Page 102 of The Lost Heiress

“A few weeks before Saoirse’s party, I came clean to him,” Elena said. “We’d started to spend a lot of time together by then. We’d become quite close, and I felt guilty lying to him.”

“And how did he react when you told him that you weren’t who he thought you were?”

“He was upset at first. Shocked. But he eventually got past it.”

Church thought for a moment, considered this. “The night of the party,” Church went on, “did you go to Mr. Towers’s room then?”

“Yes,” Elena said without hesitating.

“At about what time?”

She bit her lip, looked around. “I don’t know,” she said. “After dinner, after the dancing had started.”

“Around ten o’clock?”

“Yes, that sounds right.”

“And what was the nature of your interaction that night?” Church asked. “In Mr. Towers’s room?”

Elena raised her eyebrows. “Really, Detective?” Elena said. She shifted in her chair. “We talked. We enjoyed each other’s company.”

“And when did you leave?”

Elena thought for a moment. “Late,” she said. “Maybe one or two in the morning.”

“So you weren’t with your husband the entire night?”

“No,” Elena said.

Church pondered this. “Did he seem off at all to you the next morning, when you saw him?” Church asked. “Was there anything unusual about his behavior?”

“Just what are you suggesting, Detective?” Elena asked.

“I’m not suggesting anything,” Church said. “I’m simply asking a question.”

“No,” Elena said. “Nothing seemed unusual about his behavior. He seemed tired, agitated. He didn’t care for large social events, and he’d taken great care to make sure the evening had been perfect. He had more duties to carry out that morning before everyone left. It drained him. Everything seemed perfectly within the realm of normal.”

“And what of his appearance?” Church asked. “Were there any scrapes, cuts, or bruises on his arms or face? Any odd abrasions?”

Elena laughed. “Detective Church, do you think I would marry someone I thought was a murderer?” She leaned forward. “You don’t know my husband’s character as I do,” she said. “Despite what people may say or what the public perception of him may be, he is a good man. An ethical man. He feels things very deeply. He is steadfast and loyal. He would never harm his sister.Ever.And that’s the end of it. Whatever happened to Saoirse, my husband had nothing to do with it.”

Church’s phone rang in his pocket.

“I apologize,” Church said. “I thought I’d shut this off.” He pulled out his phone and went to silence it, but when he saw the name on his screen, he paused. “Excuse me, just one moment,” he said to Elena. “I have to take this.”

Elena watched Detective Church get up from the table and move a little way off, the phone pressed to his ear, his voice too low for her to makeout. His forehead creased, and at one point she heard him mutter, “Jesus Christ.” A few minutes later, he returned to the table, looking rattled.

“Everything all right, Detective?” Elena asked.

Church put his phone back in his pocket and rubbed his chin. “That was Detective Leland,” he told her. “He’s just identified the second body.”

Elena’s eyebrows shot up. “Really? That’s wonderful,” she said. “Who is it?”

“I’m afraid I can’t say—not just yet, anyway,” Church said. “Thank you for your time, Elena,” he went on. “I appreciate your candor, but there’s one more person I need to speak with before I go.”

“My husband?” Elena asked, already scooting back her chair. “Shall I go get him?”

“No,” Church said. “I’d like to speak with Florence Talbot.”