Kate's Parisian Escape

Chapter 27

August 5th, 2011

To: Katherine Perryman <dreamchaser89@gmail.com>

From: Louise Perryman <Iloverickspringfield@gmail.com>

Re: A Lost Art

I've taken up painting! Your father said I needed to do something other than nag him all day. Honestly, so touchy. It's only the summer when I'm off for school. And I really don't see what's wrong with suggesting he organize his tools better. Anyway, I've mostly been doing landscapes. I attached a picture of my latest. See if you can guess where it's from!

Lizzie continues to be evasive about her relationship with Billy. And I know something is going on between them besides being dancing partners. I even caught her watching Spiderman!

How are things with you? Getting ready to head back home? I can't believe you've been gone the whole summer! We've never been apart this long! Except for that time, you went to camp. But even that was only three weeks because you begged me to bring you home. Although, you didn't have to tell the counselor you couldn't sleep because bugs were crawling all over you. They would have understood you'd just gotten your first period!

I have been thinking of what you said about my email name. What do you think of instead?

Counting the days until you are home!

MOM

P.S. When I say The Police I mean the band, not the civil service.

P.P.S. The favors were a small box of chocolates. Another disappointment! Would a wine opener in the shape of a swan have killed them?

Miraculously, Bernadette's apartment was completed with the refurbish (only ten days after her arrival) and she and Henri left Château de Langlois. Kate wasn't sorry to see them go, though it did still bug her; the only thing Henri said about their relationship was, "For an American you were quite funny for a girl." She knew he meant it as a compliment, but Kate found it insulting and so wasn't sorry she stole his cologne.

Colette and David left the same day as Bernadette and Henri, taking the same train to Paris. Jeremy said he had an errand to run and so Kate was left on her own to discover what she could about Juliette and Adaline. She retired back to the library, grabbed a few promising books, and claimed her favorite chair. It was overcast and muggy outside, Kate knew an afternoon storm was expected.

After an hour she had learned nothing new and decided to return to Adaline's room. Rue de Lepic found her there and kept meowing until Kate left the room thinking she was hungry. But instead, once in the hallway Rue de Lepic led Kate back to the music room. It was there Kate realized her mistake as she sat on the piano bench and saw Louie Tremblay staring down at her. There wasn't much on the Chevalier sisters but maybe the answer to their disappearance lay with someone else living at the château. What if the third set up footsteps belonged to Louie? 

Kate startled Rue de Lepic as she rushed from the room and returned to the library. Now searching for books on Louie Tremblay. There were many mostly about his music and success in composition. But there was also a biography. Jeremy was right, he had married a woman named Eloise St. Martin. They had three children and lived comfortably on Louie's earnings. Eloise was considered a beauty and regarded to be Louie's muse. There wasn't a picture but there was one line that Kate found especially revealing, "It was clear Louie was besotted with his wife. He indulged her every desire including her love for travel and the theater."