A Mistaken Angel

By Eve Grafton

Alessandro Rodrigos was trying hard to overcome the loss of his wife and drawing comfort from his family. His little daughter was emphatic that her mother had come back from heaven, and this needed investigation. His suspicion that his extended family had something to do with his wifes death urged him to present them with evidence that his grandmother was the owner of the family ranch, not him, expecting them to show themselves in their true colors. He waited for the repercussions, expecting some action from them. It was a surprise to him when the response was to kidnap his daughters mistaken angel to prove to him that his wife did not die. Someone was certainly confused!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris AU
• Release date: Jun 2, 2017
• ISBN: 9781543401363

Eve Grafton

Eve Grafton is a Western Australian, and proud to be so. Over the years Eve and her husband and family have travelled to many countries around the world, coming back to Australia when it became necessary for their children’s education. After their children left home, Eve and her husband bought a hobby farm, farming sheep and making their own wine and growing their own vegetables so that they were practically self-sufficient. The couple now live in Perth, Western Australia and Eve writes fictional novels to replace the many hobbies she has had over the years.

Book preview

CHAPTER 1

A lessandro Rodrigos, known as Sandro, arrived at his house in Buenos Aires a little too late to pick up the children from their schools, so sat in a chair on the veranda of the house to wait for them to arrive home, looking at the white roses which were his wife Bethany’s pride and joy. How she had loved those roses, and she had used the blossoms whenever there was an opportu nity.

He heard the buzz of voices and saw his thirteen-year-old niece Tamara first, with her brother Julian, who was eleven, followed by his housekeeper Anita with his daughter Gina, who was five, hand in hand. Gina was chatting away to the housekeeper. She was a child who never seemed lost for words. With a sunny disposition, she was everybody’s friend from the time she could talk. Since the loss of her mother, she had withdrawn but was now chatting as if everything had changed. She had not spoken to him on the telephone when he had rung her whilst he was away, trying himself to get over his wife’s sudden death. Gina would put the telephone down and walk away, but today, listening to her chat with Anita, it sounded as if she was back to her normal sunny self.

The older children stopped when they saw his vehicle in the driveway of the house, and Tamara said to Gina, ‘I think your father has come home.’

Gina looked at the car for a moment and ran up the garden path towards the house and saw him sitting on the chair, waiting for them. She greeted him happily and threw herself into his arms. He had been afraid she would not talk to him! Anita, following the little girl, was smiling too; he had been gone from home for three months, and she was worried that he would stay away longer and cause more pain to Gina by doing so.

When Gina was running up the path towards him, Sandro saw she was the image of Bethany, with long fair hair that curled but was now tied up into a ponytail; she had a big smile just like her mother gave when she saw him. How could he forget his dead wife with this little sprite who looked so much like her with her sunny smile? She was a miniature Bethany, except for her brown eyes; her mother’s had been green.

Her exuberance at seeing him was contagious, and as they all filed into the house, they fired questions at him.

‘Are you going to stay home now?’

‘What did you see?’

‘Where did you go?’

‘Did you make any friends?’

All the time not giving him time to answer any one question fully. He was so happy to be home, he concluded to himself. He realised that he had missed them whilst he was away, but it had taken him three months to become aware of it.

His sister Ana arrived home shortly after from Sandro’s Hotel Aria, where she had been working as maître d’ for the high teas held there from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Tuesday to Friday and again on Sunday. When she saw his vehicle, Ana said to herself, ‘Men! They never tell you what they are doing or when they are arriving! They just arrive!’

She was very pleased that he was home. She had been worried about his state of mind. He had been devastated when an intruder murdered his beloved wife four months previously while they were at the family ranch. The ranch was their special place to get away from the busy life they lived in the city, and when she was killed in the way she was, shot by an intruder in the yard at their ranch house, it caused great grief to the man whose reliance on her was so total. All this had happened in front of their eight-year-old son Robert, to make matters worse. Sandro had not been able to see or think of his son since it happened without seeing Bethany die in his arms all over again. He sent Robert to Australia with Bethany’s father when he had come for her funeral, knowing that Robert loved his grandfather and would be in good hands. Everyone here thought it unacceptable that he sent Robert halfway around the globe, but then they had not had their wife die in their arms from a gunshot wound, covering Robert in her blood. The general consensus was that it had pushed Sandro over the edge of sanity. He left home to travel alone to get over the great grief he felt and had been gone three months. Here, Sandro was now home again with his remaining family.

Ana ran up the stairs, calling, ‘Hello, everybody, I am home! Where are you?’

She was greeted with a happy chorus from the kitchen where Anita was dispensing the after-school snack.

Ana’s work at the hotel finished just too late to pick the children up from school. When she first started the job that Bethany had started up, the idea was that she would be able to pick up the children from school, but she found that she had to rush out of the hotel, sometimes abruptly, leaving guests halfway through a conversation, so Anita had taken over the school run for her. Anita said it gave her daily exercise to walk to and from the school, and she enjoyed the time with the children, walking home with them. If it was too hot or too cold, she went in her car to pick them up, but they also liked the walk, which was not too far, so she did the walk most days.

When it was time for Gina to go to bed that first evening Sandro was home, Gina asked him if he would help her, looking at him with pleading in her eyes, so he went up the stairs and helped her into her pyjamas and to clean her teeth, and then she asked him to sit beside her for a while because she had something to tell him. He had seen that she looked as if she was bursting to say something all afternoon, but she only came to it now they were alone. Sandro thought, It must be very special for her to wait so long to tell me.

Gina started the conversation by saying, ‘I have found my mummy! She has come back from heaven, but she has forgotten all about us!’

Sandro was astounded; he had not expected anything like that. ‘What do you mean, Gina? Where did you find your mummy?’

‘She is my new dancing school teacher. She looks like Mummy, but when I asked her if she remembered me, she looked at me strangely and said no. That is why I think she has forgotten us.’

He was very disturbed and asked, ‘What makes you so sure, Gina?’

‘Well, she looks very much the same as before she went to heaven, but her memory has gone. Julian said it must be the G-forces from coming such a long way, because heaven is such a long, long way, and that has made her forget.’

Sandro hid his smile. She was so earnest she must believe her story, she waited until they were alone to tell him. The story was so strange and unbelievable to him, he was not sure what to say to her.

‘Why do you think she came down from heaven, Gina? I have never heard of anyone coming back. Usually, when you go to heaven, you never come back again.’

Gina looked at him very intently, as if to convince him. ‘Her name is Gabriella. Tamara told me a man angel is called Gabriel, so a lady angel must be called Gabriella. I also asked my friends at school, and they said the same. They learnt about the man angel in religious studies, so they all think a lady angel would be called Gabriella.’

‘Ah, yes, I think I understand the reasoning,’ Sandro said slowly. ‘I think also I can see Julian’s hand behind the G-forces story. Was Julian the one who told you about them?’

She nodded, so he went on, ‘So just that I get the story straight, you think the dancing teacher named Gabriella came back from heaven, and because it is such a long way from heaven to Buenos Aires, it has made her forget her life with us. Have I got the story right?’

Gina gave him a brilliant smile. ‘Yes, Daddy, you have got it right. She looks like Mummy except her hair is straight, not curly like Mummy’s hair, but Julian says it may have been affected by the G-forces. Travelling so fast it may have left her hair straightened out, but it is the same colour as Mummy’s hair, and her eyes are green too.’

‘How long have you been going to dancing lessons, Gina?’

‘I think it is four weeks now. My friend Caterina Mendoza goes with me, and she said Gabriella looks like Mummy too. Senora Mendoza takes us to our lesson. Aunt Ana started the lessons for me because she said I was so sad, I needed to find an interest because my family had left me behind and all gone away. Caterina wanted to go to the lessons too, so her mummy takes us because Aunt Ana is so busy and only has Saturday for herself. I like dancing, Daddy! Gabriella told me I am very good at it.’

‘I know you are going to be a great dancer, Gina. Your mummy and I thought you will be successful with your dancing and singing. You are so good at both. What does your Aunt Ana say about your dancing teacher, Gina?’

‘She says that Gabriella looks a little like Mummy, but she is only a lookalike and she is not my mummy. Senora Mendoza said that too. They do not see Gabriella like I do. I watch her all through our lesson, and I am sure she is my mummy. She just does not remember me, but her memory may come back any day soon!’

‘It is getting late, my little sprite. You need to sleep now. You have had a big day, and it is past your sleep time. I will come with you on Saturday morning to your dancing lesson to meet your angel. Go to sleep now, and we will talk more about it after I have met her.’

Gina smiled her happy smile and said, ‘I was hoping you would say that, Daddy. Mummy loved you a lot, so she is sure to remember you!’

Her eyes closed, but the smile stayed on her lips. She was very happy her daddy was home, and he would sort out the problem of Gabriella not remembering and they would all be together again! They just needed to find Robert, and it would all be like it was before her mummy was shot by the bad man.

Sandro stayed with her until she went to sleep. She had always been able to go to sleep as soon as her head hit the pillow since she was a tiny child.

‘If only Bethany could come back,’ he said grimly to himself, ‘then we would all be happy again. Gina makes it sound so easy!’

He went back downstairs to find Ana, who was in the kitchen with Anita, cleaning up.

Ana immediately asked, ‘Did she tell you she has found her mother in her dancing teacher? She thinks Bethany has come back as an angel.’

‘Yes, I promised I would go with her on Saturday to meet her. She said to me, Mummy loved you a lot, Daddy, so Gabriella is sure to remember you! What have we got here?’

‘We have a little girl who was so bereft at losing all her family that she is looking for possibilities to bring her family together again! You were a very happy family one week, and the next week, there was only her left. You had all disappeared, and she could not understand it. Gina was so sad by all this happening to her in such a short space of time, she is insisting that she has found her mother in her dancing teacher, who does look vaguely like Bethany. Tamara and Julian have not helped, not understanding that this was not one of Gina’s many games, but something she really believed. You know how Gina likes to make up stories, but this one has got out of hand!’

Ana was looking disturbed at the way things looked to her, and she went on.

‘Anita, Dorothea Mendoza, and I have talked about it at length, and we agreed we did not want to hurt the little girl any more than possible, so we left the problem, hoping she would decide it was not her mother after all, but she has not given up and asks Gabriella every week, Do you remember me yet? You have come back just in time. I am very happy you are here so that you can resolve it. We were getting very worried.’

Sandro looked worried now too. ‘This Gabriella, does she really look so much like Bethany?’

‘Yes, Dorothea takes the two girls to the lesson, and I have not seen her, but from what I have been told about her, she has long blonde hair, but it is straight, not curly like Bethany’s, and she does have green eyes and the same build and height so that to a five-year-old looking for her mother, she almost fits the bill. I have not met her, but Dorothea has told me all she knows about her. You would say that Gabriella Flores is a lookalike and quite similar in a way. She does not have the lovely smile and joyous nature that made Bethany’s good looks into beauty to everyone she met. That is the description that Dorothea gave me.’

‘And the G-forces account for any differences!’ murmured Sandro.

‘Yes, that was Julian’s take on the story, quite innovative really!’ Ana replied with a smile. ‘He just did not realise how lost and left behind Gina felt without her mother and father and her brother. We were a poor substitute for her whole family. She is not much more than a baby and had been her family’s little love, and then suddenly, all of you were gone. She took the angel story to heart and believes her story. I have felt quite muddled about it all myself, not knowing what to do, and am so glad you have come home to take over. I was afraid of hurting her more than she already has been hurt by the loss of her family’s love and attention, a little girl, no more than a baby who could not understand why everyone she loved was suddenly gone from her life. Anita and I had both told Gina that her mother had gone to heaven, and when she saw Gabriella, she made up her story, and it has given her hope. I think she thought heaven is a place where you visited. Mummy went to visit heaven and Robert went to visit Australia and you went away too! She is almost the happy little girl she always was, and it is because she now has you at least, but she misses her mother. She is too small to understand the permanence of death and that when you die, you go to heaven and do not come back, so going to heaven is final! We decided to shelve the problem for a while and hope it does not manifest itself in some other way. Now you can understand why Anita and I were so happy to see you this afternoon!’

Sandro said quietly, ‘I will go and investigate this angel on Saturday morning with Gina and Caterina. I am sure Senora Flores is confused by Gina asking her if she remembers yet, without any reasons given for why she should remember.’

‘Good,’ Ana said emphatically. ‘We are all glad you are home! Are you planning another trip anytime soon?’

‘I have no plans for anything at the moment. It just hit me yesterday how lonely I was without you all and packed up this morning and drove towards you! Not stopping on the way! I have always had a lot of people around me in my life, and suddenly, when I woke up this morning, I realised how alone I was and I needed you all, so here I am and happy to be here with you.’

Ana said, ‘We had a phone call some time ago from your manager at the ranch. Luis and Rosa had their baby. They did not elaborate about weight or names, only saying she was a bonny girl. I have written it on the pad next to the telephone in the entry. There are other messages as well. I did not pass any that were not urgent onto you when you called.’

‘Thanks, Ana, I told them to ring me direct on my mobile phone if there was an emergency. I could be back within a few hours if necessary. Luis has not rung, so I have not contacted him. Both Luis and Victor, his assistant, are capable and make a good team, so there has been no need to check on them. I will go next week to see the baby and congratulate them.’

Ana remarked, ‘Why don’t you go on Sunday and take Tamara and Gina? I am sure they would love to see the baby. Little girls love babies! They have to be back for school on Monday, so if you want to make it longer, you will have to make it another day or go alone.’

‘That is a good idea. I am not sure whether I can stay at the ranch for any length of time yet. I get panicky thinking about it, so we could go on Sunday for the day and have a picnic lunch there. What about Julian? I am sure he would like to go too. It used to be his favourite place in happier days.’

‘It will be again, Sandro, and for you as well. You only need time. Time heals a lot of hurts, or if it does not heal, it fades the hurt so that you can get on with life.’ She stopped for a moment, thinking how time can heal, but leaves a space in your life, like when her husband Pierre was abducted and things had never been the same for them again and she could not see a time when they would live together again.

Ana gathered her thoughts as if to hide them behind her and said, ‘Julian is playing football in another part of the city on Sunday, and Frank has volunteered to take him. He does not usually play on Sundays, but this is a special game. I am not sure why, but I think the proceeds are going to a charity, and his school team is playing as a lead-up to the main professional team, and the boys’ team will get a small part from the proceeds, which is important for their school. Frank has been encouraging Julian’s football lately. Apparently, he was a good player in his youth but had to give up playing because the sessions interfered with his study times. This is something I did not know before, and I have been wondering, but have not asked, whether the time he spent with me studying was the reason he did not train! Frank has shown interest lately in Julian’s football. He has not previously, so I think it was because he did not want to get too close in case we disappeared back to France.’

Sandro raised his eyebrows and said, ‘Have you moved on in your life to include Frank more?’

She laughed. ‘Yes and no. I am still hankering after Pierre, I suppose. It is hard to give up on a relationship that was good until Pierre was abducted, and I still feel married to him. It was not the fault of Pierre or me. It was an aberration, I suppose you would call it. If he had not been abducted, we would still be a happy family living in Paris, so each time I think of moving on to a greater relationship with Frank, I hesitate. It is the thought of the children having to give up on their father that stops me each time I contemplate finishing it and signing the final divorce decree. Frank Lazar and I were lovers before I met Pierre, and Father put a stop to it, but each time now, if he mentions marriage, it is the thought of the children that stops me. If I could get that one step further, I think we could be happy, but I am still married to Pierre in my mind at the moment. I signed the divorce papers but reneged and asked Pierre not to submit them for the final decree. It is too hard for me to make that one last step. The children have accepted my relationship with Frank, but I know they do not want to give up on Pierre either. If I allowed the divorce to go ahead and married Frank, I do not think Pierre would come so often to see them and that is unfair to Tamara and Julian, or maybe it is only the memory of when we were so happy when we were first married, but he remains in France and I am here in Argentina. You cannot get much further apart than that! So no, there is no change there! It is all too muddling really, I suppose, for anyone else to understand.’

Sandro nodded and said, ‘I can see your reasoning, I like both men, they are different, but each man is a nice person. It is a difficult situation for you.’ He went on. ‘Meanwhile, how are the high teas in the hotel ballroom doing? Are they still popular?’

Ana replied, ‘Yes, they are going very well, it has not slowed down at all. I think the ladies kept coming out of sympathy for Bethany at first, but it has gone further than that now. Bethany’s legacy of a friendly happy atmosphere has kept on. The customers have taken her personality and continued as she would have done, and it has turned out to be more of a club now. Everyone interacts, and they come back time after time and appear to be enjoying themselves, just women together, leaving their troubles behind while their children are at school. It is quite an eye-opener. Bethany was very clever to think the high teas up. It is just the right atmosphere for them, and they all love the ballroom at the hotel and say the elegance of it makes it a lovely place to relax and enjoy the time with like people.’ She took a breath and added, ‘On Sunday, it is so popular, we could book twice as many if we had the space. The ladies bring their husbands and friends. The price is almost double to the weekday price, but price does not seem to matter. It is like a prize to win a seat, so we have full house each Sunday. It is a definite success!’

Sandro smiled at her. ‘I am sure your part in the project has helped, Ana. Bethany was keen on having you as maître d for a reason. She could see how popular you would be. It is not every day that the country’s top model shows you to a seat! What about the general atmosphere in the hotel, Ana, have you noticed any difference?’

‘Your manager Daniel tells me the weddings are fully booked for three months ahead. He does not take bookings for longer than that, so I suppose that means he books a new wedding after each one is completed. That is also a winner, Sandro, you have done well.’

He answered, ‘Not me, Ana. Everything changed when Bethany came to work beside me. We were a stuffy bed and breakfast hotel before she brought her friendliness and laughter to the place, and the staff loved her for it. She was the one to initiate the wedding venue after I had arranged our own wedding reception in the ballroom. She loved it and thought it was a good idea and worked on it to get it to the way it is today. She organised a liquor licence for the weddings, so patrons did not have to drink and drive, so the rooms are fully booked most weekends and sometimes through the week. She also thought up the high teas, and you can see how successful they are, they were all Bethany’s doing. When I think back to what the hotel was like before she arrived, I am amazed. We were a staid hotel only just getting by until she gave us her input, and now we are very successful and getting the reputation for the place to go!’

Ana replied thoughtfully, ‘Yes, Sandro, Bethany was very clever. Your daughter has all of Bethany’s qualities and her special gift of sunshine too. She is only five years old, but when Gina is there, everyone is laughing around her. It has tarnished a little lately, but it will bubble up again when she gets her life back on a level again as she grows and understands that her mother has gone from her life. You were in the right place at the right time when you met Bethany, Sandro. We all miss her, but you cannot hold a sunbeam in your hand for long, the life goes out of it. Her memory will never fade. It may become a little blurred over time, but she has made her mark on all our lives. We could not forget her. You had her for nine years, Sandro, you were so lucky, and she loved you so much. No one could deny that. Her love showed in her face every time she looked at you! You must go on believing and remembering, and she will be in your heart forever and in ours too. Both Pierre and I and the children too loved her from the time we met her when you came to Paris and she saved Tamara from being abducted by that terrorist. We will never let her memory die. She has done so much for us since she came into our lives, and we will always be grateful for her.’

‘Thank you, Ana, you have been wonderful to me and also Gina and Robert since Bethany died. I do not know how I would have managed without your comforting support. I went to pieces and was unable to manage without you.’ He paused. ‘You have a good sense of the character of people, Ana, and you are right when you say Bethany was a sunbeam to every person who met her. That is a lovely description and suits her so well! There are not too many people who have that characteristic. Everybody came away from her, feeling happier just to have been in her company. She did not have to try to get people to like her. It was natural to like her, and they did without any effort on her part. Her special part in the lives of the staff at the hotel will not be forgotten either, and we will continue using her way of life for them.’

‘I have not asked before, but time is racing on, Sandro. What have you done about Robert? Do you remember that you have a son? He has been gone from Argentina for over four months now. Have you contacted him or his grandfather?’

He looked disconcerted and replied, ‘No, I have contemplated it from time to time, and each time, I have felt I was in a pit of snakes. I get shaky and have to think of something else quickly to erase the snakes from my mind. I cannot think of him yet. I still need more time. I am sorry about it, but I cannot control it. Perhaps you could contact him, Ana? Ask him how he is managing, hopefully, it is better than me!’

‘All right, I will try to get through to him tonight or tomorrow. I will send a message as I do not know the time difference and if he is able to take a call. Have you sent any money for his upkeep to Robert Randford, also for his school fees and books and any other thing the boy needs? Children incur a lot of expense. Also, he should see a psychiatrist. I am sure his grandfather was going to see to that, and it will be expensive.’

Sandro replied, ‘No, I have been unable to think about it so far, and I have tried to block him from my mind. I am aware that I might be damaging my relationship with my son, but I cannot help it. It is too soon for me, though I will see Frank Lazar tomorrow or the next day to organise something. I had thought I would have got back to normal by now, but Robert is still one thought too many I can cope with. He will be happy with his grandfather, Ana. You do not have to worry about him. I am sure he is in good hands. He is Bethany’s father after all, and who else comes with such high credentials! I am much calmer than I was and getting better, but not quite ready to have Robert back yet.’

Ana looked at