Buch lesen: «The Secrets of Stoneley»
“Your bag is not the designer number I’d expected, Miranda,” said Greg. “What’s the story there?”
The pastor looked so genuinely interested in her answer that she had to tell him the whole story. “Winnie made it for me about twenty years ago.”
“It looks like a well-used treasure,” Greg pointed out, endearing himself to her for good. He could have noted instead that the pink corduroy was faded and thin in spots and that it was worn down past the wale from years of use. Instead he’d noticed how cherished it was.
“You’re right. It is the one link I have with my mother that I can carry around every day.” She fingered the cloth lovingly. “When I was ten, my mother and father had a terrible fight and she left home. The next morning, Father told us that she had been in a terrible accident after she left and had died. Of course we know now that wasn’t true….”
THE SECRETS OF STONELEY: Six sisters face murder,
mayhem and mystery while unraveling the past.
FATAL IMAGE-Lenora Worth (LIS#38) January 2007
LITTLE GIRL LOST-Shirlee McCoy (LIS#40) February 2007
BELOVED ENEMY-Terri Reed (LIS#44) March 2007
THE SOUND OF SECRETS-Irene Brand (LIS#48) April 2007
DEADLY PAYOFF-Valerie Hansen (LIS#52) May 2007
WHERE TRUTH LIES-Lynn Bulock (LIS#56) June 2007
LYNN BULOCK
has been writing since fourth grade and has been a published author in various fields for over twenty years. Her first romantic novel came out in 1989 and has been followed by more than twenty books since then. She lives near Los Angeles, California, with her husband. They have two grown sons.
Where Truth Lies
Lynn Bulock
MILLS & BOON
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Special thanks and acknowledgment are given to
Lynn Bulock for her contribution to
THE SECRETS OF STONELEY miniseries.
Jesus looked at them and said,
“With people it is impossible, but not with God;
all things are possible with God.”
—Mark 10:27
To Joe, always
And to Toni…she knows why
CONTENTS
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
EPILOGUE
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION
ONE
Journal entry
June 1
Why is everyone being so horrible to my darling Ronald? How can the police believe that someone with his wealth and reputation might be guilty of murder? If I went to them and confessed, he would be free, but then all my efforts would be in vain. I’ve worked so hard so that we can be together. Even that awful woman didn’t get in our way. Now if his daughters will just stop their infernal digging into the past, maybe Ronald and I can finally be happy.
Was her father truly guilty of murder? The question whirled through Miranda Blanchard’s thoughts as she tried to concentrate on the familiar, repetitive work of making endpapers for her latest edition of handmade poetry books. Swirling the heavy paper through the color bath to create the marbled design she favored usually took her mind off her troubles. But on this beautiful late-spring day her worries crowded in so close that not even this task succeeded in distracting her.
Setting the latest sheet with its rich green, teal and indigo design aside to dry, Miranda pressed the back of one hand to her throbbing temple. Even gloved and swathed in an apron, with her dark hair swept away from her face, she would probably find a way to dot herself with paint.
Normally her workroom and studio tucked up under the eaves of her family’s huge house, near her grandfather Howard’s third-floor suite, was a peaceful haven. Cool and pleasant, with pearl-gray walls and a large window to let in just enough light, it was where Miranda went to relax, write poetry and craft the chapbooks and limited editions she made for her own work and a select few other writers.
Relax, or hide? a cynical voice from inside taunted her. Pushing back a stray lock of wavy hair, she could feel the flutter in her stomach and the tightening of her chest that heralded the beginning of a panic attack. Not another one. She couldn’t afford one now, when she was so behind in her projects.
She hadn’t written anything new in months, or nothing worth keeping, anyway. Even the piece she’d tried to do for her mother’s funeral came out flat. Of course when they discovered later that it wasn’t Trudy the family had buried, Miranda tried to convince herself that somehow she’d known all along, but she couldn’t manage to fool herself that way.
This batch of a hundred books for another poet at the university in Augusta should have been finished weeks ago. So many other things had claimed her attention in the first five months of the year that Miranda had trouble believing everything that had gone on.
From the moment Bianca had produced that picture of Mama with her friend on Cape Cod, dated after her supposed death, life had been a jumble of highs and lows. Trudy Blanchard was apparently alive after all, or at least she had been recently. This last blow had been the most wrenching. Miranda still had flashbacks of her father and sisters around the grave in Stoneley’s windswept cemetery, all of them weeping to think that they’d come so close to rediscovering the wife and mother taken from them so long ago, only to find her dead in the house instead.
“You could at least be grateful for what happened,” she chided herself out loud, her soft words echoing off the angled ceiling of her studio. Finding grandparents they thought were dead, and learning that Aunt Genie—not her mother—died should have made her ecstatic. Instead, Miranda was caught up in the anxiety around her as her father was arrested for the murder of his sister-in-law.
“He has to be innocent,” Miranda said, hoping the words spoken out loud would calm her nerves and convince her that the statement was true. That was the hard part. Ronald Blanchard might be innocent of Genie’s death, but the revelations of the past few months had shown he was far from innocent regarding the faked death and disappearance of his wife, and Miranda couldn’t imagine how she and her sisters could ever forgive him for what he’d stolen from them.
Maybe some of her sisters would be able to forgive him. Not her, and probably not Juliet, either, because of the revelation that Ronald had known even before Juliet was born that he wasn’t her biological father. Never did he tell any of them. All these years he’d been distant and cold with all his daughters.
Miranda looked down at the paper she should have been swishing through the paint floating on top of the water bath. Instead she’d let this sheet stay there so long while she wrestled with her thoughts that the heavy paper threatened to dissolve back into pulp. “So much for trying to do anything useful today,” she muttered.
Three stories below her open window, someone was working in the rose garden. Since she could also make out the drone of a lawn mower, it had to be Aunt Winnie and not one of the gardeners. It only took fifteen minutes for Miranda to clean up her supplies, strip off the gloves and apron and go out to the garden with two tall glasses of lemonade.
“I brought you something to drink,” she called to Winnie, glad to see that her aunt had remembered the broad-brimmed straw hat Miranda had got her for Mother’s Day just for occasions like this. Winnie never put on sunscreen even though she had the pale complexion that naturally went with her red hair.
That faded red hair threatened to escape its orderly chignon, and Winnie pushed a stray lock away from her face. “Lovely. Put it on the little table there between the chairs and sit down in one of them, Miranda. Keep me company while I tidy things up here. You could use a rest. You’ve been working too hard as it is.”
Over her shoulder, Winnie gave Miranda a pointed look over her shoulder before going back to trimming unkempt spots in one of her pink climbing rosebushes. Miranda knew that what her aunt really wanted to say was that she’d been worrying too much and had too much stress in her life lately. After all, what she did could hardly be called working. While all of her sisters worked, Miranda knew that only someone who loved her as much as Winnie did would call writing poetry and creating handmade books “work.”
Even Winnie herself worked outside the house as hard as any two people Miranda knew. The Blanchard fortune allowed her to volunteer her time at the hospital, several related charities and her church. It was a kindness that Winnie could tell her that she was the one working too hard. Still, she took the hint and sank into one of the blue Adirondack chairs, grateful to sit here in the sunshine with the scent of roses and fresh-cut grass around her.
This garden was one of her favorite outdoor places, especially when Winnie was there. Her aunt seemed happy, humming tunelessly and working among her beloved roses. “I’m starting to cull blossoms for the petals I want to dry for Portia’s wedding. Won’t it be lovely to have them scattered on the runner up the aisle before the bridesmaids and the bride?”
Miranda’s throat tightened just thinking about her sister’s eventual wedding. Often these days the thought of going anywhere farther than the ornate iron gates at the front of the Blanchard estate made her insides flutter like they did right now. Actually making a move to venture out left her unable to cope.
Adding to her anxiety was Miranda’s worry that a Blanchard wedding at Unity Christian Church was guaranteed to become a very public event. The sunlight that felt so welcoming a few minutes before now made beads of perspiration break out on her forehead, and she could feel her breathing become shallow and rapid. This was silly. If she could get here to the rose garden and enjoy the day, why couldn’t the thought of a happy event like her sister’s wedding be enjoyable as well?
Because you know the media will turn it into a three-ring circus, that same taunting voice in her head prodded. “Trudy’s” funeral had been awful enough. A wedding would only provide more fodder for the gaggle of tabloid reporters who were having a field day at her family’s expense.
“Miranda? I’m so sorry, dear. I didn’t mean to upset you.” Miranda nearly jumped out of her chair at the sound of Winnie’s voice, her gloved hand lightly touching her shoulder. “Really, we don’t need to worry about that yet. There will be plenty of time to plan the wedding and by the time it rolls around things will probably be so much better.” Her aunt’s hazel eyes reflected kindness almost to the point of pity as she tried her hardest to calm Miranda down. Taking a deep breath, Miranda willed herself to push away the thoughts making her tense.
“I’m sure you’re right, Aunt Winnie.” The words came out softly, but at least her voice didn’t break.
Even as she spoke, so many questions crowded in. Would there ever be enough time to make things better? Perhaps her father would get out on bail soon, but then what? And how long could Miranda keep holding herself together while she struggled to provide all the support her sisters needed? Although with every passing day they appeared to need her less. Each of them had found a way to move on in life while Miranda stayed here, as tied to the house as her aunt’s trellised roses were fastened to their supports.
“What would you think of a little practice run?” Winnie’s eyes shone. “I’m going to a lovely wedding at the church tomorrow and you could come with me.”
Miranda shrank back in her chair. “I don’t know about that.”
“Don’t dismiss it out of hand, Miranda,” Winnie said. “The couple is just delightful, but no one you know particularly well. We could sit near the back and stay just as long as you felt comfortable. And it would give you a chance to really meet our new minister.”
“I’ll think about it,” Miranda promised her aunt. “How early tomorrow morning do you need to know if I’m going?”
Winnie waved a garden-gloved hand. “It’s a one-o’clock wedding, so you can hold off until eleven if you need to. It would do you good to get out and enjoy yourself.”
Miranda knew she was right. If only getting out was enjoyable for her. So many possibilities would open up if she could overcome her anxiety about leaving home. She could see her thoughts mirrored in Winnie’s eyes. “I’ll say even more prayers tonight at bedtime than I usually do for you, Miranda. For strength and courage and peace. Especially for peace.”
“Thank you, Aunt Winnie.” Miranda got up quickly, walking toward the house before her aunt could see how deeply those words had affected her. Going up the back stairs toward her studio again, Miranda climbed an entire flight before she realized she was humming the song.
Perhaps prayer gave Winnie peace, but Miranda’s fragile peace was bound up in this song. It had been a part of her forever, the haunting melody soothing her through the worst of times.
During her recent visit, her grandmother Eleanor put it into perspective. “It was your mother’s favorite. She hummed it all the time, too, even sang you girls to sleep with it. It’s a tune Ophelia sings in Hamlet, dear.”
Picking up the play and rereading it for the first time in years brought all the memories flooding back. Now when she hummed the song she could feel her mother’s comforting touch, remember the way Trudy had eased her into sleep, even the night before she left.
Just thinking about the song and her mother made Miranda breathe easier. By the time she reached her studio, she found herself thinking about what to wear to an afternoon wedding.
“Isn’t the church beautiful?” Winnie said softly the following day. Her aunt looked radiant in a flowered dress that made Miranda feel positively frumpy in her navy skirt and long-sleeved lacy white blouse. “Of course the bride is lovely, too,” Winnie went on. “I introduced them, you know.”
“That doesn’t surprise me. Matchmaking is the only hobby you put more effort into than your roses.” She noticed that her aunt didn’t bother to deny that, just smiling to herself and pointing out the beautiful floral swags at the end of each pew.
When was the last time she had come to Unity Christian Church and truly paid attention to her surroundings? She’d been too overwrought during her mother’s funeral to notice much. The relief days later that it hadn’t been her mother they’d buried hadn’t brought back any details of the event. The sanctuary looked different somehow, and not just because of the lavish decorations for the wedding. Maybe the new pastor had made some changes.
She made a mental note to ask Winnie to introduce her to Reverend Brown after the wedding. The church glowed, showing the love and care the parishioners put into the old building, and certainly he had something to do with that.
The organ music changed slightly in intensity and the guests seemed to hush together as a door near the front of the sanctuary opened and a line of men filed out. Miranda recognized the groom as being someone in Bianca’s class in school years ago. What did his young bride see in him? Miranda wondered.
He must have fine inner qualities, because any of his groomsmen were more handsome. The one at the end of the male parade was the most striking with his sandy hair and bright smile. Miranda gave herself a little shake when the good-looking “groomsman” crossed the sanctuary in back of the groom and positioned himself in front of the altar, facing out. Her cheeks flushed at the thought she’d apparently been admiring Reverend Brown.
She didn’t have long to stew about it because the bride’s attendants started their march down the white-runnered main aisle, led by an adorable little flower girl. Watching her, Miranda could imagine someone just as cute sprinkling rose petals from Winnie’s garden in front of Portia. Was Mick’s daughter Kaitlyn too old at six for such a role? Miranda was drawn away from that thought by everyone standing as the bride was walked down the aisle by her father.
For a moment she felt her chest tighten, thinking about how her family would handle the same situation. Would Ronald be able to walk Portia down the aisle, and would she even expect it? But before more doubts crept in, Miranda felt her attention drawn to the front of the church. Reverend Brown’s entire attention seemed to be on the flower girl with her basket of petals. With a smile that captivating he had to have a soft heart for children. Miranda felt her cheeks color as she caught herself wondering what it would feel like to have that smile focused on her.
This won’t do at all, she told herself silently. She was supposed to be here to make a practice run for Portia’s wedding. Certainly that didn’t include admiring the man presiding over the service. Miranda marveled at how deep her fog of sorrow must have been at the funeral to have absolutely no memory of the man’s presence.
As the ceremony continued she found she couldn’t pay attention to anything but Reverend Brown. What was his first name, anyway? She looked down at the printed folder in her hands, trying to ease it open past the cover adorned in white roses, ribbons and doves. There on the first page after the listing of the soloist and the Bible verses the couple had chosen was the line that read “Reverend Gregory Brown, officiating.”
Gregory. A nice strong name. Looking back at the minister again, Miranda wondered if his friends called him Greg. Somehow the nickname sounded too informal for him in her mind. The man presiding over this wedding, now to the part where the couple exchanged rings, looked more like a Gregory to her. “Are you all right, dear?” she heard Winnie whisper in her ear.
“Just fine,” she told her aunt. “Where did you say the reception was again?”
“I didn’t. But it’s going to be a lovely event on the lawn at the bride’s parents’ home. I hear they’ve rented the largest blue-and-white tent ever seen in Stoneley. And they’re using the caterer I think Portia and Mick should look at first.”
“Then of course we have to go,” Miranda murmured, a little distracted by the brilliant smile Gregory Brown gave the newly married couple as he presented them to the assembly as “Mr. and Mrs. Franklin” for the first time. They looked so incredibly happy. Miranda couldn’t help smiling herself as they walked down the aisle together, grinning like two people in love.
Haunting and lovely. It was the only way to describe the woman on the bride’s side of the church. Greg didn’t know when he’d had to pull his attention away from a wedding guest and back to the couple being married this many times during a ceremony. Surely not since the second or third wedding of his career when the parents of those two-year-old twins had both been attendants and their little darlings had spent the entire service racing up and down the front pew from end to end over their harried grandmother.
At least this time his attention had wandered for more pleasant reasons. The beautiful young woman sitting next to Winnie Blanchard had to be one of her nieces. He remembered most of the family from the funeral he’d officiated at this spring. At that time all of Ronald Blanchard’s daughters had been so grief stricken that their sorrow was what he’d noticed about them.
Today was a different story. For a change he actually looked forward to the receiving line. Certainly Winnie would introduce him to her niece. She had such a doelike quality about her with those large dark eyes and even darker glossy brown hair caught up demurely in a twist.
Still fixated on the young woman who was leaving the sanctuary with her aunt, Greg was reluctant to pay any heed to the tugging at his elbow getting more and more firm. “Reverend Brown?” It was the officious photographer again; the man must have had dreams of a career in Hollywood. “We’re almost ready for the family photos at the front of the church if you want to straighten up a little before that.”
“But what about the receiving line?” Greg asked, his attention still on the Blanchard woman.
“Oh, no. That is terribly passé. Photos, digital video and off to the reception,” the photographer said, all but clapping his hands in command.
Greg Brown’s disappointment almost let him tell the man what he thought of his digital video, but he pulled himself together to present behavior fitting the senior pastor of Unity Christian Church. Besides, the quicker they got this over with, the quicker they could all move on to the reception where he could see Winnie and her lovely niece again.
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