The man beside Norbert stepped forward and presented Drusilla with a bow. “I must beg your pardon for not responding to the telegram I received from the bank, but know that it was only because I needed to consider the matter carefully and weigh how much danger I’d put you in if I arrived back in the city.” He straightened. “I’m Mr. William Baumgartner, Miss Ottilie’s solicitor, and Norbert told me that you’re Miss Drusilla Merriweather.”
Drusilla dipped into a curtsy. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Baumgartner, but before we exchange polite pleasantries, I have a few questions for both you and Norbert.”
“I’d be surprised if you didn’t,” Mr. Baumgartner said.
Drusilla inclined her head to the solicitor before she turned to Norbert. “I’m curious why you didn’t simply explain to me your concerns about Fenna instead of stealing off to meet with Mr. Baumgartner.”
“I surely did consider that,” Norbert began, “until I realized there was every chance you wouldn’t believe me since Fenna is very good with telling tall tales.” He shook his head. “I knew the only person who was going to be able to clear my name was Mr. Baumgartner, because he was aware of what Miss Ottilie’s suspicions were about Fenna. That’s why it was fortunate we had that meeting already set up outside of town, especially after I saw Fenna watching the castle before everyone left forchurch. Once everyone got on their way, Fenna immediately pulled her buggy from where she’d been lurking in the shadows and began following you—suspicious behavior if there ever was some.”
Norbert gave his nose a scratch. “I never trusted the woman after she turned difficult about gaining access to the castle. That’s why I decided to follow her, and I started getting worried when she stopped her buggy at the church and scooted right on inside, my concern growing when, after the service, she made a beeline for you and started talking your ear off.”
“She was telling me about her suspicions about you,” Drusilla said.
“I figured as much because I was pretty sure she’d spotted me following her at one point. That’s why I hurried back to the castle and packed a bag, just to be on the safe side in case things went sideways. After that, I fetched Ernie and off I went to meet Mr. Baumgartner. I was hoping he’d be able to answer some of the questions I had about the strange occurrences that have been going on now for months.”
Drusilla glanced to Mr. Baumgartner. “And were you able to provide Norbert with the answers he desired?”
“I believe so, and know that Norbert convinced me to travel to the castle to explain everything to you so you’d understand the danger you were in, which is how it came to be that Norbert and I are currently here, speaking with you now.”
“But how did you manage to get here at this particular moment?” Drusilla asked.
“That’s a story in and of itself,” Norbert said. “But the short of it is this—Mr. Baumgartner and I caught a ride with the Pinkertons after we ran smack into them as they were leaving the castle this morning.” He winced. “In all truthfulness, we didn’t have a choice but to go with them because Mrs. O’Sullivan told them I was involved with some shady dealings surrounding the castle and the Pinkertons decided it would bea better use of their time if they just took us with them since they didn’t want to delay going after Sanford and your mother.”
“How did you convince the Pinkertons you weren’t up to anything suspicious?”
Norbert nodded to Mr. Baumgartner. “One of the local Pinkerton agents recognized Mr. Baumgartner and knew, given Mr. Baumgartner’s stellar reputation, that he definitely wasn’t involved in any shenanigans. By that time, though, we were already aboard their ship and sailing up Lake Michigan. When theRevengewas spotted, we were told to stay behind because the situation might become dangerous. That local Pinkerton who recognized Mr. Baumgartner returned to the ship just a few moments ago with some man who’s muttering something about losing his true love, and that agent thought we might be able to help clear up the situation with the two suspects who were still on the beach.”
“There’s no reason for you to involve yourself in this, Norbert,” Fenna snapped.
“Of course there is because you told Miss Drusilla you were close with her aunt, which is an out-and-out lie. You were her assistant, nothing more.”
“I traveled the world with her.”
“You went on one trip to Egypt with her as her assistant,” Norbert countered. “That she didn’t ask you to go on her last adventure suggests she was beginning to realize you might have been up to something shady.”
Fenna lifted her chin. “The only thing I did that might have been considered shady was when, after I was approached by Loughlin MacSherry and agreed to deliver an offer from him for the castle to Ottilie, I might have neglected to disclose to her that MacSherry was paying me a fee.”
Norbert let out a grunt. “I’m sure that’s not the only shady thing you’ve done, just as I’m sure Miss Ottilie figured out your connection to Loughlin MacSherry right from the start,as well as figured that MacSherry was going to continue to use you to exert pressure on her to sell. That’s probably why she began to make plans to take a spur-of-the-moment adventure and why she had Mr. Baumgartner transfer ownership of the castle to her two nieces, which he just recently told me she had him do as a way to protect ownership of her property while she was gone.”
Mr. Baumgartner cleared his throat and glanced to Drusilla. “Before another word is said, allow me to beg your pardon for never explaining the true reason why your aunt gave you and your sister the castle.”
“You might also want to beg my mother’s pardon for never responding to the telegrams she sent you after my father, Ottilie’s brother, died.”
Mr. Baumgartner glanced around, presenting Irma with a bow a moment later. “You would be Mrs. Merriweather, of course, and indeed I do need to beg your pardon for neglecting to respond to your telegrams. I assure you there were numerous reasons why I didn’t, and if you’ll indulge me for a few minutes, I’ll explain why.”
He took a second to rock on his heels in the sand before he nodded. “Ottilie had me transfer ownership of the castle because she knew MacSherry wanted it. She also knew he was a ruthless man and thus wanted to put some distance between her and him, which is exactly why, when Captain Harvey sent her a trunk filled with maps, she claimed she’d found one with potential. She then sent Captain Harvey a telegram, and a mere week or so later, they were off on a treasure hunt together.”
“Ottilie didn’t happen to mention where she was going to be doing that treasure hunting, did she?” Drusilla asked.
“I’m afraid not, although she left that trunk of maps in my care.” Mr. Baumgartner gave a shake of his head. “Sadly, I’ve looked at every map in that trunk numerous times and haven’tbeen able to decide with any certainty if she and Captain Harvey had been pursuing one specific map. I have noticed that a few of the maps look like copies, which may be a clue, although I’m not sure about that or what they may be a clue about.”
Drusilla turned to Agent Pearson. “It seems as if we’ll be needing your services to look into my aunt’s disappearance, so I’ll have Mr. Baumgartner send the trunk of maps to the castle, and we can look them over together.” She returned her attention to Mr. Baumgartner. “May I assume that you left town for a specific reason, and that there was also a specific reason why you never answered the telegrams my mother sent you regarding the death of my father?”
“I was very sorry to hear about your father’s passing, but I didn’t dare respond, not when Ottilie had warned me about MacSherry and that she feared there were members of her staff who couldn’t be trusted—most specifically Fenna. I was afraid Fenna might have bribed someone in the telegram office to contact her or MacSherry about any telegrams I might send, or more specifically, tell her who I was sending them to. I promised your aunt I wouldn’t say a word about you or your sister, nor let anyone get near the will she also left in my possession, one that names you and Annaliese as her sole heirs if anything happens to her, although she did bequeath a token amount to your mother.”
Irma blinked. “Ottilie left me something in her will?”
“She didn’t want you to feel slighted, but know that your daughters are due to inherit far more of Ottilie’s fortune than you are.”
