The Lilac Tunnel: My Journey with Samantha

I tell Samantha that she might be right. but we have to prove it. Samantha says that there’s only one way to prove it. We have to catch Elsa with the brooch. We should search her room. Right now. Samantha says that she just saw Elsa setting the breakfast table. This is our best chance.

I follow Samantha down the creaky stairs for the next floor. Elsa’s door is shut, but Samantha reaches boldly for the doorknob. What happens if we get caught? Samantha’s risking her own hide to help me. Will she get into trouble, too? I follow Samantha into Elsa’s room and quickly shut the door. When I turn around, I’m surprised to see how bare it is. The small bed is made up with a simple bedspread. There’s a wooden nightstand beside the bed, but it’s empty except for a grainy black and white photo of a large family. Samantha tiptoes to a tall wooden wardrobe and eases open the door. A shawl and two plain dresses hang from the bar. Samantha goes to the top shelf of the wardrobe and pulls down a large round hat box. She sets it on the bed and lifts the lid, revealing a straw hat. No surprises there.

I tell Samantha we should leave, but she tells me to wait, and she removes the hat from the box. And there, in the bottom of the hat box, is a thick, banded stack of dollar bills.

Samantha whispers that it’s proof. How else could she have gotten all the money? Elsa must have stolen Grandmary’s brooch and sold it. We must tell Grandmary right away. Samantha tucks the money back into the hot box and puts it back in the wardrobe. Then we rush downstairs.

Mrs. Hawkins stops us in the hall outside the parlor. She tells Samantha it’s time for breakfast and says that Grandmary is waiting for her in the dining room. Samantha gives me a look to indicate that she’s got this, and hurries into the dining room. Mrs. Hawkins sends me to the kitchen. I can smell her muffins as soon as I step into the room, and I eat slowly, straining my ears to hear the voices from the dining room. When Elsa steps into the kitchen, I nearly drop my muffin. She says that daylight’s wasting, and we have a great deal to do today. It’s time to get started on the ironing.

But then, Grandmary calls out from the dining room that she wishes to see Elsa right away. Elsa’s face darkens. She casts a questioning glance at Mrs. Hawkins who gives the slightest shrug, and then Elsa disappears through the swinging door.

A few minutes later, Grandmary comes into the kitchen. She gestures at Mrs. Hawkins to join her in the pantry, and then Samantha comes in the kitchen and waves me to the door. Samantha says that Elsa is leaving. Grandmary asked her about the money, and Elsa got upset. We don’t know if she took the brooch, but she looked guilty.

Samantha and I are standing near the lilac tunnel when we hear a horse-drawn carriage pull up in front of the house. Elsa has packed very quickly, which is probably not a surprise given how few possessions she has. And like that, Elsa is gone.

As we walk back to the house, I kick something with the toe of my shoe. It lands a few feet ahead of me and sparkles in the sunlight. Samantha sees it, too, and we stop walking. Samantha reaches for the object, the color draining from her face. It’s Grandmary’s brooch.