FOLLOW YOUR HEART

Chapter 17 - First Man

Camila gripped Shawn's hand tightly as he rapped on the motel room door. George must have looked through the peephole and seen them, there were a few moments of silence and then he opened the door.

"Hello Shawn, Camila! This is a surprise." His smile and tone were forced.

"I'm sure it is," Shawn said harshly.

George looked shocked, but they didn't buy it now. He had fooled them too many times.

"We've come for the painting," Camila said, glaring at him.

"What painting?" he asked, this time looking nervous.

"Why don't you tell us George Barry Singh of Lancaster University."

He narrowed his eyes. "So that's all you have then, my name and uni?"

"Not exactly. We have a theory we'd like to run by you," Shawn said. "Perhaps we should come in?"

George looked back over his shoulder and sighed, then opened the door. They walked into the dim room and George turned the overhead light on, flooding the room with it's unmade bed, empty takeaway food containers and most importantly the painting itself, propped up on the desk.

"Sit down, if you can find somewhere," George offered ungraciously. "What's this theory of yours."

"You do know we could call the police right now and have you arrested?" Shawn said.

"But you're not, and why is that? Because they won't find any proof of forced entry? Because they'll find out the truth?" George snapped.

"We're not calling them because we only two minutes ago found out you stole the painting, and find out what truth?"

George looked unsure as his gaze bounced between the two of them.

"About Sir Gareth," he said. "I am pretty sure he's my father."

Camila looked at Shawn, impressed that he had kept a straight face.

"Your father?"

"Yes, you see I didn't lie about my mother, but what I didn't tell you is that my whole life she told me that my father died before I was born, which is why I have her name and not his, and she IS in a retirement community of sorts, a nursing home actually, about halfway between here and Lancaster, because she has early onset Alzheimers. When I was packing her up to move into the home, I found some letters."

"Letters?" Camila asked sharply. What letters did he have and how did they fit in with those back at the Hall?

"Yes, letters it looks like my mother sent to my father, addressed to Unger Hall."

"Your mother was born in the UK?" Shawn asked.

"No, she was born in Singapore. She moved here when she was about twelve."

"With her family?"

George stared at Shawn in exasperation. "What does it matter? No, her parents died, she was sent by her guardian to go to boarding school here, then she left and went to university, and worked for many years before she met my father and fell pregnant with me."

"And then he died?"

"Well, I thought so, but it appears not. All evidence points to the fact that he was Sir Gareth Barrington of Unger Hall."

"I'm afraid not," Camila said sadly.

"I have the letters! And he had the painting! She said the original belonged to the first man she ever loved, and she has had a print of it in her room above her bed my whole life, still does in fact."