I stared again at the woman in the photograph. Her smile..,And her eyes which were so full of hope. I though of the Inspector who hadn't seen his sister for eighteen years.
"While I do feel sorry for her, I have to say she was foolish." Nancy said quietly. "And terribly selfish."
"Nancy!" Jennifer exclaimed, frowning at the cold expression on Nancy's face. "How could..."
"She ran away just because someone didn't love her. And without giving a thought about how much she would hurt her family. About how much it would hurt her brother. Who if you remember Jenny, is still hurting because he hasn't seen his sister in eighteen years. So...before you call me cold and insensitive, think about that."
"She does look rather naive." I said. "But that doesn't mean..."
"I am not defending your Dad, Amy." Nancy shook her head. "I am just pointing out how wrong she was. She didn't appreciate what she had...Cared more about a future that she made up in her dreams rather that the present that was in her grasp."
I sensed a sadness in Nancy's tone. The voice was whispering, The only words I could make out were me and foolish.
"What else is in there?" Nancy regained her composure in an instant and snatched the diary from the drawer. Further back in it's pages was a white card. Nancy picked it up and read out aloud. It was the invitation to the wedding of Anthony and Clara.
"Why in the world does he still keep that around?" I blurted out.
"Obviously he feels guilty." Nancy said impatiently. "Come on Amy! Just think about it...Your Dad must have been devastated when he heard what happened. And even more hurt when his friendship with the Inspector fell apart."
"He should have seen that coming." I said. "Anyway.... We must continue to look around. There has to be something here that tells us about the secret."
Nancy looked as if she had more to tell but Jenny pulled her away to look through some of the case files. I just stood there and flipped through the empty pages of the diary.
Only there was something written on one page. It was a name followed by an address.
Mr. Simon
No. 21 Rose Gardens
And scrawled in pencil, so untidily, as if written in anger were two words.
FOR CLARA.
To be continued...
ns 15.158.61.6da2
