MemoriesErasedTreachery (16 page)

"They only have regular coffee, so I'm having hot chocolate. Do you want some?"

"No. I'll just have the juice."

For someone who normally didn't do heavy breakfast food, Devin finished everything on his plate before his hunger was satisfied. Sighing, he leaned back and looked over at the two boxes stacked on the empty chair next to Ewyn. "What's in those?"

"The girls' personal papers," Ewyn responded absently, his attention focused on the panoramic view outside the wall of windows. With his elbows propped on the table, he took a few sips of hot chocolate before continuing. "The small box is the one Patterson gave me, and the other is from their rooms at college. I decided I'd go through them after breakfast and get it out of the way."

"I'll help. Where do you want to do this?" Devin wiped his hands, stood, and grabbed the boxes.

"How about our bedroom? In case we get tired, want to take a break, uh…" Ewyn grinned. "Get busy."

"You read my mind." Devin turned toward the door, but Mycelia rushed in and blocked his way.

"Devin, Ewyn…" Breathless, she paused, inhaled deeply, and started again. "Niki and Caro, they were here!"

"What!" Dishes and glasses rattled as Ewyn shoved away from the table. "When…how do you…"

"Calm down, Ewyn. Let her talk." Devin looked at Mycelia. "Come on, Myce, sit down." He strode into the living room and set the boxes on the coffee table. After directing Mycelia to a chair, he and Ewyn dropped down on the sofa. "Okay, Myce, take it slow."

"I was talking to Brigit…"

Devin frowned and looked at Ewyn. "The housekeeper, one of Rosa's…Myce's relatives," Ewyn told him. "Go on, Myce."

"We were talking about Kieki and the tragedy of her never getting to know her mother. Then we were reminiscing about what we remembered of the girls growing up, and Brigit mentioned how happy the girls were the last time she saw them, just before they died." She looked from Ewyn to Devin. "The months they weren't at school, they were here. I heard you and Mick discussing the girls. Does any of this help?" she asked.

"Yes," Ewyn said. "Go on."

Mycelia shook her head. "It never occurred to any of us on the estate…why would they come here?"

"Don't stress about it, Myce. It's a done deal." Ewyn looked at Devin. "Why couldn't they have told me or Gem?"

"Can't say." Devin shrugged. "Myce, would you get Brigit?"

"Yes." Mycelia hopped up and rushed upstairs.

"After we talk to Brigit, I want to see the rooms the girls used," Devin remarked.

"Why? The staff will have cleaned…" Ewyn paused. "Oh. They wouldn't have thrown out personal things. You think we'll find something in their stuff?"

"Why not? As far as we know, the day they died, they planned to return here after their trip to Pepperdine. Won't hurt to check."

Mycelia reappeared tugging a middle-aged woman behind her. "Devin, this is Brigit." The woman entered the room looking apprehensive.

"Hey, Brigit," Ewyn said. "Have a seat." He directed her to a chair opposite the sofa.

"Mister Ewyn, I thought the family knew." She blushed. "Some families send their pregnant unmarried daughters away until term. At the funeral, nobody said anything," she said, anxiously. "It never occurred to me to mention it. Besides, they weren't here all the time.

"When I heard about the accident, I assumed they were returning from the estate. They only left here that morning." Wringing her hands, she glanced at Mycelia. "You know we're not allowed to gossip about the family. I only went in to see Kiera because she brought back memories of Caro as a baby--the black hair--I never…" Her voice faded. "I'm sorry," she whispered.

"It's okay, Brigit," Ewyn reassured her. "Just tell us about their time here. Anything unusual. Did anyone come to visit them?"

"No. As I said, they weren't here the entire six months. They would stay a few weeks then take off. Niki always let me know if they would be gone for a while, and she'd call to let me know when they were returning," she explained. "They went to the Caribbean for two weeks in June, and they spent three weeks on Maui during August and September. They were gone over the Labor Day weekend. They never told me where they were staying, only where they were going."

"Is Caro's car here?" he asked.

Brigit shrugged. "They always left together in Niki's Lexus. I never saw them in any other vehicle. If Caro drove it here, it would be in the main garage," she replied. "Dave and I, along with the rest of the staff, park in the garage below the servants' quarters. The day workers park out back."

Devin frowned. "Wouldn't the staff have noticed the car in the main garage?"

"Sure, but it wouldn't have been anything out of the ordinary," Brigit said. "Both girls were here, two cars would have been normal. The day workers have no reason to go to the main garage, and my husband never mentioned it. Caro must have put it away herself. I can have someone go check."

"Don't bother. I'll check it out later," Ewyn said. "By the way, do you know which obstetrician Niki saw while she was here?"

"None in Big Bear. When they went away overnight, Niki said she was driving into town to see the doctor. I assumed she meant the family doctor in San Bernardino."

Devin asked, "Who picks up the mail?"

"Usually one of the day workers. They bring it to me and I distribute it," Brigit answered. "But I never saw anything from a physician."

"Niki could have set up her own post office box, Dev."

"Mister Ewyn, the girls were happy while they were here. Nothing about their behavior was out of the ordinary. Niki seemed ecstatic about having a baby. She and Caro were always giggling, making plans, and she had every type of how-to baby book, parenting guide, and the catalogues with baby clothes, toys…" Her voice died away as tears filled her eyes.

"Thanks for telling me that." Chest tightening with the anguish of loss, Ewyn took a deep breath before continuing. "I'm glad they were with people they knew, people who took good care of them."

Devin questioned Brigit and a few other staff members for an hour. Once satisfied they had told him everything they could remember, he thanked them and sent them back to work.

Ewyn turned to Devin. "Well, we know Niki wasn't using the family physician, because he was at the funeral. He would have mentioned it to Gemma."

"Yeah. Makes me wonder about the doctor Niki did use."

"Why?"

"Because Brigit said there wasn't any mail from a doctor. If I were a doctor and my patient stopped coming to see me so close to term, I would have sent out a query letter asking if she had changed doctors so I could forward her records." Devin picked up the boxes containing the girls' personal possessions and headed upstairs with Ewyn trailing behind. "Of course, she could have used an alias."

"I suppose. But at this late date, is it important…to know what doctor she used?"

Devin paused at the top of the stairs. "Only if Niki provided info about Kieki's father."

"Oh, yeah. I'll check with the post office."

They went to Nicole's room, first.

Chapter 11

Nicole's bedroom was large and airy with heavy white oak, southwestern furniture. There was a king-size bed set back in an alcove on a raised platform. Although the curtains, carpet, and bed linens were in several shades of blue, it was a distinctly woman's room without being prissy--no frills. A huge fireplace dominated part of the room, with a sofa, tables, and an easy chair arranged in front of it. Next to the fireplace, there were floor-to-ceiling windows and a door leading to a balcony.

Noticing a stack of logs outside, Devin set the boxes on the coffee table and headed for the balcony. A knock on the door, sidetracked his intention to retrieve a few logs and start a fire. "Come in," he called out.

A man rushed in, introduced himself as Dave the groundskeeper and headed outside. He collected a few logs, stacked the wood in the fireplace, and had a fire started within moments.

"Thanks, Dave," Devin told the man as he exited the room. "Hey, babe, why so quiet?"

Ewyn shook his head and shrugged. "I guess I'm in shock. It never would have occurred to me to check here for the girls. If we hadn't decided to come here for vacation, we may never have known. As Brigit said, the staff doesn't gossip about the family."

"I guess it comes with the territory."

"Yeah. The nature of the family's business makes it a condition of employment. Brigit and her staff live in the area…they're on retainer. She and Dave, her husband, are the only lifers. The rest, Brigit hires them as needed. The chalet employees are a separate entity from the estate staff, and only required to live in when family members are in residence here."

Ewyn paced the room while he spoke, pausing every so often to look at a variety of family photos on the walls. "Brigit has full autonomy regarding the running of this property, so there's no reason for her to communicate with Rosa, unless there's a problem Brigit can't handle."

"As family, they don't talk on a regular basis?"

"I doubt it. They're distant cousins, several times removed. And even if they did talk, neither would breach their commitment to the family," Ewyn declared. "What goes on at any given property doesn't leave the property. They've been with the family forever, since they were young girls. They understand."

"Hmm. I think the staff's code of silence may have been the reason Niki decided to come here."

"But why…what did she think she couldn't tell us?" Ewyn came to an abrupt stop when Devin stepped in front of him, halting his forward momentum. "It couldn't have been about the pregnancy, hell…she was grown, what possible objections could Gem or I have had." Ewyn looked up, tears brimming in his eyes. "Dev, what could she have been afraid of?" His eyes widened. "Or who?"

"I don't think their coming here had anything to do with fear. Think about it. Brigit said they were happy, carrying on as usual, anticipating Kiera's arrival, traveling, and doing what any two young women of means would do in their free time." He slipped his arms around Ewyn's waist and pulled him close.

"Besides, Niki was smart, organized, and too much like her father to be fearful. If there had been something she couldn't have handled on her own, or she thought it was life threatening, she would have contacted you or Mick," Devin stated. "Especially if it involved her mother. She would not have put her baby or Caro in jeopardy."

"Okay. So what went wrong, why the secrecy?"

"Who's to say Niki was being secretive? She and Caro had been handling their own lives for some time. With Gem being ill, Niki probably didn't want to stress her out. We don't know what changes a woman experiences during pregnancy, but you know Gem would have worried about every minute until the baby arrived." Devin shrugged. "Maybe pregnancy and the pressures of school didn't mix--it
was
Niki's last year. Or, she decided to take a leave of absence until she had her baby."

"Okay, I can buy that. It seems strange they didn't keep their roommates in the loop."

"Not really. Niki's leaving school indicates she didn't want to be bothered with anyone fussing or hovering, and she wasn't alone, she had Caro with her." Devin grabbed Ewyn's hand and tugged him over to the sofa. Once they were comfortable, he whispered, "Relax. We know where they were, so we have a starting point."

"You're right. I'll start with this one." Ewyn leaned forward and opened the box obtained from Patterson. Devin reached for the other box and they worked in silence for almost an hour before a knock on the door interrupted them.

"Come in." Ewyn watched Mycelia enter with a squirming Kiera in her arms. "Break time." He took Kiera from her nanny, and baby-girl gurgled and smiled as if happy to see him.

Her rapid growth and advancing motor skills constantly amazed him. Already teething, her first tooth was trying to break through the gum. The pediatrician said she was right on schedule for five and half months-- happy, healthy, and having an easy time with the teething, sans fevers and crankiness.

Ewyn climbed on the bed, placed Kiera on her stomach, then settled down beside her, chuckling at her attempts to get on her hands and knees. She was at the
up on her hands and knees rocking back and forth in preparation for the crawling,
stage. He didn't know if he should be happy those particular skills had developed to such an extent, or fearful of the consequences of her achieving her goal.
He
wasn't ready for that phase.

Devin came to the bed and flopped down next to Kiera. She rolled onto her side and giggled. "Hey, baby-girl." He scooped her up, nuzzled her neck, blew air bubbles on her tummy, then held her at arm's length while she kicked and squealed, making him laugh. He kissed her slobbering mouth and put her back on the bed, where she squirmed and wiggled her little butt, propelling herself around the bed in a circle.

Devin grinned and looked at Ewyn. "I think our little girl is growing up. She'll be walking and talking in no time."

"Hell, Dev, don't tell me that. I'm lying here thinking about the crawling stage and the chaos accompanying it."

"What's to worry? I've got it covered. Carlo is going to childproof the entire condo."

"Oh."

Mycelia laughed. "We've already taken care of the nursery and Gemma's apartment," she said. "By the way, I came to ask if you're ready for lunch, and is there anything I can do to help you with Niki's things?"

"Yes, to both questions." Ewyn glanced at Devin. "I'm starved. Are you hungry?"

"I am. And Myce, you can go through the room, see if you can find anything helpful."

"Sure." She picked up the phone on the bedside table and pressed the intercom button. "Hey. Yeah, they're ready for lunch. Niki's room. Hold on, let me ask." She put the call on hold. "Do you mind if I have my lunch in here with you?"

"Myce,
pul-lease
." Ewyn rolled his eyes. "Tell Brigit to send up a bottle and a few teething pretzels for Kieki." He lifted Kiera and used her bib to wipe the drool from chin.

Lunch arrived and Ewyn spread a baby blanket on top of the comforter and placed Kiera in the center, supported by pillows and cushions against her back and sides. He handed her a teething pretzel and joined Devin and Mycelia at the table.