From Here to Paternity

Gregory in their native language and he was able to talk with them. I don’t know that I buy that. There’s never been a time I know of that Russian tourists happened through this area. I don’t think you often find Russian tourists anywhere.“
    “Did you ever ask your uncle straight-out whether he thought his father was the person Doris Schmidtheiser claimed?“ Jane asked.
    “Oh, sure. About five years ago, when Doris found him and the group started meeting here. You know, that was Pete’s doing. He loves all this silly stuff about Uncle Bill being the Tsar.“
    “He must be upset about Mrs. Schmidtheiser’s death,“ Mel said.
    “Frantic,“ Tenny agreed. “Since Uncle Bill and Aunt Joanna have no children, I think Pete has always seen himself as the ‘heir presumptive’. Poor dolt.“
    “You mean he took it seriously?“ Jane asked.
    “Oh, he pretended to scoff, but he was always quietly getting together with Doris and her adherents. And trying to convince Uncle Bill to go along with it all. It’s the sort of thing designed to appeal to him. Pete’s not exactly into the work ethic. He works harder at trying to find an easy way to get rich than most people actually work at their jobs. He was a stockbroker in California before his mother died and he came here. I think he sailed pretty damned close to the wind and something went badly wrong. When he first came here, he asked us to tell anybody who called looking for him that we hadn’t seen him for years. But whatever it was apparently blew over after a while.“
    “You don’t like him much,“ Mel observed.
    “Oh, he’s really okay most of the time. Sort of an amiable fool. A rah-rah guy who’s perfect for his job here. He’d have made a good entertainment director on a cruise ship. He’s dumb and chirpy, except for an occasional burst of bad temper. Our customers here are on vacation. They don’t want deep thoughts. And he buzzes around like a mindless goodwill ambassador. He’s valuable in his own way, I guess. If he’d just stay in his proper place,“ she added grimly.
    Mel picked up on her tone. “What do you mean?“
    Tenny looked disconcerted. “I’ve blabbed too much already. I shouldn’t be boring you with all this. It’s not your problem.“
    “But it might soon be,“ Shelley said significantly.
    Tenny stared at her for a long moment, then said, “Well, Uncle Bill gave orders that we were to be absolutely honest with the investors. I guess you might as well know. It doesn’t matter anyway, except that it makes me mad.“
    “What’s happened?“ Shelley prodded.
    “Pete had dinner with HawkHunter last night,“ Tenny said. “My spies tell me that he was giving HawkHunter a load of nonsense about how if he, Pete, were in charge of the sale of the resort, he’d make sure the tribe’s rights to the top of the mountain would be respected.“
    Jane remembered seeing Pete and HawkHunter together in the Cigar Room. And she also remembered the waiter who had found so many little chores to do near their table.
    “He also hinted to HawkHunter that Uncle Bill was so anxious to retire and get away that he might give Pete power of attorney to negotiate the sale of the resort on his behalf.“
    “Is that likely?“ Shelley asked, alarmed.
    “About as likely as our little mountain suddenly growing a peak!“ Tenny said furiously. “God, no. Uncle Bill wouldn’t trust Pete to buy a quart of milk and come back with the right change. I told you, it was just annoying and of no significance.“
    “There’s more to this,“ Jane said.
    “What are you, a mind reader?“ Tenny asked with a strained laugh. “Yes, there’s more. That idiot Pete had the nerve to suggest to HawkHunter that Uncle Bill was going a little batty and this mythical power of attorney might not be given entirely freely. The nice person in me keeps saying not to tattle to Uncle Bill about it, but the nasty little kid inside would like to pull up a lawn chair to the sidelines and watch the fireworks.“
    “Is that why you’re looking for him?“ Mel asked.
    “No. I’m doing Aunt Joanna’s bidding. She wants him reminded that he has a doctor’s appointment this afternoon for the ingrown toenail he’s been complaining about. She thinks he’s gone missing on purpose so he can pretend he forgot about it. It takes an act of Congress to get him to a doctor.“
    “Forgive me for saying so, but he can’t have been an easy husband for her to be married to