“Cynthia Wu. Yes, she could definitely identify her.”
Lupe kept shaking her head. “Sorry, kids, I know how much you want it another way, but you’re never going to see that woman again to prove who she really is.
He sighed. “Or Jamie, for that matter.”
18: Impregnable
She was mopping the kitchen floor when he came downstairs, an inviolate sign she was upset. Doreen hated housework, considered it a God-given right to avoid it if at all possible. The gleaming stove, fridge, cupboards and now floor could only mean she was bargaining with God. She’d keep house if He’d give back the boy.
“Did you get any sleep?”
“Not enough to notice.” She didn’t look at him.
“Can I walk across this to get my coffee?”
“Yes, you may.”
He poured then watched her. She was haggard, stretched thin, dangerously so, but almost done. He went to her, took the mop away. “Always wanted to be married to a charwoman.” She couldn’t even smile at that. He pretended to inspect the kitchen. “God’s gotten the message, I’m sure. Now we have to help Him by helping ourselves. We’ll get Jamie back, but not if you’re a basket case.”
Her green eyes filled and her voice broke. “Aren’t you…the wise one.”
“That’s why I get the big bucks.” He turned her toward a stool. “You sit, I’ll scramble, and we’ll plot strategy.”
She sat, truly trying to pull herself together, but she was not wholly successful. “What do we do…first?”
Good Girl! “First, I take a few days off from Care Wheels to work on this full time.”
“Then?”
“I talk to Judge Shepherd about what we can do legally.”
“Don’t bother. Lupe’s right. We don’t have a prayer against Kinkaid’s money and Dragon’s clout.”
“You’re probably right.”
“I have an idea.”
It wasn’t bad, nor the next one or the one after that. Doreen was soon her old quicksilver self. Thank you, God. As much as she wanted the boy back, he wanted this woman more.
“It strikes me, my red-haired darling, the chances of pulling this off are a bit like taking a swim without getting wet.”
”What else are we gonna do?”
He nodded. “I think it’s time you met Josh Kinkaid.”
“Can we trust him?”
“To quote someone I’m close to-”
“What else are we gonna do? One of my pithier remarks.”
“I simply adore pithy women.”
Byerly considered the El Paseo one of Santa Barbara’s treasures, a delightful maze of shops and restaurants off State Street, graced by fountains and flowers. It contained the authentic Street of Spain and the El Paseo Restaurant, where Josh and Addie were already seated when they arrived for lunch. Parcels surrounded Addie’s chair. She’d been shopping, obviously at Paseo Nuevo, a big, brassy mall across the way.
Now she arose. “I’m thrilled to meet you, Mrs. Byerly.”
“DeeDee, please.”
“I can’t thank your husband enough for all he did for me.”
“If you say any more I won’t be able get my head through the front door.” He shook her hand. “From the look of all those purchases you must have found an apartment.”
“Better yet, a house,” Josh said. “Why waste money on all that rent. This way Mums has a nest, and I have a place to come home to.”
“It’s just a small house on the Mesa, three bedrooms, but a grand view. Listed for $1.2 mil and they wouldn’t come down, if you can believe that.
Doreen pretended to be shocked, but he knew she wasn’t. “Maybe we should put our house on the market, dear, cash in on such foolishness.”
“We couldn’t afford to live here, then.”
Yakking about houses and furnishing them went on for some time, through drinks and ordering. Finally he steered the conversation to what they’d come for. “Josh, I need your help, at least some information. The other day a little boy was dropped into our laps.”
Doreen told the story. He added some details, mostly about losing Jamie last night.
“We have reason to believe both Jamie and his mother-her name is Amanda Sykes-are being held at the Kinkaid castle…'
“But why?” Addie asked.
He grimaced. “Mandy Sykes is the only one who can tell us for sure, and we can hardly ask her until-”
“They’d be in the tower,” Josh said, “and that place is-”
“Impregnable, you told me. Are there any windows?”
“At the top, facing the front.”
“Could someone scale the walls and drop down to-”
“Bars, Mr. Byerly, it won’t work. Strangely there’s no glass in the windows. I guess birds fly in regularly. When I was young I used to lob rocks inside, listen to them rattle around. Only I was caught and threatened with permanent banishment.”
“Why do they keep it locked?” Doreen asked.
“Secrets and locks are a way of life for some people. Granddad’s study was kept locked, although he let me in once.” He laughed. “All it needed was a few suits of armor-or maybe a roundtable for King Arthur.”
“We need to get into that castle, Josh. How about breaking in at night?”
“Tough. You’re talking walls, gates, sensors, cameras, three armed goons and a German Shepherd who’s pals with a Doberman.”
“We were thinking maybe we could get in posing as servants,” Doreen said. “They have servants, don’t they?”
“Not as many as you might think. Let’s see.” He actually counted on his fingers. “There’s a cook, Carmen, and her helper, Maria. You know her. Then there’s one maid, been with step-granny dearest a long time, and a housekeeper.” He thought a moment. “There used to be a butler, Jeeves, I think, no Jerome. Joy got rid of him and brought in this battleaxe, Hildegard Uberreich.” Josh laughed. “If you ever watch old movies, she’s Mrs. Danvers, only not as good-looking as Judith Anderson who played her in Rebecca.”
“Four women run the place?” Doreen asked.
“There’s the musclemen who act as chauffeurs and such, but they aren’t really servants. Oh yes, there’s a gardener.”
Doreen shook her head. “I still find it hard to imagine-”
“Oh, there’s lots of other help, day labor and per diems. I thought you wanted to know the live-in help.”
“Day labor? It might work. Who hires that?” She made a face. “Tell me it’s not the housekeeper.”
“It might be.” He shook his head. “No, I doubt it. Hilde isn’t from around here. She doesn’t know people.”
Addie said, “She probably calls an agency and tells them how many people she needs that particular day-or the next day, or by the week.”
Doreen beamed. “I ought to be able to find out what agency serves the Kinkaid castle.”
“Even if you could get hired on as day help, won’t they recognize you?”
I don’t think they’ve seen me up close.” She patted Addie’s hand. “In my checkered youth, I dabbled in amateur theatricals. Played a French maid in some outrageous farce once. I suspect with a proper wig and uniform I could give an encore performance.”
