Chapter 5 - WHAT HER FATHER NEVER TOLD HER
Nora stared at the photograph so long that Lily touched her wrist.
The little girl looked worried.
Nora swallowed.
"I'm okay."
Then she signed it.
I AM OKAY.
Lily touched the man's face in the photograph.
RAY.
Nora nodded slowly.
"That was my daddy."
She signed:
MY FATHER.
Lily's eyes widened.
YOUR PAPA?
"Yes."
Lily looked from Nora to the photograph.
Then smiled.
RAY NICE.
Nora felt tears rise.
Of course he had been nice.
Her father had always been nice.
He gave bus drivers homemade cookies at Christmas.
Helped strangers carry groceries.
Taught children to sign without charging their parents.
Yet Nora had never heard him mention Clara Ellery.
And she couldn't understand why.
She took the photograph to Marcus.
He stood behind his desk when she entered.
"Something happened?" he asked.
Nora placed the picture in front of him.
Marcus looked at it.
Then looked again.
"That's Clara."
"And that's my father."
Marcus stared.
"Your father?"
"Raymond Bellamy."
He shook his head.
"I've never met him."
"Apparently Clara did."
Marcus examined the back.
The handwriting was unmistakable.
"I don't understand."
"Neither do I."
Nora showed him the envelope and brass key.
"She left these where Lily could find them."
Marcus read the message.
For the day Lily needs someone to believe her.
His face tightened.
"Clara was afraid someone wouldn't believe Lily."
"Possibly."
"She knew about the hearing loss."
Nora shook her head.
"Not necessarily. Lily lost most of her hearing later. Clara could have meant something different."
Marcus sat.
"Something about her medical care?"
"Maybe."
Nora looked at the photograph.
"Or someone in this house."
Marcus's jaw tightened.
"Are you accusing my sister?"
"No."
"Whitcomb?"
"I'm saying we have a key and a message. We should find out what they mean before deciding who deserves blame."
Marcus studied her.
Then nodded.
"Fair."
That evening, Nora visited her mother.
Evelyn Bellamy sat beneath a faded yellow lamp, knitting a sweater she had been working on for six months.
Nora placed the photograph beside her.
Her mother stopped knitting.
"Where did you get this?"
"The Ellery house."
Evelyn's fingers tightened around the picture.
"Your father."
"Yes."
"And Clara."
Nora stared.
"You knew her?"
Evelyn slowly put down her knitting.
"Your father volunteered at a community center where Clara taught art classes. She started learning sign language because of a Deaf friend. Raymond helped her become more fluent."
"Why didn't you ever tell me?"
"Because Clara asked him not to talk about the work they did together."
"What work?"
Evelyn hesitated.
"Nora, your father was a kind man. Sometimes kindness put him in difficult situations."
"Mom."
Evelyn took a breath.
"Clara was helping families whose children had disabilities. Families who couldn't afford services."
Nora waited.
"She had discovered money promised to those families wasn't reaching them."
"From where?"
"An Ellery foundation."
Nora's stomach sank.
"Marcus's foundation?"
"I don't know who controlled it."
Evelyn looked down.
"Your father helped Clara gather statements from the families."
Nora thought of the brass key.
"Did he leave anything behind?"
Her mother was quiet.
Then she stood and walked into the bedroom.
When she returned, she carried a small wooden box.
Inside were old buttons, photographs, a wedding ring that no longer fit, and a faded blue bus ticket.
Underneath lay a folded note.
Raymond's handwriting.
If Clara's daughter ever needs help, find the woman who keeps the blue books.
Nora read it twice.
"Who keeps the blue books?"
Evelyn shook her head.
"Your father never told me."
"Why not?"
"He said there were people who could lose their jobs if certain records became public."
Nora sat back.
"Mom, did Dad know Clara was in danger?"
Evelyn's eyes filled.
"He knew she was frightened."
"Of whom?"
"Not her husband."
Nora looked up.
"He was very clear about that."
At the estate, Marcus was examining the brass key.
Daniel had found its manufacturer.
It belonged to a common type of archival lockbox.
Not enough to identify a location.
Then Rachel arrived.
She looked at the key.
And immediately went pale.
"Where did you get that?"
"Lily found it."
Rachel picked it up.
"Clara had a storage cabinet at the community arts center."
Marcus leaned forward.
"Do you still have access?"
"The building closed last year."
"Who owns it now?"
Rachel hesitated.
"The Ellery Family Foundation."
Marcus felt his pulse quicken.
"Who managed the foundation after Clara died?"
Rachel looked toward Vivian, who had just entered.
Vivian stopped.
"I did."
Nobody spoke.
Then Rachel held up a second photograph.
It showed Clara standing beside an older woman carrying three blue ledgers.
On the back was a name.
Agnes Porter.
Vivian stared at the picture.
"Agnes was the foundation's accountant."
"Where is she?" Marcus asked.
Vivian's voice became very quiet.
"She was fired."
"By whom?"
Vivian swallowed.
"Dr. Whitcomb told me she had been stealing from the medical assistance fund."
Rachel turned toward her.
"Vivian, Agnes wasn't stealing."
"How would you know?"
"Because Clara left me a copy of the investigation."
Marcus stood.
"What investigation?"
May you like
Rachel looked at him.
"The one proving someone had been diverting money meant for children who couldn't hear."
