Page 54 of The Lost Heiress

“I believe that’s true, yes,” Church said. “My best breakthroughs in a case usually come when I’m playing hearts with my grandmother.”

Florence laughed.

Church looked at her thoughtfully for a moment and then said, “Florence, can I ask you something?”

Florence set down her cup of tea and nodded. “Yes, of course,” she said.

“Was Saoirse ever pregnant?”

She blinked at him, and Church clocked the real confusion on her face as she processed his words.

“What?” she said.

“The year before she died, when Ransom pulled her out of school and brought her home,” Church went on. “Did he do that because she was pregnant and he wanted to hide it? Was Saoirse’s illness a cover?”

“Wherever did you hear such a thing, Detective?” Florence asked.

“I’m afraid I can’t disclose my source,” Church said.

“Was it Mr. Bass who told you this?”

“Who?”

“William Bass,” Florence said.

The name tickled Church’s brain.Bass.He had come across that name more than once in the case files.

“Saoirse’s godfather?” Church asked.

“Yes,” Florence said.

“Why would you think it was him?” Church asked, sidestepping Florence’s question.

“Because it’s just the sort of thing he would say,” Florence said. “If he found himself in a tight spot, his back against the wall, he would say anything, even if it was hurtful, even if it was untrue.”

Church was thrown off by her remark. “I thought Bass was quite close with the Towers family,” he said. “Why would he want to strike at them with such a damning allegation, if it were false?”

“It wouldn’t be the first time he’s betrayed the family,” Florence said.

“How do you mean?” Church asked.

“I mean,” Florence said, “that Charles gave Bass his start in life. Bass could never have founded his company without Charles’s investment or sustained it when it fell on hard times without Charles’s continued support. Charles made Bass godfather of his children, executor of theirtrust. And what did Bass ever do for Charles? He lent him a plane that took him straight to his watery grave.”

Church furrowed his brow. “The plane that Charles and Birdie went down in, it belonged to Bass Corp.?” Church asked. He had never read that in any of the case files.

Florence nodded. “Charles and Bass had had a fight the week before the crash, practically a falling-out,” she said. “The plane, the lending of his vacation home on the island, was Bass’s goodwill gesture to patch things up. Bass was supposed to join them, but at the last minute, he backed out. He insisted they still go on without him. You tell me what that looks like.”

Church scratched his chin. “Did they find any evidence of foul play in the wreckage?” he asked.

Florence shook her head. “The official ruling was that the crash was a result of equipment failure. But I have my doubts.”

Church’s mind was reeling. If this was true, if Bass was responsible for Birdie’s and Charles’s deaths, then that established a pattern of behavior. He was looking not just at a killer but at a serial killer.

“Do you know what Bass and Charles’s falling-out was about?”

“What else? Bass Corp.,” Florence said. “Charles wasn’t happy with the way Bass was running things. He didn’t feel comfortable investing more money unless there was a significant change in direction.”

“Charles told you this?”