“I get the pillow,” I said.
“I’ll toss you for it.”
There was a knock at the door, and I noticed that though Zach was more than a little distracted, he still asked, “Who is it?”
There was a moment’s hesitation, and then we both heard a voice say, “It’s Barton Lane.”
Zach looked at me for confirmation, and I nodded. It sounded like Barton, though I didn’t know his voice that well. That’s when it hit me. Regardless of how insane it must be, his voice was quite a bit like someone else I knew, someone I cared about a great deal.
Zach must have noticed something in my expression, because he didn’t open the door. “Are you all right, Savannah?”
“I think I’m losing my mind,” I admitted.
“What is it?” There was real concern in his voice, and I loved him even more for it.
“I’m about to do something stupid, and there’s a one percent chance I’m right, and a ninety-nine percent chance I’m about to make a complete fool out of myself.”
“What does your gut tell you?”
I thought about it a split second. “That I’m right.”
“Then go for it, and let the consequences fall where they may.”
“Excuse me, but may I come in?” Barton called out.
That sealed it for me. How had I not heard it before? Could it be that over the telephone, and in person, his voice was somehow changed, but through a closed door, the nuance of it came out? It didn’t matter anymore.
“Sorry, of course you can. Come on in,” I said as I opened the door.
“Thank you.”
After he was in the suite, and the door was closed behind him, I said, “I’ve got something of yours I need to return.”
“You found the necklace after all?” he asked, his voice full of hope.
“No, that still hasn’t turned up.”
“Then what is it?”
“Ten thousand dollars. My mother didn’t spend it, and I don’t think it’s right that I do, Uncle Jeffrey.”
He frowned for a few moments, and then he said softly, “Pardon me? I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
I wasn’t about to let him get away with it, though. “I just spent a day with Uncle Thomas, and while there isn’t much family resemblance between the two of you, I can hear his voice when you speak. I’m willing to bet that Barton is my uncle’s middle name. Should I call Uncle Thomas and find out?”
Barton Lane slumped down, and I knew I had him. “That won’t be necessary. It’s true. I’m your uncle.”
I didn’t know what he was expecting, perhaps a tongue-lashing and a scolding, but he was clearly surprised when I wrapped him in my arms. “Why did you stay away so long?”
“I had no choice,” he said. He finally managed to pull away from me, and I could see that his face was flushed. “You understand, don’t you?”
“I don’t have a clue what’s going on,” I answered honestly.
“No one told you? There weren’t horrible tales of J.B., the thief, when you were growing up?”
“What are you talking about?”
“That ten thousand dollars I sent your mother was atonement for something I did many years ago. I left when I was eighteen, but I didn’t go empty-handed. Your grandfather didn’t believe in banks, and he didn’t believe in me when I asked him for a loan so I could make my way into the world. He refused me, so I took it anyway.” Barton’s face seemed to melt as he told his story, and I could swear I saw the man shrink before my eyes.
“I was so ashamed of myself. I tried to pay him back five years later, but he tore up the check and returned it to me. He said as far as he and the rest of the family were concerned, I had died the day I left them. It took forever for me to get the courage to write your mother, and when I never heard back from her, I assumed that no one had forgiven me.”
“So you sought me out?” I asked, incredulous about the news.
“Quite the opposite. I’ve stayed away from you, per your mother’s wishes. When I discovered you and your husband were coming to town to investigate my assistant’s murder, I couldn’t help myself. I offered you my finest suite in the hopes I could get to know you without the stigma of what I’d done to taint your impression of me.”
“Like I said before, I never knew you took any money from my grandparents.”
“Are you honestly saying that neither Thomas nor your mother told you?”
“No. I’ve got a feeling if you tried again with Uncle Thomas, you just might be surprised. He’s softened quite a bit over the years.” I looked at Zach, who nodded his head. In some ways, he knew my uncle better than I did, and if there was a chance for forgiveness, he would most likely be the one to know it.
“I hope with all my heart that it’s true, but being here with you right now is enough for me.”
“Whatever sin you committed was never against me, so I’d have a hard time holding a grudge for it, wouldn’t I? We can try to get acquainted, but there’s something you have to do first, or I’m not interested in pursuing
