“I think she gave you a sedative,” he says quietly.
“Really?”
Tatum looks at his feet. “Okay, Iknowshe gave you a sedative.”
“What do you mean?”
“I’m sorry. It was already done when she told me. She had me carry you upstairs.”
“Why would she do that?” I ask, reeling. “There was nothing to sedate. Did she tell you I was screaming or something? Or that I was violent?”
“No, nothing like that.”
“She doesn’t like me. And she’s angry that Kingsley invited me without telling her. But you don’t just sedate your unwanted stepchildren.”
“Matilda,” says Tatum. “Don’t blow this up into—”
“You carried me up four flights of stairs,” I interrupt. “When I was passed out. What on earth did June say was the reason?”
Tatum lifts his gaze. “She said she felt it was needed,” he repeats. “And I trust her judgment.”
“You do?”
Tatum looks me full in the face. “Yes,” he says. “I trust herjudgment.”
39
Late at night,I sit in the Iron Room with my sketchbook on my knees, writing out the possibilities as I think of them. I draw big cartoon arrows between ideas when they connect.
Why would June sedate me? Was there something she didn’t want me to see that she got rid of while I was asleep? Like, could she have moved a painting so I wouldn’t see it, or disposed of some kind of evidence?
I did investigate her house pretty thoroughly. I rummaged through the fridge and asked Tatum if the packets were drugs. Later I scoured the bookshelves and peeked in the empty rooms. I questioned the contents of the tincture drink June made me.
Maybe she sedated me to threaten one of the boys. That is, by drugging me, she was sayinglook what I can do, without your consent, if you break my rules.And she told Tatum about it, for sure. Was she sending him some kind of message?
Then I have questions about Kingsley.
Have he and June had a falling-out? Is that why he’s not comingback?
Why would he alienate his late patron Tipper Sinclair by painting her as the wicked stepmother in “Cinderella”?
Why won’t he sign off on the sale ofPrince of Denmark,when his household is mostly living off groceries bought with Brock’s royalty money and Tatum’s paycheck?
Why is anyone here hurting for money at all?
I need more pieces of the puzzle, and I decide to start withPrince of Denmark.Maybe I can find out why Kingsley doesn’t want it sold.
When I’m sure the castle is asleep, I take a flashlight and tiptoe down the stairs to the mudroom. There, I search until I find the box labeledSpoils of War.It’s an old wooden fishing tackle box, labeled by the boys when they were young. In it are layers of sectioned trays filled with tiny pebbles, shells, beach glass, crab claws, a couple dried-out sea stars, some multisided dice—treasures probably saved by Meer.
In the bottom tray is a set of keys.
As quietly as I can, I put the box back where it belongs. Then I unlock the Oyster Office and pull out my computer.
I start by searching forKingsley Cello Prince of Denmark.The first things that come up are some of the negative reviews June mentioned, from when the painting was displayed at the Whitney Museum. “The painting’s needless gore is not going to be elevated by Cello’s name-check of Shakespeare’s most famous play.” “Better suited to a splatter film.” “Cello imagining himself as both the villain ofHamletand as victim at the hands of an Asian prince is a strange ploy with unpleasant racial undertones.”
I switch to an image search.
Kingsley’s gallery lists the painting. And even though I’ve played a zillion first-person-shooter video games and watched a good number of horror films, there’s something about the violence in it that makes me catch my breath.
