account. They’ll both lie awake nights trying to figure ways to plunder it.”
“Charles, you are just too clever,” Kathryn squealed. “That’s perfect! We scam the scammers. I love it! Alexis, what do you think?”
“I … I don’t … I guess I must be stupid. How can all this help me get my revenge?”
“We’re going to allow them to plunder the account, allow them to forge papers, allow them to do pretty much what they want, and then we’ll … we’ll nail them. Is that the right term, Charles?” Myra asked.
“More or less. Myra and I are flying to Barcelona at first light to … ah, nail it all down. We’ll be back the day after tomorrow. While we’re gone, you can plot any additional revenge you can think of. Whatever you come up with, we’ll manage to fit it in.”
“Why don’t you just call her up instead of flying all the way to Spain?” Kathryn asked.
“Annie doesn’t like to speak on the phone. She’s a little paranoid about things like that. She doesn’t believe in email either. Unless she’s changed her habits, she looks at her mail only every couple of months. Going to Barcelona is our only option if we want to enlist her help,” Myra said.
“Do any of you see a problem with what I’ve told you so far?” Charles asked.
The women said they didn’t.
“Then, ladies, we’re adjourned. We’ll meet up here the day after tomorrow.”
In the kitchen, the women declined the offer of drinks and headed out to their cars. Standing in the doorway, Myra reached for Charles’s hand. They both laughed when the girls started ribbing Yoko about Harry Wong.
“Oh, I hope she manages to find happiness, don’t you, Charles?”
“With Harry Wong?” Charles teased.
“Why not? She’s come a long way since joining us. Remember how shy and frightened she was. Now, she’s … she’s her own person. I hope it works out. Oh, Charles, this is such a fantastic idea. I mean going to Barcelona. We have so much to talk to Annie about. I do so hope she agrees.”
“My dear, I have never yet met the person who can refuse you anything.”
“Charles, you are just too sweet for your own good.”
“Sweet, is it? Well, old gal, we’re alone. Do you want to see how really sweet I can be?”
Myra giggled. “I thought you would never ask. Lead the way, my dear.”
Chapter 3
Myra walked out of the airport into the warm sunshine. She looked around at the busy passengers who were waiting for friends or relatives to take them to their destinations. She reached for Charles’s hand and squeezed it. “I do so love traveling. We should do it more often, but just for a few days at a time.”
Charles smiled as his eyes scanned the long line of waiting cars, hoping to pick out the one that would take them to Anna Ryland’s home. “We don’t travel, Myra, because you get homesick after three days. Ah, there’s our car. Come along, dear.”
The uniformed driver held up a placard that said “Rutledge” in bright red letters. Charles held up his hand in greeting. A moment later, their sparse luggage was settled in the trunk and they were inching their way into the moving airport traffic. Myra and Charles settled back for the long drive to Anna Ryland de Silva’s mountaintop retreat.
“I think Barcelona is beautiful but I don’t think I could live here. Anna loves it, though. It’s so hard for me to believe she doesn’t want to live in the United States. I thought … hoped … once Anna stopped grieving she would want to return to her homeland. Nellie and I miss her. This reclusiveness of hers is not healthy. It’s gone on way too long. I’m the living proof. Nellie … Nellie …” Myra threw her hands in the air when she couldn’t finish what she was trying to say.
“It’s tragic, Myra, that each of you lost your family. It’s almost bizarre. First Anna losing her husband and two children in that boating accident years ago, followed by Barbara’s death, then Nellie’s daughter Jenny killed in that awful accident. Grief is a terrible thing.”
“I know, Charles, but Anna carried it to the extreme. You know how many times Nellie and I tried to get her to come back to the land of the living. She literally told us to mind our own business. Nellie gave up and simply told Anna she was hopeless and she deserved to wallow in her misery. Maybe this time … I hope she doesn’t kick us out when we show up at her door. Good grief, whatever will we do if that happens?”
Charles reached for Myra’s hand. “Anna would never do that, Myra. She adores you. I guarantee she will be happy to see you.”
“Do you think she’ll be happy enough to give up watching the weather channel or whatever they call it over here, to spend some time with us?”
“Of course she will. When we were here three years ago she entertained us royally. The three of you were like sisters. You and Nellie are all she has left. The people she surrounds herself with here in Spain are employees and servants. You’re the closest thing to family Anna has. I don’t want you to give it another thought.”
“I’ve always wondered if the people she has around her are taking care of her financial affairs. I’ve been tempted to ask but never did. She used to use some of the same financial people Nellie and I use back in the States. I hope that hasn’t changed. Armand left her a fortune equal only to that of the late Aristotle Onassis. With the fortune her parents left her as well, Anna is probably one of the wealthiest women in the world. I’m going to have a real heart to heart talk with her on this visit. I don’t care if she shows me the door. Someone has to get through to her. Nellie seems to think I can do it.
“The girls gave me a lot of suggestions. I … ah … might use some of them if things get … sticky. I know how to be forceful, Charles. I know when to back off if I hit a nerve. I should have done it a long time ago. Why didn’t I, Charles?”
Charles squeezed Myra’s hand. “Because you said you didn’t want to stomp on Anna’s grief. You said it was all she had left. You said you had to respect that grief because you remembered only too well how difficult it was.”
“It’s been fifteen years. That’s way beyond the time one lives in a shell. Maybe I’m too late. Maybe she won’t be able to … get past that line she’s drawn. What will I do then, Charles?”
Charles stared out the tinted window at the brilliant scarlet bougainvillea that seemed to be everywhere. He searched his mind for a response that would satisfy Myra. The best he could come up with was, “I don’t know, dear. I think it’s best if you think positive and hope for the best. For whatever it’s worth, I think, if nothing else, you will pique her interest. If you can do that, I think the rest will fall into place.”
Myra leaned back and closed her eyes. She didn’t let go of Charles’s hand. From time to time, she squeezed it. She smiled to herself when he returned the slight pressure. Eventually, she slept.
A long time later, Charles woke Myra with a gentle kiss on her cheek. “We’re almost there, Myra. We’re halfway up the mountain.”
Myra’s eyes snapped
