Pearls and Poinsettias

Chapter Five

Four girls―Dorothy, Danny, Eleanor, and Noelle―stared in horror at Janelle Durrem. Jan pulled her white cap from her head to reveal a matching head of brown hair. It had grown shinier and fuller since they had last seen her seven years ago.

"But...how?" Danny gasped.

"I survived the fall," Jan said. "With a number of fractures, wounds, and bruises. After being pushed off the cliff, I fell into a tree. I had been wearing a green dress that day, so Penelope mustn't have seen me. I managed to climb down and get to safety." She paused as the four jaws gaped at her. Even Eleanor expressed shock for once. Jan swallowed. "I...was afraid. I thought that Penelope may try something again, and actually kill me, if she knew that I was alive. So I ran away."

"Then where have you been all this time?" Noelle asked.

"I've been in New York," Jan said. "I hitchhiked all the way from our small town in New Jersey."

Helen cleared her throat. "Tell them what you've been doing all these years."

"Oh! I made it to Broadway." Four pairs of eyes widened. "Well, almost. I'm auditioning next month. I've been doing Opera the last few years."

"Jan, that's marvelous," Noelle breathed. "I always knew you'd be a star."

"So you got your career?" Danny said. Jan grinned and nodded eagerly. "Jeez that's swell."

"Both her and Penelope," Helen finished. The very mention of her sister dampened Jan's mood.

"But how did you know, Helen?" Danny asked.

"Remember when Jim and I went to Philadelphia back in July? We actually attended an Opera that Jan was the star of. At first, I thought I was just imagining things, but I managed to catch Jan just as she was leaving. She found no use in hiding her identity from me. We decided...actually...that the rest of you should know as well." Helen's expression hardened as she turned to Jan. "I had no idea that you were going to pull such a stunt! How could you!"

"I-I don't know what came over me. I'm sorry."

"It takes more than sorry to fix this mess, Jan," Helen admonished. "Imagine if you had succeeded! You would be sentenced to death, and your career would be ruined. All that talent, wasted!"

Jan's bottom lip began to tremble. "I-I'm sorry. I really am. I-It's been so m-many y-years, and...and..." She began to sob uncontrollably. "I couldn't bear it! I couldn't! To see her face, the face of the one who tried to murder me! She stole everything from me! My family, my friends, my life! She even tried to steal my career on the stage as a singer! She doesn't deserve to live!" Jan's eyes had turned to rage, so wild that the others feared she might attack them. But after a moment, she buried her face in her hands and wept.

She had tried to murder someone. Murder. To say the least, it was a brutal word. The weight of knowing that she almost took a human life was alarming, especially since she wouldn't have killed the intended victim. However, more than likely, she was more terrified than anything else. She was terrified at what she had become―her sister, Penelope.

Her sisters waited for Jan's hyperventilating to calm before attempting to speak to her, mainly because they were too stunned to think. They couldn't believe Jan, sweet Jan, had stooped to such a low level. They hardly recognized the gentle, innocent girl that they had once known.

Helen was the first to gather her thoughts. Seeing as she already knew of the maid's identity, she had suffered the least amount of shock throughout the confession process.

"Jan," she said softly. "How did you put the poison on Dorothy's necklace?"

"When I took her coat," Jan whispered. "I dropped some powder on her neck."