Ферн Майклз - Truth and Justice

“That’s because you told her to come at eight o’clock, and it’s only a quarter of now. Mr. Montrose is also early. Whose turn is it to set the table?” Yoko asked.

“Mine. Oooh, look, he’s getting out of the car. Now, girls, that is what I call a mighty-fine-looking specimen,” Kathryn joked. “A pity we’re all taken. If I weren’t, he could park his shoes, or boots as the case may be, under my bed any day of the week.”

“You harlot, you,” Nikki teased.

Kathryn winked. “I’m just saying out loud what you are all thinking to yourselves, and don’t bother to deny it. I really think someone should open the door. He’s knocked twice now, and all we’re doing is standing here ogling him. Helloooo.”

Yoko sprinted across the kitchen and opened the door. “Mr. Montrose, please come in. Let me introduce you to your hosts.”

Introductions over, Myra said, “Bella should be here in a few minutes. She’s staying in my guest cottage. We were . . . um . . . concerned for her safety, so we thought it wise to . . . to keep her close by.”

Nikki stared at the attractive man with the ramrod military posture seated at the table. She didn’t think he could possibly sit up any straighter, but he did when he asked, “Is Andy’s wife in some kind of danger?” He turned in his chair to stare at Myra and Annie, assuming they were in charge of the group.

“This might be a good time for me to ask you people who you are and how it is you’re involved with Bella if she’s in danger. Shouldn’t you maybe at least think about calling the police? There are eight of you counting the newspaper person!”

“It’s a long story, Mr. Montrose,” Myra said. “We’ve just recently come into Bella’s life. Alexis and Nikki are lawyers. They are working on Bella’s case, and before you can ask, Alexis met Bella by pure chance at a restaurant and offered to help her when she saw her sitting at the table crying. We’re simply trying to help her.”

Montrose looked around. “So what you’re saying is you’re strangers to Andy’s widow. I don’t see Sara anywhere. Shouldn’t she be included and be here helping Bella. I think that’s what Andy would want. In fact, I know that’s what Andy would want. If he thought his wife was in danger, his sister is the first person he would call to take care of her.”

Kathryn stood up and stomped her way to the other side of the table. “And how is it that you know what Bella’s husband wanted for his wife, Mr. Montrose?” Kathryn snapped.

The Sisters as one were on their feet, surrounding Paul Montrose. Yoko pressed her tiny hands down on Montrose’s shoulders. In his life, he’d never felt such pain.

“Talk to us!” Alexis said.

“What the hell . . . who are you people? What’s going on here? Where is Bella?”

“I asked you a question. Don’t make me ask you again,” Kathryn said, leaning in so close that she could smell the man’s aftershave and minty breath. She nodded to Yoko, who grinned and increased the pressure on the retired colonel’s shoulders.

The kitchen doorbell rang. Isabelle moved to open the door for Bella. “Right on time, good girl!” she said, and smiled at Bella. “Come in, come in, Mr. Montrose just got here, and he was just getting ready to tell us something about Andy.”

“Good Lord, he looks . . . he looks like he’s in pain.” Bella’s face registered shock at the scene before her at the table.

“He is,” Yoko said cheerfully. She stepped back.

Bella watched the color flood back into Montrose’s face. Her hand shot out. “Bella Nolan. It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Montrose. I appreciate your coming to help us. Me in particular.”

Montrose looked around. “I don’t understand any of this.” He homed in on Maggie and asked her directly for an explanation as he struggled with the pain in his shoulders, which was slowly easing up.

Maggie sucked in a deep breath and let it out with a loud swoosh of sound. She then let loose and brought Paul Montrose up to date. He looked stunned as he stared at Bella. He thought she was one of the prettiest young women he’d ever seen. He almost said so, but then he remembered she was his best friend’s widow. Better he should keep his opinions to himself. For now, anyway.

“No, no, no, that can’t be right. I mailed Andy’s packet to his sister. In fact, because it was so important, I went to the FedEx office and sent it that way immediately after I dropped Andy back at the base. I can even prove it, since I’m sure I still have copies as well as the receipt. I kid you not, Andy made his flight with a second to spare. On his mad race to the cargo plane, he threw this manila envelope onto the tarmac and yelled for me to mail it for him but to make a copy first. I did what he asked. Then I deployed myself the following day. I never saw Andy again,” he said with a catch in his voice. “I didn’t even know he’d been killed until about two months ago, when I came East to a wedding for one of the guys. There were six of us from the outfit at the wedding. When it was over we all went to the nearest bar and got drunk, drinking toasts to Andy.”

“We’re going to need that packet and the receipt, Mr. Montrose,” Annie said.

“What was in the manila envelope?” Myra asked. “Did you look at the contents?”

“I didn’t read them word for word if that’s what you mean. Andy did talk to me about it, so that’s how I know. Andy drew up a new power of attorney for Bella. He made a will, and I witnessed it, and so did Zack Bradley. Andy said he left everything to his wife. I asked him about his sister, and he said she was rich and didn’t need his money. There were some other . . . personal papers I’m not comfortable talking about in the envelope.”

“You mean the sperm donations?” Kathryn barked.

Montrose flushed. “You know about that?”

“Andy told me,” Bella said. “I’ve never seen or heard from Andy’s sister. As Maggie told you, it was all such a horrible mess. I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t hear from Andy for months and months. I didn’t even know he’d been wounded. I was told he never told anyone he was married, so any and all communications were with Sara, who took it all. His military insurance, his pay, everything. I never got a dime. If she knew about me, she made no effort to get in touch with me. She knew Andy was dead, and she didn’t care enough to let me know. I will never get over that or forgive her for it. It wasn’t the money, although things were tight, what with payment for his new truck.”

Bella took a deep breath. “When I couldn’t take it anymore I went to a lawyer and filed for divorce. I assumed Andy had had a change of heart and regretted our quickie marriage. Especially when the other wives I contacted told me that they had FaceTimed with their husbands at least once a week plus almost daily e-mails. I was making myself sick and could barely function, so I did what I thought I needed to do for my own well-being. The day I signed the divorce papers was the same day I found out that Andy had died. I tried finding Sara but had no luck. The army people had not had any success at that, either.

“Sara impersonated me and went to the clinic and helped herself to my eggs, and I guess she took the sperm donations, too. I didn’t know where those were. Andy never told me, and I didn’t ask. I don’t know why I didn’t ask. I think because it sounded so . . . so decadent.”

“We’ve been on Bella’s case for almost two weeks now. We’ve been searching for Andy’s sister with no success until last night, when we finally found out where she is. Right now we are doing our best to try to figure out how to handle the situation and deal with this. We brought Bella here because we think Sara is deranged. We all agreed she might try to harm Bella if she found out that Bella was looking into this whole mess. By the expression on your face, it looks to me like you’re still skeptical. You do know that Sara is not Andy’s blood sibling, right?” Nikki said.