Cradle Of Secrets (5 page)

Then Tammie remembered what the clerk at the hotel had said. “But there are no hotels—”

Serena's face grew brighter. “Oh, but there is plenty of room here! This house is as much yours as it is mine.”

“Serena!” the scarred woman said. “You can't invite just anyone into the house.”

Her determination seemed to make Serena stronger. “She's not just anyone. She's my s-sister. She belongs here!”

“No, Serena,” Aurore said sympathetically. “The baby died in the fire that killed your mother. You've always known that.”

Serena shook her head. “I heard the baby cry.”

As Aurore continued to argue gently with Serena, Tammie stared at the portrait. A whirl of emotions coursed through her, and for a split second she had the urge to run from the house. How could this be happening?

From the outside, the mansion really did look as big as a hotel. But the only person welcoming her through the door was Serena, and it was clear that whatever medication she was taking was speaking for her.

Could this really be her sister? Yes, there was definitely a biological connection of some sort between her and Serena. A mere glance was all it took to confirm that. But her sister? If that was true, then who was the woman in the portrait with her?

Tammie swayed where she stood, finding it hard to breathe.

Ignoring the woman, Serena pushed forward and focused her attention on Tammie. “Please stay.”

Tammie could feel Dylan standing behind her. Her heart pounded with fear that Serena would take one step too many and come toppling down the staircase. Everything about this house felt wrong, and yet she knew she had the truth staring her in the face. All she had to do was sort it out.

Lord, I don't know why this happened or what's going on. But I know You will lead me on the right path to find the truth. All I ask is that you keep me strong.

“Of course I'll stay,” she said, pasting on a smile despite the uneasy feeling that flooded her. Her acceptance brightened Serena's gray face more than a fraction, and Tammie was glad for that.

“What are you doing, Tammie?” Dylan whispered from behind.

She turned to him, saw the worried lines deepening around his eyes. “I'm getting answers.”

Aurore quickly strode up the stairs toward Serena, and Susan came rushing down. “If Serena insists on having her here, then get her bags—quickly, while I bring Serena back to bed.” She nodded sharply at Dylan. “Make sure
he
leaves.”

As Serena and Aurore disappeared upstairs, Susan led them to the front door. “I'll wait here while you get your bags. Any visiting will have to wait until Serena is feeling better.”

“What's wrong with her?” Dylan asked as he walked out the door.

“She's not well.”

He stopped, turned and Tammie almost collided with the wall of his back. “Obviously.”

Susan lifted her chin in defiance. “Aurore has asked me to—”

“Yeah, I heard. I'm to leave,” Dylan said. He glanced at Tammie.

Susan continued. “Just because you've made your way through the front door, that doesn't mean you're privy to family business.”

“Am I family? Really?” Tammie asked.

“Serena seems to think so,” Dylan said.

Susan cast them a long look, then said, with a sigh that seemed to weigh her down, “She's suffered from mental illness her whole life. It's only gotten worse since Byron Davco, her father, was diagnosed with Alzheimer's. He's been in a nursing home for over a year now. The loss has been too much for her to handle.”

Tammie wanted to cry—for Serena and her loss, and because she knew that kind of loss, as well. She had longed for a sister her whole life and now it seemed she'd always had one. Right now, though, exhaustion was winning out over curiosity.

Part of her had held on to the notion that maybe her parents hadn't known she wasn't their biological daughter, as Bill had suggested. But now that she'd met Aurore and remembered her visit as a child, Tammie doubted that. They'd known.

Lord, I know You won't give me a bigger burden than I can handle. Please help me find out why my parents kept this from me. Please give me the strength to see this through.

“Why don't you get your bags, so I can show you to your room?” Susan said impatiently.

They'd walked a few yards down the pathway toward the street when Dylan caught her arm.

“Tammie?”

His face was dark, and his troubled eyes bored into her with what she might have called fear in anyone else. But the man she'd met earlier hadn't been afraid of her running him over with her car. She doubted he feared anything.

Pressing her fingers against her throbbing temple, she said, “I finally understand what you meant by feeling like you're in some weird science fiction movie.”

“Your staying at this house will only make it worse. This isn't a good idea,” he said quietly. “I should never have brought you here.”

She had to look up at him. In such close proximity, she saw how much taller he was than her, smelled the clean scent of him minus the strong odor of shaving cologne that most men seemed to bathe in.

She sighed, then turned to Susan, who was waiting for her. “Give me a minute to get my suitcase, and then you can show me to my room.”

When they were off the porch, she voiced her thoughts. “You're wrong, Dylan. I didn't know exactly what I was searching for or what I'd find when I drove into town this morning. Now I know. All the answers I'm looking for start here—in this house.”

Dylan's eyes darted back to the mansion and then to Tammie again. “It doesn't feel right. Cash said he was coming here to save Serena. I thought he was being dramatic, but that's out of character for my brother. Now I feel like I've just thrown you to the wolves. I can't leave you here like this.”

She cocked her head to one side and paused as they reached her car. “You were so eager to get me here in the first place. Why the change?”

He looked away, seeming embarrassed, but then looked her square in the eye. She admired him for that.

“I'm sorry. I thought you were playing games with me. It's my suspicious nature. In my line of work, I'm used to people feeding me lines. I spent all these weeks here getting the runaround, and then you showed up. When I saw you out on that road, I didn't believe you. Even as we drove here I thought you were really Serena Davco.”

She nodded and smiled as she yanked open the door to the backseat of her rental car. “I'm not in the habit of lying, Dylan.
That's
not
my
nature.”

Dylan grabbed her suitcase and then slammed the door. “I'm not, either. And I didn't trust your word, and I'm sorry for that, too. Look, I don't know what brought you here, but I have a feeling we're both after the same thing—the truth. I'm just not comfortable with you staying here alone.”

A warm flow of emotion hugged her. “It's sweet of you to worry. But I'm not going to be alone here. I've just found out I have a sister. No DNA tests are going to tell me different.”

“It's not safe.”

“How do you know that?”

He looked at her hard. “Because my brother is missing. I don't want you to be, too.”

Tammie glanced back to the house and caught the sharp glance Susan cast at them from the front door as she waited for Tammie to return. It was clear they didn't want Dylan there. No one but Serena wanted Tammie there, but it was a harder argument for the others to win when it was clear Serena Davco believed Tammie was her long-lost sister, who had supposedly died at birth.

With a quick rake of his hand over his head, Dylan looked back at the house and grunted. “We can come back tomorrow. Maybe Serena will be feeling better then. Call it gut instinct, but I don't like what's happening here.”

Tammie couldn't have agreed more. But she shook her head, determined to see this through. “That's not good enough.”

“Sometimes that's all you have. Cash is missing because he went after Serena Davco, and it's clear they've made a fortress out of this place to keep people from her.”

“Exactly the reason I should stay.”

“You have a name now, information to start searching for the truth. You don't have to be here to do it.”

“What about you? Serena knew your brother.”

Dylan reached for her, touching her shoulder. The warmth of his touch, the gentle concern in his eyes, filled her with emotion. “And my brother disappeared.”

Voices from an upstairs window filtered out into the summer air, but Tammie couldn't make out the words. “Aurore knew my mother and father. Ever since I found out they weren't my biological parents, I've been having a hard time forgiving them for not telling me the truth. I've been praying but I can't get past it.”

A look passed between them, a look she didn't quite understand, and held for a moment.

“Ms. Gardner,” Susan called from the front porch. “If you're ready, I'll show you to your room.”

Dylan sighed and pulled the envelope with Serena's picture and a pen out of his shirt pocket. He tore off a piece of the envelope and wrote something on it.

“This place gets weirder and weirder. Take this. It's my cell number and the name of the campground I'm staying at in town. It's not the lap of luxury, but there's room there, and it's clean. You might want to consider changing your mind.”

She took the slip of paper from him and was surprised by how much her hand was shaking. She fought to steady it.

“You came all the way from Chicago to go camping?”

“It's going to take more than getting thrown out of my hotel room because of the auction to get me to leave town. I
will
get the information I need to find Cash.” He hesitated. “And I
won't
leave until I know you're going to be okay alone.”

She shifted in place, looked away and then straight at him. Fear of what was to come suddenly came crashing in around her.

“Are you okay?” he asked, reaching out and taking her by the arm.

“You could stay, too,” she said, tears filling her eyes. She wouldn't cry. It wouldn't help anything if she did. She was just tired.

“No one gave me an invitation. And since Aurore and her shadow have spent the last month making sure I don't darken their doorstep, it's not likely I'll get one.”

The idea of being here alone, without an ally, didn't sit well with her, but what choice did she really have? Every hotel was booked solid.

Dylan was a handsome man, when he wasn't looking at her all crazy and determined. And, even in that state Tammie had to admit, there was something strangely appealing about him. He had a strength that made her feel safe, a determination and sense of honor where his brother was concerned, that she could only admire.

“Dylan, you didn't get me into this. You probably wouldn't have been the only one assuming I was Serena Davco. I most likely would have made my way right here on my own. I'm not your responsibility.”

“Right.”

He didn't sound convinced. Maybe it was the cop in him who felt the need to protect her.

“Why haven't you gone to the local police regarding your suspicions about Cash?”

He sputtered and shook his head. “What there is in terms of law enforcement in this town is a joke. Besides, no one besides me believes anything sinister has happened to Cash.”

“Look. It took you a month to get this far. I'm not going to leave now and risk having them slam the door in my face the next time I come to talk to Serena.”

Dylan sighed, defeated. “If you're stubborn enough to want to stay, I can't stop you. Call me if you need anything. I don't care what time it is. I
will
be back tomorrow morning.”

To her surprise, those few words gave her comfort.

“At least you know I'll answer the door and let you in.”

He smiled and gave her a wave as he walked away. She watched him climb into his Jeep and drive away before dragging her bag toward the door.

“This way,” Susan said.

Tammie followed her up the stairs and paused on the landing to stare at the picture of the pregnant woman with the young child.

“What was her name?”

Susan stopped and glanced back at Tammie. “Eleanor.”

Tears filled Tammie's eyes. “And the baby?”

“The baby died inside the womb with her mother during the fire.”

No she didn't,
Tammie thought.
Not if what Serena believes is true
. She clamped her teeth over her bottom lip.

“Is that how Aurore was scarred? In the fire?”