The Shadow Box(54)

“Dear, it’s better to leave some things in the past.”

“Did anything bad happen down there, in Mexico?” I asked, trying to keep my voice from shaking. “Everyone said Ellen got depressed after she got back.”

She looked away. “We were all rattled that last day at the resort.”

“Why?” I asked.

“A girl drowned,” she said. “She worked at the hotel—a chambermaid, I think. An American girl, only about twenty years old. We’d all seen her around; she was very friendly. Ellen took it hard—we all did.”

My hands were shaking; I had to clasp them under the table so Leonora wouldn’t see.

“How did she drown?” I asked.

“I don’t know, darling. She went swimming after dark. A riptide, I suppose,” Leonora said. “Now, listen to me.”

“What is it, Leonora?” I asked.

“These are family secrets,” she said. “Griffin told Wade that he has never discussed them with you. Is that true?”

“Yes,” I said.

“But did you learn about Cancún from someone else?” she asked.

“Only that Ellen went,” I said. “Not Griffin. I’m very surprised to hear it now.”

“Griffin has told us that you’ve been saying things about Ellen’s death. That it might not have been an accident.”

“It might not have been,” I said.

“Two things,” she said. “Very important. First, you must stop saying that. It hurts Griffin. Second, do you realize what trouble you could be stirring up for him politically? Wade is very concerned that you might talk about it to outsiders.”

“Leonora, why wasn’t Ellen’s death investigated?” I asked, remembering how Griffin told me he’d been questioned by Police Commissioner Morgan, a friend of the Lockwoods’, with Wade present.

“Because we protect our own,” she said. She grabbed my hand. At first it felt like a loving gesture, but then she began squeezing harder, until it hurt. I looked into her eyes and saw pure ice. “We are a family, whether related by blood or not. Every family has its secrets. And I expect you to keep ours. Your husband is going to be governor.”

I tried to yank my hand away, but she squeezed it tighter.

“Many people have invested in Griffin. He is going to win.”

“Leonora, you’re hurting me . . .”

She continued, ignoring me. “There is too much at stake for you to be throwing ridiculous accusations about. You have no idea—this movement to elect your husband is so much bigger than you. The boys are on board one hundred percent. We are going to protect Griffin from anyone who threatens this campaign. I need you to understand that.”

Tires crunched on the driveway, and I heard the garage door creaking up. Leonora heard it too and smiled. She dropped my hand.

“The boys are back home,” she said. Her face was suddenly pleasant again, her tone warm, as if those poisonous words had not just fallen from her mouth.

And the door between the kitchen and garage opened, and Griffin, Wade, and Alexander walked in. I quietly left the room and walked into the hall. I stared down at Fingerbone—at everything I had gathered from the tidal pool where the tide had taken Ellen, at the skeletal hand I had created from bare twigs. Leonora’s words rang in my ears; the bones in my hand hurt from her grip. I hadn’t realized how badly I was shaking.

Leonora’s attempt to warn me off had the opposite effect. I wanted to shove the truth of what I planned to do into her face, all of theirs. I lifted the shadow box and started back toward the kitchen.

I heard Wade telling Leonora that the EMTs had listened to Alexander’s heart and lungs, and by the time they got to the emergency room, Alexander decided he was completely fine and refused to go inside.

“He decided to just come home,” Griffin said. “So he got into Ben’s squad car, and here we are.”

“You Chase men are too tough,” Leonora said. “Alexander, you should have gotten checked out and had X-rays.”

“I didn’t want to go in the first place,” Alexander said. “Claire’s the one who called.”

“You’re lucky to have such a caring stepmother,” Wade said.

“He is indeed,” Leonora said. “Right, Griffin?”

“Absolutely,” Griffin said.

That was my cue. I entered the kitchen and placed my shadow box down on the white marble counter.

“What’s that?” Wade asked.

“It’s a piece I’m about to deliver to the gallery for my show,” I said. “It’s dedicated to you, Griffin. Come look, everyone.”

They all crossed the room and stared down into the tidal pool I had created. I saw all four of them—Griffin, Alexander, Leonora, and Wade—take in the sight of mussel and crustacean shells. Could Griffin hear the sound of crabs tearing at dead flesh? He stared into the world I had created, at the hand, at the Roman coin I had bought on eBay.

“What an honor to have your wife dedicate a work of art to you!” Wade said. “This is marvelous! Just fantastic.”

“Can’t you see what it is?” Leonora asked through gritted teeth. “I just told her to keep her ideas to herself and now this. Garbage.”