

  As Austin stuffed the birth certificate inside his jacket pocket, he started to speak
again, but Georgia put her hand on his arm. “You don’t know where your daughter is?”

  “No, dear. Mathew wouldn’t tell me.” Laura turned her attention back to Austin. “Please do everything you can to find her. All I want is to hold my baby in my arms, just once.”

  “You’ve lost your mind, Laura. She is dead and you know it,” Mathew growled.

  “If I have lost my mind, it is because I married you.” Laura again turned her attention to Austin. “Will you…”

  Austin interrupted her, “Laura, I would like you to meet Georgia Marie James, your daughter.”

  Laura slowly took her eyes off Austin. In disbelief, she stared at the young woman with dark hair, looked into her brilliant blue eyes, and for a time, was at a loss for words. “You are…?” Laura slowly began to smile. “He found you?”

  “I was not lost,” Georgia answered, letting her bitterness show. “I always knew where I was, I just didn’t know where you were.”

  “My darling, please believe me. I tried to find you many times, but the hospital has no record of your birth. I didn’t even know your name until…”

  Georgia looked from the delight in her mother’s eyes to the fury in her father’s. “If you will excuse me, I would like to leave now.”

  “I’ll take you home,” Austin said.

  “Please don’t leave, not yet,” Laura pleaded. When her daughter kept walking away, she bowed her head. Just then, she thought of something. “Austin, Austin, wait,” she said hurrying after him.

  Austin was hesitant to turn back until Jackie whispered, “We’ll stay with her.”

  “Thank you.” Austin watched the detectives take Georgia into the hallway, and then turned to face Laura. “What?”

  “I will sign those divorce papers now.”

  Austin glanced at the furious Mathew. “I’ll bring them by.”

  “And Austin, cancel my credit card and ask the bank to issue a new one. I’ll only need one card this time.”

  Both of them watched as an angry Mathew tried to enter the hallway, but Carl got in his way and intentionally spilled a drink on him. Apologizing profusely, Carl pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket and insisted on wiping the spilled drink off Mathew’s tuxedo. It was easy to see they were having words, but the music was too loud for them to hear.

  “He’ll take half of all you own,” said Austin as he watched Carl finally let Mathew leave.

  “Offer him a settlement, he’ll take it. If not, we’ll tie this divorce up for years. I can wait. Now, if you will forgive me, I have a husband to get rid of.” She turned and rushed out the door behind Mathew. By the time she got outside, Mathew was in their limo and Mark was driving him away.

  Laura shrugged and then watched her daughter get into Austin’s white limo. Austin talked to his three friends for a moment, and then he got in the backseat beside Georgia. Laura watched as the limo drove her daughter away. Once they were gone, she went back inside. “Samuel, call a taxi for me, will you?”

  “Of course, Miss Laura. Welcome back.”

  “Thank you, Samuel. It is good to be back.”

  CHAPTER 13

  In the backseat of the limo, Georgia could feel the tension between them. Austin didn’t look at her, and she didn’t much want to see the look in his eyes either. He intentionally kept his distance and she stared out the window, looking, but not really seeing anything.

  At length, Austin asked, “Why do I get the feeling I’ve been used?”

  His tone was accusing and she instantly became defensive. “Because you have been.”

  “How long have you known who I am?”

  “Does it matter?”

  “I suppose not.” He turned his face away too.

  “If my parents had not been there, we would have had a lovely evening and you would never have known.”

  “I suppose not…not unless you decided to be honest with me.”

  She turned to face him. “Is my crime so very unforgivable?”

  He couldn’t hide his anger as he turned to her. “You might have told me the truth.”

  “I thought about it, but how was I to know if you favored them? I was afraid you might say something and keep them from showing up. You have no idea how long it has taken me to find them in public together.”

  “Why did you want them in public together?”

  Her resentment was evident in her voice when she answered. “I wanted to scream at them – to shame them in a place where everyone could hear me. I have dreamed of doing it for years.”

  He tried to soften his voice, but he wasn’t very successful. “I suppose I can understand that.”

  “I didn’t truly think they would be there, but I could not pass up the opportunity. You had an invitation and I needed one.”

  Austin opened the bar and poured himself a drink without offering her one. “Well, at least you have accomplished what you set out to do.”

  “Have I? Neither of them looked shamed. Mathew was furious and Laura was shocked.”

  He snidely said, “Perhaps I should have shouted when I introduced you.”

  She sighed, looked out the window again and let the cold silence between them linger for a long while. Yet, she had a question she wanted answered, “Do you believe Laura truly didn’t know how to find me?”

  “It explains why she didn’t tell her father. Nick would have exploded and ruined any chance she had of getting Mathew to tell her.”

  “I believed her too. May I have my birth certificate?”

  He opened his jacket, pulled out the certificate, and handed it to her.

  “Thank you.” Georgia unfolded it, glanced down the page, folded it back up, and laid her hand in her lap. She couldn’t think of anything to say that would ease the awful tension between them, so she changed the subject. “I don’t care about the inheritance.”

  “You better care about it,” he said a little too forcefully. “Thousands of people are counting on you to keep Nick’s companies from going under.”

  “They don’t even know about me.”

  “They will, and many of them are going to be greatly relieved. Mathew will either sell off the companies or shut them down.”

  “Shut them down?”

  “Or run them into the ground. Either way, a lot of people will have to look for other jobs.”

  “Just like Jim.”

  “Yes, just like Jim and you…if you don’t claim the inheritance.”

  “Would you still help me find another job? I only need to make enough money to buy a plane ticket home.”

  “I will gladly buy you a ticket.”

  His harsh words stung and she hung her head. “Fine.”

  Austin was instantly sorry he said that and softened his tone considerably. “Georgia, Nick’s employees need you – I need you too. You have the power to lift a great burden off my shoulders.”

  “I don’t know the first thing about owning a company, let alone several of them.”

  “I will be with you every step of the way, and for as long as you need me.”

  “Even after what I have done?”

  He considered that for a moment. “They are two separate things. On Tuesday, the judge will rule in your favor and I will become your employee.” Austin took another swallow of his drink.

  “How long do you intend to stay upset?”

  “I am upset, but I will get over it for Nick’s sake.”

  Never had her emotions run so high and with all her heart, she wanted to be in his arms the way she had been when they danced. Yet, that didn’t look like it would be possible ever again. “I truly am sorry.”

  “You are forgiven.”

  “But not really.”

  “I need time,” said Austin. “In the course of one evening, you have gone from the Sissy who tricked me, to the Maggie I thought I was falling in love with, to the Georgia I desperately need to help me keep Nick’s companies alive. It is a huge adjustment.”

  “It is for me as well.”

  “I
know, so don’t let what’s happened between us keep you from doing the right thing.”

  “Claiming the inheritance is the right thing?”

  “Yes, for the sake of us all.”

  She closed her eyes. All she wanted was for this dreadful night to be over. “I wish to go home now.”

  “You can’t go home. Mathew might try to make certain you don’t show up in court. Jackie has a suite in a hotel and you will be safe with her.”

  “How long must I stay there?”

  “Until we go to court on Tuesday.” He reached in his pocket and handed her the cellphone. “You’ll need this. You are about to become a very busy woman.”

  She glanced down at her gown. “If I am to stay with Jackie, I shall need something else to wear.”

  “Give me your keys. I’ll have a security guard pick up your things and take them to the hotel.”

  “Can you tell him to get my laptop? I hide it behind the stove.”

  “Why do you…”

  “It is not the best part of town and I fear a break in. All I own are a few clothes and a laptop.”

  “I’ll tell him. Where is your key?”

  She folded the hem of her skirt up, and took the key out of a small pocket she had sewn inside the dress. Georgia handed it to him and then turned to look out the window again.

  He reached in his jacket pocket, retrieved a small notepad and then found his pen in the pocket of his shirt. “Care to give me your address?”

  She took the pen and paper, wrote it down and handed both back to him.

  The city lights were a blur as she once more stared out the window, only this time she had to fight back her tears. At last, she pulled herself together, realized the streets were nearly deserted, and that they seemed to be driving around in circles. “Where is this hotel? Colorado Springs?”

  “No, it is across the plaza from the Gladstone Building. We’re just driving around to make sure your father isn’t having us followed. When it is safe, we’ll transfer you to another car. Two security guards will take you to the hospital where they will draw your blood, and then to the hotel.” He stopped talking, but then remembered something else. “Your grandfather left a video for you. I’ll attach it to an email.”