Page 23 of One Last Goodbye

“Were either of them violent?”

"Oh. No, not violent. Just … tense."

“Did they engage in verbal altercations in your presence?”

“Um… not exactly. It was more their body language and tone of voice with one another.”

“So you can’t be sure that they were fighting.”

I frown. “I… suppose not. Iamsure that they were unhappy with each other.”

“Why?”

I feel myself growing irritated again. “One doesn’t need to be a detective to tell when two people are unhappy in each other’s company.”

“So there was nothing specific that pointed to conflict. You just assumed there was based on their behavior around one another.”

There aremanyspecific things that point to conflict. Frederick’s affair with Veronica, Catherine’s affair—emotional if not more—with Hugo, their tension and snappishness around each other, the children’s behavior around them… all clearly suggest that the couple are unhappy.

But I don’t share them. Someone murdered Frederick Jensen, and not knowing who that person is, I can’t risk making myself or the children a target.

“No. Nothing specific.”

He nods. “Did Frederick behave in a way that suggested to you he might have suicidal ideations?”

“Suicidal ideations? No, of course not!”

“So you don’t think he killed himself?”

“No! Why would he?”

“You seem quite confident given you’ve only known the man for a week and believe him to have been in an unhappy marriage.”

“I…” I amveryirritated now. “What makesyouthink he killed himself?”

“The note in his handwriting that states that he killed himself.”

I am shocked into speechlessness. Dubois holds my eyes with his half-lidded gaze and waits for me to find my voice. When I do, I can only say, “Really?”

“Yes. He states that he can’t go on anymore. He claims that his marriage is a sham, his children don’t love him, and his business is falling apart. He apologizes for his weakness and claims everyone will be better off without him.”

“Why are you telling me this?”

“I’d like your thoughts.”

“My thoughts? My thoughts…”Someone killed him. That someone is in this house.“I don’t know! I’ve only been here a week!”

He holds my gaze long enough to make sweat break out on my forehead. Then he asks, “Will you remain here?”

“As long as I’m still employed as governess to Olivia and Ethan Jensen, yes.”

He nods, then stands. “Thank you for your time.”

He leaves the room without another word. I stay where I am for a long moment, trying to process everything that’s just happened.

This is what I was afraid of. This is exactly what I feared would happen. The secrets that plague this family have resulted in the death of one of its members.

And once more, it falls to me to ensure that justice is done.

---