Chapter 3
Detective Mara Hayes reopened the old file within twenty-four hours.
The original disappearance report said Celia left the mansion wearing:
A gray coat.
Flat shoes.
Her wedding ring.
And the jeweled bracelet.
That inventory had been provided by Althea.
Not Rourke.
Not a housekeeper.
Not Celia’s sister.
Althea.
The bracelet now found in the kennel contradicted the report.
Althea’s lawyer immediately argued that Celia could have removed it earlier, lost it, or returned secretly.
Possible.
But then Mara read the insurance file.
Two months after Celia vanished, Althea had helped submit a claim for missing personal jewelry because several pieces were allegedly gone with Celia.
The bracelet was on the list.
The insurer paid part of the claim to the marital estate after the waiting period.
Not a fortune.
But enough to create a written record.
Celia supposedly fled wearing jewelry that had been inside the Bellacourt property all along.
That was the first hard clue.
The child-protection investigator interviewed Posie with a specialist.
No leading questions.
No family members in the room.
Posie said Althea put her in the kennel “when important people came.”
“Why?”
“Because I say things wrong.”
“What things?”
“About Mommy.”
“What do you say about Mommy?”
Posie twisted the hem of her yellow dress.
“That she didn’t put me in there.”
The interviewer stayed still.
“Who did?”
“Aunt Althea.”
“Did that happen today?”
Posie nodded.
“Did it happen before?”
“A lot.”
“Before today?”
“Yes.”
“How long?”
Posie thought hard.
“Since I got big enough to remember.”
May you like
Then she said something that made the specialist pause.
“When I was little, Mommy opened the cage and cried.”
