I followed the sound past a row of high tables lined with an assortment of pots and brown stalks of all sizes and shapes. The hilt of a long shovel leaned against a cracked windowpane, and rope and duct tape lay on the ground. Oh God. I wanted to close my eyes against what I might find in a few steps.
The groan came from the ground near me, and I had to kneel to find the source. On her stomach, underneath one of the tables, was a groggy Katie Gilman. Her eyes, wild and frightened, looked up at me as she let out a tiny whimper, more pitiful than any scream she could’ve mustered.
“I’m okay, I’m okay,” Katie whispered to herself again and again as she began to cry harder. “I’m okay, I’m okay, I’m okay…”
The look of her helpless body lying there and the cries coming from her reminded me too much of my own mother on her worst days at the end. I crawled under the table and wrapped my arms around her shaking frame, rocking her back and forth.
“Shhhh… I’m here,” I said, not knowing what else I could offer this woman who had obviously been through a horrifying ordeal. Somehow Dr. Bellingham had lured her out there, planning to… to do who knew what to her. It made me sick to think what might’ve happened if we’d arrived a few minutes later.
Suddenly, I heard Sheriff Strong’s voice rising from the ground beneath us. He’d come out of the tunnel and was forcing Dr. Bellingham into a sitting position, pulling his hands behind him.
Summer and Jemma stood nearby as if ready to pounce again.
“This is none of your affair,” Dr. Bellingham protested as the sheriff began to handcuff him.
“You can stop talking now, or I can make you,” the sheriff said, surprising me with the disdain that replaced his usual stoicism. He despised this man as much as I did.
Dr. Bellingham let out a breath. “I want to speak with my lawyer.”
“In due time,” Charlie told him, his tone icy. He was angry, and Dr. Bellingham knew it.
Katie’s cries quieted even though the look of terror remained. “He said… he told me…” She stopped and caught her breath.
“Take your time,” I said softly.
“Jim… he said that he… he put the crown in your aunt’s room… and he…” She caught her breath again. “He killed Mr. Finch.”
It was the confirmation I needed. I looked at the sheriff, who nodded to signal that he’d heard.
“I know,” I told her as she broke into a sob. “You’re all right now.”
“My guys are right behind,” the sheriff said loudly enough for all of us to hear. “We’ll get Bellingham down to the station and finish this thing. Good work, ladies.”
It was three words, but three words that echoed both in the greenhouse and in my mind as I kept one arm around Katie’s shoulder. I had the sudden realization of what Dr. Bellingham’s arrest would mean: Aunt DeeDee would be released.
I stifled a tight cry as I attempted to keep the tears at bay. My aunt would be safe and all would be right in this strange little pageant world. I let out a heavy breath I’d been holding. I hadn’t heard such good news in a long time. If I could still place in this pageant, then I could keep Momma’s house and restart my life. My heart might explode before the weekend was out.
It took a few minutes for the other police to arrive and twice during that time, the sheriff congratulated us on our detective skills as well as on the physical work of capturing Dr. Bellingham, who continued to request his lawyer.
While the sheriff and his deputy took Dr. Bellingham into custody, and Summer and Jemma stayed near Katie, I decided to take a quick look around this part of the property to ensure that the archives were as we’d left them that afternoon.
I hurried to the original house and to the back room where the archives were kept. The light from a flashlight I’d found shone across the boxes, and I looked over my shoulder, almost anticipating someone following me. No one was there, but one of the boxes—the one labeledMisc.—was overturned and empty.
SATURDAY—UPDATED SCHEDULE
THE ROSE PALACE PAGEANT SCHEDULE: DAY 4
Note: In light of recent events, the schedule for Saturday has been altered to accommodate a late start. Notably, Jemma’s workout has been cancelled, and a substitute judge has been appointed for this year’s show: Savilla Finch will fill in for Dr. James Bellingham.
BREAKFAST: 8 to 10 a.m. Available for pick-up at the 1940s tent.
“THROUGH THE DECADES CENTENNIAL SHOW”: Noon. Gates will open for pageant attendees, contestants’ families and friends, and the public to take part in the celebration of the pageant across the past century. Contestants should report to their tent fifteen minutes before their scheduled performance. Do not be tardy.
CALL TIME FOR SHOW: 6 p.m.
PAGEANT: 7 p.m. Begins with the ball gown portion before moving into the talent showcase and ending with a combination of swimsuit and interview.
Dakota’s To-Do List:
