The House of Secrets

by Terry Lynn Thomas

  I sat down at my desk, my heart pounding, doing the maths in my mind. If Gregory had lived, he would be a little older than Matthew. Early fifties? I hadn’t got a clear look at the man’s face. He had gone out of his way to not let me see him. Was Gregory Geisler alive? Had he disguised himself as an employee for the laundry service? Is this what Alysse wanted me to find? I had to think. I stuffed the pictures in the pocket of my sweater, put everything else back in the box, and put the box back where I had found it. I had just stepped off the chair when Mrs McDougal burst into my office, her cheeks flushed, her eyes filled with unshed tears, and her hands wringing a handkerchief round and round.

  ‘What’s the matter?’

  ‘Dr Geisler’s been in an accident. He’s been hit by a bus.’ The tears spilled over and ran down her cheeks as she crumpled into the guest chair near my desk.

  The oxygen left the room. The floor beneath me moved in waves. I sat down just in time.

  The weeping returned.

  Chapter Ten

  ‘We must go to the hospital right away,’ I said.

  The weeping had become so loud I couldn’t concentrate on Mrs McDougal’s words.

  ‘Bethany wants us to stay here.’ At the mention of Bethany’s name, the weeping stopped, leaving an echoing silence in its wake.

  I looked around the room, waiting for it to start again.

  ‘What’s wrong?’ Mrs McDougal’s gazed travelled around the room as mine had done. ‘What are you looking for?’

  ‘Nothing. Forgive me. I’ve haven’t been sleeping.’

  Mrs McDougal composed herself and wiped the tears from her cheeks with the handkerchief, stuffing it in her pocket as she stood up.

  ‘What are we to do?’ I asked, desperate to do something to help.

  ‘We must carry on as if everything is fine. Bethany asked that we not mention this accident to any of the patients. She fears the effect it will have on them, especially Minna, who has become quite dependent on Dr Geisler these past few weeks. We are to carry on as usual.’ She scrutinized my face as we spoke. ‘Can you do that? Because right now you look like death warmed up.’

  ‘Minna told me that harm would come to Dr Geisler.’ I whispered my words, as if saying them out loud would give them more weight.

  ‘That’s nonsense and you know it. Do not let that unstable woman influence your way of thinking.’

  ‘What happened, exactly?’

  ‘I don’t know. Bethany could hardly speak.’

  Eunice knocked on the door before she opened it and stepped into the room.

  ‘Excuse me, but do you know where Miss Bethany is?’

  ‘No,’ Mrs McDougal and I said in unison.

  Eunice knew something wasn’t right. She took one look at me and summed up the situation like a professional.

  ‘Sarah, you look like you need a brandy.’

  ‘Bethany’s out at the moment. Is there something I can help you with?’

  ‘Bethany told me to sit with Minna this afternoon when I finished my regular duties. I followed instructions, but Minna is not in her room. There’s no sign of her.’

  Since everyone believed Minna had been sleeping, no one knew for sure how long she had been missing. After her handbag and coat were discovered, along with her cigarettes and the silver lighter Dr Geisler had given her, Eunice became worried. Mrs McDougal organized a thorough search of the house. Two orderlies and the day maids, who worked for a service that provided cleaning to the Geisler Institute three days a week, were instructed to search the entire premises from top to bottom. They were to work in pairs, with the orderlies starting in the attic and the maids starting on the bottom floors.

  ‘Look in every nook and cranny, in every closet, every trunk big enough to hold a person, and under every bed,’ Mrs McDougal commanded as they went to task. I trailed behind the searchers, up to the third floor, but soon realized that my presence distracted them, so I wandered around the second-floor wing, where Minna and I had our bedrooms.

  I fidgeted in my room for a few minutes, pacing between the window and the door, anxious to do something. I went out into the corridor, thinking I would go downstairs and wait with Mrs McDougal, when Minna’s bedroom door squeaked open, and a gust of cold air met me.

  I stepped into the room and pulled the door shut behind me, so as not to be seen by any of the searchers. I said a silent prayer of gratitude to whoever had oiled its hinges. As before, chaos reigned. There were clothes piled on the floor and shoes tossed about, the vanity awash with the creams and potions Minna used to keep her skin so youthful. A tube of the crimson lipstick Minna favoured lay on its side, fully extended. I switched off the light and was just about to leave, when I heard a soft moan.

  ‘Minna?’ I switched the light back on, using its dim glow to guide me to the window. I threw the drapes open, bathing the room in the afternoon sun. Minna lay on the floor between her bed and the wall, an empty bottle of pills in her hand, as still as death, her face a frightful shade of grey.

  * * *

  ‘Somebody help. I’ve found her!’ I shouted into the corridor.

  Seconds later, Eunice Martin and another nurse burst into the room. Eunice assessed the situation and took charge. She beckoned to the two orderlies as they rushed in. With a choreographed ease, they manoeuvred the bed away from the wall, giving Eunice the room she needed to tend to Minna. She squatted down and peered into Minna’s eyes. She held her wrist, looked at her watch, and took her pulse. While she did this, the orderlies kicked aside the clothes that were scattered on the floor, forging a trail to the door.

  ‘She’s alive, but just barely.’ Eunice took the empty pill bottle from Minna’s hand, read the label, and stared at Minna for a good five seconds. ‘She’s taken barbiturates. Silly idiot.’ She stood up and got out of the way of the orderlies, who made quick work of moving Minna to the stretcher.

  ‘Miss Joffey, go and call a doctor. There’s a list of names and phone numbers in the notebook in my desk drawer. Start at the top of the list and keep calling until you reach someone who can be here within the next fifteen minutes. Meet me in the treatment room as soon as you can. If we can’t get a doctor here, we are going to have to perform the procedure ourselves.’

  ‘Yes, ma’am.’ Miss Joffey hurried away.

  With a nod from Eunice, the orderlies carried Minna out of the room. We stood aside to let them pass.

  ‘What are you going to do?’

  ‘If we get lucky, she’ll start to throw up. If she doesn’t, we’re going to pump her stomach.’

  ‘Shouldn’t we call an ambulance?’

  ‘We have twenty minutes to get the drugs out of her stomach. If we miss that window, she’ll die, so no, we will not be calling an ambulance.’ She left me alone in Minna’s room, with the bed askew and junk covering the floor. I stood there by myself until the musty smell made me ill. I opened the window, taking in gulps of the fresh spring air. When I turned towards the door, I saw a pink piece of paper wedged behind Minna’s headboard. With a feeling of dread, I picked it up and read it.

  ‘I’m sorry for what I did to Matthew. I cannot live with myself.’

  The letter had been fashioned from words cut out of a magazine, like the alleged letter from Gregory. Zeke and Cynthia believed Minna sent that letter to herself. I wondered what they would think of this one. I had read enough murder mysteries to know that suicides usually handwrite their last missive. If I planned to commit suicide, and I had taken the time to cut and paste my suicide note, I doubt I would have been very concerned about cleaning up the mess. Yet no evidence existed of this cut and paste project. In fact, the basket that held the magazines I’d found earlier was not even in the room.

  I tucked the note in my pocket and as best as I could, given its condition, surveyed the room for anything amiss. My gaze homed in on the pewter tray that sat on Minna’s dresser. The crystal water pitcher and one of the heavy Waterford tumblers had been taken away. I wondered why.

  * *
*

  Zeke’s reading lamp cast a circle of light into the otherwise dim corridor. He sat in one of the winged chairs, his injured leg propped up on a stool, a pencil tucked behind one ear. The newspaper lay folded on his lap. ‘You can come in, Sarah. I heard about Matthew’s accident and about Minna’s latest fiasco.’ He set the newspaper aside and leaned back in his chair. ‘I’m glad to see you.’

  ‘I’m still mad at you, but you’re the only one I can trust – at least about this.’ I stepped into his room and shut the door behind me. I took the note I’d found on Minna’s headboard out of my pocket and extended it to Zeke. ‘Read this. I don’t think she tried to kill herself.’

  He reached out and took the note from me. I was careful not to let our hands touch. Any physical contact with him would make me lose my reason. ‘I think Gregory Geisler is alive. I think he’s the man who delivers the linens to the hospital. I know it sounds crazy, but I found some pictures that I need you to see. The resemblance is remarkable, and given what’s been going on with Minna, I think this bears looking into.’

  ‘You believe her, don’t you?’

  ‘I do. I think there’s something going on here that we’re not seeing. Minna warned me that Dr Geisler was in danger, and look what’s happened. No one believed her. They dismissed her as crazy. She was right all along.’

  Zeke rearranged his leg on the pillow, wincing as he did so. ‘So what are your thoughts about the note?’

  ‘It’s meant to look like an apology for hurting Matthew, “I can’t go on living because of what I’ve done, et cetera, et cetera”, but I don’t buy it. There is no way Minna could’ve pushed Dr Geisler in front of that bus then returned to her room to cut and paste a suicide note. We would have found her sooner. I searched her room. I didn’t see any glue, scissors, or any evidence of her supposed cut and paste project today. And isn’t this sort of a note unusual? I don’t know much about suicide, just what I read in mysteries, but usually the note is handwritten. Even I know that. And – this may be important – the water pitcher and one of her glasses is missing. Maybe someone slipped her the drug and planted the note in her room.’

  ‘So you think this linen deliveryman is Gregory Geisler. Earlier today, he caused Dr Geisler to be in an accident. Maybe he even pushed him – we will have to see. Meanwhile, Gregory Geisler sneaks back here and puts drugs in Minna’s drinking water. He sets her up with a fake suicide note, hoping that her body will be discovered and all questions will be answered – that people will believe Dr Geisler’s crazy patient pushed him in front of a bus then tried to commit suicide. It’s a long shot, but it’s possible. And then in comes Sarah Bennett to save the day. If it weren’t for you, Sarah, that woman would be dead.’

  ‘What should we do?’

  ‘We need to contact the police,’ Zeke said. ‘I’ll call them. I’d like to get a look at this man you think is Gregory Geisler. Meanwhile, don’t say anything about this to anyone. Can you bring me the pictures you found?’

  I stood up, but before I could leave, Zeke grabbed my hand. ‘We need to talk. About us.’

  I pulled my hand away. ‘Not now.’

  ‘Now.’

  I shook his hand off, but he took it again and held it fast this time.

  ‘You’re just going to run away? Why don’t you stay here and talk this out with me?’

  ‘Fine.’ I turned around and went back to him. He beckoned me to sit down in the chair across from him. ‘I’ll stand.’

  ‘Hendrik Shrader is the ringleader of the group I infiltrated. One of his henchmen gave me these injuries. The documents I stole included a list of every single person he does business with. Some of the names on that list are prominent men with political clout and influence. His organization will go down. We’ll get all of them. When Hendrik found out about you – my Achilles’ heel, if you will – he used you to get to me. Do you remember the man I spoke to last October? Wade Connor?’

  I thought back to Bennett Cove and the mysterious man in the black car. Zeke had gone out of his way to keep his relationship with this man a secret.

  ‘Yes. I remember you didn’t want to tell me anything about him.’

  ‘I gave the book to him. He is arranging a sting to arrest Hendrik Shrader and all of his operatives at the same time. Meanwhile, I’m here to make sure that Minna is not working with her father – and to be with you, of course – but I do have an agenda.’

  ‘I can assure you Minna is not working for her father. Aunt Lillian said he’s a horrid man and that he and Minna fell out after Minna stood Gregory up at the altar. Mr Shrader tried to sue his daughter over her inheritance. Believe me, there is no love lost between those two.’

  ‘That’s a perfect cover story. Can’t you see that? No one would suspect that Minna would feel an allegiance towards her father. Minna could be here to find the book I stole or to report to her father about me. I don’t want you out by yourself, okay? It’s not safe. After Hendrik is arrested, you can do as you please, but I’m begging you now to be very careful. Minna is under the care of nurses. After the suicide attempt, they won’t leave her alone.’

  ‘I know you’ve got people following me and watching the house.’

  ‘I want to keep you safe, Sarah. Please believe me when I tell you that I never wanted to involve you in this.’ Zeke gave me a sad look, as though he carried the weight of the world on his already over-burdened shoulders. ‘Are you ready to end it with me? Look me in the eyes and tell me you don’t love me. Do that, and I will leave you alone.’

  Our eyes met. My heart broke with a tangible, physical ache.

  I couldn’t say the words. Not to Zeke. I would never stop loving him.

  Chapter Eleven

  A new nurse tended to Minna the next morning, an older lady with a hooked nose and tiny eyes. She wore the same light grey dress with the white apron and cap the other nurses wore, but her skirt hung a little longer and the soles of her shoes were a little thicker than theirs. She pulled a chair close to Minna’s bed, and I found her sitting in it, knitting something for a baby in a hideous shade of pink. She glared at me when I came into the room.

  I expected her to say something snappish and demand I leave, but to my surprise, her face broke into an inviting grin, transforming her countenance into one that welcomed rather than repelled.

  She peered at me. ‘You look as though you haven’t slept in weeks.’

  ‘I didn’t sleep well last night. It’s nothing. How is Minna?’

  ‘Resting. Would you like to sit with her for a few moments while I take a short break?’

  ‘Of course.’ I sat in the chair next to Minna’s bed.

  Minna lay on her side, her chest rising and falling with each breath.

  ‘Sarah?’ she whispered.

  ‘I’m here,’ I said. ‘What happened?’

  ‘I poured myself a glass of water. I was thirsty, so I gulped it down before realizing it tasted foul. The last thing I remember is going into the bathroom to pour it out. I woke up in a strange room, with that stupid nurse forcing me to drink some horrid vomit-inducing concoction …’ Her voice trailed off. She stared at me. ‘Why do you look so horrible? Have you not been sleeping?’

  I forced a smile. ‘You gave us quite a scare.’

  ‘Don’t change the subject. Why won’t you look me in the eye? Where’s Matthew? Why won’t anyone tell me where he is?’

  I took the alleged suicide note out of my pocket, unfolded it, and handed it to her.

  ‘This is unbelievable.’ She started to tear up the letter, but I snatched it out of her hands just in time. ‘I would never try to kill myself. You have to believe me. I just wouldn’t. Someone else wrote this …’ She tried to sit up. ‘I must go to Matthew. He needs to be warned. Gregory will come for him.’

  ‘Why?’

  My question took Minna aback.

  ‘You hinted that Gregory wants to harm Matthew, but you’ve never told me why.’

  ‘No.’ Minna shook her head.
‘That is not my story to tell. But where is he? Why won’t Matthew come to me?’

  ‘He’s in the hospital.’ I told Minna what had happened, sugar-coating the story so as not to upset her. I relayed the latest information that Mrs McDougal had shared. ‘He hit his head and may require surgery. Bethany is with him.’

  ‘Accident? Gregory’s come for us, just like I said he would. Maybe now people will take me seriously.’ She blew her nose. ‘I shouldn’t have come here. Matthew and Bethany have been so good to me.’

  ‘I think I know how he got in the house. I think I know who he is,’ I said.

  Minna needed to know the truth. She deserved at least that much. I took the photographs out of my pocket and laid them out on the bed.

  She picked up the picture of Matthew, Gregory, and her taken at the beach. She ran her finger over the image of her youthful self, as if touching it could connect her to the past in some small way.

  ‘Those were such happy times. At least I thought they were. But now that I look at this picture, I can see Gregory’s obsession.’ She turned the picture over on the bed.

  ‘Minna, does he remind you of anyone you’ve seen around here?’ I didn’t want to plant images in her mind.

  She turned the picture back over and stared at it for a few seconds. ‘No. Should it?’

  ‘I’m not sure yet.’ I grabbed her hand. ‘But I’m going to find out.’

  * * *

  I made steady progress through Dr Geisler’s handwritten notes. By my quick calculation, I had approximately six more weeks of work, maybe eight if I stretched it. Assuming, of course, Bethany wanted me to keep on working. I threaded another piece of onion skin into my typewriting machine and tried to work, but I couldn’t focus on Dr Geisler’s handwriting and kept making stupid errors.