him, in hopes of some easy money.”
“That’s always possible. Did your mother have any living relatives besides you?”
“I have a grandfather, if he’s still alive. Mama seldom talked about him. He disapproved of my father.” She smiled sadly. “My dad was a wonderful person. Mama ran around on him. He was so sad. He really loved her.”
“What was your mother’s maiden name?”
“Cranston,” she said. “But she never talked about her past, where she was from, even her parents. She didn’t like her father at all, though she did tell me of some good times with him, and her mother died when she was small, I think.” She smiled. “It’s amazing, how much I don’t know about my own background.”
“We can find your grandfather, if he’s still alive.”
“That would make him a target, Mr. Frazier,” she said sadly. “I’ve made Butch one, by marrying him. I’d die to keep him safe from harm. I don’t want him hurt, because of me. I love him more than anything.”
He smiled. “We’ll do our best to keep both of you safe. And your grandfather, if we find him. Was he well-to-do?”
“Mama said he was very rich,” she replied. “He lived in some remote place.” She frowned, trying to remember. “I think it was Jamaica. She mentioned it once. He left the States when his wife died and his daughter married who he considered the wrong man. Mama said he stopped caring about anything after that.”
“What did your father do?”
“He flew airplanes,” she said, smiling. “He was a test pilot.” The smile faded. “That’s how he died, testing a new plane. Mama was off with one of her lovers. Our lawyers had to take care of the funeral, because I was too little to know how to do any of that. When Mama came back and they told her about Daddy, she just shrugged and said there was a big party coming up in Europe and she was taking her new lover there.”
“What a life you’ve had,” he remarked, still taking notes.
“We had a wonderful housekeeper. She took care of me all those years.” She grimaced. “Darrin made Mama fire her the day he moved in. And Mama didn’t say a word, she just did it. I don’t think Agnes even got severance pay.” She looked up. “Her full name is Agnes Meriwether, and she lived in Billings, Montana, before she came to work for Mama. While you’re trying to find my grandfather, do you think you could look for Agnes, too? If we can get my inheritance back from Darrin, I’ll have more than enough money to give her a pension and pay your fees so Mr. Denton won’t have to.”
“We can worry about all that later,” he said kindly. “I’m going to get right on it.”
He had a few more questions. Esther answered them all. “Just one more thing,” she said to Mr. Frazier as he was leaving. “I don’t want my husband to know any of the particulars, especially how much I’m worth.”
He nodded. “I won’t tell.”
“Thanks. I told him that Mama had some minor investments that were long-term, and I laughed and said they’d belong to our kids. He said he didn’t want to be Mr. Esther Marist.” Her eyes saddened. “His pride wouldn’t take it. I should have told him the truth up front, but I was so afraid. I’m still afraid.”
“You don’t need to be. We’ll manage this. Trust me.”
She looked up into warm dark eyes. “I will,” she said.
* * *
Butch wanted to know what the attorney had said when they were both home from work later that day.
“He’s going after Darrin,” she said simply. “I hope he gets what’s coming to him.”
“So do I,” Butch agreed. “When will you know something?”
“Very soon,” she assured him.
He made a face and sighed. “I don’t like having you in danger,” he said abruptly.
“I don’t like having you in danger either, Butch,” she said softly, and her eyes adored him. “I wish we could go off to some island somewhere and never have to come back again.”
He smiled sadly. “That’s a pipe dream, honey girl,” he told her. “We all have bad times. Best way to handle them is to face them right away.”
“Yes, and I didn’t do that,” she said sadly. “If I’d only gone to the police right then . . .”
His hand slid over hers on the table. “And you might have been lying dead in the snow and I’d never have met you.”
“But I’m such a burden,”