Chapter 4 - THE SECRET IN THE BLUE ENVELOPE
The first strange thing happened on a Tuesday.
Mrs. Ellis asked me to help organize old photographs.
We sat in the library surrounded by albums.
She showed me pictures of Adrien as a child.
He had been adorable.
Dark hair.
Serious eyes.
A permanent expression of suspicion.
"He's looked like that since birth," I said.
Mrs. Ellis laughed.
"He was a difficult baby."
"Shocking."
Then she handed me a blue envelope.
"Would you put this in the top drawer?"
I glanced at it.
The paper was old.
The seal broken.
On the front was a name.
Thomas Carter.
My breath caught.
That was my father's name.
He had died when I was sixteen.
I stared at the envelope.
"Mrs. Ellis?"
She looked up.
"Yes, dear?"
"Who is Thomas Carter?"
Her smile disappeared.
For a moment, she looked frightened.
"Where did you see that?"
I held up the envelope.
Her hands began trembling.
"Oh."
I sat beside her.
"Did you know him?"
She stared at the paper.
Then whispered:
"He saved my son's life."
My heart pounded.
"What?"
Mrs. Ellis looked at me.
"Your father worked for us."
I shook my head.
"No. He was a mechanic."
She nodded.
"Yes."
I stared.
"Mrs. Ellis, what are you talking about?"
She reached for my hand.
"Thomas Carter was the reason Adrien survived the night his father died."
The room seemed to tilt.
My father had never mentioned Adrien Voss.
Never mentioned the family.
Never mentioned saving anyone's life.
And now an elderly woman was telling me he had been connected to one of Chicago's most feared men.
I swallowed.
"What happened that night?"
Mrs. Ellis closed her eyes.
May you like
Then whispered:
"Someone tried to kill my husband."
