Dead Before the Truth Revealed novel · Chapter 18 of 24

Chapter 18: Tea With Constance

Constance Kensington asked me to tea at the Lakeshore Hotel, and I went because I wanted her to see me walk in.

The tea room was on the mezzanine, all white linen and little silver pots.

She sat at a corner table in a navy suit with her pearls on, and she had ordered for both of us.

"Sit, Ciara."

I sat.

I had washed the lake out of my hair and put on the one dress Edmund's housekeeper had found for me, plain grey, long in the sleeve.

"You look better than I expected," Constance said.

"You look exactly as I expected."

She poured. Her hand did not shake.

"I'll be direct, since you've never learned to be anything else. Camille tells me you saved her life. I am grateful for that."

"You're welcome."

"I am also aware that she tells the sheriff you pushed her. I find I don't need to choose between those stories." She set down the pot. "I have a proposal."

She slid a thin cream folder across the cloth.

"A trust in your name. Two million dollars. A named chair for nursing at the county hospital. You'd never work another night shift."

"What do I sign?"

"A short statement. You were unwell after a difficult year. You staged a drowning, which you regret. You have no memory of the lake six years ago, and you withdraw every claim about it."

"And Camille?"

"Camille keeps the medal, and the ring if my son will still have her." She leaned back. "And you'll spend ninety days at a private clinic in Arizona. Very pleasant. Very quiet."

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