Chapter 5 - THE HAND IN THE WHITE ROSES
Theodore watched twenty-seven recordings from the memorial.
Most showed the same thing.
White flowers.
Mourners.
Sebastian greeting donors.
Eleanor standing beside the coffin with perfect posture.
The locket remained visible until 9:42 in the morning.
At 9:44, Eleanor leaned over Rosalie.
She appeared to kiss her forehead.
Her gloved hand disappeared beneath Rosalie’s hair.
When she straightened, the silver chain was gone.
Eleanor walked toward the white-rose arrangement near the east windows.
She touched one flower.
Then returned to the mourners.
Theodore showed the clip to Detective Ellis.
Police searched the roses.
They found nothing.
The flowers had been removed after the ambulance left.
Estate staff said Eleanor ordered them taken to the private conservatory.
Theodore knew the conservatory better than anyone.
He had spent years hiding there whenever Vale dinners became unbearable.
Eleanor cultivated rare orchids behind locked glass doors.
She trusted plants because they did not contradict her.
Police requested a warrant.
The family attorneys delayed it.
Sebastian could have authorized the search as estate owner.
He hesitated again.
“The conservatory contains foundation records.”
“Then the police will see them,” Theodore said.
“There are donor files protected by confidentiality.”
“Rosalie woke inside a coffin.”
“The donors can survive embarrassment.”
Sebastian signed the authorization.
They entered the conservatory shortly before midnight.
Warm, wet air covered Theodore’s skin.
Orchids climbed iron frames beneath the curved glass roof.
Eleanor stood at the center table cutting dead leaves from a white plant.
She did not appear surprised.
“You brought police into my private rooms.”
Sebastian looked at her.
“Where is Rosalie’s locket?”
“I have no idea.”
Detective Ellis showed her the recording.
Eleanor watched herself remove the chain.
She did not blink.
“It was loose.”
“I placed it somewhere safe.”
“Where?”
“I no longer remember.”
Theodore walked toward the white orchids.
The soil beneath one pot had been disturbed.
He pushed his fingers into it.
Eleanor dropped the shears.
“Do not touch that plant.”
Theodore pulled the silver locket from the damp soil.
Eleanor’s face remained composed.
Only her hands betrayed her.
They began trembling.
Detective Ellis opened the locket carefully.
The compartment was empty.
“The drive is gone,” Rosalie said later from the video call.
Eleanor had removed it before hiding the jewelry.
Police searched every drawer.
They found no microdrive.
They did find a key taped beneath the orchid table.
The key opened a cabinet inside Eleanor’s office.
The cabinet contained death certificates.
Thirty-two of them.
Every person had lived inside a facility supported by the Vale Foundation.
Dr. Mercer had signed each certificate.
Cardiac failure.
Respiratory collapse.
Natural causes.
The oldest document was dated six years earlier.
One name on the list made Sebastian sit down.
May you like
Gideon Vale.
Their father.
