“You want to come with us, Fletch?” Drew asked. “You could explain what you know.”
“I didn’t want to intrude, but I hoped you’d ask.” The PI closed his computer and followed them out the door.
Blake paid for their drinks and lunch on the way out, and Paradise waited for him by the van. Drew and Fletch took the middle row. Paradise watched them talk through the window. Her brother was in his element—focused and determined to get to the truth.
Blake exited and walked toward her with a smile that lingered on his face. “You look happy,” he said when he reached her.
She nodded toward the men in the van. “I think this investigation is in good hands. Those two know what they’re doing.”
“Hey, we haven’t done too bad ourselves figuring out who was attacking The Sanctuary.”
“True. We make a pretty good team.” She slid into the van, and he closed the door behind her and went around to the driver’s side, where he paused. “Hey, Drew, maybe you should drive.You can flash that badge from the driver’s seat, and it will seem more official.”
“Good idea.” Drew slid open the door, and they exchanged seats.
They drove out of town and Fletch directed them to the estate. Drew stopped the van at the guard gate and held out his badge. “Detective Drew Bartley to see Senator Murphy.”
The guard was young, probably mid-twenties, but his brown eyes were alert and focused. He stubbed out a cigarette, but the smoke wafted into the van. “Are you expected?”
“No, but I believe she can help with a case I’m working. I won’t take up too much of her time.”
The guard nodded and turned his back to grab the phone. He spoke for a few moments before pressing a button that opened the gate. “She’ll see you on the back patio. She’s working in her garden.”
Drew drove through the open gate toward the house in the distance. Magnolias, rhododendrons, and azaleas dotted planting beds bordering the brick driveway. Paradise admired the water view and the lovely old oaks festooned with moss. The mansion was a huge two-story Greek Revival with massive white Corinthian columns. Roses bloomed in flower beds along the porch.
Drew parked the van in front of the steps and got out holding a green folder. The group converged in front of the van. “You take the lead, Drew,” Paradise said. “We’ll all hang back. If she doesn’t know about you, this could be a shock.”
“I assumed she knew about me, but you could be right. They would have been raised by a relative, probably their grandparents, after their parents died. I was fifteen when my father died, so Taylor would have been sixteen. She’s the oldest, so they were all too young to be told much, especially if our father’s death was never solved.”
Paradise followed her brother along the oyster path bordered by moss rose. A woman standing in a vegetable garden turned toward them with a questioning expression. Her blonde hair was windblown, and her pale skin was flushed from the warmth of the sun, even in her shorts and tee. She’d be thirty-six now.
She yanked off her cotton gloves and approached them. “I’m not really dressed for company, but I’m always available to our law enforcement. Sweet tea will be out shortly.” She gestured to the expansive seating area on the brick patio. “Have a seat and tell me how I can help.”
Blake felt Paradise trembling beside him on the glider. She jiggled her left knee, and he reached over to take her hand. Her fingers gripped him like a lifeline. The revelations today had been confusing and upsetting to both Drew and her.
Drew and Fletch sat in chairs across from them. Taylor handed out glasses of sweet tea before she took a seat beside Drew. The confusion in her blue eyes grew when she took in Paradise’s distressed expression.
Taylor turned to Drew. “What’s this all about? It’s a little odd that a police detective would bring civilians along.”
Drew set his glass on the table between them. “I’m investigating the murder of your father.”
Taylor’s smile froze. “Why now after all this time? Is there new evidence?”
“I think so. Are you aware your father had a child out of wedlock?”
“That’s ridiculous.” She glanced at Paradise. “Are you here trying to get some of Dad’s money?”
“I’m that child, Senator Murphy, not Paradise,” Drew said. “I’m sorry if this is distressing news. I’m your half brother, and I have no interest in money or anything else the family owns. I’m solely after the truth of what happened. Paradise Alden is my other half sister. Her mother was Becky Alden, a Bartley at the time of the affair that produced me. She was seventeen and still in school when she met your father. He was already married to your mother and was also much older.” He gestured to Fletch. “This is William Fletcher, a PI your mother hired before she died.”
Taylor went white and shook her head. “This is a lot to take in. Why would Mom hire a PI?”
“I can answer that,” Fletch said. “She found a box of letters from Becky one day when she was cleaning the garage and wanted to find out more about her. And Drew.” Fletch leaned forward with his hands on his knees. “I tried to get Becky to tell me Drew’s new surname, but she wouldn’t do it. When your father was killed and then your mother died, I tried to warn Becky, but it was too late. She and her husband were both murdered.”
Taylor put her hand to her head and stared at Drew. “Wait, wait. Your mother was killed too?”
Drew nodded. “Bludgeoned to death like our father. Her husband, Granger, came home unexpectedly and was murdered the same way. In the space of a week, our parents were all dead. I believe your mother’s death was not an accident. There has to be more.”
“Who on earth?” Taylor murmured.
