Page 46 of Willowbrooke
“Leo, nothing about this journal read as suicidal—your mom said in her last entry that she’d started to hide the journal around the house because she was scared X figured out that she knew what had happened. I think that’s how it ended up in the library.”
“You think she was killed.” He choked.
I nodded slowly.
“Why was everyone so sure she wanted to kill herself, then?” Leo’s voice trembled. Had everyone lied to him his entire life, or had none of them known Christine well enough to realize that she would never abandon him?
“Maybe they were trying to find logic to explain an illogical death,” I tried, knowing that even if that was the truth, it didn’t make up for everything Leo had gone through. Both of his parents had likely been murdered.
Then Leo spoke aloud what I had been silently wondering. “Do you think it was the same person…?”
“I don’t know…” I shook my head. “I just know that if that journal really was Christine’s, she loved you, and she never would have left you. There was nothing in that diary that made me think she would have ever considered taking her life,” I said honestly.
I knew in the back of my mind, there was still a small chance that something had changed between her last entry and her last moments on Earth. Maybe I was giving him hope that would later be taken from him, but I truly believed that she hadn’t left this world willingly.
“Do you think you could get access to the police report for her death? Maybe it has more information that will help you figure out what happened, now that you know more,” I suggested.
“Maybe Margot or William knows someone at the station…”
“I don’t know if you should involve them—we still haven’t ruled them out completely,” I said hesitantly.
“Right…” Leo leaned back in his chair. His world was falling apart around him, and I was the only thing helping keep him upright.
“I’m so sorry I lost the journal—if we had it, we could go to the police, maybe you’d see something I missed.”
“Penny.” Leo again reached for my hand. “You didn’t lose the journal—someone snuck into your room while you were sleeping and took it from you. It’s not your fault. None of this is your fault. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t overwhelmed with all of this new information. It’s a lot—it was already a lot when I thought it was just my dad who had been murdered, but now…” He paused to take a deep breath.
“This isn’t your fault either. You couldn’t have stopped any of this from happening.”
“Not Mom, but if I’d kept a closer watch on Dad—”
“Then whoever wanted him dead would have found another way. How could you protect him from something neither of you saw coming?”
“I know you’re right.” He sighed. “Val and Carl weren’t much help when I asked them about what happened to Dad, but I know they both liked my mom. Maybe they’ll remember something about her that can help.”
“Good,” I agreed.
Leo’s face suddenly shot to attention. He reached into his pocket. Someone was calling him. “It’s the PI,” he told mebefore answering the call.
“Hey Greg,” Leo greeted him.
A muffled response from the PI followed.
“You found her?” Leo’s face lit up.
I leaned forward in anticipation.
But then Leo’s face dropped. “What?” He stuttered. “When?”
I watched his expression as he grew confused, then determined. “Keep me posted. Thanks,” he said curtly before ending the call.
“What happened?” I asked timidly.
“Nurse Julie was killed last night in a burglary gone wrong.” Leo scowled.
I felt my heart drop. “That’s awfully weird timing…”
“My thoughts exactly.”
