Chapter 4 - THE KEY FROM THE GRAVE
Eleanor appeared in the doorway behind Julian.
She looked at the glove in Nathaniel’s hand.
“That is not mine.”
Nathaniel turned it over.
“Your initials are stitched inside.”
“Half the women in this city own gloves with initials.”
“Not half the women in this city have these exact initials.”
Eleanor’s face remained calm.
“My gloves were stolen last week.”
Julian looked at her.
“You never mentioned that.”
“I did not think it mattered.”
Evelyn held Lily close.
“Someone tried to take the key my mother gave her.”
Eleanor’s gaze shifted toward the necklace.
For the first time, fear moved across her face.
“What key?”
Evelyn stepped closer.
“The one you were staring at.”
Eleanor smiled thinly.
“I was not staring.”
“You know what it opens.”
“I have no idea.”
Nathaniel examined the key.
It was no longer than his thumb.
A tiny rose had been engraved into the gold.
His eyes narrowed.
“I’ve seen this symbol before.”
Evelyn looked at him.
“Where?”
Nathaniel walked to Eleanor’s bookshelf.
He pulled out a heavy volume about the Ashford Foundation.
A faded rose was stamped into the leather cover.
The same rose appeared on Lily’s key.
Nathaniel opened the book.
Most of the pages were hollow.
A small lock was hidden inside.
Evelyn inserted the key.
It turned.
The false compartment opened.
Inside was an old photograph.
A young Eleanor stood beside Evelyn’s mother, Margaret.
Both women were holding the diamond brooch.
On the back of the photograph, Margaret had written one sentence.
The brooch is not jewelry.
It is the map.
Evelyn’s breath caught.
“What does that mean?”
Eleanor took a step forward.
Nathaniel blocked her.
“No.”
Eleanor’s voice sharpened.
“That photograph belongs to my family.”
“It was hidden inside a book that opened with Evelyn’s key.”
Nathaniel handed the photograph to Evelyn.
She studied the brooch.
The diamonds formed a cluster of seven points.
One point was darker than the others.
Lily touched the picture.
“Mommy, the real brooch looked different.”
Everyone turned toward her.
“What do you mean?” Evelyn asked.
“The one in the box had six shiny points.”
Julian looked at Eleanor.
Eleanor said nothing.
Nathaniel removed the brooch from the evidence bag.
They counted the stones.
Six diamonds surrounded an empty center.
A tiny piece had been removed.
Nathaniel’s face hardened.
“The brooch found in Lily’s backpack is incomplete.”
Evelyn looked back at the photograph.
The missing center was not a diamond.
It was a small black stone.
Julian moved suddenly.
He grabbed the photograph from Evelyn.
Nathaniel reached for him.
Julian shoved the commissioner into the bookshelf.
Then he ran.
“Stop him!” Nathaniel shouted.
Julian disappeared into the service corridor.
Eleanor remained completely still.
Evelyn faced her.
“What is inside that brooch?”
Eleanor looked toward Lily.
“Something your mother should have destroyed.”
May you like
A gunshot echoed from the hallway.
Then Julian screamed.
