by Laura Greene
Tina hands Amy the makeshift key and walks into the room. The paper clip looks nothing like a key, yet it opened the door. Amy is astounded and holds onto the souvenir.
Nick’s small, but spacious studio apartment is surprisingly clean and organized for a bachelor's pad. As Tina would expect, on the shelves are various Bibles and spiritual books, and they are color-coded by cover. Just below them, is a second shelf hoisting alphabetized and dated folders, followed by a slew of gadgets neatly stacked and labeled according to their edition and release date. The only information she has gathered thus far is that Nick is meticulous and orderly.
It’s a little strange for Tina to see this side of Nick, considering how free-spirited and carefree he has acted when he is with her.
Thinking back on their previous interactions, Tina then sees that the signs were there all along. At Mademoiselle’s on their date, Nick took his silverware and fixed its placing a few times before settling on which utensil he would use for his desert. It was weird, but she thought he was just nervous about going out and having dinner with her, so she didn’t pay too much attention to it.
Maybe he uses his humor to hide the fact that he is really a stickler for details, she thinks.
Tina exhales a sigh of relief. If this is the worst of Nick, then she doesn’t mind at all. He is already ahead of most of the men she has dated in the past. She wonders what it will be like to date someone who is neater than her. Then she realizes, if she doesn’t find Nick, none of her daydreaming will come true.
“Have you found anything yet?” Amy says while she is opening a clothes drawer. Her back is turned away from Tina where she is standing on the opposite corner of the room.
“No, you?” Tina says without turning around. There is slight frustration in her voice.
“Me neither,” Amy responds. “I did notice that we might be making a habit of rummaging through people’s rooms.
They both giggle at the hobby they have in common.
Tina walks beside the bed, which is stretched so tightly she can bounce a penny off its duvet cover. She sees a crease on the bottom left edge of the bed, which she follows. It brings her around the left corner of the bed where one thing catches Tina’s eye: there’s a document peeking out from just under the bed. It’s a minor, but unusual discovery for such a neat home. As she picks up the item sticking out from under the bed, what appears out of place is a file.
While Tina peruses the file, she hears something slide from under the bed. Tina pulls out the file, and with it slides out a stack of papers spread out in a box. This could be helpful, she thinks, carefully piling the papers together.
“What’s that?” Amy says. She turns around when she hears the box of files drag on the floor.
“Looks like trash to me.” Tina says as she holds up a crumpled piece of paper. Amy returns to searching again, but Tina lingers with the “box of trash”.
From what she has seen so far, it’s unlike Nick to carelessly leave a file stuffed under his bed. Unless, he had to leave quickly or someone came in and cleaned up after him. From what she saw on the CCTV camera, Nick walked out of his apartment calmly; either he was hiding his urgency from any prying eyes or someone really did rummage through these papers after he left.
Under the crumpled paper is a brochure of Marble House Tours.
Aww, she thinks, was Nick planning to take me there soon? Her heart warms up at his sweet gesture. He talked about the mansion in depth and even asked her if she had gone there before. She hadn’t.
After all this is over, touring Marble House with Nick is exactly what she would like to do.
Next, she finds records of counseling sessions Nick had with some of the students. Now, this alarms Tina. She looks up at the shelves above and reads a file titled, “Back-up of Counseling Sessions/Notes”. Considering how techy he is, the original file is probably on a computer somewhere, but why would he have these specific notes hidden under the bed or pulled out of the folder at all? Tina thinks.
The first one, as she suspected, is of Anna Grayson, the second one, is of sessions with Ella Conwell, then, the list of girls who died continues. She notices that they’re not even full files. In fact, they are only papers of their last two sessions with him before they died.
Why didn’t Nick tell me he was investigating the girls? Tina worries Nick may have been withholding evidence, or worse yet, involved.
She hones in on notes from Ella’s file. They record moments when she would confide in Nick about the voices and ask if she was going crazy; they even note how she saw Anna go through the same process and her worry that she might be next. Why didn’t he say anything? Tina wonders. The students were disclosing enough information to warrant reasonable doubt, in the least, but Nick did not help them. She’s not sure what to believe anymore. Did I jump in too quickly? Was Nick not who I thought he was? The questions spin in her head and unfortunately, her head offers no answers. She must hunt through the papers, further, if she is to unearth a reason for Nick’s secrecy.
Under the counseling notes, is a printed receipt paid by Nick. It is made out to Jessy at a private investigating company in New Orleans. The name at the top is, “Mayweather & Co. Detective Agency”.
It’s as if she did not know him at all. Tina clings to the paper as the questions begin to bubble up inside her. What frustrates her more is that Nick is not here to answer any of them. Why was he talking to private investigators? Did he find out something? Is that why he disappeared?
To Tina, it seems Nick was close to figuring something out. But, as the questions arise, her temperature boils up inside. She purses her lips to keep her thoughts sealed up, but she does this a little too late, because one word does escape, “Why…?”
“Huh? What did you say Tina?” Amy responds from the kitchenette where she is now opening cupboards and searching behind appliances.
“Why do you think Nick left so quickly?” Tina tries to cover up her mishap.
“I don’t know. He was probably dodging the students’ accusations.”
“Hmm, maybe.” Tina mumbles under her breath.
“Are you almost done over there?”
“Almost.” Tina says as she reads the paper from the private investigating company. The last thing she wants to do is write Nick off without giving him a chance to explain himself. An idea forms in her mind, “Actually, Amy, would you please check who else was absent from the tenth to the fourteenth and the seventeenth until now?” What Tina does not state is that these dates are specifically when Ella and then Nick, were out of school.
It’s an odd request; Amy’s face alone is confirming that. But, Amy makes the call to Judy, her assistant.
Meanwhile, Tina observes that Nick’s favorite brown shoes are near the door. She knows this because he is one of those guys that wears dress shoes everywhere and with everything. It’s very old school of him and the students make fun of him, but he doesn’t mind and she likes that about him. Without knowing Nick well, it’s the one way anyone can tell that he’s really an old soul in a young body.
He wore those everywhere, she thinks. Her face is void of color as she contemplates this seemingly unimportant piece of evidence to the unobservant eye. He wouldn’t leave without them.
Amy returns with news about who was absent from the school on the dates requested, though she is still uncertain why it matters. And just as Tina thought, her suspicions are confirmed. Only one person other than Ella or Nick was absent on all the dates. It’s Charlie.
As a detective, it’s Tina’s job to piece together the evidence and reconstruct a plausible remake of prior events. She thinks for a moment and synthesizes a hypothesis, What if Nick was in the middle of analyzing these papers and left to go meet someone outside? Perhaps he thought he would come back in a few moments to finish what he started working on, but never got the opportunity.
The thought of Nick being abducted fills Tina’s heart with dread. Her mouth feels dry, she could use a drink of water or something
to soothe her anguish, but she continues with her theory. Then, if this really is an inside job, someone might have come in later and hid or cleaned up the evidence.
Just then, it dawns on her. These papers are not randomly stacked at all, they are the evidence that Nick was working with. Knowing Nick, it’s what makes the most sense to her right now, even though she can’t quite place where Marble House fits in.
She gasps, understanding forming on her face. When Nick disappeared, he was following a lead!
Content with her current construct, Tina returns to the papers now neatly bundled in her hand. The question for her now is, Was this done by a lone wolf or are there more culprits? Until she can gather more evidence, she must continue working in secrecy.
Chapter 2
“Can you please explain to me why we have to walk in these unkempt bushes at such a horrid hour? I don’t know if something will bite me or if I’ll die from frost!” Amy says as she tightens her navy blazer around her waist, then rubs her arms to avoid goose pimples forming.
Her and Tina are walking in the woods behind the school. They left Nick’s apartment in a hurry, under the guise that they would be back in no time; little did they know that the cold would not be so forgiving. The grass is rustling under them and the chill of the night is slowly creeping through Tina’s coat and nipping at her arms. She, at least, is better dressed for the conditions. Picking up the pace to a more brisk walk, Amy leads the duo to the water tower.
“If Charlie was not vacationing somewhere, I’m sure he would have this path looking prim and proper.” Tina shouts loud enough for Amy to hear her.
“For goodness sake, Tina. The boy needed a vacation. I didn’t think we would need him because none of the students play in the woods this close to winter break, and especially not at night.” She darts a stern look of disapproval at Tina as she says this. Again, Amy tightens her blazer and Tina wonders how much more tightening the stitches can handle.
Amy turns around, abruptly, having made her tantalizing point clear, when a branch appears out of nowhere and knocks her to the ground. Her hands fly into the air as she falls down. Only inches behind Amy, Tina narrowly dodges the branch, but drops to the ground to avoid its return swing.
Startled by the sudden hit, Amy sits up and asks, “What happened?” She swerves her head back and forth, trying to identify the flying object that hit her.
“I think your blazer just got a little reprieve is what happened.” Tina says as she holds up the edge of the hem with two fingers. They burst into laughter.
“I guess that’s what I get for giving you the look of death earlier. Here,” Amy holds her hand up, “help me up. The water tower is just up ahead.”
“Sure,” Tina supports Amy to her feet. “So, tell me. How long has Charlie been gone for?”
“Since you left for Martha’s Vineyard.” Amy dusts herself off and begins her brisk walk afresh.
Tina pauses for a moment, realizing the timing of when Charlie left placed him on Martha’s Vineyard island around the time Ella was attacked. So, it was Charlie who came after Ella! She speculates – the pieces of the puzzle starting to come together. But why was Ella hesitant when she saw Nick come get her from the top of the tower? As much as she wants to think the best of Nick, she can’t help but wonder, Was he involved?
They arrive at the tower and Tina promptly dashes for the stairs, then, up the tower. Since Ella tried to jump from there, Tina has requested tape and a fencing be placed around the tower to at least slow down and hopefully deter any who might think to follow suit.
She instructs Amy to wait for her, then she climbs over the fencing to get to the stairs. As she tries to understand the mind of the man behind the killings, Tina recalls Janet saying Charlie’s dad asked her to jump from the top of the roof. Maybe standing where the victims stood will give me a better understanding of what they saw or went through.
Nothing stands out to her atop the tower. No inspiration comes flooding in.
“Anything?” Amy shouts from the bottom of the tower.
“No.” It’s dark and there’s not much within view apart from vast darkness.
“Well, let’s go before we freeze to death.”
Tina casts one more look, but this time afar. In the distance, she sees the top of Marble House staring at her. The Christmas lights glimmer, and in her mind it’s no coincidence that she saw it. Tina remembers that Nick had a picture of Marble House in his files. It wasn’t a coincidence, it was a clue.
She races down the tower and snatches Amy’s hand. “Come on!” She shouts as they rush to Marble House.
*
During the winter, Marble House offers evening tours for guests who want to enjoy a more festive experience. Tina and Amy arrive just as the crowd control stanchions are being put away from the entryway. The final tour of the day is already underway.
“I think we’re too late for the tour Tina. We can come back...”
“Excuse me ma’am. FBI. We need to access this venue please.”
A timid, teenage girl obviously working a seasonal job to earn a little extra cash looks up at Tina and says, “Of course, Detective. Please know, we will be closing shortly after the final tour ends.”
“Thank you, we won’t be long.”
Amy tags along behind Tina who leads the way into Marble House. The inside is more majestic than words can express. Tina can see why Nick talked so highly of it. Everywhere she turns, there is gold gilded on all the furniture. The chandelier is gold and crystal, the stairs are gold, the frames and support beams are also gold. For a moment, Tina wishes she could have lived in the gilded age. She is especially mesmerized by the dual stairway.
Echoing down the stairs, she hears the chipper voice of a female tour guide saying, “This is the stairwell where we began our tour. I have one more item to show you then we’ll open up the floor for any questions you have.”
“Come on, Amy. Let’s look around before they close. I think we might find a clue that will lead us to Nick.”
“Here?” Amy’s eyes are wide with surprise. “Really?”
“You have to trust me on this. You go that way,” Tina says as she points to the stairs leading to the left wing of the mansion and I’ll take the other stairwell to this wing.” They split up and cautiously pass the tour guide as she descends down the stairs with her group.
Each room is thoughtfully decorated and themed to the era. She sees beautiful paintings of the Vanderbilt family members artfully placed in various rooms. Chandeliers are on every floor and gold is everywhere in sight. Towering candles, dome shaped windows with stained glass paintings and decorated ceilings add light to the deep red walls and dark wood of the late 1800s. Tina wishes she could pause to take in the sights, but she must again bypass her bucket list item to focus on her case.
On one of the floors, she arrives at a deluxe bathroom. In the middle of the room is a bathtub and on the taps, she sees signs indicating that one tap releases cold water, another hot water and a third, bath salts. Can I have one of these in my house? Tina thinks. She has been so busy with the case, that she hasn’t had time to relax much.
She walks from one set of double doors that lead from a master bedroom into the bathroom and exits out of another door leading into a study. This would be my favorite room, she thinks as she sneaks a mini tour into her investigation. A large fireplace decorated with bronze animal statues and a grand mirror faces her directly.
In the middle of the room is a desk with glass overlay and a gold gilded chair with green upholstery, seated under yet another chandelier. Decorating the desk, is a statue of a sculpted man, though she is not sure who the man is yet. The walls in this room are gold from top to bottom, with glass shelves. Along the far wall is a library of books that seems to be calling Tina.
Tina answers the call of the library. As she caresses the books one by one along the wall, she decides to pull a book out for a closer look. Gently, she delicately draws out a book, careful to preserve its
timeless pages, then, like an old murder mystery, the floor under her quivers and she ironically disappears behind the library.
Still holding onto her one memento of the room where she once stood, Tina finds herself hurled to the ground and rolling down a short set of creaky stairs. When she looks up, the library is gone, as is the study; she is on some dusty floor and she is holding onto her book. Did I really just pull a book out that led into a secret passageway? She asks herself, Maybe accidents like this are the reason why we’re not supposed to touch any of the artifacts in a museum.
(What Tina did not see, was a person quietly walking into the room behind her and pulling a lever that trapped her behind the library.)
Everything around her is dark and morbid. There is no way she wants to be stuck down here with no light, especially this close to the mansion closing. She steps on the old stairs, one at a time, careful to not break their fragile wooden bars. When she succeeds to the top of the stairs, she bangs loudly on the wall, shouting, “Help! Help! I’m stuck in here! Amy! Amy, I’m here! Anybody there? Help!”
