Page 113 of Sing For Me

I do laugh then. Jude does too. It feels good.

When we wind down, I ask him what he told them that had Cass pissed off.

“I told them that we found a book in the walls written in code. Right about here, actually. Shit, this is right around where Eleanor’s room was.”

Despite all my common sense, and what’s going on in my head, I feel a prickly chill pass over my skin.

I rub my arms. “Focus, Jude.”

Jude grins. “You felt it too, didn’t you?”

“No,” I bark. “I don’t believe in that stuff.” Still, when the plastic at the door flutters, my stomach clenches.

Jude doesn’t even notice. “I told them Seamus’s dad decoded the book for us and everyone thought it was a dead end, but I knew it wasn’t.”

I tear my eyes from the plastic flap, suddenly rapt.

Jude continues. “Nora figured out there was some kind of code within the code.” He does a “mind blown” gesture with his hands at his head.

“Seriously?”

He nods. “She figured out that the guy who wrote the book hinted that there was some kind of secret cache of something somewhere on the grounds.”

“What? What kind of cache?”

“A box with stuff in it. Nora thinks it’s going to have love letters in it or some shit. The problem is, now Cass thinks we’re going to get treasure hunters digging up holes around the golf course.”

“Wait, who’s the guy again?” I wasn’t paying close attention to the story when it happened—figured it was all kind of nonsense. But suddenly I’m interested. Plus, this is less ghost, more real history. If the book is to be believed.

“Eleanor’s boyfriend. At least, that’s what Nora thinks. And I believe her.”

“She’s smarter than both of us combined,” I concede.

“Exactly.”

I glance around the room, but nothing else moves. Nonsense, just like I knew. I admonish myself for getting caught up in it. Still, I want to know the rest. “So this is the guy Eleanor was apparently having an affair with?”

Jude leans forward and pulls on his toes, stretching absently. “Yeah…he was her husband’s chauffeur. But her husband…he was barely a husband. He traveled all over the world and, like, openly brought his mistresses to events and stuff, instead of Eleanor. The book said,‘His supposed wife is the most beautiful and downtrodden mistress of them all. She’s been all but abandoned, and not deserved.’He had a massive crush on her, obviously. Nora said there are indications later in the book that they were in love, but I don’t know how she got that from a diary.” Jude shrugs. “Anyway…” He goes off on a tangent like Jude does when you let him talk too long. He’s animated now, his arms going all over the place as he excitedly tells me about the personal lives of people who lived and died over a century ago.

I try to listen to him. But all I can think about is that poor chauffeur. The man who sees the woman he clearly loved being hurt by the man who’s supposed to be everything to her.

After a moment, Jude seems to wind down. It’s then he notices I’m staring at the floor so hard there should be a hole burned there.

“You okay?”

I shake my head. “I couldn’t just stand there and watch him be a dick to her, Jude. I was physically incapable of staying still, knowing all their history. Knowing what’s possible for her, what he kept her from seeing for so long.”

Jude studies me. For a long moment neither of us says anything. Then Jude tips his head back against the wall. “Do you remember Brad Butler?”

I’m so surprised by this I throw him a confused look. I do remember Brad Butler. He was on my baseball team, and he was a little dick and a half.

“Do you know he used to lock me in the bathroom when I was in third grade? Before I went through puberty of course.” He grins.

“No,” I say softly. “I knew he was a bully, but I didn’t know he did that. Why didn’t you ever say anything?”

“I did. I told you he was picking on me. Do you remember?”

I think back, my head not really working as sharply as I’d like it to. “Yeah, I think so. But you never told me the bathroom stuff.”

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