Chapter 7:
They arrived at Stanhope's mansion in the mid-afternoon. The butler took the contract and returned it signed after half an hour. Then, they were ready to meet Lehman at the library. Finally, they would have access to read some of Mr. Stanhope's writes.
"Good Afternoon Mr. Steele, Miss Holt, come with me please," said Lehman. They followed him, and after a few minutes, they were both immersed in their own readings. Right after a few hours, the task was showing some results.
"I think I have something, Mr. Steele." She said
"Maybe I've found something too, Miss Holt."
The suspicion that crossed both minds was that Mr. Stanhope was a lonely man in the present, but in the past, the man could have had a few but intense relationships. Plenty of his poems and scripts were dedicated to lost loves and broken hearts, or that was what the detectives understood after reading a few pages. Several names appeared like relevant ones. They should have to ask him about that.
While they were comparing their notes, Lehman told them that as Mr. Stanhope was at the house, he would like to share lunch with them. It was a good idea because they would have the chance to make a few questions without giving him the uncomfortable feeling of an interrogatory. Food was always an ally to help relax things. It was one of the universal languages.
They came into the magnificent dining room, where the table was settled for the three of them. Mr. Stanhope took his place at the extreme, and Mr. Steele and Miss Holt sat at either side of him. There was a waitress behind every one of them, ready to attend their own dinner. The butler arrived with the food arranged in an elegant silver dish, and offered it to everyone, standing by their left side and waiting for them to serve it. Once they had everything they wanted, Mr. Stanhope began to eat. Mr. Steele and Miss Holt followed him. As formal as things were presented, they would not have the chance of any informality. So, Mr. Steele went straight to the matter.
"We were reading some of your writings, Mr. Stanhope, and I should say we were a little surprised. You told us that you didn't have any siblings or relatives and that you were almost a solitaire. But in your scripts, you mention not only once, but several times, some loved ones. Would you tell us who were you talking about?" asked Mr. Steele.
"Oh, that… Of course, I can tell you. There was a time some years ago, after my brother died, that I decided to try, and change my loneliness existence. I decided to know new people, you know, out of my limited social circle. I was a regular visitor to one art gallery in New York. I went to a cocktail there, and one of the expositors was a modern artist, a lovely woman indeed. I decided to stay in New York for a while, and we started to see each other. We dated for about six months. I never told her everything about my background, about the money. We talked mostly about art, life, feelings. We really appreciated each other. But one day she disappeared. She didn't come to our date, and I never saw her again. It was devastating, as you would guess. I tried to find her, I hired some people to do the work, but they never found her." He made a silence then.
"Did you try to follow her through her artwork?" asked Laura.
"Yes, I did. I found some paintings that looked very alike to hers, but I could never get in touch with the author. Although the pieces were the same style than hers, something was missing in them. They were sort of emotion-empty. Not like the paintings that Rose dreamed."
"Rose, was that her name?" asked Miss Holt.
"Her name was Rose, Rose Gilroy."
The two detectives shared a glance, and after that, they resumed their eating in silence.
After a while, Mr. Steele asked: "Do you mind if we try to investigate her?"
"Do what you need to do Mr. Steele, but bring my volumes back." Mr. Stanhope put his napkin on the table, stood up, and after excusing himself, he left the room, leaving Mr. Steele and Laura finishing their meal alone.
Once they were again at the library, Mr. Steele took the writings, and after a moment he asked Laura: "That was odd, don't you think Laura? A man with his resources not being able to find a woman who was very dear for him…"
"I agree with your thoughts, Mr. Steele. I can't imagine anyone hiding from a resourced man like Mr. Stanhope. Except if that someone was as resourceful as he was," added Laura.
"I can feel you would be thinking correctly, Miss Holt. Maybe Rose Gilroy was as powerful as Mr. Stanhope, and she had the chance to disappear without leaving a trace."
"Which means…?"
"…That we should look for her in different fields, and not only through the art world's population."
"Why don't you call Mildred, and ask her to look for a picture of Rose Gilroy through the New York Art Galleries Catalogue, so we can start searching in different circles then," said Laura.
"Are you still hiding from Mildred, Miss Holt?"
"On the contrary, Mr. Steele; I will not hide from Mildred anymore. I was just going to ask your opinion about making an arrangement to have dinner with her tonight…"
"You never cease to amaze me, Laura. I was only teasing you, just having a little fun because of your refusal of meeting her," he told her almost apologizing.
"If you want to be surprised, just let me finish what I was saying. I was thinking about a reunion but not only with Mildred, but with my mother also, and Frances and Donald too. In that way, we would have to drop the bomb only once. What do you think?"
"That is a bold move, Laura!" he told her.
"I know, but maybe it's time for me to stop with this charade, and to start putting things in its correct place, giving the importance some things and certain people deserves in my life, in our life."
"I'll make the calls, Laura. Do you want to have dinner at home, or we should go to a restaurant?" he asked.
"A homemade dinner would be nice. We are going to announce to your surrogate mother and to my family that their beloved kids are together, Mr. Steele. I think that deserves a private celebration, don't you think?"
"I think you are right Miss Holt. A private celebration with them sounds perfect."
"Rossmore or the loft?" he asked.
"I think we will be more comfortable at Rossmore," said Laura.
"I'll make the calls. But I have a suggestion too... What do you think about starting our own private celebration…"
"I didn't have a doubt you'll have something in mind to celebrate…" said Laura smiling just thinking about the plans he had in mind.
"Keep up your thoughts there, Miss Holt. It's going to be a long night."
"Keep your focus here, Mr. Steele. It's going to be a long day."
"Count on that, Laura; I don't want to give you an excuse to change your mind."
She gave him a smile and returned back to the library.