by Geneva Lee
It took me twenty minutes to convince Belle to take a shower. She was a hollow shell of herself, muttering a story about confronting Nora last night. I couldn’t bring myself to ask her how that confrontation had ended. I followed her to our bedroom, determined to pull the ruined sheets off our bad while she cleaned up. She paused at the bathroom door and looked at me.
“I didn’t do it,” she said softly. “I couldn’t.”
I believed that, but it was clear she didn’t.
“Everything will be okay, beautiful,” I promised her. “For now, I need you to get cleaned up and then I need you to keep this a secret.”
“But Smith —”
“Trust me,” I said firmly.
Her shoulders slumped, but she nodded. She disappeared into the bathroom and a few seconds later I heard the shower water turn on. Penny was fully awake, watching me with curious eyes as I texted Georgia to meet me upstairs as soon as possible. It was a little harder to rip the sheets off the bed with the baby in my arms, but I couldn’t stand looking at them a moment longer. I threw the down duvet onto the floor, followed by the pillows, then I yanked the sheets off with one hand. I balled them up and threw them in the corner. I would figure out what to do with it later.
I heard hurried footsteps coming up the stairs, and I went out to meet Georgia.
“What’s going on?” She asked. “Does this have something to do with whatever trouble you got yourself into last night with the nanny?”
I pressed a finger to my lips and nodded for her to follow me. Before we reached Nora’s room, I heard Georgia stop and suck in a breath.
“Is that…“ She whispered. I didn’t bother to confirm the blood spatter. Georgia knew all too well what blood looked like.
We continued into the nanny’s room and I gestured for her to take Penny. Georgia held up her hands and shook her head.
“Would you rather deal with this?” I asked in a low voice, opening the door so she could see the scene of the apparent crime.
She let out a low whistle as she took in the bloodied bed. “It wouldn’t be the first time I dealt with a crime scene. Where did you bury the body?”
“You’re not funny,” I told her.
“I wasn’t trying to be,” she said flatly.
“There is no body.” We stepped inside and I closed the door. Others would be waking up soon. “I need to make sure no one comes in here before I deal with this, but first—”
“You want to take a look around,” she guessed. She sighed and held out her hands. Despite her earlier objection, she cradled Penny naturally. I’d known Georgia long enough to understand why she didn’t like babies, but this was an extenuating circumstance.
Nora had begun to pack her bags, so most of her belongings were strewn into open suitcases on the floor. I bent down to pick up a notebook and spotted her computer peeking out from the rumpled quilts on her bed. I grabbed it, looked around for another moment, and said, “let’s take this to my study.”
I was careful to close the door to Nora’s room. I’d have to be sure that Mrs. Winters didn’t go in there today. I’d yet to tell her that Nora had been released from service, so there was no reason she should.
“We need to do something about that,” I said, pointing to the blood spatter.
“Take your spawn.” She thrust Penny into my arms. “I’ll take care of it.”
“Thanks,” I muttered.
“It’s nothing,” she said. “Good friends are always there for you, but only best friends hide the evidence. Remember that, Price.”
“What’s going on?” Edward’s voice interrupted. He yawned sleepily, messing his hair with his hand as he surveyed us from his bedroom door.
Georgia and I froze before sharing a look. “Nothing.”
Maybe he was still half asleep, because Edward blinked, shook his head, and turned back to his room, muttering, “you two are weird.”
“You’re going to have to tell him,” Georgia said.
“Probably,” I admitted, “but for now we need to control the situation.”
“Where’s Belle?” Georgia looked around as if it was only occurring to her now that my wife was absent.
“Taking a shower.” I clenched my jaw, feeling a surge of rage that this was happening.
“Why is she taking a shower?” Georgia asked slowly.
“Because she woke up with blood on her hands,” I confessed to her in a low voice.
Georgia thought for a moment. “I better clean this up.”
It seemed best friends also didn’t ask too many questions.
I went into my study, my hands full with Penny and the items I had collected from her room. Placing the computer and notebook on my desk, I sank into the chair with Penny and opened the notebook. The first page was dated last fall. I scanned it, realizing it was a journal. There was nothing inside it but the empty thoughts of a young woman. I flipped forward, looking for when she came to live with us. I paused when I spotted the word interview and read the entry.
The Prices seem like a perfect couple. I think I made a good impression. I hope they hire me. I wouldn’t mind looking at the husband every day. Not that I stand a chance with him. His wife is so beautiful.
She had been interested in me since the beginning. I thought about Belle’s halfhearted objection to hiring a pretty nanny, and my chest tightened. We never should have invited her into her home. We never should have come here in the first place. I continued on. Most of it was mindless rambling, but around Christmas her entries took a turn.
I’m seriously worried about Belle. I don’t think her postpartum depression is normal. Then again, what would I know? Smith is being so understanding. I hope she gets better soon.
I turned the page and read the next entry.
Belle went to the doctor. It’s about time. No one trusts her with the baby anymore. She can’t even remember the baby bag. I thought she was beautiful, but she’s actually mean. I’m always worried she’s going to yell at me. I’m so glad I’m here to protect Penny from her outbursts.
I polished and considered what she wrote. Belle was having a rough time when Nora came to stay with us, but I’ve never seen her say or do anything mean to the nanny.
I flipped forward, looking for what she had written about Christmas. She made a few entries about time with her family, but I wasn’t interested in what she did while she was away from Thornham. I wanted to know what she had written about her return: the day we found Belle on the pond.
Belle is mental, and no one can see it. She’s going to hurt someone. I’m honestly scared of her. I’m so glad that Smith won’t let her be alone with the baby anymore. Today we found her walking on a barely frozen pond behind the house. Everyone thinks she was sleepwalking, but it’s obvious that she’s lost it. I hope the next time someone doesn’t get killed.
I wanted to close the journal then, but I needed to see what she’d written about last night. However, when I thumbed through the pages, there was no entry. Only a missing page, where one had been ripped out. I pushed the notebook away and stared at it. The journal painted a different picture of what had been happening at Thornham. Was this how Nora saw things? Or was she blinded by her developing feelings for me?
I reached for her laptop and opened it. It came on and I was surprised to find a picture of Penny as her screensaver. Thankfully, it wasn’t password-protected. I clicked on the icon for her email account and it opened to reveal her last few emails. There was one to the agency we’d used to find her. I opened it and read its contents, my stomach churning. Nora was smarter than I thought. She emailed them last night, explaining that I’d tried to take advantage of her and that Belle had asked me to leave. I continued on to the next emails. Most of them were junk, but there were a number of emails to a M. Welter. A perusal of them suggested she was writing to her mother. There were a few responses, urging her to be cautious when it came to me and warning her that married women could be jealous. It was hardly Grade A parenting. I closed the
laptop lid and considered everything I’d found. It didn’t look good.
I didn’t believe Belle had done this. I couldn’t believe it. It wasn’t in her. But without proof of her innocence, all we had was evidence of her guilt. Belle wasn’t capable of murder. But something had happened to Nora. Someone had done something to her. Someone who knew that there were problems at Thornham.
“What did you find?” Belle interrupted me with a soft voice. Her hair was wet from the shower, and she slipped into a pair of loose jeans and a T-shirt. I beckoned her over, and she came to me, taking a seat on my lap and placing a hand on Penny’s back. The baby squawked and squirmed toward her. Belle took her, cuddling her close before turning sad, blue eyes on me.
“She definitely didn’t think much of us,” I said in a strangled voice. I made up my mind not to let her read any of the entries. It would only feed Belle’s concern that she was a bad mother. “I know you didn’t do anything to hurt her. But someone had to have.”
“Mrs. Winters saw me last night,” Belle admitted, adding, “When I confronted Nora.”
“You didn’t tell me that.”
“I didn’t think it mattered. But it’s not like Mrs. Winters would hurt her. Remember how upset she was by the allergic reaction? If she wanted to kill Nora, she could slip more nuts into her food,” Belle pointed out.
“She has a point,” Georgia interjected. “Still, I wouldn’t rule anyone out. Except maybe Edward.”
“He definitely didn’t have anything to do with it,” Belle said quickly.
I sighed. We were getting nowhere. “I know that.”
“Who else would want to hurt her?” Belle asked.
“Maybe it wasn’t about hurting her,” Georgia mused. “Maybe it was about hurting you. What did Rowan say Miranda told his brother? She said something about how they were out to get her. Maybe she wasn’t crazy.”
Belle looked between us, her nose wrinkling with confusion. “What are you talking about?”
“There’s something I need to tell you, beautiful,” I began slowly. Belle listened as I revealed what Georgia and I had been investigating this whole time. When I finished she was silent for a moment.
“That’s what you’ve been up to? Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I didn’t want to add to everything you were dealing with,” I admitted.
“Forever, remember? She whispered, so only I could hear. “You can’t keep things like this for me.”
“I won’t,” I promised.
“Do you want to share with the class?” Georgia asked dryly.
“You’re right,” I said, thinking about what she said. “All of this trouble started at Thornham.”
“Well, what can we do about it now?” Belle sounded as though she’d already given up.
“We need to find out what really happened last night.”
“How are we going to do that?” Georgia asked.
“By figuring out what happened fifty years ago,” I said. I kissed Belle on the forehead, then I did the same to Penny. I would drag the answers from the devil himself to protect them. I knew what I had to do now. “I’m going to visit Miranda Thorne.”
18
Belle
I was not capable of murder. I’ve had a lot of self doubt the last few months, but of that much I was certain. A tiny voice pushed back in my head, reminding me of what had happened two years ago in the London hotel room. That had been an accident. It had been self-defense. I wasn’t capable of actually hurting someone.
But I couldn’t deny that I had taken a sleeping pill and that I didn’t know for sure if I’d stayed in my own bed last night. Was it possible I had sought Nora out to punish her for trying to take my husband? For trying to take my family?
I wouldn’t!
I’d planned it out as I fell asleep. I would call the agency and let them know she was no longer working for us and why. I would handle this professionally, even though her own behavior didn’t warrant such consideration. But now she was gone, and I couldn’t explain what had happened to her. I couldn’t explain why I had woken up with bloodied hands and dirty fingernails. I’d wanted to go for a walk on the property to look for signs that I had been outside the night before, but Smith had insisted on leaving for Brighton immediately. Georgia had stayed behind to quietly remove any evidence of foul play. Neither of them would hear of calling the police.
But if something had happened to Nora, how would we cover it up? What if they were destroying the very evidence that would prove I had nothing to do with it?
What if they were destroying the very evidence that proved that I did?
I was so preoccupied with my thoughts I didn’t hear Mrs. Winters enter the kitchen. I turned and startled, waking Penny, who howled at the injustice. “Mrs. Winters!”
“Who else would it be?” She scanned me as she tied her apron around her waist. “I suppose Nora is gone then.”
“What?” I asked before remembering that she’d overheard me telling Nora to get out of my house. “Oh. Yes.”
“I’ll clean her room later today. I imagine you’ll be wanting it for a new nanny.” She peered over her shoulder with beady eyes. “You might consider someone a little older.”
“Yes.” I nodded in agreement. “I don’t think we’re going to look just yet, though. Smith and I have things under control at the moment. No need to clean her room out. I think she left some things.”
Mrs. Winters pulled a pot out of the cupboard and placed it on the stovetop. “Then, I’ll see that they’re boxed up.”
“That’s not necessary.” I searched for a reason to keep her out of Nora’s room, but drew a blank. “I was hoping you could make a cake, actually.”
“A cake?” she repeated. Whatever for?”
“It’s Georgia’s birthday,” I blurted out. It was a terrible lie. One that would be undone the moment that Georgia opened her mouth to contradict me—unless I forced her to go along with it first.
“I’ll have to go to the village. You might have mentioned it before now,” she clucked, clearly put out to be left to do something last-minute.
“I’m so sorry.” In truth, I was relieved. I would have sent her to the moon if I had to. Making a cake was easier. “I just found out it was her birthday.”
“Who’s birthday?” Edward asked, striding into the kitchen.
“Georgia,” I told him quickly.
“It is?” He scratched his head as if he was trying to check his mental calendar.
“It is,” I repeated firmly. “Mrs. Winters is going to make a cake. But we shouldn’t make a big deal out of it, because you know Georgia will overreact if she finds out.”
“Okay,” he agreed slowly, shooting me a look behind Mrs. Winters back. He mouthed what is going on? Out loud, he asked, “Where’s Nora?”
It was a fair question, given that I had told him only yesterday that I planned to spend today in the Bless offices. I glanced over at Mrs. Winters to find she was waiting for my answer with obvious interest. “I had to let Nora go.”
“Is this about whatever happened between you and Smith last night?”
I grabbed him by the elbow and steered him out of the kitchen. “I’ll tell you about it on the way to the village.”
“We’re going to the village?” he asked in confusion.
“For presents,” I said in exasperation as though this should be obvious. This lie was quickly snowballing into a ridiculous to-do list. I couldn’t talk with Edward openly here, though. Not without risking Mrs. Winters overhearing. Until Smith returned From the Brighton Sanitarium with answers, I couldn’t rule out that Mrs. Winters knew something about Nora’s disappearance. I could only hope that she had nothing to do with it. I wouldn’t allow myself to consider what she might have seen last night. Smith might be convinced that I had nothing to do with it, but I had taken the sleeping pill. I had no way to prove that I hadn’t had another episode.
Edward followed me to the nursery and watched me pack Penny’s bag.
“I guess she needs to come with us,” he commented, lifting her from my arms so I could concentrate on getting things ready. “What happened with Nora?”
I sighed and braced myself against the changing table. Closing my eyes for a brief second, I considered where to begin. But when I opened them to tell him the truth, I looked up and spotted the nursery camera Smith had installed in the corner. Without saying anything, I rushed out of the room to Smith’s study.
Edward came after me, peppering me with questions, but I ignored him and went straight to the computer. It took me a minute to log on and then another to find the application that stored the videos. It was a long shot. I mean, sure, the audio monitor was on last night when I checked on Penny, and nothing had woken me in the night.
“You’re beginning to scare me,” Edward admitted while I scrolled through the footage.
“Give me a second.” I found last night’s footage and forwarded until I saw myself entering the nursery. That was before I had taken the sleeping pill. I watched myself leave before skipping ahead. According to the video, two hours later, I entered the room again. My heart plummeted to my stomach. I had no memory of going to check on Nora again. I had been sleepwalking last night. Edward hovered over my shoulder, watching the video without comment. As we watched, someone else entered the room.
Nora.
“No,” I said in a strangled voice. Nora came over to me and placed a hand on my arm. Then I watched as she led me from the room.
“What is this about?” Edward asked in a quiet voice.
I swallowed, no longer feeling an ounce of hope in my entire body, and turned my face to him. “I think I killed Nora last night.”
19
Smith
Brighton Sanitarium was as cheerful as I expected. The old, stone building looked like it belonged in a horror movie. A wrought-iron fence surrounded the grounds, and the asylum loomed straight up as though reaching to escape. I took note of the bars on the windows as I approached, parking the Range Rover in the lot in front. The day itself was just as gloomy; the temperature had risen just enough to turn what might have been snow into ice cold rain. It battered down from gray clouds, leaving bullet holes in the last remaining snow from the holidays.