EW: Of course not. It was only for me. I found it two days after her supposed death. Then I knew.
JA: Where do you have it? Could we see it?
(Laurent Dubois Jr. gestures to his lawyer. He brings him a folder, from which he takes out a white envelope. Laurent Dubois leaves it on the table.)
EW: There it is.
(Officer Alonso opens the envelope. He takes out a white sheet, A5 size, like the palm of a hand, and looks at the detainee.)
JA: Is that all? Are you kidding me?
(Laurent Dubois Jr. looks at the man, stopping at his shiny head. He lets out a laugh.)
EW: I wouldn’t think of that, officer. That’s the note my mother left me.
(The envelope bears Laurent Dubois Jr.’s name, accompanied by “Enzo” in quotation marks. Inside, Antonia Hawtrey-Moore’s note reads: “Good luck, Malin.”
Note¹: Malin, in French, means little devil.
The note is accompanied by Antonia Hawtrey-Moore’s official signature.
Note²: Verified for authenticity.)
JA: What did it mean? Did you know?
(The agent turns it over, looking for any sign that the note contains hidden text.
Note³: No invisible ink or other apparent markings were found on the sheet.)
EW: It means… that my mother really likes games. Maybe I got hung up on the meaning. Maybe she didn’t want to tell me anything with the note, just that she would always have the Club if she needed it.
JA: But…?
EW: I felt there was something more. I dug into Julian’s affairs and… there she was. Vera Rodríguez Malin, someone I knew too well. Someone with a second surname.
(He pauses.)
Even though mum didn’t want anyone to find her… I knew what she had done. I knew I had to solve this last game. That’s why I acted the way I did, Officer.
JA: If you sensed that your mother had run away and didn’t want anyone, including you, Enzo, to find her… why did you do it?
EW: That’s what everyone wants to know, isn’t it?
(Laughs.)
EW: Get in line, Alonso.
Excerpt from Ivet Britwistle’s personal email
Property of Police Department No. 313.
From: IB
To: Yara Britwistle
Date: March 19
Hello, dear sister,
