I also replayed my conversation with Paula in my head, looking for answers to the myriad of questions forming, their number increasing by the minute. Van’s last name was Sherman. Where did the ‘Madison’ come from in Sherman and Madison Corporation?

Why did Mrs. Mayhand say that some questions are better unasked?

Is there significance in his company’s name that I don’t know?

As my computer booted up and ran yet another update, I gave up on the totes and walked around the room, taking in this personal side of Donovan Sherman. Saying the room had four walls shouldn’t imply that the library was small. It was a large square and also tall, the ceiling went up beyond the one in the hallway. If I had to guess, I’d say it went up two stories. The sliding ladder on the bookshelves was directly out of every little girl’s dreams, any little girl who watched Belle dance and sing on a similar ladder.

The more I looked around, the more I became aware of what Van was lacking. While I hadn’t been in every room in his home, not even close, I’d yet to see anything that resembled personal mementos. There were no framed pictures or special items.

Back at my family home, my mother’s fireplace mantel was filled with pictures of our family, my grandparents and great-grandparents, my aunts and uncles, and my cousins. There were pictures dating back to before I was born. In Dad and Mom’s home office was a large framed picture of William and Pricilla Wade. William was my mother’s grandfather and the man who founded Wade Pharmaceutical. I never knew him. I knew my grandfather, William’s son and my mother’s father, Herman Wade. He was the person who ultimately decided to offer investment in Wade Pharmaceutical, diluting my family’s influence in the operation of the privately held corporation. I knew from my study at Northwestern that the goal had been to raise capital.

According to my father, it was the wrong move. My grandfather had the ultimate power to make the decision. His plan was to limit investors to trusted friends who could bring an influx of funds and avoid debt in the difficult environment. My grandfather’s decision went against my father’s advice. The rift that ensued between my father and my mother’s father was why our family’s stock shares were headed to me upon my marriage. It was one of Grandfather Herman’s blows to my father before Herman’s death.

So far, I’d yet to see any pictures of Van’s family.

That thought reminded me of Margaret’s comment, asking if I was Van’s sister.