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Chapter 149 — Mere Surmise
Sophia cradled Mickey in her arms and tried not to think too much about the past. But the memory still was floated memories about her childhood, her mother, her last conversation with the father. She even did not think that she's remembered so much. Apparently her amnesia and followed hypnotic suggestion muffled her earliest memories, pushed into the farthest corner of the mind. Now it felt as if someone just pulled the invisible veil off her memory. Sophia's longing to find out something about her father but also she's scared. Inside her mind raised a vague mix of bitterness, guilt and tenderness--
"Sophia? What are you doing here?" She suddenly heard Mason's voice.
Sophia turned around with the baby on her hands. Mason stood at the door and looked at his stepmother.
"Mary had to leave." She said as soon as she recovered. "She asked me to babysit with Michael".
"Is something wrong?" Mason came in and took his son away from her.
Mickey whimpered and reached for Sophia. She smiled and patted boy's cheek, his whining intensified. Realizing that soon they'll have a lot of crying Mason reluctantly handed the baby to Sophia and quizzically looked at her.
"No, it's fine." She replied and comfortably arranged Mickey on her hands. He's stirred, looked up Mason and beamed his toothless smile. "Da!" And he stretched out his little hands for Mason.
Mason grinned and then gently kissed his son on top of his head.
"And where my wife goes off?"
"To her mother. She'll be back soon." Sophia suddenly lost her voice.
"Sophia, what is it?" All cheerful drained from Mason's face. "If something comes to our family I want to be aware."
However at this moment the front door opened and Chip and Sammy ran in. Behind them Mrs. Rold calmly walked. She quickly took the children off Mason as they're clinging to their father on both sides, took them up the nursery and then returned to the living room.
"Mr. Capwell, I'd like to talk to you." She said and Mason noted that the nurse seems upset.
He excused himself and step aside.
"Any problems?"
"No, but... in fact Mrs. Lockridge walks to us when we already was going to home. She wanted to spend some time with Samantha but I'm referring to your instructions, asked her to leave."
"You did everything right." Mason said firmly.
"... Mrs. Lockridge tried to insist but eventually left. Are you sure we should not give them to spend time together? Mrs. Lockridge seemed a respectable woman."
"I do sure. Just follow my instructions and everything will be alright."
Face of the babysitter momentarily showed anxiety but then she nodded and quietly left to the nursery. Mason turned to Sophia.
"Augusta keeps her efforts to see her niece?" She asked.
"You already know?" Mason raised the eyebrow. "Yes, she tried to break through our cordon again today."
"Mary told me. I can see that Augusta is very persistent."
"Incredibly stubborn. So what's the mysterious case of Mary?"
At this moment the door opened again and the latter quickly walks in.
"You're home!" Mary surprised at sight of Mason and then turned to Sophia. "I found out almost nothing."
"What are you talking about?" Mason's moving his eyes from one to another. "What's the secret case?"
Mary hesitantly looked at Sophia who nodded after a moment's thought.
"You can tell."
Mary told Mason all story in a few words and then added: "Mom knows this picture for many years but she don't remember how it came in our album. It's not her relatives and seems not my father's."
"Then why did she save it?" Mason surprised.
Mary shrugged.
"Hard to say."
"Probably she had some reasons." Mason mused and then glanced at Sophia. "Are you sure it's that photo?"
"I do sure! Besides I still have my family album and I can find its copy. But this changes nothing..." Her voice faded.
"I'm sorry." Mary took Sophia's hand. "I know you're hoped--"
"Don't be ridiculous!" She sadly smiled. "In any case this something from my past. Even if it led me to nowhere."
Sophia leave, but Mary have returned her thoughts to the old photo. Theda said that she remembered it from the times when they were happy. So before Mary's father's death. But when her parents getting married, Sophia just had her wedding with CC. It's meaning that the photo must come to the Duvall's family album later. Then why Theda does not remember how?
During the dinner Mary shared her thoughts with Mason but he surprised her just wincing.
"Why bring up the past? Let it stays where it belongs."
"Sophia takes it hard, and I understand her. Especially because this affects to my family too."
"How?"
"Mason, this is my family album. These pictures belong to my family."
"And the photograph just got there somehow. Neither you nor your mother ever knew these people."
"Mason, what's wrong with you? Why are you so rigid about?"
Instead of answering Mason threw the napkin on the table, quickly poured two cups of coffee and pulled Mary upstairs to the study.
"I did not want to talk when Sophia was here but I remember something about her father." Mason said slowly, sitting on the small window sofa. Mary started to lean back against the window but straightened up in surprise when she heard the last words.
"You??" She almost spilled her coffee. "How? Sophia had not seen her father since she got married, and you were three then."
"Five. But, of course, I saw him later."
"Have you seen him? Where?"
"In our house."
Mary became speechless.
"I do not understand." She finally managed. "Do you saw Sophia's father? In your father's house? But then why Sophia did not--"
"She does not aware about his visit."
"And nobody let her know?"
Mason just looked at Mary, and she felt unsettled.
"It was happened when we believed that Sophia's died." He said softly. "A few years later the yacht accident. I do not know all the details but... my father kick Bernard Wayne downstairs and thrown him out of the house."
"Oh." Mary made.
"It's a dirty story. And it is better not stirring it."
"Dirty?"
"Trust me. I was a teenager but I knew enough to keep secret what I had heard."
"And what did you hear?"
"It's no matter."
"Mason!"
"It's been a long time ago."
Mary wanted to protest but then she mused. "Maybe that picture has no relation to Mr. Wayne." She said at last. "Sophia's gone missing in the same year that my father's died." Mary blushed remembering the boy with the bicycle. "My mother remembers this photo from the days when he was still alive. Unlikely it came in our album from Mr. Wayne if he appeared in your father's house still a few years later."
Mason shook his head.
"Do you think the picture must get to your album only after his death or shortly before? Not necessarily."
"Right. And yet... Let's say Mr. Wayne left his home, taking along the photo of his late wife and his daughter. Sophia thinks so and we have no reasons to believe otherwise."
"You definitely speak like lawyer's wife." Mason smiled and gently patted the sofa. "Come here."
But Mary looked up the clock and guiltily looked at him.
"I need to check on the children and feed Mike. Do you wait?"
"Of course."
Mary left; Mason got up and looked out of the window. Bellow trees were swaying in wind at dusk. Mason almost automatically helped himself to brandy and sat down at the table. He's not too worry about the mysterious photo, though memories of the last visit of Mr. Wayne were unpleasantly here yet. CC angry shouted at him. And accused of blackmail. Of being fraud. Stop to think about it, Mason. When it's gone, it's gone.
"They're just fine." Mary slipped back into the study and sat beside Mason, spreading light odor of perfume. "Chip and Sam fell asleep as soon gone in beds, and Mike was just a little fussy."
Mason put his arm around her and kissed her hair.
"Are you ready to continue? Or already lost your interest?" Mary slightly pulled away and looked into his eyes.
"No way! So where were we?"
"Mr. Wayne left out, taking along picture which was the most valuable for him. And what is supposed to mean?"
"He was not going to live happily in Hawaii."
"Exactly. Sophia said that most of the things remained in the same places. Mr. Wayne could sell or pawn things. He could sell ??the house and leave. But it is as if he just dropped everything and ran away." She paused. "You remember how he's looked? If he was like was-bird?"
"No. Not at all." Mason remembered the fury distorted face of the man. But he definitely was not kind of homeless or drunker.
"So, he managed to get up." Mary said. "I dealt with people in similar situations. Tragedy or some family problems pushed them down where they are even more immersed in the spiritual distress. They are very hard to help and as usually they quickly lose themselves in drinking."
"But not in this case." Mason sighed and clasped his hands. "The man who I saw definitely was not depressed. My father kicked him out actually not for begging."
"For what then? Mason, why do you want not to say? It was something too horrible?"
"I heard not so much of it." Mason reluctantly explained. "But the father clearly saw Mr. Wayne's not for first time. And he accused him of blackmail."
Mary whistling breath.
"Yes, it would be a blow for Sophia."
"I do not want to become a whipping boy in this situation but if I open my mouth how you think who would accuse by my father of all mortal sins?"
"Perhaps, you." Mary admitted. "But Sophia was so upset. I feel that this photo open up her wound... However I distracted. So depressed Mr. Wayne left home, taking along the photograph of his wife and daughter... I guess it is unlikely he would give it to the next man."
"He could lose it." Mason said.
"And my father found it, took home and put in the family album? There is no logic. Especially because Mr. Wayne was not a drunker as far we know. Apparently he overcame his depression and found new place for life."
"And he never tried to meet his only daughter. Although he knew where she's lived and even met her husband."
"You do not know how he lived and if he wanted to meet her. And Mr. Wayne could find out where was his daughter after her supposed death. You ever say that the conversation which you witnessed occurred a few years later Sophia's missing. They could firstly meet for a year earlier and for a month."
"And just before the wedding of my father and Sophia too. Whatever."
"Maybe. But the photo exists. And how it came to our album if not from Mr. Wayne?"
"It is unlikely that we ever know. May be you and Sophia are kind of distant relatives."
"Hardly. And why we have only one picture then? We would suppose have a few at least."
"Maybe it accidentally got into the album. I guess you have more then one family album?"
"Yes, I think so. I'll have to look for. But even this does not explain why the pictures still hold among my family's photos."
"Following the logic we can assume that the people would have not too many reasons to keep old photos. First are memories, of course." Mason tick off points on his fingers.
"And the second is the willing to save the history of the family." Mary added.
"Yes. Also there is revenge as motive."
"It is unlikely that in this case." Mary doubted.
"Who knows?" Mason thoughtfully looked at her. "As a lawyer I have seen many human frailties. I can imagine a female who hold the photo of her rival."
"Not in my family!"
"Maybe." Mason surrendered. "Okay. What else?"
"Else..." Mary remembered Missing Children sheets with the children's smiling faces. "You can hold the photo hoping to find someone."
"Yes, it's an idea. But who would look for persons of the picture?"
"And why it eventually ended up in our album? My father was never a detective."
"He was a traveling salesman..." Mason said. "Maybe he brought it from some trip?"
"Well, it's not a souvenir, Mason. And my mom would remember."
"But the photo brought not to you by the Holy Spirit. Someone put it in your album. And if this was not your mother so who was? Your father? Your uncle? Maybe other relatives?"
"My uncle — hardly. He never lived with us. It's was not his nature to be interested in family albums. And I've never seen any other relatives. But of course they could visit us when I was too young to remember. But I still do not think that some distant relatives did this. Why do they need to slip some old photo in our album? But then it's all about my father again."
"Probably, yes. Perhaps he had his motives to do it. We never know now."
Mason got to his feet in one fluid motion and stretched up.
"Come to bed." He smiled but turned serious for a moment. "I think I'll use some my connections and try to find out the fate of Bernard Wayne. Does not hurt to know what we're dealing with."
Mary nodded. Mason wound his arm around her shoulders and they go upstairs to the bedroom together.
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