“What else can you tell us about her?”
Sharlene thought for a moment and then shook her head, either feigning regret beautifully or perhaps truly sorry that she couldn’t help more. “Nothing. But you should talk to your mother about this. Surely she knows more.”
“She said she didn’t remember the woman at all.”
Sharlene arched an eyebrow in apparent surprise. “Really? I find that hard to believe.”
“Why’s that? She was pregnant with me and claimed she barely had contact with her. She thought Vivian might be the woman’s first name, but she seemed to know nothing else about her.”
Sharlene’s mouth curved into an unpleasant smile. “Well, isn’t this just like old times, what with your mother’s selective memory and her transparent attempts to control everyone?”
“Sharlene, if you know something, just tell me now.” Griffin’s voice was terse, his impatience obvious.
“Well, it’s interesting, isn’t it? That your mother claims to barely remember her.”
“Why is it interesting?”
“Well, because she simply must remember her. She came to the office to see Hollister after she fired the girl. She was furious. Practically hysterical.”
If Caro was really that upset about it, then wouldn’t Hollister remember the event, too?
Griffin must have been thinking the same thing because he leaned forward and asked, “Did she actually see my father? What did he have to say?”
“She never saw him. He had meetings all that day, but I mentioned it to him.” Sharlene smiled mischievously. “But perhaps I downplayed it a bit.”
“So he never even knew what happened?” Sydney asked.
“Oh, of course he knew. Everyone at the company knew. People gossiped about it for months. The police were called. There’s no hiding something like that.”
“The police?” Griffin asked. “Was she violent?”
Sharlene waved a hand. “Oh, no. Nothing like that.” She cocked her head to the side, her expression a mixture of curiosity and sorrow. “Your mother really never told you about this?”
Wincing, Sydney glanced at Griffin. Not surprisingly, Sharlene’s sympathy—faked or real—only made this worse for Griffin.
“Can you just tell us what happened?” Sydney asked.
Sharlene smiled vaguely. “Of course. The police were summoned because Caro insisted the girl had stolen something from the house when she left. I think your mother knows who the girl in that photo is just as well as I do, but she just didn’t want you to know that she knows.”
“Back to the nanny. She stole something?”
“Yes. Caro was livid. She’d fired the girl the day before, but when Vivian left she took something of Caro’s. As soon as she discovered it was missing, she stormed down to Hollister’s office and demanded I help track her down. I tried, but none of the contact information I had worked. Caro claimed I was to blame because I’d recommended Vivian.”
“Do you remember what she stole?”
“A ring. Caro’s wedding ring, if I remember correctly.”
“What?” Griffin asked, leaning forward.
“Excuse me? She stole Caro’s wedding ring?” Sydney asked at the same time. She didn’t bother to keep the shock out of her voice. She’d faced Caro down and knew how formidable the woman could be. And she wasn’t exactly a fluff ball herself. She couldn’t imagine having the guts to steal Caro’s wedding ring. “I mean, that’s hard core. Who would do something like that?”
Griffin blew out a breath. “I think the bigger question is, why would my mother let her get away with it?”
“She did try to look for the girl,” Sharlene pointed out with an elegant shrug. “But I don’t think she looked that hard. Caro’s wedding ring was not very remarkable. It had been in Hollister’s family for generations. It was a simple gold band with a few unimpressive diamond flakes. I’m sure if it had been Caro’s engagement ring, they would have called out the national guard. Frankly, the weird thing isn’t that Caro didn’t get the police involved—it’s that Caro even noticed it was missing.”
“Still, it was her wedding ring. Don’t you think that’s bizarre?”
Sharlene smiled coyly. “Of course I do. It’s bizarre enough that I remember the incident after all these years. I think the real question you should be asking yourself is why Caro claims she doesn’t remember it. It’s obvious to me that your mother is lying to you.”
Thirteen
The charming playboy had vanished.