The Secret of the Debutantes

Chapter Nine

A thud from the second story caught my attention. It was followed by a muffled shout, and then silence. Lifting my skirt, I rushed up the stairs. I saw the library where light was coming through the open door. I hurried to reach it, hearing Mr. Holmes' voice speaking low to someone within. Two policemen blocked my way, and I slipped between them.

Father and Dr. Watson had a young man in their grasp. It wasn't Quentin Kennedy as I had suspected but Jeremiah Graves! I had danced with him and hadn't given him a second thought! I had seen him speaking to each of the young ladies of the fans and had assumed he was simply well connected. I was a fool for not seeing it before!

But he was not the focus of everyone in the room. Caroline Wetherby was there, in the middle of the room, and in her hand was a pistol. Where had she gotten that? And more importantly, why was she pointing it at herself?

“Miss Wetherby, put the gun down,” Mr. Holmes said.

“Let Jeremiah go,” Miss Wetherby demanded, her hand tightening on the gun.

“She won't pull the trigger,” one of the policemen said.

“She will.” I hadn't meant to say it out loud, but it came out. Father glanced back at me. I shouldn't be here but I was and I could see the truth in her eyes. She had every intention of killing herself if she didn't get her way. She was a spoiled debutante who was prepared to do anything to get her way. And right now she wanted Jeremiah Graves. “She believes Mr. Graves is attached to her.”

Miss Wetherby looked at me. Slowly, I moved forward. I sent a condemning look at the prisoner as I did. He did not look in the least bit ashamed of what he'd done. “But did Lady Elisabeth, Miss Amelia Johanson, and Miss Emily Meyer believe the same thing?” I asked, turning my attention to Miss Wetherby. “Did they believe he would marry them?”

“No!” Caroline snapped. Her hand shook. “He never would have done that!”

“But you all knew his intentions, and all of you allowed him free reign to take what he wished,” Holmes spoke up, picking up on my line of reasoning. “Why would your friends allow your lover to steal papers if they had no attachment to him? Did you truly believe they did it because you asked them to?”

Doubt sprang in Cariline's eyes. “You were bored. You wanted something to distract you,” I continued, pressing the point. “All of eight of you were bored. You-you formed a sort of club to distract yourselves. You kept it secret from everyone else. Then, here was a man with charm, and he distracted you with his witty remarks and flattery.”

I was guessing at this point, but from how her face paled, I was right. The rest of the puzzle fell into place for me. “Miss Johanson, Miss Meyer, and Lady Elisabeth felt guilty,” Holmes said, speaking what I was thinking. “They were going to tell. But you didn't want to lose Mr. Graves so you warned him. Your friends ignored the buttercup warning, and then they died.”

Caroline's hand was shaking badly. “He loves me!”

“Look at him!” I snapped, pointing at Graves. “Does he look like he cares whether you die or not? If he loved you, he would be pleading with you as everyone else is to lower that gun.”