“The adoption records are sealed, of course,” Zeke Brennan said, “and discreet inquiries by an investigator who works for us have led me to believe there is little chance of proving any of Mr. Ducane’s suspicions in a court of law.” He paused. “All the same, we were able to learn a few things.”
“Things that led me to believe Warren hadn’t just been imagining a resemblance to Todd,” Auburn said. “One was that the judge who approved the adoption had long been suspected of being-let’s say, indebted to Mitch Yeager and his associates. Another was that no one-absolutely no one- other than a few of Mitch Yeager’s closest henchmen claims to have seen the child until after Max was taken. Strangely, all of the Yeagers’ servants were given a paid leave of two months-something Yeager had never done in the past. Yeager claimed it was to allow time for his new family to become acquainted, but rumor has it that when the servants returned, there were plenty of adjustments still going on.”
“Even natural parents may need more than two months to adjust to a new infant in the house,” Lillian said.
“Yes,” Auburn agreed. “But Mrs. Yeager, who had supposedly taken care of the child during those months, suddenly did not know how to manage his care-a nursemaid was hired in January.”
“Forgive me, I don’t like to speak ill of the dead, especially of someone who was once a friend. But the truth is, Estelle was one of the biggest lushes in town. It could be that Mitch finally had to accept the fact that a drunk shouldn’t be the only one caring for his son.”
“You misremember that bit of history, I think,” Auburn said. “If you think back, I believe you’ll realize that Estelle was just starting to drink around the time when Kyle started preschool.”
Lillian shrugged. “It makes no difference to anyone now.”
“Have you ever met Kyle Yeager?” Warren asked.
“No, I don’t know the boy.”
“It isn’t surprising that you haven’t met him,” Auburn said. “Mitch has never introduced his adopted son into local society. He was sent away to boarding school at the age of nine, and the moment he graduated, packed off to New Hampshire-to Dartmouth. He wasn’t brought home for holidays or vacations. I know a few people who met him briefly at Estelle’s funeral-he was only eleven when she died. Why did Mitch hide him away?”
“Mitch started a new family not long after that,” Lillian said reasonably. “Not everyone can manage to make a new wife comfortable with the children of a first marriage.”
“Mitch and his son have been at odds for years now, Lillian.”
“Where have you been, Auburn? It’s called the generation gap.‘Don’t trust anyone over thirty,’ remember? Even that’s a little dated, I suppose. Now it’s the Alliance for Survival telling them to ‘question authority.’”
“Perhaps that’s all it is. Perhaps it’s the natural set of differences between child and parent. However, when you see Kyle, I think you’ll better understand why Warren and Zeke and I feel as we do.”
“Does he really look so much like Todd?”
“No. Nor does he look exactly like a male version of Katy. But there is something of each of them in him, I’d say.”
“Auburn,” she said, her voice a shade more brittle than before, “what you have offered as proof is hardly enough to justify the sort of accusation that goes hand in hand with this… this notion of Warren’s. You’re saying, then, that Mitch arranged the murder of the nursemaid? That he kidnapped my grandchild? It makes no sense. Why would he do such a thing? He has the resources to adopt any number of children. Why would he go to such lengths?”
“You will forgive me for asking this, Lillian, but isn’t it true that you were once close to Mitch?”
“Yes,” she said, without hesitation. “Shall I name a few of your youthful follies now, Auburn?”
He raised a hand, in the gesture of a fencer acknowledging a hit. “That won’t be necessary-we haven’t got all day.”
“Indeed not. Now…”
“Your pardon, Lillian. I only bring up your ties to Mitch Yeager because I know that he never forgives anything he perceives to be an injury or an insult.”
“I’m fully aware of Mitch’s ability to hold a grudge.”
For a moment, Warren saw what he thought was another small change in her composure-as if she had briefly reminisced and found the reminiscence unpleasant.
Then she looked directly at Warren and said, “Auburn is right, Mitch doesn’t forgive easily. Mitch had a high school crush on me. I don’t think I meant much to him at all-certainly not enough to bring him to murder anyone or kidnap a child decades after our little teenage romance had soured. Your accusations, however, were they to become known, would displease him to a degree that might lead him to respond in ways…well, in ways I don’t like to contemplate.”
“By the time he learns of my plans,” Warren said, “I’ll be beyond his reach.”
She studied him for a moment, then said, “And so your plans include leaving me here to deal with his wrath? He’s very touchy about his reputation these days.”
“No. I’m not asking you to be involved in this in any way. I just wanted you to know… in advance. I didn’t want my plans to come as a shock to you.”
“Exactly what are your plans, Warren?”
But before he could answer, the intercom in the conference room buzzed. Zeke Brennan answered it and said, “Yes, please show Mr. Yeager in.”
22
A UBURN SHEFFIELD HEARD THE SOFT, SUDDEN INTAKE OF LILLIAN’S BREATH as a young man wearing a suit and tie entered the room. Her reaction to Kyle Yeager was unhidden for only the briefest moment, as (knowing Lillian) Auburn had anticipated it would be. He looked down at the stack of papers on the table before him to hide a smile while the introductions were made.
When he looked up again, Kyle was saying, “Yes, of course we’ve met. Good afternoon, Mr. Sheffield.”
He was tall and had an almost military bearing, shoulders and back straight. Equally unusual in young men of his age, his dark hair was cut short. His brown eyes reminded Auburn of Katy, although he could not imagine that hers were ever so solemn. He could not say that the rest of his features strongly resembled those of either parent-or as Auburn reminded himself, of the people he assumed were Kyle’s parents-but he had not known Todd well. Warren believed Kyle’s smile was nearly identical to Todd’s. Auburn wondered if Warren had seen that smile since Kyle was five.
Kyle waited politely for Lillian to be seated before he took a seat himself.
Zeke Brennan spoke first. He thanked Kyle for coming and asked if he had been able to find the time to read the photocopied newspaper articles he had been given when Auburn visited him in Hanover.
“Yes, sir.” He glanced uneasily at Lillian and Warren. “I’m sorry,” he said. “That must have been a horrible time for both of you.”
Warren looked away, but Lillian said, “Thank you. Yes, it was terrible.”
“About sixteen years ago,” Zeke said, “Mr. Ducane set up a trust. The trust came about in a rather unusual way, and its conditions are also unusual.” Zeke paused. “At that time, Mr. Ducane met a young boy whom he believed to be his nephew, Max Ducane.”
“Sixteen years ago? Oh.” He looked hopefully toward Lillian. “So-the kidnapper was caught?”
“It’s not quite so simple, I’m afraid,” Lillian said kindly.
Warren started to speak, but Zeke intervened, motioning to him to wait. “At the time he saw the boy, it was, for various reasons, impossible for him to prove his belief that the boy was his missing nephew. But he made arrangements so that when the boy reached adulthood, he would be eligible to receive a substantial sum of money. There would be two conditions that the boy- now a young man-would need to meet. He would be required to sever ties with his adopted family and to legally change his name to Maxwell Ducane.”
Auburn watched Lillian and saw her surprise. Kyle, however, seemed no more than politely interested, and waited for Zeke to go on. But it was Warren who broke the silence.
“The boy I met was you, Kyle,” he said.
