Chapter 3 - The Missing Heirloom
At first, everyone assumed the brooch had simply been misplaced.
Everett searched Lenora’s bedroom.
The house manager checked the dining room.
Maribel looked beneath furniture, inside laundry baskets, and along the hallway where Lenora had walked.
Then Lenora stopped searching.
She turned toward Maribel.
“Who cleaned my bedroom this afternoon?”
Maribel slowly stood.
“I did.”
Lenora’s expression hardened.
“And who else entered?”
“I don’t know. The door was open most of the afternoon.”
“That wasn’t my question.”
Everett stepped between them.
“Mother, we don’t know that anyone took it.”
Lenora looked directly at him.
“A valuable piece of jewelry disappears on the same afternoon one person was alone in my room. You are free to ignore the obvious, Everett. I am not.”
Maribel felt the blood drain from her face.
“Mrs. Calloway, I would never take anything from this family.”
Lenora folded her arms.
“Then you should have no difficulty explaining where it went.”
“I can’t explain something I didn’t do.”
Owen appeared near the staircase.
He looked from his grandmother to Maribel.
“Why is everybody mad?”
Maribel immediately softened her voice.
“Nobody’s mad, sweetheart. Go upstairs for a little while.”
But Lenora answered first.
“Something important is missing.”
Owen frowned.
“Maribel doesn’t take things.”
The room became silent.
Lenora’s jaw tightened.
“Owen, go upstairs.”
“But she doesn’t.”
Everett finally placed a hand on his son’s shoulder.
“Go to your room, buddy. I’ll come talk to you.”
Owen reluctantly left.
May you like
Maribel watched him disappear upstairs.
Somehow, that hurt more than Lenora’s accusation.
