Chapter 23
The air feels thin. My knees give and I sink onto the bed. I am painfully aware of Leandro watching me.
I thought maybe she had been long dead and was haunting these walls. I thought Leandro kept her a prisoner in the senzala. I thought Leandro might even have killed her, but it wasn’t Leandro who killed her. It wasn’t even Doctor Lobo who killed her.
It was me.
But it’s not entirely my fault…she was already unconscious when I stabbed her with the ceremonial knife. She didn’t cry out or move. Doctor Lobo must have done something to her. He tricked me.
So…these past few days, while Doctor Lobo was visiting us, taking care of us, this whole time he had her locked up in his secret chamber.
My forehead feels clammy.
I look at Leandro. Does he know that Doctor Lobo kidnapped his lover? It doesn’t seem like it.
“Leandro,” I say carefully. “Where is she now?”
Leandro shakes his head, as though he fears I am going to seek her out. Perhaps he doesn’t know.
“Leandro,” I repeat. “Do you know where she is right now?”
“I…don’t know. At her house, I suppose.”
So he doesn’t know. Or he knows and is lying, and if there is one thing I know about Leandro it’s that he is a very good liar.
“When did you last see her?”
He narrows his eyes, thinking. “Maybe four days ago. Why?”
Four days ago. This explains the lavender perfume. I wasn’t wrong, she slept in this house recently.
It’s possible then that Doctor Lobo had her captive in his house the whole time.
From the conversation I overheard this morning, it was clear that Doctor Lobo’s aim was to perform the ritual spell. But why did he involve me in it? Maybe his plan was to have me wield the dagger so if the police ever find out, he can blame me.
I recall the three women in the daguerreotype photograph of the order.
They were wearing the peculiar dresses that resemble the dress Leandro gave me to wear.
Maybe she was one of them. Maybe she was a member of the order, and it was Doctor Lobo who introduced her to Leandro in the first place.
Somehow Doctor Lobo, Leandro, and this woman are all interconnected.
And now I am involved, too. Doctor Lobo lured me into his web.
“Why are you asking about her?” Leandro says. He looks nervous.
I can’t reveal that I saw her and she is dead. He’ll tell the authorities, and they will investigate. And if they investigate…No, it is best not to tell him, at least not yet. I need to think about this.
Suddenly, I hear horses outside. I rise, relieved that my carriage is finally here. I am desperate to leave this place and return home, even if it means facing Mother.
“Finally, good heavens,” Maria das Dores remarks, looking out the window. “Doctor Lobo has arrived.”
“What?” Leandro and I cry.
“I sent for him,” Maria das Dores says. “When I saw how bruised you were, Sinhá Madalena. Is there a problem?”