Page 96 of The Lady on Esplanade
My phone beeped with a text from Beau.We need to talk.
I closed my screen without responding and placed my phone in my back pocket.Hobbling over to the windowsill, I said, “I don’t know if you’ve been told yet, but the coroner’s office has had a chance to investigate the bloodstain found under the rug in the upstairs room.”
Honey clutched a strand of chunky turquoise stones at her neck.“Yes.They let us know that it was too old to be useful to the investigation.”
I slipped out the frame Beau had borrowed and replaced it on the sill before picking up a photograph I remembered from my previous visit; it showed Joan and Honey with their stepmother, Sybil, and their sister-in-law, Jessica, along with Lynda as a baby.“The blood sample was.But hair samples were also discovered, in between the floorboards, and might be useful.I have an in with the NOPD, which is why I found out first, but I’m sure you’ll be updated shortly.That’s why we’re here.They won’t be able to pull DNA from the hair, because it’s synthetic, not human.”
Honey blinked up at me as I replaced the frame and picked up a photo of Jessica and her husband’s mother, Sybil—the woman who was murdered in the back room of the Esplanade house.Sybil had short silver hair worn in an attractive bob, and Jessica had long blond hair.Neither appeared to be wearing a wig, let alone a short brown wig.
“Do you remember anyone being in the house around the time of the murder who might have been wearing a short, dark wig?”
Honey thought for a moment before shaking her head.“No.Not that I remember.But maybe Joan will.”
“Hopefully.”I put down the frame, then picked up one with a photograph of Lynda as a towheaded toddler, Annabelle dangling from her hand.I brought the frame closer to my face to study the doll.But the doll in the photograph seemed devoid of all the creepiness I now associated with it.
My ankle throbbed from my being upright for so long.I placed the frame back on the ledge, then looked at the collection of photos, arranged three-deep, not a single one looking like its subject could be wearing a wig.“Thanks so much for your time and for letting me look at the photos again.Please let me know if Joan remembers anything about a wig.”
“I will.And please let us know as soon as Mimi has something to tell us about that doll.”
“Of course.”My phone buzzed again, at the same time that I registered the sound of bird wings flapping around my head.
I turned to see the bird circling the ceiling before coming to rest on Sarah’s outstretched arm.“Be careful,” I said.“Zeus tried to attack Beau when we were here.”
“He won’t hurt me,” Sarah said matter-of-factly.
The hooked yellow beak opened wide and a rusty, disused voice said, “Hide the key.Hide the key.Hide the key.”Then Zeus fell silent, staring at me with the round black eye on the right side of his head.
Honey’s mouth opened with astonishment.“That’s the first time I’ve ever heard him speak!Oh, my goodness.Joan won’t believe it.”
“Do you know what he means?”I asked.
“I have no idea,” Honey said.“I’ll ask Joan, but I can’t for the life of me think of what key he’s talking about.Or why we’d want to hide it.”She held out her arm and Zeus flew to her, settling again on her shoulder, his head turning while his obsidian eyes surveyed the room.
Sarah watched the bird closely.“He’s repeating something he heard, right?Isn’t that how parrots work?”
“Yes, that’s right.”Honey stroked the bird’s small head.“But since he’s been completely silent ever since we got him, I don’t know when he might have learned it.”
“Maybe he means the key to the armoire,” Jolene said.
“Maybe,” I agreed.“Although we’ve opened the armoire and haven’t found anything of value, except possibly the doll.And it’s not like the armoire is impenetrable without a key—it has just a single lock that’s easily picked by a locksmith, or anyone else with the right tools.Or a hammer if someone doesn’t care about antiques and just wants to find out what’s inside.”
“Where did you find the key?”Honey asked.
I was spared from answering by my phone’s buzzing.
Please call.I talked to Adele.You’re in danger.
I shoved my phone back in my pocket.I might have become desensitized by all the warnings I’d been exposed to from beyond the grave in recent months.Especially any coming from Beau.I doubted that I’d ever believe anything he told me again.
“Thank you, Honey.It was great to see you.Please let us know what Joan has to say about the wig.And if she knows what Zeus meant by ‘the key.’ ”
“I will.And I’ll ask her about the Honda, too.”She clasped her paint-spattered hands in front of her.“I feel so invigorated!For the first time in so long, I feel hopeful about getting answers.And about sweet Zeus.It’s like he’s finally coming alive again.”
“I’m glad.We’ll talk soon.”Using my crutches, I hobbled to the front door, where Sarah was already waiting, eager to leave.“Are you okay?”I asked quietly.
“Just hurry,” she said as she opened the door and stepped out onto the porch.
We said our good-byes and headed toward the car.The front passenger-side door lock no longer worked, so Sarah just yanked the door open.She gave a small yelp, then stepped back.
