CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

Back in the library, Jean and Luc couldn’t believe that they’d missed the rows of books labeled as Apothecary Diary. It took them a while, but when they finally found the one they wanted, they scanned the pages for anything about the truth.

“Look, here,” said Luc, pointing to a line. “Arsenic, nightshade, curare, strychnine. That wasn’t even discovered until the early 1800s.”

“Yes, but remember, Hilda was from Germany. She might have known about it before anyone here,” said Jean.

“There it is. She removed all of these from the apothecary several times over a four-month period of time. I get that she wanted Genevieve out of the house. She was the last of the daughters to marry. But if she wanted money or the property, why wasn’t she trying to kill her husband.”

“I know,” said Jean. He reached for the ladder, climbing to the top of it to reach for a book. Scanning the spines, he found the one he wanted and brought it back down. “It’s Raphael’s journal. He was on a long trip to broker deals with cotton and cane buyers up north. He left just after winter and didn’t return until nearly summer.”

“Genevieve was gone by then,” frowned Luc.

“Yes. She was truly gone by then, and my guess is that Hilda told her husband that she had run off to get married.”

“That still doesn’t help us to free her soul. This is still all just conjecture. We have to have proof that Hilda did this,” said Luc.

Jean handed his brother two more journals, pushing them toward him. He held two in his arms.

“Read. These all belonged to Raphael. We have to find something about their marriage and what happened to her. If we’ve never heard that name, something is wrong,” said Jean.

The light coming through the windows swept across the long mahogany tables as the two men scoured through the journals. Raphael was a beautiful writer, often elaborating on his trips and the things he saw. They found it consoling that he struggled with the way plantation owners were treating their slaves, and he even remarked that he was contemplating freedom for his own, allowing them to live and work for a fair wage.

“He was pretty remarkable,” said Luc.

“He was,” smiled Jean. “He loved his daughters, that’s for sure. I don’t think he would have just sat back and allowed Genevieve to have just disappeared. He would have gone after her.”

“He did,” smiled Luc, turning the journal. “Look. Right here. He came home to find her gone, and Hilda said she’d run off. After discussing it with his other daughters, they all believed it was a lie.”

“Let me see.” Jean read the previous pages, then followed the story line, reading the remainder. “Before he left, he ordered an investigation into his wife. The journal stops. There has to be another one.”

Luc raced up the library ladder, searching the journals for the next one. He found it, with a sucker stuck to the inside page.

“Jesus, I’m surprised we don’t have ants in this place,” smirked Jean. He carefully pulled the sticky sucker from the page, able to avoid losing any content. “He picks up here. He spent nearly seven months searching for the man she allegedly ran away with. When he found him, he was married with a newborn. He’d never had any intentions to Genevieve.”

“There must be more,” said Luc.

“There is, but it’s not good news. His own investigator discovered that Hilda was already married, having left her husband in Germany. She was hoping to return a wealthy woman. He confronted her upon his return in the presence of law enforcement, but nothing could be tied directly to her. Raphael had the marriage annulled and continued to look for his daughter for the rest of his life.”

“Shit, Jean. We can’t prove it. We can’t prove that Hilda killed her,” said Luc.

“It’s alright,” smiled Genevieve. “It’s alright, really. This is my home, and somehow, I’m here, alert, awake. You’ve uncovered more than anyone has in the past. I have no doubt my stepmother killed me. I tried to be kind to her, but she hated me from the beginning.”

“You were the last daughter at home,” said Jean with a sad expression. “I think she thought that if she got rid of you, she would be able to kill your father and take his fortune.”

“I’m glad Father annulled their marriage. It was far too quick, anyway. Mother had only been gone a year, and he was lonely. Hilda found a way to play on his agony and grief.

“Well,” she said with a sad smile, “I guess that means I’m here for all eternity.”

“We’re sorry, Genevieve,” said Luc. “We really thought we could solve this for you.”

“You did. You did. Please, don’t worry for me. I’m home where I belong. Maybe one day, I’ll see my sisters and Father again. Until then, I relish walking through the gardens once again. Thank you. Thank you, both.”

“Our pleasure,” said Jean. He watched the young woman float through the French doors and out into the gardens. Without proof, there would be no way to place blame on Hilda. Unfortunately, they feared it would be the same for some of the others.

“What now?” asked Luc.

“Now, we start finding what we can on Archie. Somebody deserves a happy ending in this group.”