Millie on a Mission Read online

  “There isn’t much to tell. Bailey and I met in various parts of the house the next few weeks. We would engage in a quickie and then I would carry out my business.”

  “Did she ever try to get anything more from you?” Jack asked.

  “Of course, but there’s nothing unusual in that. Every woman I’ve been involved with in the last thirty years or so has always tried to get something extra from me. I know how to handle the situation. No one has ever been able to bamboozle me ... until now.”

  “I would guess that Bailey was trained by grifters,” Jack offered. “She can probably read a crowd better than most and realized that pushing you in the obvious way would backfire. That’s probably why she decided to go after Adele.”

  “Except you have no proof that she actually went after Adele,” Arthur pointed out. “Right now, that’s only a hypothesis.”

  “True,” Jack conceded. “I feel it pretty strongly, though. You still haven’t told us the specifics on Slade.”

  “It was several months after we started our relationship. Bailey rarely asked for anything. She knew how to play me ... which I can see now. She mentioned her cousin and said he’d had it really hard his entire life. She told a sob story about how he was mistreated by his parents and never had the opportunity to learn a trade. Then she mentioned that he was a great handyman and thought he would be a good utility staffer for the household.”

  “And because she wasn’t asking for herself and didn’t want anything you were unwilling to give, you readily capitulated,” I surmised. “That’s just ... so stupid.”

  “I’m not under any illusions that I acted intelligently,” Arthur agreed. “The question is, what do we do now?”

  “Well, I’m going to guess the conversation we just had with Slade set him off,” Jack replied. “He’s probably angry enough to go after Adele. We need to get back to the house and check on her.”

  “And after that?”

  “After that we track down Slade and Bailey and remove them from the property. You’re right that we don’t have enough evidence to have them arrested. I’m willing to bet that once they’re banned from the property that all the ghost sightings will conveniently dry up.”

  “Then let’s get to it.” Arthur slowly rose to his feet and drained the rest of his drink. “I feel like a righteous idiot,” he admitted.

  “You should.” I had no sympathy for him. “If you don’t love Adele, you should find a way to separate while inflicting minimal damage. It would be best for both of you.”

  “I’ll consider it ... but after. I wasn’t lying when I said I didn’t want anything bad to happen to her. That’s the truth.”

  “Then we’ll make sure she’s safe. Adele is our biggest concern right now.”

  “Well, would you look at that.” He beamed at me. “We finally agree on something.”

  I wasn’t nearly as happy about that fact.

  ADELE WAS OUT OF BED – barely – when we barreled into her room. She looked surprised at the interruption ... especially when she realized Arthur was part of the crew.

  “What on earth is going on?”

  I laid everything out before Arthur could come up with a convenient lie. And, while he was chagrined at my boldness, he didn’t offer a word of complaint. When I finished, Adele was flummoxed.

  “I don’t understand,” she confessed. “Are you saying that Arthur’s latest conquest is responsible for all of this?”

  Well, that answered that question. I wasn’t sure until exactly this moment that she was aware of Arthur’s relationship with the buxom maid. She’d been fairly convincing over the course of her earlier denials. Apparently that was all for show.

  “We don’t think it’s her alone,” I explained. “She had help ... and we think that help came in the form of Aaron Slade.”

  “Yes, the handyman you mentioned earlier,” Adele mused. “You think they’ve been doing this together?”

  “I think it’s a definite possibility,” I confirmed. “She told Arthur that Slade was a cousin. According to the records Jack has been able to track down, that’s not true.”

  “Speaking of that, I don’t suppose you have a computer I can use, do you?” Jack directed the question to Arthur. “I want to see if I can find any other ties between Slade and Bailey.”

  “There’s one in Adele’s dressing room.” Arthur pointed. “There’s no password to log on. Let me know if you need anything.”

  “Thanks.” Before leaving the room, Jack pinned me with a pointed look. “Don’t leave this room without me. That goes for both of you.” He looked at Charlie. “Promise me you won’t leave.”

  “I promise,” Charlie replied. “We don’t have anywhere to go until you come back anyway. We’re not sure what we’re going to do.”

  “Good point.”

  I waited until he was gone to make my opinion known. “I think we should confront them.”

  Charlie immediately started shaking her head, but she wasn’t my target audience when it came to the suggestion. Arthur and Adele looked much more intrigued than my magical sidekick.

  “Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Adele asked finally. “I mean ... couldn’t it be dangerous?”

  “It could be,” I confirmed. “But we’ll have Jack with us, and Arthur has security guards on the property. I think we’ll be fine if we go as a group.”

  “Um ... well ... .” Unsure, Adele turned to Arthur. “What do you think?”

  “I think that I want some answers,” he admitted after a beat. “I don’t like that I was so easily duped. I think I’m owed an explanation.”

  “I would like some answers, too,” Adele agreed. “I need to get cleaned up before we confront them. I don’t want to look like walking death for my big moment.”

  “So get cleaned up,” I prodded. “By the time you’re ready, Jack should have more information. If we’re lucky, we’ll be able to get them to admit what they’ve been doing.”

  I HELPED ADELE DRESS IN HER closet once she was out of the shower and had applied her makeup. I thought she was being ridiculous. She didn’t need a full face of paint to reclaim her home. Obviously, she felt otherwise.

  “What’s going to happen with you and Arthur?” I asked once I got bored of watching her size up potential outfits. “Do you think you’ll divorce?”

  “Of course not.” She acted as if that was the most ludicrous thing she’d ever heard. “Arthur and I are lifers.”

  “Yes, but he’s been cheating on you for years,” I pointed out. “Don’t you think you deserve better than that?”

  “I think that ... life is complicated. Arthur and I were never destined for a world full of great love. We don’t have that in us. Like your friends Jack and Charlie, you can tell they’re going to have one of those great loves people write books about. That’s not Arthur and me.”

  The sentiment was schmaltzy but I couldn’t argue with it. “Yeah. They’re definitely ... something. They’re still young, figuring things out. They’re going to make a lot of mistakes. I doubt they’ll be the same mistakes you and Arthur have made, but it’s not too late for you to make amends with him and either go forward or break up. There’s still a chance you can find a great love.”

  She snorted. “Don’t you think I’m too old for that?”

  I thought of Bernard and shook my head. “I found my great love after I separated from Myron.”

  “You did?” She looked intrigued. “Do I know him? Is he a club member?”

  And that right there was the true source of Adele’s problems. “No. He’s not in your world. He’s in my new world ... the same world that Jack and Charlie are a part of. They’re my new family.”

  “But that’s not a world I want to be a part of.” Adele’s eyes shone with sincerity. “I don’t want to be part of the everyday world. I want to be part of this world. And, yes, this life isn’t perfect. Arthur and I don’t have that burn-up-the-sheets love that others so enjoy. That doesn’t mean we’re unfulfilled.”r />
  “Tell that to the hangover you had this morning. It’s clear to me that you’re drinking your sorrows away.”

  “Maybe a little,” she conceded. “I really should do something about that, but I don’t want to leave this life. It’s a part of me.”

  “I think that’s the fear talking.”

  “And I think it’s ... simply the truth. This is the life I like. I want to hang out at the club ... throw parties ... and make fun of the women wearing last year’s shoes. That’s simply who I am. I can’t change who I am … and I don’t want to make the attempt. I’m set in my ways.”

  I could tell she wasn’t going to budge. It made me sad but there wasn’t anything I could do about it. Honestly, why bother trying? “Get dressed,” I instructed. “We’ll see what Jack found and then track down Slade and Bailey. I’m almost looking forward to seeing their faces.”

  “I know, right? It’s going to be fun.”

  That wasn’t the word I would choose, but I wasn’t in the mood to argue.

  “SLADE AND BAILEY DEFINITELY have ties to each other that run deeper than they let on,” Jack announced when everyone was together in Adele’s parlor. “They’re lovers, not cousins.”

  “Lovers?” Arthur’s face twisted. “Are you saying she was sleeping with him at the same time she was sleeping with me? That’s not very loyal.”

  I seriously wanted to punch him. “You probably don’t want to go there,” I warned, irritation flashing. “I mean ... seriously. Let it go.”

  “Chill out, Millie,” he ordered. “It was just a statement.”

  “An annoying statement.”

  “A statement nonetheless.”

  “And it has nothing to do with the problem we’re facing,” Jack snapped. “These two have been together for years. As far as I can tell, Bailey started writing Slade when he was in prison — which means she knew exactly what he was when she suggested he be hired here — and they’ve been together since Bailey was eighteen.”

  I wrinkled my nose as I thought about the age difference. “Bailey was probably impressionable at that age. Maybe Slade molded her into what she became.”

  “I wouldn’t be surprised if he suggested the baby plan,” Jack agreed. “I didn’t find out much else besides that. I definitely think we should confront them now. The more time we give them to realize we’re plotting, the more likely they are to disappear.”

  “So we should go now.” Arthur dug in his pocket for his phone. “I’ll call for security and get them up here. It shouldn’t take more than five minutes.”

  “Then we’ll go after them,” Jack said. “It would be better for all concerned if we find them together.”

  “Do you think we’ll get that lucky?” I asked.

  Jack shrugged. “We won’t know until we try.”

  10

  Ten

  Mercedes, always on top of things, told us where to find Slade and Bailey. Sure enough, they were right where she said they would be — in the potting shed — and they weren’t alone. Danielle was with them.

  “What’s going on here?” Arthur strolled into the small building with an air of authority. “Millie, I thought you said Adele had fired Danielle.”

  “She did.” I was as confused as he was. “I’m not sure ... maybe she came back for her things or something.”

  “Or maybe she was part of this from the start,” Jack countered, his expression hard to read. “Maybe no one tripped her in the stairwell. Maybe she made it up.”

  Oh, well, that was an interesting hunch. “Why would she make it up?”

  “And why would she fake an injury that caused her to get fired?” Charlie added, confusion on full display.

  “Because she only came to this house to get money out of us,” Adele replied, catching me off guard with her fortitude. “I guess I should’ve realized she was in cahoots with these two. It didn’t even occur to me, though. I thought she was a different sort of grifter.”

  I knit my eyebrows together. “I don’t think I’m comfortable with you using the word ‘cahoots.’”

  She ignored me and instead focused on the defiant maid, who looked markedly different from the woman I’d seen the day before. There was no fear in this woman’s countenance, which made me realize it was entirely possible that I’d been bamboozled.

  “You shouldn’t have come back, Danielle,” Adele warned. “I told you what would happen if you did.”

  Danielle’s eyes lit with fire. “And I told you what would happen if you tried to keep me away from him. Do you think I’m just going to let you do this?”

  The sigh Adele let loose was long and drawn out. “I don’t understand why you insist on furthering this fraud. I mean ... really. There’s no way Arthur is your father. Stop spouting that nonsense.”

  Now I was really confused. “Wait ... she claims Arthur is her father? I don’t understand.”

  “I had the same reaction,” Adele supplied. “I mean ... look at her. There’s no way Arthur is her father.”

  I had to ask the obvious question. I couldn’t stop myself. “Why do you think Arthur is your father, Danielle?”

  Slowly, deliberately, the woman tracked her eyes to me. There was mayhem reflected there. “Because he is. My mother told me on her deathbed. There’s no way she would lie to me.”

  “But ... who is your mother?”

  “Esme Gonzalez.”

  I watched Arthur for signs he recognized the name, but his face was as blank as when the conversation started. “Do you know who that is?” I asked finally.

  Arthur shook his head and held out his hands. “No. I have no idea.”

  “I tried telling her she was backing the wrong grift, but she wouldn’t listen,” Adele volunteered. “I mean ... Arthur’s eye might wander, but it doesn’t wander to certain ... um ... types.”

  I had to bite back my disgust as Danielle made a face.

  “What types?” Danielle challenged.

  “She’s being racist,” I volunteered, seeing no reason to keep the information to myself. We were well past that now. “She’s saying that Arthur doesn’t engage with anything other than white women. I do have to say that Arthur essentially told us the same thing an hour ago.”

  “My mother wouldn’t lie to me.” Danielle was adamant. “She said you’re my father. That means you’re my father.”

  “I hate to break it to you, my dear, but I’ve only ever been with one woman of Hispanic descent and that was years ago,” Arthur offered. “It couldn’t have been your mother.”

  Wait ... something occurred to me. “How do you know it couldn’t have been her mother?” I challenged, legitimately curious. “What was the woman’s name?”

  Arthur wrinkled his nose. “How am I supposed to remember? It must’ve been twenty-five years ago.”

  I flicked my eyes back to Danielle. “How old are you?”

  “Twenty-four,” she hissed.

  Well, that was enough proof for me. “Arthur, you can’t remember the woman’s name and this woman is the right age. Plus, she swears her mother wouldn’t lie to her. I think it’s likely that she’s your daughter.”

  Adele growled. “Really, Arthur? You promised never to do anything like this. That’s why I looked the other way during your … infidelities. I can’t believe you put us in this position.”

  “You can’t just take her word for it,” Arthur whined. “She’s making it up.”

  Something about Danielle’s dark glare told me that wasn’t true. “I think we should let a DNA test sort that out,” I said. “That’s between Danielle and you.”

  “And me,” Adele snapped.

  “Listen ... I can’t even keep up with the weird thing you guys have going here. I don’t care how you handle that particular problem. It’s on you. What we have to worry about is these two.” I gestured toward Bailey and Slade, who both looked to be about as uncomfortable as two people could get. “I want to know how they got involved.”

  “Involved in what?” Danielle d
elivered the question with smooth efficiency, but I wasn’t an idiot. I didn’t believe her for a second.

  “It’s probably best if you don’t start lying now, Danielle,” I warned, wagging a finger to get her attention. “It won’t work out well for you in the end if you protect these two. We know the truth about them.”

  “And what truth is that?” Slade challenged. “What is it that you think you know about me?”

  “Well, for starters, you’re a rapist,” I shot back.

  Slade clenched his hands into fists at his sides and took a threatening step in my direction. “Stop saying that. I was framed.”

  “I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” Jack warned, carefully sliding Charlie behind him so he could keep her safe while simultaneously moving to stand as my protector. “I’ve been looking for a reason to pop you, and if you take another step in Millie’s direction I’ll have it.”

  Slade narrowed his eyes. “I’m not afraid of you.”

  “Then you’re dumber than you look,” Charlie shot back, her eyes flashing.

  As if out of nowhere, the stack of clay pots resting on the shelf behind Slade started vibrating. They flew out and crashed into his back, causing him to pitch forward. Jack immediately leapt in front of me, but Slade didn’t attack. Instead, he turned a set of incredulous eyes toward the shelves.

  “What the heck was that?” he snapped.

  I slid my eyes to Charlie and found her glaring in the man’s direction. I had no doubt about what had just happened. I also knew I didn’t want that information to get out.

  “Perhaps there’s a ghost after all,” I suggested. “Maybe we’re dealing with multiple entities.”

  “I just want to talk about one thing,” Adele challenged, her glare fixed firmly on Arthur. “How could you have a child with another woman after ... after ... you know?”

  Instead of being apologetic, Arthur rolled his eyes. “It’s not as if it was planned. You know as well as I do that accidents happen. Besides, we don’t know that she’s telling the truth. Her mother very well could’ve lied to her as part of a cash grab.”