Page 29 of One Last Lie

She pales again and backs up a half step. I meet her eyes and fight back the fear that crawls up my spine as she regards me.

After a moment, she nods. “Well, Johnathan’s dead. And Miss Cecilia has enough on her plate without worrying about me. She doesn’t even realize she’s missed one or two pieces of jewelry a year for the past eighteen years. What she doesn’t know won’t even raise her eyebrow. But if you want to make things harder for her after she’s just lost the father of her children, go ahead and tell her. See if she doesn’t send you packing along with me for disturbing the fragile peace she’s been given.”

“That’s a risk I’m willing to take.”

She reddens, and I allow myself a moment of triumph knowing I’ve called her bluff.

Premature triumph, it turns out.

She smiles and says, “You know about me, do you? Well, I know about you. I know all about the little holiday you had when your sister went missing.”

The blood drains from my face. “How?”

“Doesn’t matter. But I wonder how Miss Cecilia would feel about you caring for her children if she knew what you did to yourself and your poor mother after Annie went—”

I slap her. Hard. I don’t realize what I’ve done at first. From my perspective, Theresa’s head snaps to the side out of nowhere. She gasps and stumbles backwards, staring at me in shock. Tears well in her eyes but once the initial shock of the blow fades, she grins and stands tall, lowering her hand so I can see the clear handprint on her cheek.

“My my,” she says. “Let’s hope the children don’t make the mistake of bringing up that subject.” Her smile disappears. “Stay out of my business.”

She leaves the room, and I stand there, knees trembling, shoulders shaking. The image of that ghost’s empty soulless eyes burns into my vision, but I lack the will or the strength to turn away.

It’s not until I hear the children coming downstairs that I manage to push the thoughts to the background and smile. Samuel—still shaken by my injury—rushes to me and throws his arms around my waist. “Good morning, Miss Mary!”

“Good morning, Samuel!” I say brightly. “Isabella, Elijah. How did you sleep?”

Elijah meets my eyes, and rather than answer my question, he frowns. "Is everything all right, Miss Mary?"

“Wonderful!” I insist. “Have a seat. I’ll go see about breakfast.”

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Elijah is the only one who sees through my veneer of happiness the next morning. As we walk through the grounds, he slows down to allow the others to move on ahead, and when they’re gone, he says, “I heard you cry out last night. Is everything all right?”

“Fine,” I insist. “I have night terrors occasionally. I’m sorry to have disturbed you.”

He frowns and looks so much a man that I have to remind myself I’m speaking to a child. “I’m not worried about myself; I’m worried about you. Is it because I showed you the tapes?”

A chill runs through me. I stop and look at him seriously. “Elijah, you must not show those tapes to anyone. Not even the police. Not yet.”

“Not yet?”

I kick myself inwardly. “Just don’t show them.”

A shrewd look crosses his face. “You are looking into Dad’s death. Isabella told me you were, but I wasn’t sure if she was right.”

“Don’t concern yourself with me,” I say firmly. “You must protect yourself and your brother and sister.

I realize my mistake too late. His eyes widen, and now he looks very much a young and vulnerable child. “Are we in danger?”

I sigh. “No. But it would be better for you to leave this alone.”

His face screws up in anger. “Someone murdered my Dad. I can’t just leave that alone.”

“I know.” I sigh again. “But you have to…” how should I put this? “Please just trust me. I know this is hard, but it’s better for you to stay out of this for now. I don’t… I need to know if I’m right before I decide how to proceed.”

I hate that Elijah’s involved in this, but he would be involved whether I was here or not. The best I can do is convince him not to come forward with what he knows until I have enough information to go to the authorities.

And now I am committed to seeing this through. With Elijah definitely involved and Isabella probably, I can’t back away from this. I am charged with caring for the children, and that means I must be the one to investigate this murder.

---