Mischief in Mudbug (Ghost-in-Law, #2)(39)

Her comment was met with dead silence and for a moment, Sabine wondered if Helena had left, but the seat cushion was still flattened. Finally, Helena spoke. “I didn’t realize. So what happened? I mean, if you feel like telling me that is…wow, I can’t even imagine…almost thirty years of not knowing, right?”

“Just about. They’re…different, I guess would be the polite way to describe them. Wealthy. Hey, maybe you could help me understand things along that line. I know people with money have a different set of rules, but I’m having trouble getting a handle on it. The meeting today was, well, I guess the best word is ‘weird.’ ”

“Wealth often comes with conditions. Most people don’t realize it because the wealthy keep everything hidden. But family structure is paramount. Keeping appearances is the second priority, right after keeping the money. It’s definitely a different world. And not often a pleasant one for children.”

“Yeah, I’m kinda getting that.”

“So who is the family? Anyone I would know of?”

“Maybe. They’re not that far from here. The family name is Fortescue.”

“Holy shit! The Fortescues? Jesus, no wonder you said they were weird. Hell, weird is polite. Nuts is a better description.”

Sabine felt her pulse quicken. “You know them?”

“As well as one half-ass recluse can know another. I never had much interaction with the whole family, but I did deal with Catherine before she married William. The family pretty much dropped out of sight during Vietnam and never really emerged again except church events, and I always tried to avoid church events. My hypocrisy only extended to writing checks, not actually attending. The rumor mill was always running on about them though.”

“Really? About what, exactly?”

“Some said Frances went crazy, and that’s why they didn’t come out, but that never made sense to me. Frances was only a baby during Vietnam and attended the Catholic school in town for some time. Some said Catherine was the crazy one and she made Frances that way, since she dropped out of school her senior year. Some said William was never right after the war. No matter, most everyone assumed someone—or everyone—in the family was crazy. Then the son disappeared when he was a teenager—hey, that must have been your father. Damn, this is getting interesting. And seeing as how William’s brother had disappeared years before, everyone wondered what religion exactly was being practiced in that house. Last I checked, Christians didn’t make people disappear, but that family had more than their share of missing relatives and no answers for it, according to the local police.”

“So what did people think happened?”

“There was speculation that the family was hiding the wanted brother, Lloyd, during and after Vietnam, which is why they pulled back so much from society. But I figure there was probably all sorts of government agencies just itching to find Lloyd, so there was little chance they could have hidden him all those years, even in that monstrous house of theirs. More likely he died in Vietnam and was never recovered.”

Sabine nodded. “That seems to be the most likely. And my father? Did you know anything of him besides his disappearance?”

“Seems the townspeople knew your father pretty well. Apparently he didn’t stick to the rest of his family’s rules about associating with the lower class. There was always rumors that he’d taken up with someone the family didn’t or wouldn’t approve of. Most thought he’d simply run away with the girl, even though he was giving up a fortune in inheritance to do it.”

“And when no one saw him again?”

“I don’t know. People speculated for a while, but I think they finally decided that the family must have given him some money to keep their secrets and stay away. After a while, no one spoke of him at all.”

Sabine considered this for a moment. “But if anyone knew anything, or even thought they knew anything, they might be willing to tell me now, right?”

“Possibly, but I wouldn’t swear to it. Some think the past is better left buried. Some just don’t want to get involved in other people’s business…not the serious kind anyway. General gossip over extramarital affairs and plastic surgery is one thing, speculating about the possibilities of bribery and murder is entirely different. And with Catherine and William still alive, it might not be the smartest thing to go speculating on.”

“But it’s possible someone would be willing to?”

Helena sighed. “You’re not going to let this go, are you? I suppose I could come up with a name or two for you to start with, but you have to promise me to be careful. Hell, Maryse got caught up in all that mess just by doing her job. You asking questions about things people might want to keep buried is a lot more risky.”

“I want the truth, Helena, but you’re right. I promise to be careful, and if it starts to look dangerous at all, I’ll stop. Okay?”

“It’s already dangerous. The wealthy don’t like their secrets in the public eye, even if everyone else wouldn’t blink twice at them. Everything’s a possible embarrassment to them. Everything’s a possible slur to the family name. Whole lot of bullshit if you ask me, but then, I didn’t exactly play by the rules of money. Probably why I never got invited to those fancy parties. Ha.”

“If I didn’t know any better, I’d guess that part was intentional.”