"I'll pull, you push," he returned.
She did as he suggested, and fortunately, the armoire was empty, and they could move it away from the door. For a moment, she wondered if it might be locked, but the handle turned, and she pushed it open, seeing a dark hallway. She felt around for a light switch and flipped it on, light flooding the dusty corridor revealing closed doors on each wall. One still had a gold placard that read, "Office".
"It's the one on the left," Walter said, pointing to the other door.
She walked down the hall and opened the door, finding another light switch, which revealed a long table in front of a mirrored wall. "I think this is it," she said, shocked that they'd discovered this hidden room. They never would have found out it without Walter remembering the door.
Walter shuffled past her, an expression of awe in his eyes. "It's just like I remember."
As Walter put his hand on the dressing table and looked in the scratched mirror, she turned to Jax in amazement. "Can you believe this? I feel like this room has been untouched for decades. I can almost see the performers getting ready at the mirror."
"This is wild," he said. "I wonder when anyone was in here last."
"Probably a long time, considering the door was blocked by the armoire. Maybe Ellen didn't even realize it was here."
"There is some printing equipment." He tipped his head to some old machinery on a card table. "At some point, someone was in here."
She looked back at Walter, who was muttering words under his breath, as his gaze moved to the brick wall at the end of the long dressing table.
"There," he said, moving to the wall. He felt around the bricks, but none of them moved. "It has to be here."
A desperate note entered his voice, making her stomach twist into an anxious knot. She wanted Walter to find the loose brick as much as he did. She felt as though they were standing on the edge of a precipice of either triumph or horrific disappointment.
"It's been a long time," Jax said, trying to caution Walter that this part of the dream might not come true.
"It has to be here," he said as he continued to hunt for the loose brick.
It was hard to watch. She didn't know whether to stop him or help him, but it felt like this was something he had to do on his own.
Stressed, she found herself reaching for Jax's hand. He stiffened slightly but then wrapped his fingers around hers, sharing the anxious moment with her. She wanted the fairy-tale ending for Walter, but her pragmatic brain told her he probably wouldn't get it. And then what would they do?
"She said it was right by the mirror. Maybe it's on that wall." Walter turned from the side wall to the back wall and touched each brick, freezing when one wobbled. "Oh, my God!"
"Damn," Jax muttered, giving her a look of surprise.
"I hope it's not empty," she said in a hushed voice.
He squeezed her fingers in reply as they watched Walter tug at an old, crumbling brick. She was so nervous she couldn't even imagine how he was feeling. Walter finally freed the brick, and it slipped through his shaky fingers, crashing to the ground and revealing an opening behind it…
Chapter Ten
Jax couldn't breathe, his hand squeezing tightly around Kaia's fingers. He didn't know why he cared so much about an old man he didn't really know or a mystery that probably wouldn't have a good ending. But this dressing room had taken them all back in time. He could picture a beautiful woman sitting at the mirror, putting on her makeup, doing her hair, maybe even leaving something for her lover tucked behind an old brick.
"There's something in here," Walter said, reaching his hand into the space. He pulled out an envelope and stared at it, as if he couldn't trust what he was seeing.
Jax couldn't believe it, either.
Walter slowly turned and held up the envelope. His name was written on the outside. "She left it here, just like she said."
"What's inside?" Kaia asked.
"I—I don't know if I can look. Maybe this is enough."
"You've come this far, Walter," Kaia said. "Reina would want you to open it."
Walter turned to Jax. "What do you think?"
He hadn't expected the question, but he knew the answer. "Open it."
