Bones of a Feather - Carolyn Haines [88]
I checked behind pictures, hoping for a wall safe or something easy to identify. In the dining room, a sixteen-foot mahogany table beautifully set with fine china and crystal awaited a dinner party. No doubt Millicent had a maid to wash and dust. That concern was answered almost immediately when I found a check on the kitchen counter made out to Kissie, along with a list of chores, and a small key. So the singing housekeeper worked for the Levert sisters and Millicent. Now that was interesting.
The check, written for a substantial amount, bore today’s date, which meant Kissie was likely due at any moment. Her cleaning services were apparently a standing engagement. Looking around, I realized the house was immaculate, as if Kissie had just finished. But why would she leave her check? It didn’t make a lot of sense. Then again I was dealing with the Levert family.
The chores included polish silver, mop bathrooms, do laundry—the normal list. Until I got to the next-to-last item. Pick up packet at bank and deliver to Barclay Levert. The number 2446 was noted beside the list.
Millicent had told Barclay she knew something that would put him in control of the Levert estate. Did this mysterious packet speak to that? So many questions and no one to ask. Except Kissie. Was she climbing both sides of the family tree—spying for Millicent while pretending to be loyal to the twins? I’d discuss this with Tinkie before I approached Kissie.
The key was small, like the type used for a safety deposit box. The number 2446 could easily be a bank box. I knew which bank the Levert sisters used, and it didn’t take much to figure Millicent would use a competitor. I pocketed the key and went out the front door, making sure to leave it unlocked in case I had to come back.
Eleanor and Monica were First Mississippi Bank customers, so I raced to the Bank of Natchez in Eleanor’s car. Time pressed hard against me. So much had happened in only a few days, but it felt as though I’d been in Natchez for a year. Now every second was precious.
Tinkie’s tutoring in the art of presentation paid off. I entered the bank with poise and an attitude that said I expected immediate service. Tinkie had taught me so much in life comes down to the persona one projects. Wearing my jeans like they were designer labels, I strolled across the cool lobby, my boot heels clicking on the marble floor.
With all the dignity I could muster I asked for access to the safety deposit boxes, showed my key, signed the register with Millicent’s name, and went into the vault. The bank employee inserted her key into the lock on 2446. My key worked like a charm. The door swung open and I pulled out the flat metal container and waited for privacy.
When I was finally alone in the room, I lifted the lid to reveal a manila envelope on top of a large bundle of legal documents. I ripped open the envelope, and dozens of photographs spilled onto the table. Each shot contained Monica or Eleanor.
Most had been taken with a long lens through the windows of Briarcliff, and they bore various times and dates. So, Millicent had been on her spy mission more than once. She’d kept tabs on her cousins for the last nine months. I wondered if John Hightower had put Millicent up to this and if he had additional pictures.
I spread the pix out on a table. Nothing sensational. Nothing too personal. Just nasty little paparazzi sneak-shots of the Levert sisters in the privacy of their home. Several were of Monica on her balcony at dusk; others of Eleanor in the rose garden with Jerome. In unguarded moments their affection for each other was clear to see.
In one photo, Eleanor and Monica sat on the sofa in the front parlor. The curtains were lifted on a breeze, and the sisters were laughing.