The Last Secret of Lily Adams: A Novel by Sara Blaydes

Author:Sara Blaydes [Blaydes, Sara]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Lake Union Publishing
Published: 2024-06-04T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER NINETEEN

Carolyn

August, Present Day

Any confidence I had leading up to my appointment with Ellen Stevens vanished like the morning fog. She was set to arrive any minute, and I had barely managed to pull together a handful of items that seemed worthwhile over the past week. I might have wanted to blame my disorganization on Kristy’s sudden arrival, but the truth was I was second-guessing every item I’d planned to hand over, worried there might be a hidden clue about Stella Lane’s connection to my grandmother.

I couldn’t shake the obsession now that I knew there was a connection. My grandmother wanted me to discover her secrets. But did she want me to reveal them?

Kristy slept late that morning. In a panic, I crept into her room when the sun was just filtering through the gauzy curtains. Grandma Lily’s jewelry collection was one of the things I had left until now, and I needed to inventory it in case there was anything of value for the exhibit. With careful hands, I lifted the wooden jewelry box that sat atop the modest dressing table.

“What are you doing?”

I froze like a teenager caught sneaking out of the house before remembering that I had every right to be here. “I need to sort through Grandma Lily’s jewelry before the museum curator gets here.”

Kristy whipped off the thin sheet and bounded out of bed, stretching her long arms above her head. As a kid, I used to envy her height. It always made her seem invincible. A person who demanded to be noticed. At five ten, she was still a commanding presence anywhere she went. The only time I ever felt like that had been when I was onstage.

“I’ll help. Just give me a sec to get dressed.” She whipped a loose T-shirt over her head before taking the jewelry box from my hands and carrying it to the kitchen table. “Let’s see what we’ve got.”

I lifted the lid that had been delicately inlaid with mother-of-pearl that I had opened so many times as a child, revealing a shallow drawer filled with dozens of necklaces. I carefully pulled out a heavy chain. The gold plating was dull and chipped in a number of spots.

“Do you think that’s from a movie?” Kristy asked.

I frowned, looking closer at the piece. “I doubt it. It’s not even real.”

“That’s why it’s called costume jewelry. Real gold was too shiny for the movies. It would cause a glare, so they had to use fake stuff that would look real on film.”

“How do you know all this?” It was the first time Kristy had shown any sign of interest in helping me with the exhibit.

“I don’t know. I’ve worked on a few films. It’s the kind of thing you pick up on.” She held up another necklace with heavy red jewels. “Hey, I think I recognize this one.”

She carried the necklace to the living room and held it up to the movie poster for The Lights of Paris.

“See? It’s the one from the movie.

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