Chapter 2
Harlan was found in the wine cellar.
Not hiding.
Searching.
That mattered.
He came upstairs carrying a ring of keys and looking furious.
“Sir.”
“What happened?”
He saw the empty urn.
Then Verena.
Understanding arrived.
“She told me you wanted the west storage cleared.”
I looked at Verena.
“What exactly?”
Harlan answered.
Items belonging to Evelyn.
My late wife.
Not just the ashes.
Clothes.
Photographs.
Books.
A cedar chest from our bedroom.
Milo’s baby blanket.
My jaw tightened.
“How much?”
“Three vehicle loads.”
The room became colder.
Verena finally said:
“You never used any of it.”
Wrong.
Memory does not need daily use to belong.
“Where?”
Harlan had been told everything was being transferred to Kestrel’s old country property in Bellweather.
Except it never arrived.
He called the caretaker this morning after noticing the inventory sheet had no receiving signature.
No delivery.
“Which vehicle?”
“Outside contractor.”
Name?
Graydon Estate Services.
I had never used them.
Verena had.
Before meeting me, apparently.
She arranged everything privately.
I looked at her.
“You planned this.”
“Yes.”
At least the denial ended.
“When?”
“Three weeks ago.”
Before the engagement reception invitations went out.
Before she selected today’s flowers.
Before she told Milo the urn was a vase.
This was not an emotional impulse.
It was preparation.
“Why green boxes?”
Milo asked.
Nobody answered.
I crouched.
“Because grown-ups put things into storage boxes.”
He frowned.
“Mommy not thing.”
Six years old.
Correct.
I stood.
“Where did Graydon take them?”
Verena’s face tightened.
“I don’t know.”
I believed that.
Strangely.
“You arranged the move without knowing the destination?”
“I arranged pickup.”
“Who gave the destination?”
Silence.
Then Harlan said:
“There was a second contact.”
I looked at him.
“Name?”
He had only initials.
R.V.
Verena closed her eyes.
There.
She knew.
“Who is R.V.?”
No answer.
Milo looked up at her.
Then quietly said:
“The lady from the cemetery.”
Everything stopped.
I stared at my son.
“What lady?”
He swallowed.
“The one who watches you visit Mommy.”
May you like
Verena’s face lost all color.
And for the first time, her jealousy no longer looked like the biggest secret in the room.
