Page 119 of The Vanished

“I’ll tell Katya you liked it,” Rhys replied.

Once the small talk was truly out of the way, Dinah said, “So, you want to talk to me about the body in the well. I’m afraid I can’t help you. I don’t know who that is.”

“We have been able to identify the victim,” Rhys said.

“Victim? Are you suggesting the woman was murdered?”

“She was,” Quinn said, “her body thrown down the well by the killer.”

Dinah set down her cup and looked at Quinn, her gaze suddenly anxious. “Who was she, dear?”

“Honor. Honor Bellamy.”

Dinah shook her head. “Oh, no. That can’t be right.”

“Why do you think it can’t be Honor?” Rhys asked.

“Honor ran off to America with the Bellamys’ estate manager, Rory Sullivan.”

“What makes you say that?” Quinn asked carefully.

“Geneva told me.”

“How did you know her?”

Dinah stood and went to the faux fireplace. She took a framed black-and-white photograph off the mantel and handed it to Quinn. It was of a lovely little boy, aged five or six. He wore a sailor suit with short pants. One knee was scraped above the dark knee socks he wore, and his shoes were a bit scuffed at the front. He had tried to look serious for the photographer but couldn’t hold back the smile that threatened to split his round face. The child had large light eyes, probably blue, and dark hair.

“Your son?” Quinn asked.

Dinah shook her head. “My husband, Kenny. Geneva was my mother-in-law.”

“And the name Wilson?” Quinn carefully asked. Perhaps Dinah had remarried.

“Kenny’s stepdad adopted him when he was five. Wilson was his name.”

“And Kenny’s real dad?” Rhys asked. “Was it Jesse Bellamy?”

No, Quinn wanted to cry out. It wasn’t Jesse. Kenny’s dad was Rory Sullivan. She could see the resemblance, especially in the boy’s smile.

Dinah shrugged. “Geneva never really talked to Kenny about her past. In those days, people were a lot more tight-lipped than they are today, especially when their reputation was less than sterling. Geneva only started to open up a few years before she died. It was as if she suddenly needed to talk and let out all the feelings she’d bottled up for decades. Kenny wasn’t overly interested by that point, but I liked to listen to her stories. And it brought her comfort to be able to finally share. She told me about Bellamy Hall, about her wayward little sister, and about Rory. I had never heard about him until then, but she had told Kenny that Rory was his father when he was old enough to understand.”

“Did Geneva tell you about the New Year’s Eve party in 1923?” Quinn asked.

“She did. That was the day it all began to unravel for the Bellamys. Although, of course, what happened was a culmination of bad decisions followed by unimaginable tragedy.”

“What happened?” Rhys said. He was leaning forward, his eagerness on full display.

“Geneva’s father, Douglas Bellamy, was very ill, and he took a turn for the worse after the party broke up. Geneva and his nurse remained by his side, but there was nothing they could do. He passed in the early hours of the new year. Geneva thought her sister couldn’t bear to watch their father die, but, when she went to find her later that morning, she discovered that Honor had gone. Her party dress was draped across a chair, her shoes were beneath the bed, and her headband was on the vanity. Some of her clothes were missing, and she had even taken Geneva’s ring. It had been given to her by Kenny’s father. The scoundrel,” Dinah said with feeling. “It seems he was romancing both the Bellamy girls. Geneva turned him down, so Honor took her place. But not before he got Geneva up the duff.”

“Did Rory know he had a son?” Quinn asked.

Dinah shook her head. “Geneva never told him she was pregnant. She didn’t find out until after he’d gone.”

“Did anyone see Honor go?” Rhys inquired.

“I don’t believe so, but it must have been chaos. The party had just ended, the guests were departing, there was cleaning and washing up to be done, and the servants must have been exhausted. They wouldn’t have noticed her slipping out before the sun was even up. But she left a note,” Dinah hurried to explain. “She said she loved Rory and they were going to make a go of it in America. Geneva hoped Honor would write once they got settled, but she never heard from her sister again. It broke her heart.” Dinah’s face clouded as the implications of that took on a new meaning. “Are you sure it was Honor in the well?” she asked again. “How could it be?”

“Yes, I am sure,” Quinn said softly. “Honor did not run off to America. She was murdered in the early hours of the new year.”