Page 39 of One Last Breath

“I know it’s strange,” she says. She laughs, a shrill, brittle sound like a wineglass shattering. “Maybe I am crazy.”

“I’m so sorry to intrude,” I say. “I’ll leave you alone.”

“I’m talking to the Secret Keeper.”

She blurts that out so suddenly that I’m stunned into silence. She sees my face and gives another shrill laugh. “You do think I’m crazy.”

“No, I don’t. I don’t think you’re crazy at all.”

Elizabeth doesn’t seem to hear me.

“You can’t tell anyone!” Elizabeth cries.

I stiffen and say, “No, ma’am. Of course not, ma’am.”

“I mean it. Please don’t tell anyone I told you this!”

Her eyes are wild and crazy, and my heart begins to pound again. “I won’t. I swear it.”

She takes a deep breath and releases it in a heavy sigh. “Thank you.” She smiles at me, then says something that is somehow more chilling than anything I’ve witnessed so far. “You’re a good woman, Mary. Please be safe.”

“Safe? What do you mean?”

Elizabeth’s lip trembles. Then she smiles at me much the same way she did when I asked about Violet over dinner. “Nothing. Never mind.” She releases another brittle laugh. “I’m just flustered that you caught my little secret. Just…” she flips her hand. “Forget about it. And don’t worry about your pay, James’ company handles that. Our money troubles don’t affect… anything really. It’s just my own little problem. I’ll see you later, Mary.”

She stares at me, and I take the hint. “Right. I’ll see you later, ma’am.”

It’s all I can do not to break into a run when I leave the garden.

***

An hour later, the family leaves to enjoy a picnic lunch in the park by the river. They take Violet with them, so I am alone in the house save for the servants. They’re all working, and the housekeeping falls to me today, so I can count on being left to my own devices for the next several hours.

I head immediately to the Greenwood’s bedroom. In past houses, the room of the master and mistress of the house held clues that ultimately led to the solving of the mysteries those families concealed. Perhaps I’ll come across something equally revealing here.

Elizabeth’s mental state seems tenuous, but I believe there’s a reason for it. I don’t think she’s delusional; I think she’s desperate. I hope to discover why.

I start in the closet, but I find nothing there besides clothing and shoes. I look next in the drawers of the two dressers in the room, then in the cabinets of the desk. I find nothing in the dressers, and at first, I find nothing in the desk.

But the bottom right cabinet is locked. Locks are typically used to protect valuable things, but they’re often used to hide things that the owners wish to remain hidden. Things such as secrets.

I head to the bathroom and collect the tools I need, a bobby pin and a nail file. I return to the desk and kneel in front of the cabinet. I’ve only done this once before, but that was with a door lock, not a cabinet lock. I imagine this will be easier to defeat.

And thankfully, I am correct. The lock contains only three tumblers, and after a few minutes of work, I am able to defeat it and slide open the cabinet.

It contains several unlabeled manila folders. With no label to guide my search, I start with the most recent documents and scan them, looking for anything that might shed light on Elizabeth’s fear and what, if anything, it has to do with Lila’s disappearance.

I don’t find anything related to Lila at first, but what I find is telling.

The Greenwoods are not rich. In fact, they are in debt. It's not crippling yet, but the trends these files reveal are not encouraging. I know little of finance, so I don't know how long it will be before these trends become irreversible, but I can't imagine it will be long.

Debt is a common motive for murder, but why Lila’s murder? And what is Elizabeth looking for that she is so desperate to find? Does she believe that there’s something here that can rescue her family from debt?

I find the answer to that question in the very last document in the cabinet. It’s an appraisal from an auction house that specializes in the sale of antiques. It concerns a surrender document rumored to be on the Greenwood Estate.

Since the document is only rumored to be here and the auction house didn’t have the genuine article to review, the value of the document ranges widely. At its lowest valuation, it’s worth sixty thousand dollars. At its highest, it’s worth well over two hundred thousand.

I recall the note I find from Lila that implicates Christopher. He may know, too. Could it be that he knows about this document? Perhaps not. At the moment, I don’t find that likely.

---