THE TEN SLAPS AND THE SILVER LOCKET

Kieran stared at the antique brass key in Annie’s trembling hand.

The emblem of the hawk with spread wings was unmistakable. It was the crest of his late wife’s family—the crest of the Sterling estate.

“Where did you get that?” Kieran demanded, stepping into the nursery and pulling the door shut behind him so they wouldn't wake Flora.

Annie looked down at the key.

“My father was Thomas Mercer,” Annie said, her voice barely above a whisper. “He was the head groundskeeper for the Sterling family estate upstate. I grew up on their property.”

Kieran’s brow furrowed. “I remember Thomas. He died of a heart attack four years ago.”

“It wasn't a heart attack,” Annie said softly. She looked up, her eyes bright with unshed tears. “Julian killed him.”

Kieran physically recoiled. “Julian? Why would Julian kill a groundskeeper?”

“Because my father caught Julian burying something in the woods behind the estate,” Annie explained. “Julian didn't want anyone to know. He paid the local coroner to list it as a heart attack. But before my father died, he managed to give me this key.”

She held the brass key out to Kieran.

“He told me to find your wife. He told me she was the only one who could stop Julian. He said this key opened her private writing desk. The one she kept locked in her dressing room.”

Kieran took the key. The metal was cold against his palm.

“You came here the night she died?” Kieran asked.

Annie nodded. “I sneaked onto the grounds. I saw your wife packing her bags through the window. I tapped on the glass. She let me in. I told her what Julian had done.”

Annie wiped a tear from her cheek.

“She was terrified, Mr. Ashbourne. She told me Julian was involved in something horrible. That he was blackmailing people. She told me to hide in the guest house until morning, and she would take me to the police.”

Annie’s voice broke.

“But then I heard the shouting. I looked out the guest house window. I saw Julian on the stairs. I saw him hit her with the flashlight. I saw her fall.”

Kieran felt as if he were suffocating. “Julian was here? The police said the security cameras were off that night.”

“They were,” Annie cried. “Julian turned them off. I was so scared, Mr. Ashbourne. Julian saw me in the window. He smiled at me. He held up his finger to his lips. Then he walked away into the dark.”

Kieran gripped the edge of the changing table to steady himself. “Why didn't you go to the police?”

“Because Julian threatened to kill my little sister if I ever spoke a word,” Annie sobbed. “I ran. I hid for three years. But when I saw Julian’s obituary in the paper… I thought it was finally safe. I came here to apply for the nanny job because I promised your wife I would protect Flora.”

Kieran looked at the sleeping child across the room.

Then he looked back at Annie.

“Miranda found the pearl earring under your mattress,” Kieran said. “Why did you have it?”

“When your wife fell, the earring snapped off and slid across the floor into the guest house doorway,” Annie explained. “I picked it up. I kept it as proof. I was waiting for the right time to show you. But then Miranda moved in. And I realized…”

Annie swallowed hard.

“I realized she was working for Julian.”

Kieran’s head snapped up. “Julian is dead.”

“No, he’s not,” a voice said from the doorway.

Kieran spun around.

Standing in the open doorway of the nursery wasn't Marcus.

It was a man in a dark trench coat.

A man with dark hair and striking green eyes.

Julian.