Hidden Depths(23)
“And that was what again?”
“Shipping, of course.”
“So what happened to her?”
“Oh very sad actually. Her husband died in some kind of accident and she was forced to marry his brother.”
“Forced?” Evan set down his scotch glass. “They allow that in Greece?” He wondered whether there was forced dating too. Might be something there.
“Well, not forced exactly, I’m sure, but he wooed her and there was some talk, well, unpleasant talk, that he simply wanted the other half of the Stavros fortune. And then she died.”
“And he got it, I presume.”
“No, that was the odd part. Not until her daughter died too. Killed herself.”
Evan sat up. “Really?” He dug in his pocket for his iPhone. “When was this?”
“Angelica?” Tottingham asked as Evan fiddled with his phone.
“No. The other one. The daughter.”
“Athena? I don’t know. A decade or so ago, I guess.”
Evan stared at the image brought up on the small screen in front of him. It was dated, black and white, but it was there. Angelica Stavros. And the resemblance to Miss Prentiss was startling. The only problem was if Miss Prentiss was Angelica Stavros, she was holding her age extremely well. Angelica had been thirty-five when she died sixteen years ago. That would make her over fifty, and unless Andrea had discovered the fountain of youth that didn’t fit.
But the daughter…
He fussed with Google on his phone, looking for a picture of the daughter, but came up empty-handed.
“How did she kill herself?” he asked.
“Just walked into the sea one day, they say. She drowned.”
“And they never found the body?”
“Oh no, they found the body all right. Otherwise, the brother Freddie wouldn’t have been able to inherit. No, he combed the area where she drowned and found her eventually, although of course there wasn’t much to find by that point.”
“Why all this interest, Evan?” his father asked. “Are you thinking our Miss Prentiss is a long-lost Greek heiress? If so, I’m afraid I’m going to have to disappoint you, my boy. She grew up in Scarsdale, went to Wellesley. I think Michael may have even known her father.”
“Oh.” He dropped his phone and went for another glass of scotch. He didn’t know why he was disappointed somehow. It was weird. But there was more to Miss Prentiss than most people saw. He was sure of that.
“Still, maybe there’s something,” Tottingham persisted. “It’s quite a resemblance.”
His father stood up. “Nice to see you, Jack. Let’s have a drink sometime.” He pressed the buzzer. “Please show Mr. Tottingham out, Miss Prentiss.”
And efficiently, without even a glance at Evan, she came in and did so.
“Sure you’re not related to the Stavros family somehow?” Tottingham was asking as the door closed behind them.
“So to what do I owe this unexpected pleasure, Evan?” His father sat behind his desk again.
Evan shrugged. “I told you. I came here to see Andrea.”
“Who?”
“Miss Prentiss. Shit, did you really not know her first name?”
“My relations with my employees are none of your affair, Evan. Although I take it you have more than a passing interest in Michael’s assistant.”
“Yeah.”
“Well, I’m pleased to hear it. It’s good for a man to show an interest in a woman who’s not paid to be in bed with him. At least once in a while.”
“How would you know?” Evan asked casually.
His father looked shocked. “You’re in a mood. Is your mother feeling all right?”
“Yes. She wants you to stop calling her.”
Damien laughed as if Evan had just passed along his ex-wife’s affectionate regards. “She’d be heartbroken if I did.”
Evan shook his head. What a conceited old bastard. The fact that it was true made it even worse.
His father looked at his Rolex. “It’s only noon. Don’t tell me you plan to hang around here until the end of the workday. Don’t you have sailboats to build or cabinets to fix or some such other thing?”
“No. I’m all out of manual-labor projects at the moment. I’m just hanging out—”
He was about to say “waiting to get laid again”, but something held him back. Respect for Andrea’s frosty reputation or a knee-jerk reaction to not giving the old man too many details on his life. He didn’t know which.
“So how’s the island?” his father asked.
“Fine.”
“I should try to make it out there sometime.”
Evan nodded absently.