the side entrance.
The house was very still when I entered. I went
around quietly and started up the stairs, which seemed
to creak extra loudly just because I was trying to be
discreet. I was nearly to the top when Daphne called
up to me. I turned and glared down at her. Bruce
Bristow was at her side.
"Where were you?" she demanded, her hands
on her hips. She wore one of her business suits, rouge,
lipstick, and eyeliner, but she had her hair unpinned. "I went to see Uncle Jean," I confessed. I had
made up my mind that I wouldn't lie if she caught me,
and anyway, I wanted to question why she had cut
back on the funds for Jean at the institution and had
him transferred.
"You did what? Get down here this instant," she
demanded, stabbing her right forefinger toward the
floor. She spun around and marched into the sitting
room behind her. Bruce gazed up at me, that
somewhat impish smile couched comfortably in the
corners of his mouth. Then he turned to follow
Daphne. I was nearly halfway down when Gisselle
called from the top of the stairway, where she had
wheeled herself to watch my confrontation with our
stepmother.
"I would have covered for you," she said, "but
you didn't even tell me where you were going." She
turned her head. "I couldn't even make anything up
when she came around looking for you."
"That's all right. I'm not happy about lying and
sneaking around anyway."