Page 50 of Lost Cause
Sylvia shook her head. “She was happy here. Loved her new life in Oregon. In France, she was just one of many wealthy women. Here, she was exotic and stood out. Made her the queen of the social scene. Plus, she loved Victor. So I just don’t see it happening.”
“Say she did leave on her own,” Burke said. “Do you think her former maid might have something to do with Estelle’s disappearance?”
“Dominique?” Sylvia’s eyes narrowed. “I don’t think it’s likely. Especially after Victor had her investigated and they couldn’t locate her.”
“She could’ve gone into hiding with Estelle.”
“Nah. I don’t buy it. One thing I know about Estelle is she liked the finer things in life. That takes money. If she left on her own accord, she would’ve found a way to take some of Victor’s money, but he said nothing was missing. So, she would’ve had to get involved with a rich guy who was willing to lavish his money on her.”
“Like a male suitor, you mean?”
Sylvia nodded. “But if she was secretly seeing someone who went away with her, no one else in the area was reported missing.”
Could be the man waited to leave and not draw attention to himself. In case Sylvia was incorrect, Burke would check other missing persons investigations.
“Back to the locket,” he said. “Do you know if she was wearing it the day she disappeared?”
“Not for certain, but she wore it every day, so it would’ve been odd if she didn’t have it on.”
“Have you seen the jewelry she left behind?”
“I didn’t have a reason to and wouldn’t have asked Victor to look at it anyway. The pain of losing Estelle has always been too raw for him, and I wouldn’t knowingly inflict more.”
This woman came across as strong and combative, but she really did have a soft spot in her heart for Victor. She really could be covering something up for him.
“What about a safe on the property?” he asked. “Does Victor keep these jewels in a secure area?”
“No. No safe. Well, if you don’t count the one in the library hallway. That ancient relic has been there forever.”
“But he doesn’t use it?”
She shook her head.
“Do you know why?”
“I’ve never asked him, but shortly after we moved here, I barged in on his father opening it. He told me it’d been installed when the house was built. He said the combination had been shared so many times over the years that nothing would be secure in it.”
Interesting.“Victor told us a far different story. He said his father warned him to keep the combination a secret, implying not many people knew about it.”
She shrugged. “All I can tell you is what his father told me. But I should also mention his dad was pretty dramatic and was suffering with dementia by then.”
Was she right? Was it a matter of an elderly man’s dementia? Or had the combination been shared multiple times in the past? One of them could be lying, he supposed. A question worth asking Victor again.
“Did you learn the combination?” he asked.
“No, he didn’t come right out and share it with me. Just said others knew it.”
“And you didn’t look over his shoulder? I mean, if I was there, I’d have a hard time not looking.”
“Why would I?” She eyed him. “Oh I get it, you think I stole something from there. He said they never kept anything valuable in it, so what good would it do me to know the combination?”
“Then you didn’t open it and put journals inside?” Abby pressed for more.
“Journals? Estelle was the only person who kept journals here, but no, I never put anything in that safe or took anything out of it. Do her journals give you any idea of what happened to her?”
No way Burke would answer that question. “So if the jewelry isn’t kept in a safe, do you know where it is?”
“Finally something I know the answer to. It’s in the bottom drawer of a large chest of drawers in Victor’s room.”
