Mrs. Keller nearly dropped the coffee pot when Ruth and Jonah entered the boardinghouse the following morning.
“Mrs. Clay.”
The title sounded strange.
Ruth smiled.
“Morning.”
Mrs. Keller looked toward Jonah.
Then back at Ruth.
“You survived.”
Ruth stared.
Jonah coughed into his fist.
Mrs. Keller turned scarlet.
“I meant the ranch road.”
“Of course.”
Ruth decided mercy was appropriate.
They sat in the empty dining room.
Mrs. Keller joined them once breakfast guests departed.
Jonah explained only enough.
Pierce had offered money.
The old guest ledgers might matter.
Mrs. Keller’s expression changed.
“Why?”
“That’s what we’re trying to learn,” Ruth said.
The older woman looked uncomfortable.
“There’s something I never told you.”
Ruth’s stomach tightened.
“What?”
Mrs. Keller folded her hands.
“Silas Pierce came here the morning after Edwin left.”
Ruth froze.
“He told me you had become unstable.”
Jonah’s jaw tightened.
Mrs. Keller continued.
“He said Edwin feared you might fabricate accusations.”
Ruth looked down.
“I know the rumors.”
“No.”
Mrs. Keller shook her head.
“He specifically asked me to destroy correspondence.”
Ruth looked up sharply.
“What correspondence?”
“Anything Edwin had sent here.”
Ruth’s pulse raced.
“I kept his letters in my room.”
“I told Pierce that.”
“What did he say?”
“He asked whether Edwin had ever received letters here himself.”
Ruth frowned.
“Why would he?”
Mrs. Keller’s face became pale.
“He did.”
Jonah leaned forward.
“How often?”
“Several times.”
Ruth stared.
“I never knew.”
“They arrived under another name.”
“What name?”
Mrs. Keller stood.
“Wait.”
She disappeared upstairs.
Several minutes passed.
Then she returned carrying a faded register.
She opened it.
Pointed.
Ruth read the entry.
Edward Parsons.
Monthly room fee.
Except Edwin had never rented a room.
Jonah looked at Mrs. Keller.
“You’re certain?”
“Yes.”
“He paid for a room he didn’t use?”
Mrs. Keller nodded.
“Number nine.”
Ruth knew it.
Back corner.
Tiny.
Usually storage.
“Why?”
Mrs. Keller lowered her voice.
“He received mail there.”
Jonah looked at Ruth.
“Did Pierce know?”
“I don’t know.”
Mrs. Keller continued.
“After Edwin left, room nine had been searched.”
Ruth’s heart pounded.
“What was in it?”
“Nothing when I checked.”
Jonah asked, “Any hidden compartments?”
Mrs. Keller gave him a look.
“This is a respectable boardinghouse, Mr. Clay.”
“Respectable buildings can have loose boards.”
She frowned.
Then paused.
“The wardrobe.”
Ruth stood.
“What?”
“One side never sat flush.”
They went upstairs.
Room nine smelled of dust.
Mrs. Keller moved an old wardrobe.
Behind it was a section of wall paneling.
Jonah pressed.
Nothing.
Ruth knelt.