Страница 67 из 90
“You’d have to take that up with an attorney. I’m not well versed in the laws governing intellectual property,” he said. “What happened to Virginia Kinsey?”
“She died fifteen years ago.”
“Ah. Well, I’m sorry to hear.”
“I was the sole beneficiary of her estate, which means her letters are mine as well.”
“You won’t catch me arguing the point.”
“Did you know her?”
“I met her in the line of duty, so to speak.”
“You want to hear my theory?”
“I can’t prevent you from voicing an opinion.”
“In the two or three years after my parents’ death, my grandmother was hell-bent on gaining custody of me. It’s all in the letters. I’m guessing you were hired to investigate my Aunt Gin in hopes of impugning her parenting ability.”
Hale Brandenberg said nothing. His rag went around and around while he squinted in the ma
“No comment?” I asked.
“Don’t think so. I understand your interest, but the same principle applies. You want the information, talk to your gra
“She’s in her nineties and losing it, from what I hear. I doubt she’d remember what you did for her.”
“That doesn’t mean I’m free to discuss it with you.”
“Mr. Brandenberg, in less than a month, I’ll be thirty-eight years old. I’m not up for adoption so I don’t see what difference it could possibly make if you confirmed what I’ve said.”
He smiled faintly. “The name’s Hale and you have a point. At your age, I’m sure the court would take your wishes into consideration before making a decision about placement.”
“That’s safely nonresponsive. What if I ask about process instead of content?”
“You can try.”
“What happened to the written reports? I’ve got invoices but nothing else.”
“There weren’t any.”
“How so?”
He smiled. “I’d have to cite confidentiality again.”
“Were you supposed to grab me and run?”
“Oh, god no. I wouldn’t have hired out if that was the point.”
I sorted through the invoices. “She paid you close to four thousand dollars.”
“I put in a lot of hours.”
“Doing what?”
He was quiet and I could see him brooding.
I said, “Look. This is all ancient history. There’s nothing at stake. Whatever Grand’s intentions, she couldn’t have succeeded because here I sit.”
He was quiet for a moment more. “Can I buy you a cup of coffee?” Surprised, I said, “Sure. I’d like that.”
I pictured a coffee shop, but Hale had something else in mind. We went into the lobby of an office building three doors down. In one corner, there was a coffee cart, complete with wee containers of half-and-half, sugar packets, stirring sticks, and freshly baked ci
“It’s ten A.M.”
He smiled. “How about a sticky bun?”
“Sure, why not? I skipped breakfast this morning along with my three-mile run.”
He pointed to three big ci
After he paid, I followed him out the lobby door and from there to the grassy park across the street. I got the impression this was his morning ritual. The bench he chose was in dappled shade. By the time he sat down, setting the cardboard tray between us, a Disney-like assortment of birds and squirrels had appeared in anticipation of the third pastry, apparently intended for them. Our conversation proceeded by fits and starts while we sipped coffee and munched on sticky buns, tossing nuggets to the little creatures gathered at his feet.
“You understand I could have my license yanked if this got back to her.”
“How would it get back to her? I won’t breathe a word of it. Scout’s honor.”
He sat and thought about it. “What the hell. I’m close to retirement. I’ll take you at your word.”
“Please.”
“You’re right about the job. Mrs. Kinsey hired me to do a background check on Virginia.”
“She wanted proof Aunt Gin was unfit to act as my guardian, right?”
“Basically. Your grandmother had enough money to pay for the best attorneys. Still does, for that matter. She also had enough to pay for my services, which didn’t come cheap… as you so kindly pointed out. She thought she could influence the social workers and the judge and she wasn’t too far wrong. Virginia Kinsey was an odd duck.”
“ ‘Eccentric’ is the word,” I said. “So what went on?”
He smiled, conceding the point. “Your parents left no instructions about guardianship if something happened to them. Your aunt had no experience with kids. You must have discovered that yourself if you had half a brain. She was one of a kind. She could knock back whiskey with the best of them and she cussed like a stevedore. I could have made a case for your grandmother being the better equipped to care for a five-year-old.”
“Is that what you did?”
“No.”
“What happened?”
“I’ll get to that in a bit. Two things I should tell you first. I didn’t like your grandmother then and I don’t like her now. Maybe she reminds me too much of my own gra
“Fair enough.”
“Here’s the other thing. That was the only job I ever did strictly for the money. I was just getting into the business. I’d borrowed from the bank to set up my office, but clients weren’t exactly breaking down my door. The loan officer… the cranky so-and-so… expected payment and I didn’t have a dime. I put him off as long as I could, but I was ru
“Mrs. Kinsey came along and told me what she had in mind. Even as desperate as I was, I didn’t want to work for her so I named an exorbitant price. She agreed to pay it and I was stuck. I sat surveillance on Virginia off and on for weeks-first in 1955, then again in ’56 and early ’57. In truth, I never saw your aunt as a motherly type. She provided you with the basics, but I didn’t witness much in the way of affection.”
“I can testify to that.”
He smiled. “You were a tiny little thing and you clung to her like a monkey. So much so that I wondered about your emotional stability. You’d taken a hit. The loss of your parents was a blow I wasn’t sure you’d recover from. Virginia wasn’t nurturing, but she was solid and she was constant. She was also a firecracker when it came to protecting you. In my opinion, that was enough.”
“You decided all this sitting in a car parked down the street from us?”
“Not quite. I’d been out there less than a week when she spotted me. I thought I’d been discreet, but she was sharp. She must have known her mother was up to no good. One day she came out to the car, gestured I should roll the window down, and then invited me in. She said if I was going to spy on her I might as well do it up close and net myself a cup of coffee in the bargain. After that, she knew I was following her, but she made no concessions. She did exactly what she always did. What I thought of her and what I reported was of no concern.”