Page 28 of One Last Secret

I don’t need to be told twice. I close the door and remain where I am, heart thumping in my chest. I hear soft scratching and muttering coming from the room. The poor girl. She is on the edge of insanity. I have no love for therapists, but she may be beyond my capacity to help.

I return downstairs just as Evelyn comes in through the front door. She looks around and frowns. “Where’s Celeste?”

“She’s drawing in her room.”

Her frown deepens. “What happened? You look terrified.”

“She… She’s having… Well, she was calm and quiet, and then she became very agitated.”

Evelyn sighs. “Yeah, I figured that would happen.” She shakes her head and begins to unload the groceries. “It’s really unfortunate how that sort of thing runs in families.”

“What sort of thing?”

“Mental illness. Not that I’m saying she’s crazy, but… well, Victor’s always had manic-depressive tendencies. I’m not a psychologist, but that sort of thing where he goes from sitting and staring at nothing for hours to a burst of energy like that happens all the time.”

“Has it happened with Celeste before?”

“Not like this. I think that Victor running off triggered her.”

“You think he’s run off then? You don’t think he was taken?”

“I don’t think so. Who could have taken him? I would have heard someone come in. Not that I could have stopped anyone, but I would have known.”

Unless you were the one responsible.

"I just feel bad for her," she says. "I don't know what she's going to do. Her grandparents don't talk to her, and I'm going to have to find new work if Victor doesn't come back. I'm paid through the end of the month, but after that, I'll need to find another job. I assume you will, too."

I will be all right financially, thanks to my inheritance, but I can't stay in the house indefinitely. It will eventually move into foreclosure or probate or whatever the equivalent is when the owner is declared legally dead.

I feel a touch of suspicion when she mentions leaving soon. The reason she gives is perfectly valid, but so is receiving a financial windfall due to her late employer’s “generosity.” And she may have killed him for reasons other than money. It might be worthwhile to have Sean pay her home a visit or delve more deeply into her financial situation.

For now, I say, “I’ll look into therapists for her. She’ll need professional help to cope with Victor’s loss if he doesn’t return.”

She shakes her head. “Therapists never help. My uncle had a therapist when he got sick, and all the therapist did was ask him about his feelings. There was never any growth or improvement. She just took his money, gave him happy pills and came back next week when nothing worked.”

“I’m so sorry to hear that.”

"Yeah, it sucked. I'm just glad I didn't get it, too. There are five men and two women in my family with schizophrenia. I'm one of the lucky ones who didn't inherit it."

“I don’t think Celeste is schizophrenic.”

Evelyn sighs and folds her arms. “I hope not. But she talks a lot about things that aren’t there, and a lot of times, her lips willmove like she’s talking, but no sound will come out. She’s a lot like Victor, and lately, Victor’s been so much worse.” She shakes her head. “I’ll be honest, Celeste is the only reason I stayed. I like Victor, but I was sure that one of these days, he was going to lose his shit and hurt me. Instead, he lost his shit and hurt himself.”

That sparks a memory. I push it away. It’s not a pleasant memory.

"I think I'll leave anyway if he comes back," she says. "The two of them need more help than I can give them."

She starts water for pasta and says, “I’ll have spaghetti and meatballs ready for lunch in an hour. It’s a heavy meal, I know, but it’s simple and one that a child should enjoy.”

“Thank you. I’ll fetch her in an hour.”

“Don’t hold your breath. When they’re like this, God himself couldn’t snap them out of it.”

I head upstairs with more questions than answers. I text Sean to look deeper into Evelyn, but my gut tells me that she’s not responsible for what’s happened here.

I fixate on Celeste’s discussion of a portal. It could just be her mind playing tricks on her, but I can’t help but wonder if there’s a truth hiding behind her nightmare. Could Victor have a secret place somewhere? Could he be hiding in plain sight? Or could his killers have been lurking in the shadows to strike unseen before fleeing back to that same shadow?

CHAPTER TWELVE

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