In Salem, Massachusetts, where the air is filled with mysticism and secrets, Antonia Daley's life takes a tumultuous turn. Engaged to the charming Dallas McCoy, Antonia believes she has found her happily ever after until she stumbles upon a shocking...
"Come on." Jynx led him over to a bookcase and pressed up on one of the shelves, revealing a hidden door to a hallway with two doors on the right, a door at the end, and one door on the left. Jynx gestured vaguely at the two doors on the left. "Staff room, Toni's office, stockroom," She pushed open the second door on the right. "And mine and Ravens." The office was large, with one wall done in chalkboard paint that had various designs on it, another wall with box shelving filled with bolts of fabric, a long, narrow desk with two laptops along the far wall from the door with corkboard above it covered in more designs, the last wall had a cabinet about halfway up and peg board above it with different sewing tools on it. There was a table in the middle of the room with a sewing machine at each end and a cutting mat in the center. Several mannequins and sewing forms were tucked in various crevices, draped with fabric. She gestured to a chair, and Maverick sat down.
"So, I have several ideas for your office; you can pick the one you like best." She smiled brightly at him, and he sighed.
"I like my office the way it is." He stretched out his leg, and Watson curled up under his knee.
"It looks terrible." She shook her head and pulled out a notebook and passed it to him. He flicked through it in surprise; there were drawings, pictures she had printed from websites and fabric swatches. "You are a professional, and you need a professional space."
To his surprise, he found a design he actually really liked, with sleek, modern wooden and black furniture, black walls and lots of plants. He passed it over to her, and she nodded, clapping her hands happily. He pulled out his credit card so she could order what she needed to order, and she turned to her laptop. "How's Toni doing?"
"I think she had a mini breakdown this morning about Dallas having a kid he abandoned. Which is good because she's been pretty emotionless, and I've been getting worried this was another you or her mom situation."
"What do you mean?"
"After everything with you and her mom, she just shut down. She doesn't get upset or cry; she doesn't get angry or excited or anything. She says she feels sad, hurt, and happy, but it's all very... diluted." She stopped what she was doing and spun her chair to face him. "She's never been the most expressive with her emotions, but she's even less so now. I asked her about it, and she gave me an interesting answer."
"Which was..." Maverick waved his hand to get her to continue.
"She compared her emotions to weak alcoholic drinks. She knows the alcohol is in there, but she can't really taste it." She turned back to her computer and got back to work on ordering stuff for his office. Maverick felt his stomach twist with guilt and Jynx must have noticed the look on his face because she reached out and absently patted his knee. "It was just bad timing on your part. Her mother really messed her up toward the end of her life."
"She told me about what her mother did." Maverick frowned and leaned back in his chair. Music had always been Antonia's outlet; having her cello sold on her probably hurt her more than anything else. "Hey, Jynx." He sat up straight as an idea hit him. "Do you know who her mother sold her cello to?"
"No, but it would be in Dad's files. He tried to buy it back."
"I thought he tried to buy it from her mom." Maverick was surprised his father went so far for Antonia. He was a stringent and regimented man who didn't show his emotions to his children, let alone their friends.
"He did, but when he saw how upset Toni was, he went to ask if he could buy it back. The guy who bought it was the son of someone who played with her grandfather in the orchestra, something like that, wouldn't give it up." She glanced at him again. "He might have been emotionally constipated, but he knew Toni was talented, and he liked to listen to her play. He used to go to her performances, you know."
"I never once saw him at any of her performances." Maverick shook his head in disbelief.
"He'd come in and stand at the back. After her solo, he'd leave again."
Maverick sat and digested that for a minute. His father, for all his faults, would always show up to his track meets and Raven and Jynx's shoots and shows; it shouldn't have been that much of a surprise he showed up to Antonia's performances. He stood up. "I've gotta go do some digging and meet with Levi. Don't make any personal purchases on that credit card; it's my business one. Come on, Watson."
After saying goodbye to Raven and Antonia, he went back to the house and down into the basement to dig through his father's notes. Luckily the boxes were all organized by year, so he pulled out ones marked 2011 and 2012 and started going through them.
He was almost ready to give up when he came across a cancelled check to a Barry Mickey for five grand. There was nothing on the notes line, but a quick search into the history of the Boston Symphony Orchestra during the time Antonia's grandfather would have played with them found a Richard Mickey. He looked into Barry and found out he was Richard Mickey's son from his obituary. He also found out from the obituary that Barry Mickey had a daughter named Jenna. He found her on social media and was able to figure out that Jenna was still living in Salem. She was an avid social media user, and he was quickly able to figure out where she lived from her pictures and where she worked from her profile. Maybe after he had a conversation with her about the cello, he'd tell her she should set her profile to private.
*Copyright: All Rights Reserved, Stephanie Myrick, 2024. Posted to Wattpad ONLY*
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
