Just Deserts - Brenda Jackson [48]
“We used to depend on donations,” Ms. Pinckney was saying. “But even that sometimes was a struggle. We would have closed our doors for sure last year if it hadn’t been for Mr. Foster.”
Danielle almost missed her step and was thankful that Tristan had been holding her hand. “Mr. Foster?”
“Yes, Marc Foster. He was a huge supporter of the school before his untimely death.”
Tristan and Danielle looked at each other before he said, “So you know that he’s dead?”
The woman turned around and a sad smile touched her lips. “Yes. When he didn’t show up at a very important function we knew something had to have happened to him, so we had Jules, one of our deaf students search the Internet. There was an announcement that he had passed away.”
Ms. Pinckney’s eyes widened just a little. “Did you know him?”
It was Danielle who responded. “Yes, we knew him.”
Catherine Hodges was not at all what Danielle expected. An attractive woman, she couldn’t have been more than twenty-six or twenty-seven. A friendly smile lit her face the moment she heard them enter her office.
Danielle glanced around the room and thought the setup was appropriate. Everything was within reach and all the books were in braille. When introductions were made, Ms. Pinckney mentioned that they’d known Marc.
Danielle watched how Catherine’s face lit up. “Truly? He was a very special man who touched the lives of many of the students here.”
“How so?” Danielle couldn’t help but ask.
“In a number of ways. He’s the one who got the computers for our classrooms and had the gymnasium built.”
The woman paused. “You said your name was Danielle. Were you once Danielle Foster?”
Danielle’s stomach tightened and she glanced quickly at Tristan. “Yes, I was at one time.”
The woman’s smile brightened. “Then I’m very happy to meet you. I’m sure Marc probably never mentioned me. He was always the secretive type when it came to his personal life.”
Danielle forced a smile to her lips. “Yes, he was.”
“He did tell me about all of you. He was proud of his sisters.”
Danielle blinked. “His sisters?”
“Yes, you, Renée and Alexandra. He thought the world of you. He also thought a lot of his brother, Chris. I’m well aware that Marc and his siblings didn’t share a close relationship. He talked about it sometimes and even admitted he had done some things to cause the rift. But now, with him gone, I hope all of you have forgiven whatever it was that kept the four of you from having a relationship with him. Believe me when I say that Marc was a remarkable man who gave me more than I could ever have given him. When it came to giving, he was one of the most unselfish men I know.”
Danielle had to shake her head to make sure she was hearing right. All it took was the look on Tristan’s face to know that she was. It was hard to believe that they were talking about the same Marc Foster.
“Are you here about the insurance money?” Catherine asked.
“The insurance money?” Danielle and Tristan said simultaneously.
“Yes. Marc had a number of insurance policies willed to the school, the total sum of which is enough to keep this school open and running for decades. When we learned of Marc’s death, we had our attorney contact the insurance firm to collect the funds. Marc had given explicit instructions for us to handle things that way if anything were ever to happen to him.”
“The two of you were engaged,” Tristan said when he saw how speechless Danielle had become.
The woman glanced in his direction. “Yes, for a short while. He fancied himself in love with me and I loved him, too. In fact, I cared for him too much to let him sacrifice his life for me. We got engaged, but after a few weeks I came to my senses and broke off the engagement. That was about six months ago. I returned his ring, but he sold it and used the money to pay off the balance we had owing on the gym and to purchase some additional land the school needed.”
When neither