The grayish-plum Caddy was gone, which Drayco took as a good sign. He wouldn’t need the excuse he fabricated on the way over. After ringing the doorbell a few times and waiting several minutes, he was afraid he’d struck out until the door finally opened. Vesta Mae’s clothing was disheveled, unusual for her, and she was holding an ice pack in one hand. But she invited him in.
“Another of my headaches. I was scheduled to be with my cousin all afternoon attending a wake for a childhood friend, but I had to cancel. And Winthrop is out somewhere. He left this morning. He’ll be surprised I’m still here.”
Drayco was torn. It was one thing to cause her emotional pain, which his mission was guaranteed to do. Adding it on top of physical distress was cruel. But Virginia’s life wasn’t safe and timing critical.
Vesta Mae sat on one of the sofas, and he sat opposite to watch her face closely.
He said, “There’s no easy way to approach this. I’ll start by asking if you bought the gold locket Winthrop had Caleb Quintier sell to Tallent’s Antiques.”
She managed a stiff nod. “It was a family heirloom. Winthrop has had money troubles, but the tiny amount he got for the watch isn’t going to help.” She pulled the locket out of her pocket and handed it to him. “He doesn’t know.”
“It’s not the money that’s making you afraid to tell him, is it?”
Her pinched eyes opened wide. “What do you mean?”
“Winthrop found out recently the locket and watch were both items you’d handed to Beth twelve years ago to give to Virginia. Isn’t that right?”
Vesta Mae didn’t say anything but put one hand up to her throat.
“Presumably at the same time Arnold Sterling found Beth’s diary before she buried it and came to Winthrop for money. Bribery money. Beth’s diary didn’t mention the book of poetry signed ‘To Virginia, with all my love,’ which is why it was of little interest to Arnold or Winthrop. Did you give those three items to Beth directly or did you hide them on the baby somewhere?”
Vesta Mae dropped her hand and made a primal, guttural cry as if choking, which soon grew into a full-throated wail as her whole body trembled. Drayco moved beside her and grasped her hand in his. The contact stopped the wailing, but she was still shaking as she turned toward him, tears running down her cheeks.
Her words came out sounding more like sobs. “Winthrop is obsessed with money—having it, acquiring more, losing it. When his father threatened to disinherit him, he went insane. How else can you explain what he did?”
“And you didn’t see any signs of this before your marriage?”
“I was naive and foolish. The money didn’t matter, my family already had it. He was Prince Charming while we were dating. But he pressured me to get pregnant on our honeymoon night. It was clear I was to be a baby factory more than a wife.”
“And it worked—at first?”
“Winthrop had the idea his father didn’t want just any heir. He had to have a male heir, a healthy baby boy, in order for Winthrop to inherit the money. Knowing his father, he was probably right. We could have had more children, but Winthrop’s father had grown gravely ill. Winthrop was afraid he’d die before those other children were born.”
“When did he come up with his solution? After the D.C. doctor gave you the bad news that your baby had a birth defect?”
“We stopped going to that doctor afterward. Winthrop contacted Beth instead. He thought he might give away our baby, to get some poor single mother’s unwanted child to pass off as his own.”
“Then he discovered Lucy Harston was due at the same time you were.”
“He did. But Lucy was too poor to have an expensive obstetrician with the latest technology.”
“And Beth had a husband who was on the verge of being killed unless his debts were paid off. How much did Winthrop give her, besides the free rent?”
“A million. Enough to give the Sterlings breathing room, but not enough to make people suspicious. He also got Arnold Sterling a job.”
Drayco kept a close eye on Vesta Mae, but her breathing was more regular. He said, “Beth must have been afraid to give the locket and watch to Lucy, but the poetry book was more generic. Except for your distinctive handwriting.”
Vesta Mae held his hand tighter and smiled softly. “I would have loved her. I didn’t care if she was handicapped. I’ve followed her around, keeping an eye on her. Watching her grow up from a distance.”
“And you came up with the name Virginia?”
“If I had to give her up, I wanted the chance to name her. So I told Beth to plant the idea in Lucy’s head.”
“And the boy, Jacob?”
“I loved him like my own. Winthrop tolerated him. When your true love is money, it doesn’t leave room for much else in your heart.”
“What about the twin, Jeremy?”
She opened her mouth, but no words came out. She was shivering, and he wished he’d brought a coat. In a whispered voice, she asked, “How did you know?”
“Beth kept a secret ledger and wrote that Lucy had twins. At first, I thought that meant your baby, Virginia, had a stillborn twin brother. But she meant Jeremy, Lucy’s natural-born child. That’s why she named them Jacob and Jeremy.”
“It was a shock. As I said, Lucy didn’t have any prenatal ultrasounds, so none of us knew she was having twins. If both had lived, we would have raised them. Poor little Jeremy.” The tears started falling harder.
Drayco pressed further and hated having to do it. “Did you know Arnold Sterling confronted Winthrop a year ago about the diary he found?”
“I overheard Winthrop talking to Faris about it. Then, when I heard about Arnold’s death not too long after ...”
“You thought Winthrop was involved.”
“If he was capable of treating our baby like something less than human, an object to be traded, then I knew he was capable of anything. When I learned of Beth’s death, I panicked.”
“When did you hear about the attacks on Virginia?”
“A news report on the local radio station reported the incident at the pier. Winthrop never brings home any newspapers. I didn’t dare get any, myself. He didn’t like me listening to the radio, but I keep a small one hidden away.”
The pain on her face didn’t come from any migraine. “It was Winthrop, wasn’t it? He wants to eliminate any chance Virginia might inherit the family fortune on her twenty-first birthday. Sometimes I wonder if he had a hand in Jacob’s death.”
Drayco headed his questioning in another direction. “Didn’t you fear he’d kill you?”
“Only if I told anyone the truth. That was before he found out about the diary.” Her voice grew bitter. “The main reason he hasn’t killed me is he still hopes my family will leave their money to me. Though they made it perfectly clear they won’t give me a dime as long as I’m married to him.”
Drayco spied a wool throw blanket on a sofa in the adjacent study. He grabbed it and wrapped it around Vesta Mae’s shoulders. “I should leave while Winthrop is still out of the house. Will you be all right?”
“I’m going to lie down now. Since I’m not supposed to be back until later tonight, he won’t discover me for a few hours. Leaving me in peace.”
“Perhaps you should have that cousin come by and pick you up.”
She pulled the blanket around her body, her tear-stained cheeks a roadmap of misery and indecision. “As long as I represent Mrs. Potential Money-bags to him, I should be fine.” She used the edge of the blanket to wipe the tears from her face and then closed her eyes.
Drayco couldn’t decide if he should leave her like that when she bolted upright. “Virginia,” was all she said. As he caught her wild-eyed gaze, he knew they were both thinking along the same lines. “If they’ve tried before ...” her voice trailed off. “Winthrop didn’t say where he was going, and he usually does. Do you think he’d ...”
Drayco jumped from his chair, pulled out his phone, and hurried toward the door, as he gave her one last look. “We’ll keep her safe, Mrs. Gatewood.”