Morning, Noon and Night

Morning, Noon and Night Page 13

Julia Stanfordp' They stared at one another, frozen. ' hell she is!" Woody exploded. Tyler said quickly, ' suggest we adjourn to the library.'He turned to Clark.'Would you send the young lady in there, pleaset ', sir.' She stood in the doorway, looking at each of them, obviously ill at ease. ' ... I probably shouldn't have come,' she said.

"You're damn right!' Woody said. ' the hell are YOUT ''m Julia Stanford.' She was, almost stammering in her nervousness. '. I mean who are you really?' She started to say something, then shook her head.

"I ... My mother was Rosemary Nelson. Harry Stanford was my father.' The group looked at one another. ' you have any proof of that Tyler asked. 151 She swallowed. ' don't think I have any real proof." course you don't,' Woody snapped. ' do you have the nerve to -T Kendall interrupted. ' is rather a shock to all of us, as you can imagine. If what you're saying is true, then you're ... you're our half sister.' Julia nodded. ''re Kendall.'She turned to Tyler. ''re Tyler.' She turned to Woody. ' you're Woodrow. They call you Woody."

"As People Magazine could have told you,' Woody said sarcastically.

Tyler spoke up. ''m surd you can understand our position, Miss ... er ... Without some positive proof, there's no way we could possibly accept ..." understand.' She looked around nervously. 41 don't know why I came here.", I think you do,' Woody said. ''s called money."'m not interested in the money,' she said indignantly. ' truth is that I ... I came here hoping to meet my family: v Kendall was studying her. ' is your mothert ' passed away. When I read that our father died .. ' decided to look us up,'Woody said mockingly.

Tyler spoke. ' say you have no legal proof of who you are."9l ... I suppose not. I didn't even think about 152 t. But there are things. I couldn't possibly know about unless I had heard them from my mother." examplet Marc said. She stopped to think. ' remember my mother used to talk about 4 greenhouse in the back. She loved plants and flowers, and she would spend hours there.' Woody spoke up. ' of that greenhouse were in a lot of magazines." else did your mother tell

yo@!'

Tyler asked. ', there were so many things! She loved to talk about all of you and the good times you used to have.' She thou t for a moment. ' was the day s - gh he took you on the swan boats when you were very young. One of you almost fell overboard. I don't remember which one.' Woody and Kendall looked over at Tyler. ' was the one,' he said. ' took you shopping at Filene's. One of you got lost, and everyone was in a panic.' Kendall said slowly, ' got lost that day."? What elset Tyler, asked. ' took you to the Union Oyster House and you tasted

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first oyster and got sick." remember that." They stared at each other, silent. She looked at Woody. ' and Mother went to the Charlestown Navy Yard to see the USS Constitution, and you wouldn't leave. She had to drag you away.' She turned to Kendall. ' in the Public 153 Garden one day, you picked some flowers and were almost arrested.' Kendall swallowed. ''s right! They were all listening to her intently now, fascinated. ' day, Mother took all of you to the Natural History museum, and you were terrified of the mastodon and sea serpent skeleton.' Kendall said slowly, ' of us slept that night.' Julia turned to Woody. ' Christmas, she took you skating. You fell down and broke a tooth. When you were seven years old, you fell out of a tree and had to have your leg stitched up. You had a scar.' Woody said reluctantly, ' still do.' , She turned to the others.

"One of you was bitten by a dog. I forgot which one. My mother rushed you to the emergency room at Massachusetts General.' Tyler nodded. ' had to have- shots against rabies.' Her words were coming out in a torrent now. ', when you were eight years old, you ran away. You were going to Hollywood to become an actor. Your father was furious with you. He made you go to your room without -dinner. Mother sneaked some food up to your room.' Woody nodded, silent. ' ... I don't know what else I can tell you. I ... She suddenly remembered something. ' have a photograph in my purse.' She opened her purse and took it out. She handed the picture to Kendall. 154 They all gathered around to look at it. It was a picture of the three of them when they were children, standing next to an attractive young woman in a governess's uniform.

"Mother gave me that.' Tyler asked, ' she leave you anything else?" She shook her head. '. I'm sorry. She didn't want anything around that reminded. her of Harry Stanford." you, of course,' Woody said.

She turned to him, defiantly. ' don't care whether you believe me or not. You don't understand ... I ... I was so hoping -' Slid, broke off.

Tyler spoke. ' my sister said, your sudden appearance is rather a shock for us. I mean ... someone appearing out of nowhere and claimingto be a member of the family ... you can see our problem. I think we need a littl e time to discuss this." course, I understand." are you staying?, ' the Tremont House." don't you go back there,? We'll have a car take you. And we'll be in touch shortly.' She nodded. ' right.' She looked at each of them for a moment, and then said softly, "No matter what you think - you're my family."'ll walk you to the door,' Kendall said. She smiled. ''s all right. I can find my own way. I feel as-if I know every inch of this house.' 155 They watched her turn and walk out of the room. Kendall said,'Welll It ... it looks as though we have a sister.' 11 don't believe it,' Woody retorted. ' seems to me ... ' Marc began. They were -all talking at once. Tyler raised a hand. ' isn't getting us anywhere. Let's look at this logically. In a sense, this person is on trial here and we're her jurors. It's up to us to determine her innocence or guilt. In a jury trial, the decision must be unanimous. We must all agree.' Woody nodded.

"Right.' Tyler said, ' I would like to cast the first vote. I think the lady is a fraud! ' fraud? How can she be?'Kendall demanded. ' couldn't possibly know all those intimate details about us if she weren't real.' Tyler turned to her. ' how many servants worked in this house when we were childrent Kendall looked at him, puzzled.

"Why?", right? And some -of them would have known everything this young lady told us. Over the years, there have been maids, chauffeurs, butlers, chefs. Any one of them could have given her that photograph as well." mean ... she could be in league with someone?2 "One or more,' Tyler said. ''s not forget that there's an enormous amount of money involved.' 156 ' says she doesn't want the money.

Marc reminded them. Woody nodded. ', that's what she says.' He looked at Tyler. "But how do we prove she's a fake? There's no way that - ' is a way,' Tyler said thoughtfully. They all turned to him.

"How?' Marc asked. ''ll,,have the answer for you tom6rrow.' Simon Fitzgerald said slowly, ' you saying that Julia Stanford has appeared after all these yearst - ' woman who claims she's Julia Stanford has appeared.' Tyler corrected him. ' you don't believe hert Steve asked.

"Absolutely not. The only so-called -proof of her identity that she offered were some incidents from our childhood that at least a dozen former employees could have been aware of and an old photograph that really doesn't prove a thing. She could be in league with any one of them. I intend to prove she's a fraud.' Steve frowned. ' do you. propose to do that?" I t s ve I ' ry simple. I want a DNA test done.' Steve Sloane was surprised. ' would mean exhuming your father's body.".' Tyler turned to Simon Fitzgerald. ' that be a problemt ' the circumstances, I could probably obtain an exhumation order. Has she agreed to this test?' 157 ' haven't asked her yet. If she refuses, it's an affirmation that she's afraid of the results! He hesitated. ' have to confess that I don't like doing this. But I think it's the only way we can determine the truth.' Fitzgerald was thoughtful for a moment.'Very well.' He turned to Steve, ' you handle thist ' c9urse.' He looked at Tyler. ''re probably familiar with the procedure. The next of kin - in this case, any of the deceased's children - has to apvly to the coroner's office for an exhumation permit. You'll have to tell them the reason for the request. If it's approved, the coroner's office will contact the funeral home and give them permission to go ahead. Someone from the coronees office has to be present at the exhumation! ' long will this take?' Tyler asked. ''d say three or four days to get an approval. Today is Wednesday. We should be able to exhume the body on Monday."! Tyler hesitated. ''re going to need. a DNA expert, someone who will be convincing in a courtroom, if it ever goes that far. I was hoping you might know someone! . Steve said, J know just the man. His name is Perry Winger.

He's here in Boston. He's given expert testimony in trials all over the country. I'll call him."'d appreciate it. The sooner we get this over with, the better it will be for all of us! 158 -ten O'clock the following morning, Tyler walked to the Rose Hill library, where Woody, Peggy, Kendall and Marc were waiting. At Tyler's side was a stranger. 61 want you to meet Perry Winger,' Tyler said. ' is hetwoody asked.

"He's our DNA expert.' Kendall looked at Tyler. ' in the world do we need a DNA expert fort Tyler said, ' prove that this stranger, who so conveniently appeared out of nowhere, is an impostor. I have no intention of letting her get away with this.' 6you@ re going to dig the old man upon'Woody asked. ''s right. I have our attorneys working on the exhumation order now. If the woman is our half sister, the DNA will prove it. If she's not - it will prove that, too. Marc said, ''m afraid I don't understand about this DNA.' Perry Winger cleared his throat.

"Simply put, deoxyribonucleic acid - or DNA - is the molecule of heredity. It contains each individual's unique genetic code., it be extracted from traces of blood, semen, saliva, hair roots, and even bone. Traces of it can last in a corpse for more than fifty years." see. So it is really quite simple,' Marc said. Perry Winger frowned.

"Believe me, it is not. There are two types of DNA testing. A PCR test, which takes three days to get results, and the more complex RFLP 159 test, which takes six to eight weeks. For our purposes, the simpler test will be sufficient." do you do the test?' Kendall asked. ' are several steps. First, the sample is collected and the DNA is cut into fragments. The fragments are sorted by length by placing them on a bed of gel and applying an electric current. The DNA, which is negatively charged, moves toward the positive and, several hours later, the fragments have arranged themselves by length.' He was just getting warmed up. ' chemicals are used to split the DNA fragments apart, then the fragments are transferred to a nylon sheet, which is immersed in a bath, and radioactive probes -' The eyes of his listeners were beginning to glaze over. ' accurate is this testt Woody interrupted. ''s one hundred percent accurate in deteriniffing if the man is not the father. If the test is positive, it's ninety-nine point nine percent aecurate. Woody turned to his brother. ', you're a judge. Let's say for the sake of argument that she really is Harry Stanford's child. Her mother and our father were never married. Why should she be entitled to anything?" the law,' Tyler explained, 'if our father's paternity is established, she would be entitled to an equal share with the rest of us." I say let's go ahead with the damned DNA test and expose her!' 160 0",Tyler, Woody, Kendall, Marc and Julia were seated a table in the dining-room restaurant at the Tremont House. Peggy remained behind at Rose Hill. ' this talk about digging up a body gives me the creeps,' she said. Now the group was facing the woman claiming to -be Julia Stanford. 11 don't understand. what you're asking me to do."'s really very simple,' Tyler informed her. ' doctor will take a skin sample from you to compare with our father's. If the DNA molecules match, it's positive proof that you're really his daughter. On the other hand, if you're not willing to take the test ..

"I ... I don't like it.' Woody closed in. ' nott ' don't know.' She shuddered. ' idea of digging up my father's body to ... to ..." prove who you are.' She looked into each of their faces. ' wish all of you would - '?"'s no way I can convince you, is theret '," Tyler said. ' to take this test.' There was a long silence. ' right. I'll do it.' t The exhumation order had been more difficult to obtain than anyone had anticipated. Simon Fitzgerald had spoken to the coroner personally. 161 '! For God's sake, Simon! I can't do that! Do you know what a stink that would cause? I mean, we aren't dealing with John Doe here; we're dealing with Harry Stanford. If this ever leaked out, the media would have a field day!", this is important.

Billions of dollars are at stake here. So you make sure it doesn't leak out."'t there some other way you can ... T ''m afraid not. The woman is very convincing.' .'But the family is not convinced."." you think she's a fraud, Simont ', I don't know. But my opinion doesn't matter. In fact, none of our opinions matters. A court will demand proof, and the DNA test will provide that.' The coroner shook his head. ' knew old Harry Stanford. He would have hated this. I really shouldn't let ...' - ' you will.' The coroner sighed. ' suppose so.

Would you do me a favort ' course." this quiet. Let's not have a media circus." have my word. Top secret. I'll have just the family there." do you want to do thist ' would like to do it on Monday.' 162 The coroner sighed again. ' right. I'll call the neral home. You owe me one, Simon." won't forget this.' At nine o'clock Monday morning, the entrance to the section of Mount Auburn Cemetery where Harry Stanford's body was buried was temporarily closed off ' maintenance repairs'. No strangers were allowed into the grounds. Woody, Peggy, Tylei', Kendall, Marc, Julia, Simon Fitzgerald, Steve Sloane, and Dr. Collins, a representative from the coroner's office, stood at the site of Harry Stanford's grave, watching four employees of the cemetery raise , his coffin. Perry Winger waited off to the side. When the coffin reached ground level, the foreman turned to the group. ' do you want us to do nowt ' it, please,' Fitzgerald said. He turned to Perry Winger. ' long will this taket ' more than a minute. I'll just get a quick skin sample.' I ' right,' Fitzgerald said.

He nodded to the foreman. ' ahead.' The foreman and his assistants began to unseal the coffin. I ' don't want to see this,' Kendall said.

"Do we have tot '!' Woody told her. ' really do.' They all watched, fascinated, as the lid of the coffin 163 was slowly removed and pushed to one side. They stood there, staring down. ', my God!' Kendall exclaimed. The coffin was empty.