Chapter 20
The minutes ticked by as they pored over the documents Fletch had provided. Paradise had already downed two coffees, and the
acid roiled in her stomach. She called up the information about the Holden Collins family and ran through the list of politicians
and founders of large companies as well as several large nonprofits. “I’ve never done a deep dive into the family, though
I’ve heard of them, of course.”
She glanced at her brother and saw him absorbed in something on his phone as well, and it hit her how personal this information
was for him. “Did you look up the obit?”
Drew glanced up, his expression intense. “Yeah. I have the names of my half siblings. One of them lives right outside town,
about five minutes away. The estate looks palatial.” He turned his phone around to show her a large white mansion set off
from the road by a vast green lawn.
“The children were all too young for me to contact,” Fletch said.
“I’d let it all go years ago, but when you called, I started digging.
Taylor is a Mississippi state senator now.
She’s married to an oilman, Troy Murphy.
I thought you might want to talk to her, so I checked her schedule.
She’s in residence for the week. We could try to get in to see her. ”
“Is the estate gated?” Drew asked. “I could flash my badge.”
“That should work,” Fletch said. “The guard will want to comply with law enforcement. As part of the government Taylor would
look bad if she turned you away.”
Paradise turned off her phone screen and stood. “Let’s do it.”
Blake glanced at his watch and nodded. “We have time.”
Time for what? Were they on a schedule? Maybe he’d promised the boys he’d go swimming with them or take them fishing. He treasured
his time with his little brothers, and they adored him. This was important though and the reason they’d come. It would take
however long it would take.
“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.
Paradise had a death grip on Blake’s hand, but he managed not to wince. “Did you hear any rumors that your father planned
to leave your mother? Could that have been a motive to stop him from derailing his run for governor?”
“I—I overheard a fight between my parents just the day before Dad died. He had asked her for a divorce, and she screamed at him that she would make sure his political aspirations never came about. He stomped out and took off with tires screeching and didn’t come home that night.”
“Did you tell the police about it?”
Taylor stared down at her hands. “I was sixteen and wanted to protect my mother.”
Paradise leaned against Blake and exhaled. He wished he could spare her hearing all this and having to relive the night her
parents died too. These deaths had to be related, but for the life of him, he couldn’t see who would want them all dead. Unless . . .
“Would your dad’s family have tried to talk him out of divorce? Could it have been a disagreement with one of them that got
out of hand?”
Taylor reached for her glass of tea and took a sip without answering for several moments. She set the beverage back on the
table and laced her fingers together. “The only family member Dad ever argued with was Uncle Bear. He was older than Dad and
never had much success with politics, though it was his passion. Tempers could run high between them since they often disagreed
on policy or election strategies. But in spite of those differences, they were tight. I can’t see Uncle Bear ever hurting
my dad.”
“Bear?” Paradise asked.
“His real name is Arthur, but we all call him Bear. I was never sure where he got the nickname.”
Paradise pulled her hand from Blake’s and rubbed her head. “I was there the night my parents died, and I blocked out most
of it until recently.”
“I understand your loss.” Taylor glanced down at her clasped hands. “I—I found my mother at the bottom of the stairs. She’d just gotten up and was still in her robe and slippers. It was very traumatic, and I try not to remember.”
Drew reached over and touched Taylor’s hands. “That had to have been very hard.”
She moved slightly so that his hand fell away. Blake tried not to dislike her for it. She’d taken a hard hit with this news,
and she already had two brothers. She wouldn’t welcome the unknown addition with open arms. At least not yet.
Drew returned his hand to his chair’s armrest. “I’d like to speak to your brothers too. And your uncle of course. Are there
any other siblings? A-are your grandparents still alive . . . ?” His voice trailed off and betrayed how much that final question
meant.
Grandparents were important in any kid’s life, and Paradise had keenly felt the lack of any in her life. Blake had too. Visits
with his maternal grandparents had been few and far between since they lived in Scotland, and his paternal grandfather had
died in the Korean conflict. His paternal grandmother had died in childbirth.
Taylor looked down at her hands again. “My grandparents live here. I mean, with me. This is their home, really, and I just
come when I need to get away from the hubbub of the legislature.”
Drew’s eager gaze darted to the door. “Are they home so I could ask them some questions?”
Taylor gave a jerky nod. “Give me a few minutes to explain the situation. They raised us after our parents died.”