Page 76 of City of Liars

“Okay,” I said, resting the box on the dining room table. “You win. Let’s open this one and see what’s inside.”

Grandma Ella smiled at me. She was so happy. And I was about to bring up a subject that would wipe the smile right off her face.

But I had to. I wasn’t going to back down. Not this time.

I grabbed the X-Acto knife I’d brought with me and sliced through the tape. An oddly familiar floral aroma wafted out, and Grandma Ella took a deep breath.

“That takes me back,” she said. “It smells just like our living room did, when I was growing up. Isn’t it odd how a scent can have that effect on you?”

It was. Because now I knew where I’d smelled it before: in the dream where I’d seen Elizabeth Carter.

A chill washed up my spine as my grandmother reached into the box and unwrapped a small figurine of a Scottie. “This sat on our mantel,” she said, turning it around so she could see it from every angle. “Right next to an inlaid mahogany clock.”

The chill radiated outward, its cold fingers robbing me of speech, but my grandmother didn’t notice. She was too busy delving into the box again, pulling out items and exclaiming over them. “I haven’t seen these things in years. This is the silver ashtray my mother took out for guests, when they smoked cigars with Daddy. And here, this is the little candy dish we always kept peppermints in.” She lifted her head, her face alight. “Let’s look in another one.”

Three boxes later, the dining room table was filled with knickknacks, a scarf my grandmother declared matched my eyes, a miniature painting of my great-great-grandfather Carter, and a collection of recipes that Ruth—who’d come back and wanted to know what all the fuss was about—promptly commandeered. My grandmother ooohed and ahhed over each item, her gaze misty, as if seeing these objects had somehow resurrected their owners.

“Daddy died when I was so young,” she said, her voice wistful. “Two years after the stock market crashed. His heart gave out, the night of a ball my parents were set to attend.” She ran a finger over the tape on the final unopened box. “I don’t have that many memories of him, but in all of them, he’s so gentle. Troubled and sad, but always kind to everyone.”

I bent to pick up the X-Acto again. “I’m sorry, Grandma.”

“It’s so strange to think these trinkets are all that’s left of my parents.” She sighed. “Once I’m gone, there will be no one who remembers them. My mother died when your father and Jamison were so young. They don’t recall a thing about her. I guess that’s why I’m talking your ear off with these stories, so there will be someone who remembers.”

The tape on the final box split and the cardboard fell open. From its depths wafted another aroma: the unmistakable scent of tobacco. My grandmother’s eyes widened, and she reached inside, drawing out an object with reverence.

“My father’s pipe! How on earth did that get in here? After he died, my mother packed up his things, but I had no idea they were in the boxes we took from New York. I thought they’d gotten lost somewhere.”

Charles Carter’s personal effects…and just maybe, the contents of his office. My heart picked up speed. “Grandma, do you mind if I take a look?”

She shot me a quizzical glance, moving aside to give me room. “Of course not, dear. You carried it down, after all. Go right ahead.”

I looked into the box, full of items wrapped in brown paper. Carefully, I lifted each of them out and set them on the table.

And then I saw it: a gleam of forest-green, wedged at the very bottom. Reaching down, I tugged, and the object came free.

I was holding a small book with the initials ‘C.C.’ emblazoned on green leather, exactly like the one in my dream.

My grandmother reached out to touch the book’s cover. “This is one of my father’s journals,” she said, sounding puzzled. “I thought we’d donated them all to the Historical Society. What’s this one doing here?”

My legs shook. I sat down in one of the dining room chairs, clutching the book so tightly, I was afraid I’d leave nail marks in the leather. My grandmother hovered over me, eyes crinkled with concern. “Olivia, are you all right?”

The world swam, and a buzzing sound rose in my ears. I clutched the book even tighter. “I’m fine,” I said, my voice coming as if from far away. “But Grandma? We need to talk.”

49

Liv

Itold my grandmother everything. All our speculations, strange experiences, and theories. The lawsuit, and my arguments with my parents and Theo. I did not mention that there had been more to my relationship with him than friendship; I just said we’d gone to New York to try to figure things out. But she was smart, and I was sure she’d read between the lines.

“We know the girl at Divine Grace could’ve been Lily or Ella,” I finished. “We know James took Ella, even why he asked for a ransom and didn’t collect it. But there’s so much we don’t know…like how he died. Who you really are, and what happened to whoever you aren’t, if that makes sense. And if you’re really Lily, then your sister Susi is still alive. She’s been walking around with so much guilt for all of these years. Wouldn’t you want to meet her?”

Grandma Ella stared at me. Her dark eyes were wide, and her hands trembled where she’d knotted them on the table. I was glad Ruth had retreated to her room, because otherwise she’d surely bustle in here, demanding to know what I’d done to make my grandma look this way.

Anxiety bubbled inside me. Had I made a terrible mistake? “Grandma,” I said, “please say something. I know this must be an awful shock, and I promise I didn’t do any of it to hurt you. Please don’t be angry with me.”

She reached out a shaking hand and laid it on my own. “Oh, sweetheart. I’m not angry, except maybe with your parents. What a horrible thing to do, threatening to disinherit you that way. But my father…he wasn’t a murderer. He couldn’t be.”

“I hope he wasn’t, too.” My voice was tremulous. “And maybe this journal will tell us, once and for all. But even if not, you could still be Lily, Grandma. Won’t you please take a DNA test? Not because of this stupid lawsuit, but so you don’t miss out on the chance to meet your sister before it’s too late?”