“I asked Ottilie that very same question, and she told me that the captain didn’t trust his staff. He did, however, trust Ottilie, hence the reason we returned to the castle and found a trunk stuffed with maps waiting for us.”
“Did you ever get an opportunity to study these maps?”
Fenna released a sigh. “Best friend or not, Ottilie was somewhat territorial when it came to treasure maps, so I’m afraid, other than catching a peek at some roughly drawn areas with Xs marked in red, I didn’t see anything that might help determine exactly where she went, or what map she might have been perusing, although ... I think wherever she went, Captain Harvey went with her.” She gave a bob of her head. “I know for a fact that Ottilie asked Norbert to send a telegram to Captain Harvey, which means Norbert knew what that telegram saidsince he placed it for your aunt. And then, after Ottilie received a return telegram from the captain, she began to pack for a new adventure, but she was rather close-lipped, telling me it was a spur-of-the-moment adventure but that she wouldn’t be gone more than seven months, eight at the most.”
“And you believe that she left on this spur-of-the-moment trip because she thought she’d found a genuine treasure map?”
“Indeed.”
“And you also think Norbert knew this and wanted the castle to himself in order to find a copy of this map?”
“Indeed again, and before you ask, know that Ottilie always made copies of her maps, and would leave at least one copy behind in case something went wrong.”
“Where would my aunt have left this copy?”
“I would guess she left it in that trunk I already mentioned,” Fenna said. “I was hoping she’d given the trunk to William Baumgartner, and so I was going to ask him about it, or at least ask him if he knew where Ottilie had sailed off to, when I went to seek his permission for access to the castle. As I said, though, he’d already left town.”
“If I’m understanding correctly, you believe that Norbert’s responsible for Aunt Ottilie’s disappearance, as well as the disappearance of her solicitor, whom I’m not exactly certain is missing as Rhenick asked the manager of Ottilie’s bank to get word to him regarding my arrival in Chicago. That man, if I’m not mistaken, never gave Rhenick the impression he would be unsuccessful getting that word to Mr. Baumgartner.”
Fenna arched a brow Rhenick’s way. “I suppose the question of the hour now is whether that manager heard back from Mr. Baumgartner.”
Rhenick shook his head. “I’ve not received any word from the manager, but it’s not as if much time has elapsed.”
Fenna grabbed hold of Drusilla’s hand and gave it a squeeze. “I would think the bank would have sent Mr. Baumgartner atelegram, which takes no time at all to be delivered. That he never responded to that telegram suggests that he may very well be missing since I’m sure he would have arrived back in town lickety-split if he knew you were here, or at the very least, sent you a telegram acknowledging that he’s aware you’re in Chicago.”
“A valid point.”
Fenna gave Drusilla’s hand another squeeze. “Indeed, and that means you can’t very well open your academy until you get to the bottom of this nasty business because—what if Norbert hasn’t found that trunk yet? That would mean he’s still searching the castle for it, and is undoubtedly more than annoyed that you’ve shown up because he doesn’t have unlimited access inside the castle to roam around, searching at his leisure.”
She sent Drusilla a knowing look. “Surely you’ll agree that it would be highly inappropriate to host young ladies in the Merriweather Castle knowing that you may very well have a possible murderer on the loose, and a murderer who may be responsible for the disappearance of numerous people to date.”
Twenty-Eight
Rhenick settled his attention on Drusilla, who’d closed her eyes the moment they began trundling away from the church in the open landau he’d chosen to bring out today, done so because Drusilla had spent most of the past month enclosed in the castle.
There was little doubt that she was just as concerned as he was regarding their recent exchange with Fenna, that idea reinforced when she took that moment to release a sigh.
Drusilla wasn’t a lady prone to sighing, but that she was doing so now suggested she was currently revisiting everything Fenna had disclosed, as well as revisiting the fact that Fenna, when Drusilla had suggested she travel with them to the castle in order to get to the bottom of the matter with Norbert, had adamantly refused.
Not only had she refused, she’d told Drusilla that she would only step foot in the castle if Norbert was no longer there, or better yet, if he were safely jailed behind bars, where he’d be incapable of doing away with her exactly like Fenna believed he’d done away with Ottilie.
If all that hadn’t been concerning enough, Rhenick, directly after Fenna had accused Norbert of doing away with Ottilie, had spotted the groundskeeper standing on the far side of thechurchyard, his eyes narrowed on Fenna. Given that Norbert had last been seen manning the front gate, and had told Rhenick not to worry about the castle as he had the safeguarding of it well in hand, it was clear that something was amiss.
It hadn’t taken long before Norbert realized Rhenick had spotted him, but instead of joining them with an explanation regarding why he was at church instead of watching over the castle, Norbert simply turned and melted into the crowd without a word.
“I’m afraid Fenna Larkin is right,” Drusilla suddenly said, drawing Rhenick from his thoughts.
“About what?”
“That it would be irresponsible for me to open the academy right now, what with the serious allegations she tossed Norbert’s way.” She blew out another sigh. “Even if she’s way off the mark about Norbert having anything to do with Aunt Ottilie’s disappearance, or William Baumgartner’s for that matter, the fact remains that both of them are missing. Add in the notion that someone wants everyone to believe the castle is haunted and I can no longer avoid the fact that this is not an opportune time to invite students into a castle that’s plagued with issues that could very well turn dangerous.”
She caught Rhenick’s eye. “You’re the one who warned me that there are men out there who’ll go to extreme lengths to get what they want, and men who are probably behind the ghost infestation. And while I’m still determined to retain possession of the castle, I can’t open the academy in the hopes that it will simply cause all these developers to give up and leave me alone. What if they’re just biding their time until my defenses are down? If that’s the case, logic suggests they’ll turn more threatening, which means that until we sort out all these mysteries, which seem to be stacking up around us, the Merriweather Academy for Young Ladies will need to be put on hold.”
Seraphina, who was sitting beside Drusilla, took off her spectaclesand tucked them into her reticule. “I hate to have to say this, given how much work everyone has done to get the castle in order, but until we get to the bottom of everything, I don’t believe we should open our doors next week either.”
Drusilla turned her attention to Annaliese, who was sitting beside Rhenick. “What do you think?”
Annaliese tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and frowned. “I think a delay is necessary as well. We certainly can’t expect to run an academy effectively, something we’ve never done before in the first place, with so many obstacles plaguing us, the most troubling one being if we were to discover that Norbert truly is a madman and does something mad while classes are in session.”
