The Mulberry Tree

Three days before the commercial was to air on TV, the phone rang at 3:00 A.M., waking Bailey.

It was Phillip, and he was in a noisy bar; she could hardly hear him.

“Bailey, I don’t have much time,” he said. “I just paid fifty bucks to some guy to use his cell phone so no one can trace the call back to me. I’ve got to warn you—except that I don’t know exactly what I’m warning yo

u about. Atlanta and Ray are scared of something. They’re liquidating everything, putting it into cash, and moving the money out of the country. You’ll probably see something about it on the news.”

“Phillip,” Bailey said, “I don’t mean to be negative, but what does this have to do with me? It’s their money, and they can do anything they want with it.”

“Bailey, are you sure James didn’t get your mother’s permission to marry?”

“He couldn’t have. He didn’t even meet my mother until after we were married. You know that we eloped.”

“Yes, of course. But are you sure?”

“Why are you asking me this?”

“Because Atlanta and Ray have been asking me questions about you—a lot of questions. I said that when you were told I was taking a job with them, you walked out, and I don’t know where you went.”

“Phillip, none of this makes any sense, except that Atlanta and Ray are crazy and always have been. My marriage to Jimmie wasn’t legal, plus his will left me nothing, and Atlanta and Ray are his only living relatives.”

“Are they?”

“What? I can’t hear you.”

He didn’t say anything for a while, but the noise lessened, so she thought he must have moved to a quieter spot. “Are they his relatives?”

“Of course they are! Jimmie hated them. Why else would he put up with them unless they were his relatives? No one would put up with friends as repulsive as Atlanta and Ray.”

“I don’t know anything for sure, but I wonder if maybe they knew something about him that he didn’t want others knowing. You know how secretive he was about his past. What if they knew something horrible? Something James had done? And, Bailey, I’ve been thinking about a lot of things. James wasn’t the kind of man to overlook details. It’s hard for me to believe that he didn’t know you were just seventeen when he married you. And if he knew that, he would have obtained your mother’s permission.”

“But he didn’t know, and he didn’t get any permission. He would have told me.”

“But you didn’t tell him. Maybe he was waiting for you to confess to him. But you didn’t, did you?”

“No, I didn’t. If I had, we could have married legally. But it’s okay, Phillip, stop worrying about me. I’m okay. Very okay.”

“Bailey, listen—” There was a beep in the phone. “Oh, no, the battery is dying. Listen, Bailey—what if, somewhere, there is a permission slip from your mother? What if you and James were legally married? What if Atlanta and Ray aren’t blood relatives of his? That would mean all those billions are yours, not theirs. And what if the person who knows that you were legally married has come forward with that information? Maybe that’s what’s stirred Atlanta and Ray up now.”

“But Jimmie’s will—”

“The will states that the money goes to his brother and sister. If a court were shown that they weren’t his relatives . . . Bailey, have you seen anything since you’ve been there that would link Atlanta and Ray with James?”

Bailey didn’t want to tell him about seeing the photo in Matt’s shoe box. She didn’t want to get involved. It was better to put Atlanta and Ray and even Jimmie behind her.

“You’ve heard something, haven’t you?” Phillip said. “What is it?”

She sighed. Even over the phone she couldn’t get away with a lie. “Nothing. I just saw a photo of some kids, and I think they might have been Atlanta and Ray.”

“Oh, God!” Phillip said. “Bailey, you don’t know how important this is. You must find out anything you can about them. If I could prove that they aren’t blood relatives of James, I might be able to stop this madness. And if you know anyone who would know if you were married or not—”

“I don’t want all that money!” Bailey said, and her voice came out as a shriek. She could feel the flashbulbs, hear the reporters asking her how she felt about anything and everything.

“This isn’t just about you!” Phillip shouted into the phone. “Those two are shutting down and selling off all of James’s businesses. Thousands, maybe millions, of people will be affected by this. Can you find out anything at all?” There was another beep on the phone. “Promise me that you’ll find out what you can. Swear to me. It’s very, very important.”

“All right,” Bailey said reluctantly. “I’ll—” She stopped; the phone had gone dead in her hands. “I’ll do what I can,” she said, then grimaced.

She put down the receiver, then looked up at a soft tap on her door. “Yes?” It was Matt.