Chapter 8 - The Housekeeper's Warning
Grace Park had worked for our family for eleven years. She had known Emily before she knew me, and she had never once raised her voice in my house. When I asked her about the blue scarf, she turned pale and started folding a dish towel that was already folded.
"Grace, I need the truth."
She looked toward the stairs. "Mrs. Vaughn asked me to take a package to the garden door on Thursday. She said it was personal and I wasn't to mention it. I refused because I didn't know what was in it. Then she told me I could lose my job for making trouble."
"What kind of package?"
"A flat envelope. Cream-colored. She had it under her arm when she came in. Later, I saw her near the pool gate."
"Did you see her open it?"
"No. I heard the latch. I was in the laundry room. When I came to the window, she was already walking away. Then I heard the splash and ran outside. Nora was pulling Lily toward the steps."
I gripped the counter. "Why didn't you tell me?"
Grace's eyes filled. "You were shouting at Nora. Ms. Vaughn was crying. I thought you'd ask me what I saw when you calmed down. Then she told me that if I spoke, she'd say I had stolen jewelry from Mrs. Emily's room."
The threat sounded absurd until Grace showed me a text on her phone. It read: Keep your mouth shut about the pool. I can make sure Daniel knows what you took.
May you like
The message had been sent from Celeste's number at 4:02 p.m., twelve minutes after Lily fell.
Grace had been with Emily during the last months of her life. She said Emily never accused anyone directly, but she had begun keeping copies of every invoice and locking her study before she went to bed. "She was afraid of being called paranoid," Grace said. "So she gathered proof instead."
