Chapter 14 Eve
EVE
Mia had already left for the day.
Eve found the note on her nightstand when she woke, written in Mia’s neat handwriting: Gone to harbor with Nolan for sunrise shoot. See you tonight. Love you.
Eve smiled despite the tiny flutter of worry in her chest. Mia was healing. Getting better. The shadows were lifting from her eyes, replaced by something that looked an awful lot like hope.
She showered and dressed, then knocked on Lila’s adjoining door.
“Come in,” Lila called.
Eve pushed the door open to find Lila already dressed in jeans and a sweater, her hair pulled back in a ponytail, her face bright with the kind of energy that came from sixteen-year-olds who’d slept well and woke up ready to solve mysteries.
“Ready for breakfast?” Eve asked.
“Ready for detective work,” Lila corrected with a grin. “Breakfast is just fuel.”
They headed downstairs together, and Eve was surprised to see Brian waiting near the dining room entrance, his hands shoved in his pockets, a backpack slung over his shoulder, an eager but slightly anxious expression on his face.
He wasn’t in his work uniform. Just jeans and a hoodie, his hair still slightly damp from a shower.
“Brian,” Eve said warmly. “Good morning. Are you working today?”
“No,” Brian said quickly. “I’m off the whole day. I just... I came to talk to you both. If that’s okay.”
Lila’s eyebrows rose with interest. “Of course it’s okay. Have you had breakfast?”
Brian shook his head. “I snuck out early without having any. My grandmother would have a fit if she knew.”
“Then join us,” Eve said, gesturing toward the dining room.
They settled at their favorite table near the window, the morning sun streaming through the glass and casting warm pools of light across the polished wood. A different server appeared, not Brian’s usual colleagues, and took their orders with efficient professionalism.
Once the server had gone, Eve leaned forward. “So what do you need to talk to us about?”
Brian’s expression turned serious. Instead of answering, he countered with a question of his own. “Why were you so interested in William’s brother’s house in Circle Pond? And the people who used to live in William’s house when he was working away?”
Eve and Lila exchanged uncertain glances.
Brian caught it immediately. “Look, I’m not trying to trap you or anything. You can trust me. I just need to understand what’s going on.”
“We’ve known William for a long time,” Eve said carefully. “Of course, we’re interested in him.”
Brian didn’t look convinced. He reached into his pocket and pulled out an envelope, the kind that photo shops used for developed pictures, slightly worn at the edges and yellowed with age.
“This was my father’s,” Brian said, his voice softer now. “It’s how I got to know him and who he was, from when I was a little boy.”
Eve’s heart pulled for him. She couldn’t imagine what it must have been like to piece together a parent’s life through stories and photographs, to build a relationship with someone who existed only in memory.
“This one in particular,” Brian said, quickly flipping through the photos. He pulled one out and set it on the table between them.
Eve went cold.
Lila gasped.
The photo showed two children, maybe six or seven years old, standing beside a pond. A little boy with a gap-toothed smile and messy hair, his arm slung around the shoulders of a little girl with dark curls and bright, intelligent eyes.
“That’s my father when he was seven,” Brian said, pointing to the boy. “That’s his friend from next door.” He flipped the photo over.
On the back, in faded blue ink, was a date and two names: Paul and a second name that had been heavily blacked out with marker, then rewritten beside it in different handwriting: his best friend.
Eve’s senses went on high alert. “Why is the name crossed out?”
“I couldn’t ask my grandmother that question,” Brian said. “Because after you left yesterday, I caught my grandmother going through my drawers in my room. When I asked her what she was doing, she said that all the talk about Paul made her want to go through his photos again.”
“And...” Eve didn’t understand. “I think that’s only natural. He was her only son.”
“My grandmother has copies of all these photos,” Brian told her.
“At first, I thought she was going senile. It could happen, she is in her late seventies.” His eyes narrowed.
“But then, when she left, I went to her room and found the photo album of my father from the years he lived next door to that little girl in the photo.” He stopped and turned to Lila.
“Who, by the way, bears a striking resemblance to you, Lila, and your mother.” He turned back to the photo.
“This photo was gone. In fact, all the photos of my father and this little girl, or the people from next door, were gone.”
Eve’s heart thudded in her chest. “Why?”
“That’s what I thought you could answer for me,” Brian said, looking quizzically at Eve.
“You have pictures of this little girl’s parents?” Lila asked, leaning forward to study the photo more closely, and shifting the conversation away from Brian’s question. She turned to Eve, holding the photo up to the light. “Look, Aunt Eve. That is Mom.”
Eve took the photo, her hands trembling slightly.
It was definitely Mia. The eyes were unmistakable, that particular shade of green-gold that Lila had inherited. The shape of her face, the way she stood with one hip cocked slightly to the side.
Six or seven years old, maybe.
Eve’s mind caught onto one missing detail in the photo.
There was no locket around the little girl’s neck.
She knew Mia had been given the ruby heart locket on her eighth birthday.
It was one of the few things Mia remembered clearly.
Her mother gave her the family heirloom, making Mia promise to always wear it and keep it close, no matter what, on Mia’s eighth birthday.
Eve didn’t say anything about the locket.
“I’m sorry, I don’t have pictures of the little girl’s parents,” Brian said. “But I’m sure my gran did, as there are a whole lot of missing pictures in that photo album.”
“She could’ve just been cleaning up,” Eve pointed out, though the words felt hollow even as she said them. Her mind was reeling. What on earth was going on? Why would anyone hide photos?
“I asked my gran about the people who William let stay in his house,” Brian said.
“She said she couldn’t remember and then acted senile about it.
” He shook his head. “Now I’m intrigued.
I got to thinking... why would you need me to get you into Circle Pond and then manipulate my gran into showing you around, when you know William so well? ”
Eve and Lila exchanged glances again.
Brian was sharp. Too sharp to fool with half-truths.
“William was busy, and we were dying to see his house,” Lila told him with a grin. “We’re women. What can we say? We’re nosy.”
“Are you related to William?” Brian asked, not buying the excuse for a second.
Eve and Lila looked at each other.
“Look, I’m not going to say anything,” Brian told them. “Maybe I can even help you find what you’re looking for.” He raised an eyebrow. “I can also get you into the historical society and into the record rooms.”
“How did you...” Eve frowned, alarm bells ringing.
“It’s a small town,” Brian said with a shrug. “My grandparents are also on the board of the historical society. The woman who runs it told my grandmother that two tourists were unhappy about the early-closing policy one day a week. It was a woman and her niece.”
“Of course, your grandparents are on that board too,” Eve sighed, looking at Lila. “See, sweetheart, this is what happens when you make a scene. Word gets around.”
“I didn’t make a scene,” Lila defended herself. “I merely told the woman that if they closed early one day a week, it should be on their opening times board that was beside the door. Which it wasn’t.”
“That’s because the staff choose the day they want to close early,” Brian pointed out.
“That’s stupid, inconsistent, and really frustrating for tourists who want to go in there,” Lila said. “Is it any wonder we get frustrated?”
Brian’s lips twisted as he looked at her adoringly. “If you’re going to investigate anything in this town, you can’t go losing your cool. Word gets around.”
“Especially to your grandparents, who seem to be the gatekeepers to the town,” Lila stated.
Brian laughed. “My family has been here nearly as long as William’s. They know a lot about the town and the people.” He glanced from one to the other. “So what exactly is it you think you’re going to find there anyway?”
“How do you know we were looking for anything?” Lila asked before Eve could.
“You went right from Circle Pond, after getting my gran to give you the grand tour and trying to get information about William’s family, to the historical society,” Brian pointed out. “I may not be a detective, but...”
Eve sighed and glanced at Lila. “He could be useful to us.”
Lila raised an eyebrow and glanced at him. “Or a spy from his grandparents, who are obviously some sort of police for William.”
Brian laughed, the sound genuine and warm.
“Trust me, I am now even more intrigued by what’s going on.
” He leaned forward. “I once broke into William’s brother’s house, as the kids in the neighborhood have always speculated about it.
” He grinned. “One rumor was that William’s nephew was badly hurt as he was some sort of spy for the Navy.
He lived there badly disfigured and unable to care for himself. ”
“That’s horrible,” Eve told him. “Good grief, what’s wrong with kids?”
Brian shrugged. “I nipped that story in the bud. There was absolutely no one in the house. Just very highly polished furniture. There weren’t even photos on the walls.”
“Seriously?” Lila said, intrigued. She looked at Eve, her eyes sparkling. “Can we break in there, too?”