Treasured Legacies (A Mary O'Reilly Paranormal Mystery) (10 page)

Mary walked into the lobby of the bank in downtown
Freeport.
 
The building itself was old,
but the lobby had been recently remodeled and had a warm and welcoming feeling
to it.
 
The reception desk was staffed by
a friendly young man who immediately looked up when Mary walked through the doors.

“Hello, can I help you?”

“Hi, I was wondering if I could speak with Quinn Edmonson,”
she said. “I don’t have an
appointment,
I was just
hoping he’d be free.”

“Let me check,” he replied, picking up the phone and
punching in a few numbers on the switchboard.
 

Mary walked over to the cozy waiting area and settled down
on an overstuffed chair near the fireplace. But she didn’t have a chance to get
too
comfortable,
a moment later a middle-aged man came
over and greeted her. “Hi, I’m Quinn,” he said, extending his hand.

Mary stood and shook his hand. “Hi, I’m Mary O’Reilly,” she
said, using her business name. “I think we’ve met at some Chamber events.”

He nodded. “Yes, I remember,” he said. “You do private
investigation work, right?”

“Yes, I do,” she said. “And I’m actually working on a local
case right now.
 
Could I meet with you
for a few minutes and ask you some questions?”

“Okay, but I can’t divulge any private banking information
without some kind of a warrant,” he cautioned, still leading her into his
private office off the lobby.

She shook her head. “Oh, no, this has to do with your work
before you were employed by the bank,” she said.

Closing the door, he offered her a chair and then walked
around and sat on the other side of the desk.
 
Templing
his hands, he met her eyes. “Before I
was employed by the bank?” he asked. “When I was working for Maughold?”

“Yes, that’s right,” she said. “I’m doing a real estate
investigation, nothing too tricky.
 
There
appears to be a lien on some property and Maughold purchased some of the
adjoining land.
 
I was hoping you could
remember if you had a lien issue too.”

“I don’t remember any lien issues,” he said. “But maybe if I
knew the owners of the property…”

“Of course,” Mary said with a smile, waiting to see his
reaction when she offered the name. “The last name was Johnson.
 
The original owner was Dale Johnson.”

Several emotions flashed across his face before he was able
to school his emotions. There was regret, sadness and a little anger. Finally
he nodded. “Yes, I actually remember the Johnson farm well. There was no lien
on the property when we purchased it,” he said.

“Are you sure?” Mary asked. “I mean, I’m sure you worked
with so many different farmers.”

“Actually, I got to know the family quite well, so I would
remember this one,” he said. “As a matter of fact, Jessie Johnson and I were
dating.”

“Oh, how nice,” Mary replied. “I’m not working for the
Johnson family, I’ve been hired by someone who is interested in the house, but
I understand they are lovely people.”

“They’re lovely unless they suspect you of murder,” he
muttered.

“Pardon me,” Mary asked, but she had heard every word.

“Nothing.
It was nothing,” he
replied. “After Dale passed away, I dealt primarily with Josh, the oldest
son.
 
He wanted to liquidate the property
quickly.
Much faster than the rest of his family wanted to
move.”

“Why the rush?”

Quinn sat back in his chair. “Well…,” he paused and studied
Mary. “This is confidential, right?”

“Absolutely,” Mary said.

“The county board was going to vote on allowing the Maughold
project to go through or not at the next board meeting,” he said. “Farmers were
offered an incentive to sell before the vote in order to encourage the board’s
positive reaction to the project. The Johnson land was a keystone property in
the whole project, if we didn’t have their land, we really didn’t have a
project.
 
So, let’s say Josh was given an
incentive, a nice incentive, to sign quickly.”

“But the whole family got their share, right?” Mary asked.
“It wasn’t only incentive for Josh?”

“No, Josh split the money evenly,” he replied. “But if he
had waited a little longer, like the rest of the family wanted, there would
have been no sale.
 
The board voted down
the project and the land’s value dropped to one tenth of what Maughold was willing
to pay for it.”

“One tenth?”
Mary asked,
astonished.

“Yes. And if poor Dale Johnson hadn’t had his farming
accident when he did, the family would still be eking out a living as farmers
rather than living the high life they now enjoy.”

“If you don’t mind me saying,” Mary inserted. “You sound a
little bitter.”

He sighed. “I really cared for Jessie, actually I loved
her,” he said. “But it was my job to push Josh to sign.
 
It was my job to do everything I could to see
the project through completion.
 
But I
wouldn’t have killed someone for it and I have to say, I got the feeling that
she had her suspicions after he died.”

“Did she ever accuse you?”

He shook his head. “No, because if they claimed it was
something more than an accident there would have been an investigation,” he
said. “And if it wasn’t me, then it might have been her sainted brother.”

“Do you really think he could have murdered his father for
money?” she asked.

“I don’t know,” he said. “I really don’t.
 
But people have done worse for a lot less.”

Suddenly the alarm on Mary’s phone went off and she
jumped.
 
“Oh, I’m sorry,” she said. “It
startled me.”

She looked down and saw the appointment reminder for the
psychologist. “I’m so sorry, I have to run,” she said. “But I want to thank you
for the information about the Johnson farm.
 
You’ve been very helpful.”

He stood and shook her hand. “If you’d like I can go back
and see if I have the title search,” he said. “When the project folded, I kept
all the files.”

“That would be very helpful,” she said, reaching into her
purse and pulling out a card. “Here’s my card.
 
If you find anything, just call me and I’ll come over.”

“I’ll do that,” he said. “Have a good day, Miss O’Reilly.”

“Mary,” she said with a smile. “Please call me, Mary.
 
And you have a good day too.”

Bradley and Clarissa were already in the waiting room when
Mary arrived. “Hi,” she said, placing a quick kiss on each of their cheeks.
“How did your day go?”

“Mine was great,” Clarissa offered. “I got an A on my spelling
test and we played kickball in gym.”

“Congratulations,” Mary replied with a smile. “That’s
great.”

“Um, the Mayor gave me a gold star,” Bradley inserted. “Am I
great too?”

Clarissa and Mary laughed. “Oh, Daddy, you’re always great,”
Clarissa said. “But did he really give you a gold star?”

Bradley sighed and then shook his head. “No, he didn’t,” he
confessed. “I just thought it sounded good.”

Mary leaned over and gave him another kiss. “It did sound
good, darling,” she said, winking in Clarissa’s direction, “Just not as good as
Clarissa.”

Clarissa snorted and clapped a hand over her mouth to keep
the giggles in. Bradley turned towards her, his eyebrows raised. “Oh, so you
think that’s funny, do you?”

“No Daddy,” she
choked,
her hand
still over her mouth. “I don’t think it’s funny.”

“Good,” he replied with a satisfied nod.

“I think
it’s
hee
-
sterical
,” she added with a chorus of giggles.

Mary laughed. “That was brilliant, Clarissa,” she said.

The inner office door opened and the laughter stopped
immediately.
 
All eyes went to the
professional looking woman standing in the doorway.
 
Her brown hair was pulled back in an
efficient French twist, her business suit was navy blue and her tailored blouse
was a crisp blue pinstripe.
 
She looked
down at the clipboard in her hand for a moment and then looked up again at the
three of them. “The Alden family?” she asked.

“Yes, that’s us,” Bradley said.

She nodded and added a wisp of a smile. “Please, come in,
all of you,” she said, motioning into her office.

All three
Aldens
stood at the same
time, like a choreographed marching band, and walked into her office, pausing
in front of the long couch against the wall.

“Please sit,” Dr. Springler commanded politely and all three
Aldens
sat, Bradley and Mary on either side of
Clarissa.

Dr. Springler sat across from them on a leather office
chair, her pen poised on the yellow pad on the clipboard and nodded. “Now, why
don’t you tell me why you’re here today and what you’d like to get out of our
meetings together?”

Clarissa’s eyes widened and Mary could see the panic in
them. “Why don’t I start,” Mary suggested, “since I was the one who set up the
appointment.”

Dr. Springler nodded for Mary to continue.

“We are an unusual family,” Mary said. “Clarissa is
Bradley’s natural daughter, but she was lost to him for eight years and they finally
found each other.
 
Clarissa has been
through all kinds of challenging situations in her young life - the loss of
both her adoptive parents, a threat on her life and now, helping us figure out
how to become a family.
 
Bradley and I
were recently married and we are figuring out how to be a couple, but also how
to be parents.
 
We both love Clarissa,
but we understand that she has gone through a lot and needs time to learn how
to trust us.”

Dr. Springler looked at Clarissa. “What do you think about
what your mother just said?” she asked. “Do you consider her your mother?”

Clarissa looked at Mary before responding to the doctor.
Mary smiled at her. “Tell her what you really feel,” she encouraged. “You’re
not going to hurt my feelings.
 
I want
you to be able to tell the truth.”

Dr. Springler turned from Clarissa to Mary.
 
“Actually, she might hurt your feelings,” she
said. “She should still tell the truth, but Clarissa needs to understand that
you have feelings too.
 
Feelings that can get hurt when someone is thoughtless.”

Clarissa nodded and took a deep breath. “I had a first mom,
I never knew her because she died when I was born, but Maggie told me about
her. And then I had another mom, she adopted me, and she died too.”

“Do you think all of your moms are going to die?” the doctor
asked.

At first Clarissa just looked at the doctor, then a single
tear slipped down her cheek and she finally nodded quickly. “Yes,” she
whispered. “I think moms die.”

“How about dads,” Dr. Springler asked. “Do dads die?”

Clarissa shook her head. “No, not like moms,” she said.
“Daddy Bradley has been looking for me since I was a baby.
 
He never stopped and he didn’t die. My moms
get sick and die, bad guys don’t get them.”

“Ah, well that does make a difference, doesn’t it,” Dr.
Springler said. “Are you worried about Mary getting sick?”

Clarissa glanced at Mary and then back at the doctor. “I
heard her throwing up, in the morning,” she said, her voice quivering. “My
adopted mom threw up every day.
 
She
would run to the bathroom at night and turn on the water, she thought I
couldn’t hear her or I didn’t know, but I did.
 
She never talked to me about being sick, but I knew she was sick.
 
I tried to help her.
 
I got her water and food; I made her take her
medicine. I was really quiet so she could sleep.
 
I never told her about stuff that would worry
her.
 
But she still died anyway.”

Dr. Springler turned to Mary. “Did you throw up this
morning?” she asked.

Bradley and Mary’s eyes met, Mary’s brimming with tears in
sympathy for the little girl. Turning in her seat, she took Clarissa’s hands in
her own. “Clarissa, you are right,” she said. “I did throw up this morning. And
I threw up yesterday morning too.
 
And I
think I threw up at my office this afternoon.”

Clarissa eyes widened and she inhaled sharply, releasing the
air in a stuttered shudder.

“But, the reason I am throwing up is because there is a baby
growing inside me,” she said. “And that often causes women to throw up.”

Clarissa face turned from fear to wonder. “A baby?” she
asked softly.

Mary nodded and placed her hand on Clarissa’s cheek. “A baby
brother or baby sister for you,” she said. “How do you feel about being a big
sister?”

Her bright and eager smile erased all doubts in Mary’s mind.
And when Clarissa wrapped her arms around Mary’s waist and hugged her, Mary
felt her heart melt with gratitude and love.
 
She kissed the top of Clarissa’s head. “You will be such a wonderful big
sister,” she said.

Clarissa looked up at her. “Will the baby call you mom?” she
asked.

Mary nodded. “Yes, I think so.”

“Then I’ll call you mom too,” she replied, and then nestled
back into Mary’s arms.

“Clarissa, that is a good decision,” Dr. Springler said.
“But are you still worried about Mary?”

Slipping out of Mary’s arms, she sat back in her seat,
thought about the doctor’s question for a moment and nodded.

“Are you worried about Mary or are you worried that you are
going to be left alone again?” the doctor asked.

Clarissa clasped her hands together tightly and avoided
looking at Bradley and Mary and nodded again.

“You’re worried that you are going to be left alone?” the
doctor urged.

“What if they don’t want me anymore?” Clarissa whispered,
terrified at speaking the words aloud.

“That’s a very scary thing to consider,” the doctor replied.
“And it’s very brave of you to say it out loud.”

She turned to Bradley. “How long did you search for your
daughter?” she asked.

Bradley immediately remembered the day he and Jeannine were
in the doctor’s office looking at the tiny figure on the ultrasound
screen.
 
He knew he had fallen in love
with his daughter at that moment. “Since before she was born,” he said. “I
never stopped looking for her.”

“Are there things you did that would prove to her you never
stopped looking?
 
That you always wanted
her?” she asked.

“He painted the room pink,” Mary whispered, remembering the
anguished joy in Jeanine’s voice when she realized Bradley had still painted
the nursery as they had planned.

“Pardon me?” Dr. Springler asked.

Bradley turned to Clarissa. “Just before your mother was taken
by the bad man, we went to the doctor and had an ultrasound.
 
That’s a special machine that lets the
doctors see how the baby is doing inside the mother.
 
During that ultrasound, we saw that you were
a little girl. I was so thrilled that I was going to be your father. On the way
home, I insisted we stop at the hardware store and buy pink paint for your
bedroom.
 
Your mom thought I was pretty
silly, because we had just painted your room white.
 
But, I wanted my little girl to have a pink
room. Then, your mom was taken.
 
I
searched for her and for you.
 
I followed
every lead and went all over the country looking for you.
 
But when I didn’t have any leads and when I
was just waiting for people to call me, I wanted to make sure that when I found
you, you would have the perfect room.
 
So, I painted your bedroom pink.”

She looked over at him. “You painted my room at Mary’s pink
too,” she said.

He nodded, taking a moment to gather his emotions before he
spoke. “I always wanted you to have a pink bedroom,” he said. “It just took
longer than I thought it would.”

“How does that make you feel, Clarissa?” Dr. Springler
asked.

“Not so afraid,” she said.

“That’s great,” she replied. “That’s all I want to do for
today.
 
But you all have homework. I want
you to each take one of these notebooks and I want you to write down your
feelings about your family, not just happy ones, but also angry ones or sad
ones.
 
Be very honest. Can you do that?”

The three nodded their heads and picked up notebooks.

“When would you like to see us again?” Mary asked.

“Well, I’d like to see Clarissa next week,” she said. “But
in the meantime, if there are any major issues or problems, feel free to call
me.”

“We will,” Bradley said. “Thank you.”

She handed Clarissa one of her cards. “And this is just for
you,” she said. “If you ever feel really sad or angry, I want you to call me.
Okay?”

Clarissa nodded and smiled. “Okay, I will. I promise.”