“This comports with what Celia told us about the brief time she and May spent apart, although Celia said nothing about a man accosting May during that period,” I say, to which Agatha replies, “Perhaps May never told Celia.”
“But why wouldn’t she?” I ask, speaking mostly to myself. A murmur passes through the women as they ponder the same question. Why would May keep this information from Celia?
When no one proffers a plausible answer, I continue. “We uncovered a few more important items during our time with May’s sisters and Celia. In the box of May’s belongings brought to Mrs. Davis’s home from the hospital housing, there were two silk dresses by Madame Isobel—”
Margery interjects, “Ooo—Madame Isobel dresses are lovely but very pricey.”
“Exactly,” Ngaio says. “They’d be far outside the range of a nurse’s salary. Plus the family is not well-to-do. This raises the question of where May got them.”
“Also in that box, Ngaio and I discovered two hidden items,” I say.
“What did you find?” Emma sits erect, scooting to the very edge of her seat.
Ngaio goes first. “In the pocket of one of the Madame Isobel dresses, we found tickets to a West End show,Cavalcade,dated August 20.”
“How could May afford those tickets?” Margery asks. “Trainee nurses make practically nothing.”
“Our question exactly,” Ngaio says.
I chime in. “Agatha and I got some answers to that question and more when we interviewed Celia.”
“Yes,” Agatha says. “It seems as though May had a ‘friend’ who gave her the tickets. May took Celia with her when the friend couldn’t attend the performance with May.”
“The same friend who gifted her the pricey Madame Isobel gowns?” Emma asks.
I glance at Agatha; we’d discussed this extensively after we left Celia. “We strongly suspect that might be the case. But Celia does not know the identity of this friend.”
Margery asks the question we are all thinking. “Could it be the elusive beau?”
“Perhaps,” Agatha says. “Celia believed May had a suitor, but May would not share his name. After the show, May’s ‘friend’ asked her to go backstage and thank someone for the tickets.”
“Did Celia meet this person?” Ngaio asks.
“No. May insisted that she go alone. She was gone a long time, and when she finally reunited with Celia, her mood was off,” I say.
“Do we know what happened?” Ngaio persists.
“May refused to talk about it,” Agatha answers.
Emma is thoughtful. “This certainly supports our suspicions that May had a boyfriend or paramour of some sort. Someone who gave her expensive clothes and theater tickets and—”
Margery interrupts. “Got her pregnant.”
“Perhaps,” Agatha says. “Let’s add the August theater visit to the timeline.”
Standing up, I add in pencil:
August 20: May and Celia attendCavalcade,using tickets given by a mysterious ‘friend.’ May visits a friend of this ‘friend’ backstage.
The women silently cogitate over these developments. But we are far from done, and Emma realizes it.
“What was the second object you found among May’s belongings?” she asks.
“In the binding of a family Bible, we found aDaily Heraldarticle from October 2 tucked away,” I explain.
“What was it about?” Margery asks. “The play? Someone she knew?”
“A missing girl,” I say slowly.
