Chapter 10 - The Safe
I should have ignored the message. Every reasonable person in the conference room said so.
But it wasn't the safe that caught my attention. It was the phrase Evelyn's study. Grant had always called that room the library, and no one outside the family knew Evelyn kept a private office behind it.
Theo stopped me before I could grab my keys. “We're not breaking into the house. There are lawful ways to get evidence.”
“I have clothes there. My passport. My laptop.”
“And you can request a supervised retrieval.”
Officer Chen helped arrange a civil standby so I could collect essentials without another confrontation. June insisted on coming. So did Theo, though he waited outside.
Evelyn met us at the front door wearing a fresh cream blouse and the expression of a woman greeting unwelcome guests at a charity brunch.
“Back already?” she asked. “You really have embarrassed this family.”
Officer Chen said, “We're here so Ms. Bennett can recover her personal belongings.”
Evelyn stepped aside. We walked upstairs. The bedroom still smelled of lilies and Grant's cologne. My suitcase stood open where I'd left it. I took my passport, computer, medication, and the grandmother's necklace I'd worn at the wedding.
On the way out I saw the library door standing open. A maintenance worker was inside, kneeling near an electric panel. Evelyn called out that the room was off-limits.
Then I noticed the metal trim at the base of the study wall was loose. Behind it was a slim white envelope half caught under the molding.
I didn't enter the room. I pointed it out to Officer Chen. He looked at the envelope, asked whether it belonged to me, and told me not to touch it.
The maintenance worker rose slowly. “Ma'am,” he said to Evelyn, “I found that behind the wall when I fixed the outlet.”
The drive back from Grant's house took us past the chapel where we'd married. Someone had already removed the flowers from its steps. I could picture myself standing there in lace, trying not to cry with happiness. June glanced at the building and asked if I needed to stop. I shook my head. I didn't want to erase the woman who'd walked inside. I wanted her to know what I knew now.
Evelyn's face drained.
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On the envelope, in heavy black ink, was written a single name:
MARA BELL.
