The elevator door opened and they headed for their room,
both of them pensive.
Several hours later, coffeepot empty, they sat in their
chairs exhausted.
Teresa stared out the window and picked at the fringe of
the throw she had drawn around her shoulders in an attempt
to stop her chills.
Manda watched her mom with great apprehension.
“Mom ?”
Teresa snapped out of her reverie with a sigh.
“Manda, why don’t we get on a plane and go to Seattle ! You
can live with Frank and I while you go to college or
something.”
“Mom, don’t go off into the stratosphere. I know I’ve hit
you with a lot of upsetting things, but you and I just need
time to adjust and make sense of all this. There has to be
a reasonable explanation.”
“Manda, how can there be a reasonable explanation for the
murders ?”
“Mom, they took place hundreds of miles apart. Detective
Haworth said that the one here probably had nothing to do
with this property. It happened a long way from the house.
A coincidence.
Besides, Mr.Lanier has really beefed up security with
guards and guard dogs. The entire staff will be at the
estate and the police are working very hard on these
crimes.”
”Mom, we’ll be seeing Detective Haworth tonight. We can
get more information and get his opinion on what we should
do. Let’s try not to freak out yet. OK ?”
“I don’t know, Manda.”
“Mom, let’s get our minds on something else until we see
him. I can take you for a tour of the town and we can stop
at that little restaurant I told you about. You can meet
Kate and I’ll show you the pictures of Live Oaks and Nanny
May. Let’s not make any decisions now.”
“All right. I’m going to change clothes first.”
Manda waited until her mom had closed her door then grabbed
the phone directory, looked up a number and placed her
call.
“ May I speak with Kate please?”
“ You got her. Can I help you.”
“Kate, this is Manda. I’ve got to talk fast. I’m going to
be bringing Mom in to meet you in a little bit. I haven’t
had a chance to tell her about what happened at the beach
so don’t say anything.”
“Mums the word, Manda.”
“Thanks Kate. Bye.”
Manda had barely replaced the phone when it rang.
She gingerly answered it,”Hello.”
“Ms. Harris, this is Detective Haworth. May I pick you and
your Mom up at 7:00 this evening for dinner ?”
“ That will be fine. How should we dress..casual or what ?”
“Casual will be perfect. I’ll come to your room to pick you
up.”
“ Thanks, see you then. Bye.”
Teresa entered the room,”Who was that,honey ?”
“Detective Haworth. He’ll be here at 7:00.”
“Good, maybe he’ll have some answers for us.”
#
The tour was a success. The town was an interesting mix of
the old and the new but each style complimented the other.
It was obvious that the city planning committee had taken
great care to keep the town’s appearance cohesive, charming
and gracious.
Teresa wanted to go to the beach but Manda just wasn’t
ready for that so she used the excuse that time was
slipping by and they had to have plenty of time to prepare
for their dinner date.
“I see,” Teresa said with a sideways glance at her
daughter.
“Mom, stop teasing. He’s just doing his job.”
“ Does thinking about his job put a bloom in your cheeks,
Sweetie ?”, laughed Teresa.
Manda rolled her eyes even as she felt more warmth creep
into her face.
“Mom, you’re incorrigible!”
“Don’t you mean encouragable, Manda ?”
“Mom, I don’t think that’s in the dictionary.”
“If it isn’t, it should be,” Teresa said with a snicker.
#
Manda parked close to Breakfast, Brunch, and Lunch.
“We don’t have a lot of time, but I want you to meet Kate.
She’s so nice.”
“Why, what a cute name. The name she chose for her
restaurant, I mean. It just rolls off your tongue, doesn’t
it ?”
“Yes, it does. Her food is great, too. If it wasn’t so
late, I’d buy you lunch, but we better settle for coffee.
That OK, Mom?”
“That’s fine,honey. You don’t want to ruin your appetite
for your date.”
Manda looked at her mom, ready with a retort, but Teresa
looked so guileless that she didn’t give voice to her
thought.
They requested a table by the window and ordered coffee
when the waitress appeared.
“Will you tell Kate that Manda Harris is here and when she
has time I’d like to introduce her to my mom?”
“Right away. Is there anything I can get you?”
“No thanks.”
“Manda,this is a lovely place and so homey.”
They both looked with admiration at the hanging baskets of
alternating types of ivy gracing their window- one type
with dark glossy leaves and one variegated with cream
and green leaves-both full and lush.
“Hi, Manda. It’s good to see you again. I hear this is your
mom. I’m happy to meet you. I bet you’re very proud of your
beautiful daughter.”
Manda sat somewhat embarrassed as the two woman discussed
her virtues.
“Ah, Mom, I’d like to introduce you to a very good friend
of mine, Kate. Kate, my mom, Teresa Wembly.
Kate, do you have time to sit for a minute?”
“Sure do, the brunch rush is about over. It’ll be pretty
slow for an hour or so.
Did you have a nice flight, Mrs. Wembly?”
“ Please call me Teresa and yes, I had a smooth flight.”
“I’ll call you Teresa and you call me Kate.”
“Sounds good,Kate.”
“Kate, I want Mom to see the pictures of Nanny and Live
Oaks.”
They walked over to the pictures. Teresa’s eyes were drawn
to the shots of Nanny May.
“Oh, I’m amazed by the likeness of you two,honey.
Interesting, this one of her as a young girl reminds me of
you as a child. You were happy but you would have that same
intense sober expression on your face…like your thoughts
were focused elsewhere. The difference between the two
pictures is phenomenal. She seems much more relaxed and
focused in the other one. You inherited not only her looks
but her persona as well.”
Teresa’s eyes drifted to the picture of Live Oaks and a
puzzled expression grew and settled on her face.
“Mom, what is it?”
“ I know I’ve never seen this place before, but oddly, it
feels familiar.Maybe I’ve seen a similar house before.”
/> “This estate has been featured in several magazines
before,Teresa, so perhaps that’s where you saw it.”
“Could be, I guess.”
“ Mom, we’re going to have to leave.”
Manda smiled at Kate.
“We have been invited to dinner tonight by Detective
Haworth.”
“Yes, we have to get beautiful, don’t we Manda?”
“Mom,honestly !!!”
Manda’s cheeks bloomed again as Teresa winked at Kate.
Kate grinned.”You could do worse, he’s a good looking guy.”
“You two are impossible.I’m leaving.”
Kate and Teresa laughed as Manda walked to the door with a
rigid stance and head held high. She turned at the door.
“Mother ?”
“I’m coming, Sweetie.”
A few minutes later on the way back to the hotel, Teresa
glanced over at Manda and broke out laughing.
“For goodness sake, you look like a stogy librarian. You
used to be able to take a little teasing,honey.”
“It’s been a tough week,Mom. I guess I not into being
teased right now.”
“Every woman enjoys teasing and talking about a hot
hunk…..looking at one is even better!”
“Mom! What would Frank think if he heard you?”
Teresa laughed harder,”Manda, do you honestly think I’d be
stupid enough to talk like this around Frank?”
Manda smiled and began to loosen up.
“If I’m going to be honest,Mom, I think he’s a hot hunk
too.”
“Well,there you are!”
The rest of the ride to the hotel was spent laughing and
discussing each ones list of ‘top ten hot hunks.’
They were still laughing when they entered the lobby.
“Ms. Harris, you have a message,’caught their attention.
Turning toward the desk,Manda grinned at Teresa.
“Mom, I bet it’s from Frank. He knows what we’ve been
talking about.”
They grinned at each other then Manda turned to reach for
the envelope.
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome,Ms Harris.” Manda opened the envelope after
they stepped into the elevator.
“Everything OK?”
“Fine,Mom. Its from Mr Lanier. He says that he’s taken the
liberty to call the landscape team back to work on Live
Oaks. If I’m not OK with that, I’m to call him right away.”
“When we get back to the room, I have to read about the
staff . I have to call them anyway. Sorry Mom, but I’ll
have my nose in paperwork for a while.”
“Don’t worry, I’m capable of entertaining myself.Do
whatever you need to do,hon.”
#
Stacked neatly around her on the bed were various lists and
information she had to sift through. She sat cross legged
in the middle of the bed with a pen tucked over her ear and
a pad of notepaper. She had read all she had on the
security team and guard dogs…all of it reassuring. Any
other information she needed would have to be learned
‘hands on’, so to speak. She was now tackling the members
of the staff. She wasn’t concerned about their trust
worthiness as Nanny May and Mr. Lanier had been well
satisfied. She was just interested in learning more about
them individually.
Wow, there was a live-in housekeeper ,maid, and cook. A
chauffeur who was also mechanically inclined had lived in
an apartment over the 6 car garage. The head landscape
architect and boss of the gardening team lived in the
groundskeeper’s cottage and had 3 assistants who lived in
town and came in every day. Two maids also came in
daily. There was a list of trusted service people who
maintained the estate on an as needed basis. Everything
seemed to be well organized and she decided that there was
no reason at this time to change anything. If someone
didn’t work out, she’d deal with that when the time came.
She made a note to call Mr. Lanier to OK the staff and to
see if perhaps he or Grace could contact the staff and
bring them back to work as soon as possible.
The oldest staff member was the housekeeper and she was
only 46. The cook was next at 38. The rest averaged in the
late twenties to early thirties. Almost all were descended
from previous staff members so had much experience with the
workings of Live Oaks.
Manda felt very reassured about all dealings concerning
Live oaks after reading all available info.
Manda decided that now was as good a time as any and picked
up the phone, placing a call to Mr. Lanier.
“Grace, this is Manda Harris.’
“Hello Ms. Harris. What can I do for you ?”
“Would you give Mr. Lanier a message for me ? Tell him that
I’m satisfied with his recommendations about the staff and
security.”
“I wonder if you or he could contact all of them and
reinstate them to their positions?”
“Yes, Ms. Harris, we’d be happy to do it.”
“ When everyone is in place, I’d like to meet them all as
soon as possible. It’s time I moved onto the estate,I
believe.”
“Will do. I’ll let you know as soon as we have everything arranged so we can make an
appointment for you to meet them.”
“That’s great ,Grace. Thanks so much.”
“You’re welcome. You’ll be hearing from me soon.”
“OK, Bye now.”
Whew, that’s got the ball rolling.
Manda went to her closet and selected an outfit with
accessories for dinner.Just as she was preparing to jump
into the shower, Teresa walked into the suite, excited from
a window shopping stroll down main street.
“Manda, we have to do this together soon. There are so many
lovely shops with everything a person could possibly want.”
“We will,Mom. I’m looking forward to it. We haven’t been on
a shopping trip in years.”
“ I’m going to take my bath,Mom.I won’t be long.”
“Ok, honey. When you’re finished, I’ll get ready. Enjoy
getting prettied up.”
Manda just rolled her eyes at Teresa then disappeared into
the bathroom.
#
The phone rang at 7:00 on the nose. The clerk on the desk
said that Detective Haworth had asked him to notify Ms.
Harris of his imminent arrival. Manda flitted to the mirror
for a last check of her appearance.
“Manda, you are gorgeous…quit futzing.”
“You look great too,Mom.”
Teresa wore a bright green pullover with matching slacks.
Casual but chic.
“Green is your color,Mom. Compliments your hair and eyes.”
Manda was happy with the way she looked. She was wearing a
scoop neck sleeveless
pullover top in a jewel tone blue with matching trim